At Keep Rabun Beautiful, we aim to end litter in Rabun County. It is a huge blight on our landscape, and costly to clean up. Litter impacts our quality of life, destroying our county’s natural beauty, harming or killing wildlife, and diminishing water quality. It also hinders economic development – property values decrease in littered neighborhood, whereas clean communities attract families and businesses.

We are leading a united effort across the county to educate people about the problems, enforce litter laws, and eradicate blight. In 2025, the network of affiliates and volunteers around the State of Georgia collected 2 million pounds of litter and debris, and cleaned and improved 30,795 acres of parks, public lands, playgrounds, and trails. Interested in learning more? Review our resources on litter and litter behavior, sign our pledge below, and contact us to see how you can get involved.

 

 

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Join Us In Our Fight Against Litter

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I pledge to #reconsiderlitter. Moving forward, I will:

COMMIT

I will take small but meaningful actions each day to reduce blight in my community.

ENGAGE

I will speak with others about this issue, learn more, and join at least one cleanup activity in my town or city.

SPREAD THE WORD

I will encourage my family members, friends, and colleagues to take this pledge with me.

 

PROGRAMS

• Adopt-A-Mile -

  Adopt A Mile

  Adopt-a-Mile (AAM) is a litter reduction and prevention program. Through organized quarterly cleanups, community volunteers reduce the amount of litter along the roadways in Rabun County. The Adopt-a-Mile program raises awareness about the issue of litter and helps keep our community clean. In 2025, volunteers cleaned over 4,000 lbs. of litter from Rabun County roadways.

  Our Adopt-a-Mile program is our greatest volunteer need and Keep Rabun Beautiful relies on hundreds of volunteers for the success of this program. We invite you or your civic group, company, family, faith-based group, or friends to adopt a mile and personally invest in the environment and Rabun County community. We provide all the training and supplies that volunteers need.

  Commitment

  Adopting a mile – If your group is interested in a regular volunteer opportunity, consider adopting a mile. Groups who adopt a mile stretch of roadway commit to cleaning it at least four times annually. Keep Rabun Beautiful organizes quarterly cleanup dates, however, groups can clean as their schedule allows. Signs with the group name are provided at the beginning of the mile.

  2026 Adopt-a-Mile Cleanup Dates

  • January, 2026
  • April, 2026
  • July, 2026
  • October, 2026

  How to Get Involved

  Fill out our group interest form.  Questions should be directed to Linda at linda.scofield@rabuncounty.ga.gov or 706-960-9865.

• Adopt-A-Stream (upcoming program) -

  Adopt-A-Stream

  Our local streams are a vital natural resource that connects to the Chattahoochee River, which provides drinking water for millions in the metro Atlanta area. In an effort to protect and preserve these fundamental resources and the ecosystems they create, Keep Rabun Beautiful engages environmentally conscious volunteers to monitor the water quality at 13 Rabun streams through Georgia Adopt-a-Stream.

• Commitment Volunteers adopt one stream and conduct monthly monitoring's. Monitoring can be completed at anytime during the month. Due to the training involved in the program, volunteers for this program are asked to make a year-long commitment.
• Training A training workshop is required prior to be certified to monitor a stream. Certification lasts for one year and volunteers must be recertified annually if they wish to continue monitoring. All supplies are provided at no cost to the volunteer.
• How to Get Involved Fill out our online volunteer application found on the Volunteer page.
• More Information For more information about Georgia Adopt-a-Stream, visit their website at Georgia Adopt-A-Stream.

• Adopt-A-Tree (upcoming program -

  Adopt-A-Tree

  Adopt-a-Tree is a program that rescues small and/or young trees from properties that are slated for development, are no longer wanted by a homeowner, or from a community event. We save the trees and provide them at no cost to community members. These trees and other native plants are available to ‘adopt’ by residents, schools, parks, and other interested organizations.

  Adopting a Tree

  We will have trees in stock now! If you are interested in ‘adopting’ a tree, please fill out this online Adopt-a-Tree Interest Form, and we will be in touch with next steps.

  A few things to note:

  • Tree matching will be on a first come, first served basis.
  • Tree recipients are responsible for picking up and planting the tree themselves, although we can provide some direction on proper planting if needed.
  • Because these are “rescues,” KRB and the Tree Board cannot guarantee the long-term viability of the tree.

  If you have questions, email linda.scofield@rabuncounty.ga.gov or call 706-960-9865.

  Donating a Tree

  If you have a healthy tree that you no longer want on your property and are looking to donate it to the Adopt-a-Tree program, please email linda.scofield@rabuncounty.ga.gov with the type of a tree and a photo. We accept trees based on their size.

• Adopt-A-Trail -

  Adopt-A-Trail

  Our Adopt-A-Trail program allows our community to be active participants in preserving and maintaining the beauty trails in Rabun County. Volunteers conduct a monthly cleanup of a very visible and accessible section of the trails. Removing debris and litter from our trails improves the quality of the trail for all who use it as well as the wildlife who inhabit the area.

  Volunteering

  Contact Linda, at linda.scofield@rabuncounty.ga.gov or call 706-960-9865

  Questions?

  For more information regarding other litter pickup opportunities, visit our Adopt-a-Mile and Rivers Alive pages or contact Keep Rabun Beautiful at 706-960-9865.

• Litter Index

• Community Cleanup