Keeping Gwinnett Great, One Steward at a Time
Gwinnett is already great. And Schelly Marlatt and Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful (GCB) want to keep it that way!
“I remember the old water towers that said ‘Gwinnett is great’ when I was a child,” Schelly explained.
“Success does live here in Gwinnett, and there are amazing people working together to keep Gwinnett great. I’m a big proponent of making the place where you are the best it can be.”
As an environmental steward and advocate, she’s been making Gwinnett great for almost two decades.
From 2007 to 2009, Schelly worked at Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful as a community program manager and in human resources. In 2010, she joined the Gwinnett County government in its solid waste division.
When Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful’s executive director retired, Schelly took over in the summer of 2016 as the new executive director, a position she’s held ever since.
Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful operates under a hybrid model, working in partnership with the Gwinnett County government and as a nonprofit. Though Schelly and her team are Gwinnett County employees, the organization’s nonprofit status allows her to raise funds and pursue grants to expand the ways Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful can serve.
“Some of our programs like Adopt a Road and Adopt a Stream were initiatives from the nonprofit side of GCB. We partner with the county to make those programs larger and more accessible,” she explained.
Efforts from volunteers in programs like Adopt a Road and Adopt a Stream not only preserve Gwinnett but also maximize the impact Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful can leave.
“In the last three years, our volunteers have offered over a million dollars’ worth of time,” she shared.
And it’s not just the adults making a difference. It’s the kids too!
“Our Green and Healthy Schools program is a 30-plus year partnership with Gwinnett County public schools,” Schelly said. “We provide resources, information, supplies and educational opportunities to teachers to further environmental education in the classroom.”
Thanks to a grant from the World Wildlife Fund, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful is helping teachers and students advocate for food waste reduction.
The initiative encourages students and schools to reduce food waste through composting. The compost can then be used in outdoor learning gardens where teachers and students are growing fruits and vegetables.
Initiatives like these benefit more than just the environment. They’re showing students career opportunities they may not have considered.
“We need more farmers,” Schelly said. “These schools are doing an amazing job teaching children about farming and getting their hands dirty.”
Through a scholarship managed by the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia, the organization is equipping graduating high school seniors to steward the environment and lead others to do the same.
Every year, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful awards $2,000 scholarships to members of GCB’s Green Youth Advisor Council (YAC) in partnership with Adele Steele and the Jim Steele Environmental Education Scholarship, created in honor of the nonprofit’s first board chair.
“These students don’t have to pursue environmental science. It could be something math-related or science-related. [The scholarship] could help a student become an environmental attorney or some type of environmental engineer.”
Logan Zimmerman, a graduate of Discovery High School in Lawrenceville, was one of these recipients.
Logan served as his school’s Environmental Club president, advocating for environmental stewardship and inspiring other students to participate.
When Logan decided to pursue higher education, he applied for and was awarded the Jim Steele Environmental Education Scholarship.
“The scholarship gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams of working as an environmental steward and educator,” he shared.
As a freshman, he founded the Environmental Club at the College of Coastal Georgia, drawing on knowledge gained while in YAC to establish a legacy of environmental stewardship at the college.
“One of my core goals is to inspire people in my own generation and the ones before me to enjoy nature and experience outdoor recreation,” Logan said.
He hopes to do this through his new position as a safari tour leader at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida.
“And ultimately, I would like to go to graduate school to further my education and knowledge base so I can share with my community,” he added.
Opportunities like this are made possible through Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful’s fund with the Community Foundation.
After selling equipment from their recycling facility, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful’s leadership was looking for a place to store and grow their funds. When they heard about the Foundation, they knew becoming an agency fundholder was the right step.
“We’ve been able to fund grant dollars and put money back into programs on our nonprofit side,” Schelly explained. “The foundation has been a great advocate for us as we’ve offered programs and opportunities, as well as through the Jim Steele Environmental Education Scholarship.
“We’re making Gwinnett the best place it can be, making it better for the generations that will follow in our footsteps and fill our shoes.”
To partner with Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful as they steward the environment and inspire the next generation, give to its fund.