Q&A with Brandi Fisher, Executive Director of Keep McIntosh Beautiful
Education and changing people’s behavior go hand in hand, and in the KGBF network, we do our best to bring the two together. Join us for a conversation about recycling, youth programs, and how you can incorporate small changes into your daily routine.
You started in this role in 2019. What inspired you to get involved with Keep McIntosh Beautiful?
I've always tried to promote recycling at my house, and I've always believed that if you take care of the environment, it will take care of you. When I saw this position open up, I was at a time in my life when I was looking for something else. I’d just started going back to school full time, and I actually brushed it off a few times, but it just kept popping up! After learning more, it felt like a really good fit—it’s something I like to do anyway, so why not do it as a job or a career? Keep McIntosh Beautiful’s mission aligns with my own personal beliefs, for how I do things at home and around our house. I wanted to expand on that and make a positive impact within our community.
It sounds like the environment has always been a priority for you. Why do you think taking care of it is so important?
Where we live, down on the coast, we have a vast and connected ecosystem, and growing up, I’d always been told that if you trash nature, you're going to ruin things for yourself. I now have a daughter who is almost four years old, and we’re trying to instill those same values in her. We teach her to recycle and not litter, and to keep items out of the landfill. It’s important to take care of the earth. We’re leaving it to our grandchildren and future generations, and if we don’t take care of it, there won’t be anything left for them.
Tell us about some of your favorite projects or initiatives with Keep McIntosh Beautiful so far.
I started in October 2019, and COVID-19 hit the following March, so I’ve only had a few months to do things in the traditional sense! I’ve definitely had to rethink things. Last year, we hosted an online Earth Day celebration. I read stories on Facebook Live, and posted different activities and projects people could do with their families or on their own during the day. I also dropped off goodies to spring break camps that were still happening at the time—we had a nature search, a paper that taught about Earth Day, and I also gave them little seed bombs made of construction paper that they could plant in their yards.
The educational aspect is one of my favorite parts of this job. We just got approved for the Terracycle Bic Stationary Recycling Program, which allows us to collect items like old markers, pens, watercolor containers, and glue sticks, so we’re starting that with summer camps this May. We’ll do a trial run with the Boys & Girls Club over the next few months to see if it’s something that will work out long term. We’re also going to be doing some kind of summer program with the YMCA this year. I’m excited about the various educational programs we’re starting with local youth.
Keep McIntosh Beautiful volunteers cleaning up their community
What further impact do you hope to see in McIntosh County? What does an ideal environment look like to you?
I want to focus on educating the community as a whole. We actually have a lot of people who throw stuff on the side of the road instead of taking it where it needs to go. I want to continue cleaning our roadways up, and get people thinking about litter and the alternative places they can bring their trash. We had our Great American Cleanup event last month, and we cleaned up two major roadways in our county. Our volunteers filled 73 thirty-gallon bags, which was pretty successful, so we’ll have more events like that, and continue to share how litter gets into our waterways and has a negative impact on our ecosystem. I also want to raise awareness about what people should recycle versus what needs to go to the dump, and educating our youth will be really important—they’re going to grow up and take over, so starting with them will have a huge impact.
Any advice for people looking to make their communities cleaner, greener, or more beautiful?
I would say start at home and work your way up. Instead of throwing your soda can in the trash, put it in the recycling bin. Recycle your canned goods and water bottles, try to cut back on single-use products—stuff like that. Then you can work on keeping your yard clean. If everyone makes small changes, in the end, that will lead to big results.