Denise Carleton
C0-Founder / Executive Director
Denise grew up in Ocean County, New Jersey. Playing in the surf and sand of the seashore, she always loved the outdoors and nature’s beauty. It wasn’t, however, until she moved to Georgia in 2001 that her passion for recycling and advocating the preservation and conservation of our planet began.
Soon after moving to Georgia, Denise noticed that her neighbor, Kris, kept her recycling in her garage. Curious, Denise asked her one day why she didn’t place her recycling curbside. Kris explained that she took her recycling to the local recycling facility versus placing it curbside after her waste hauler repeatedly placed the materials in the back of the truck with other trash. Concerned that the same would happen to her recycling, Denise started taking regular trips to the local recycling facility with Kris. Denise's passion for recycling grew as she watched her trash diminish to almost nothing due to her increased recycling efforts.
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“. . . what we do is NOT about us, it’s about educating kids about the environment, to encourage them to take personal responsibility and be good stewards, and to let them know that they can make a difference.”
2nd place from Keep Georgia Beautiful for waste reduction by a non-profit (2010)
In 2004, Denise and her family moved to Cumming, Georgia. The school to which her children were zoned had a PTA Environmental Education Committee. Starting out as a Recycling Coordinator, she soon thereafter became PTA Environmental Education Committee Chair (2005-2010). In 2006, she co-founded a student Green Team, an after-school environmental club for 4th and 5th grade students.
Denise hijacked Mary Nix a/k/a Petunia Garner to help her with back-to-back America Recycles Day events. Neither Denise nor Mary realized that this event would lead to the formation of a company to bring environmental education to other schools.
“Partnering with Mary has been loads of work and loads of fun from the beginning,” said Denise. “But what we do is NOT about us, it’s about educating kids about the environment, to encourage them to take personal responsibility and be good stewards, and to let them know that they can make a difference.”
Denise is a published children’s writer and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Her storybook, The Gross Graffiti Cover-up has been purchased nationally and noted as an anti-graffiti educational tool by Keep America Beautiful. Denise has received many awards for her environmental work, including Volunteer of the Year and Educator of the Year from Keep Forsyth County Beautiful.
Certifications & Memberships:
- Bacterial QA/QC Monitoring, Georgia Adopt-A-Stream; Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators; Georgia Recycling Coalition; Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia; Chattahoochee Basin Advisory Council; and Sawnee Woman's Club.
Awards:
- Volunteer of the Year, Keep Forsyth County Beautiful (2007); Educator of the Year, Keep Forsyth County Beautiful (2009); Certificate of Distinguished Service, Keep Georgia Beautiful (Reaping Nature Productions, 2009); and 2nd place for waste reduction by a non-profit, Keep Georgia Beautiful (Reaping Nature Educational Outreach Foundation, 2010).
Environmental Education Clubs:
- Green Team Coordinator, Daves Creek Elementary School (2006 to 2011); and Eco-Eagles Coordinator, Cornerstone Schools (2009 to present).
Publications:
- The Gross Graffiti Cover-up, Reaping Nature Productions (2009)
- Thinking Green: Making "Black Gold", aboutU July/August (2009)
- Thinking Green: E-Waste or E-Scrap, aboutU (May/June 2009)
- What Kind of Ball Is It?, Ladybug (June 2006)
- The Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, What Can You Do to Help Save the Planet?, Hopscotch for Girls (December/January 2011)
- Sunflowered Banana Snack, Hopscotch for Girls (June/July 2011)
Continuing Education:
- ConocoPhillips NEED Energy Workshop (spring 2009); Keep America Beautiful Climate Change/Recycling Symposium (October 2009); Sustainability Summit, Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center (May 2011); Healthy Schools Summit, World Congress Center (November 2011).
Other:
- Publicity Chair, Friends of Tony, Inc. (2009 to 2011); Environmental Education Committee, Daves Creek PTA (2005 to 2010); Book Bound Writers and Illustrators Group, Cumming, GA, Member and Group Web Master (2003 to 2009); Windermere HOA, Cumming, GA, Pool Committee Chair (2006 to 2008); Abbotts Hill Elementary School, Duluth, GA, PTA Room Parent Coordinator Grades K-2, Each One Teach One Reading and Writing Chair and Jaguar Paw Prints Newsletter Chair (2002 to 2004); and Lexington Woods HOA, Alpharetta, GA, Social Committee and Newsletter Chair (2002 to 2003).
Reaping Nature
Educational Outreach Foundation
Serving children, the public & environment in Cherokee, Forsyth & North Fulton counties.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. -- Margaret Mead
