Free environmental workshops in March by PRIDE

SOMERSET, KY – Would you like to see your community look its best this spring … and beyond? Then make plans to attend one of four free Solid Waste Management workshops in March that will be held by PRIDE, through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“We designed the workshops to motivate and prepare community members to take advantage of PRIDE Spring Cleanup Month, which is in April, to target their local solid waste challenges,” explained Tammie Wilson, who is the President and CEO of the nonprofit PRIDE organization.

“We invite concerned citizens, educators, local officials and other community leaders to attend the workshops,” she said. “You will take home practical tools to lead environmental projects in your neighborhoods, school and entire area.”

“Bring your local concerns, as well as your success stories, so we can share solutions and strategies that have worked in our region,” she suggested.

The topics and speakers, which will vary across the workshops, include:

Principles of Leadership by Allison Ball, Kentucky State Treasurer.

Waste Stream Elimination by Professor Doug Keaton, Lindsey Wilson College.

Recycling by Danny Masten, Pulaski County Recycling Center.

Composting by Holly Niehoff, Morehead State University, or Beth Wilson, Pulaski County Extension.

Landfills and Landfill Operators by Ken Melton, Division of Waste Management.

Historic Landfill Projects by Ken Melton, Division of Waste Management.

Managing Construction and Demolition Debris by Robin Green, Division of Waste Management.

Landfill Permitting and Construction by Charles Higginbotham, Division of Waste Management.

Beneficial Reuse of Solid and Special Waste by Robin Green, Division of Waste Management.

New PRIDE Coordinator Q&A by Tammie Wilson, PRIDE.

Family Resource Youth Service Workers can earn 5 training hours by participating in a workshop. For county judge-executives and mayors, continuing education units are pending approval by the Department for Local Government.

The workshops will be held:

March 14, 10 am – 4 pm ET at the Big Sandy Area Development District Office, 110 Resource Court, Prestonsburg, KY 41653.

March 15, 10 am – 3 pm ET at the Morehead Conference Center, 111 East First Street, Morehead, KY 40351.

March 20, 10 am – 3 pm ET at the Hal Rogers Fire Training Center, 180 Oak Leaf Lane, Somerset, KY 42503.

March 21, 10 am – 4 pm CT at the Adair County Cooperative Extension, 409 Fairground Street, Columbia, KY 42728.

“Please reserve your spot soon,” Wilson said. “Space is limited, and we will provide a free lunch, so we need to plan ahead.”

To RSVP, please call the PRIDE office, toll free, at 888.577.4339 or send an email to . For more information, visit www.kypride.org.

About PRIDE

PRIDE, which stands for “Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment,” was founded in 1997 by Congressman Hal Rogers (KY-5) and the late James Bickford, who was the Kentucky Secretary for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. The PRIDE mission is to contribute to the economic and cultural growth of southern and eastern Kentucky by improving water quality, cleaning up solid waste problems and advancing environmental education, in order to improve living conditions for its residents while enhancing the potential for tourism industry growth in the region.