A few months ago the ity formed a beautification committee in partnership with Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism. Just this week the Beautification Committee learned that they have been awarded a grant from the Wyoming Department of Transportation, which means their first project will get underway this summer.
The project is the first phase of a xeriscaping plan at the east entrance of town.
The round grassy field diagonally across from the chamber’s sign is the first focus of the beautification committee’s efforts. It will be landscaped with flowering deciduous trees and conifers, they will also be planting decorative grasses and shrubs and of course perennial flowers. The project will be undertaken cooperatively by the Green River Parks and Recreation Department, the Beautification Committee and a host of volunteers.
Beautification in one’s community has many more benefits than simply the smile evoked by a beautiful tree or a hanging basket of flowers. An attractive community increases home values, helps attract business, improves a city’s reputation and lifts people’s spirits. Since the early 20th century American architects, elected officials, engineers and city planners have known the value of community beautification, there was even a movement called City Beautiful.
Early proponents of the City Beautiful philosophy believed that aesthetics, or a community with attractive surroundings made their citizens behave better and generally increased civic virtue, though that theory was never directly tested.
What we do know, and has been born out in a recent study by the Knight Foundation called “Soul of the Community,” is that aesthetics are one of the top three criteria that drive resident attachment. The other two factors are how open and welcoming the community is to new comers and social offerings - way for people to socialize together at restaurants and festivals. Resident attachment means that individuals are connected to the place where they live; this translates to a strong sense of pride and a general feeling that the outlook for the future of their community is bright.
When people are happy with the place where they live they are more likely to stay, which translates to a more talented workforce because the best and the brightest decide to stay or they come back and invest in their hometowns. When this happens the population grows, and the economy grows; the community diversifies and there are more restaurants, attractions, retail stores and festivals.
The beautification committee knows that their goal to make Green River more attractive is just one small part of a bigger plan for the community.
Every garden starts with just one seed and sometimes that’s all it takes to create a stronger and brighter future.
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