Keep Louisiana Beautiful grant will fund bottle refill stations at NSU’s Cenla campus

November 26, 2024

ALEXANDRIA - Northwestern State University of Louisiana received a Keep Louisiana Beautiful 2024 University Affiliate grant for $5,000. This grant will be for two filtered water bottle refill stations for NSU's new building on the CENLA Campus at England Industrial Airpark. The grant also provides for limited edition re-usable drinking bottles for faculty, staff students and visitors. Student volunteers from NSU CENLA Campus Council will distribute the re-usable bottles along with information about how the NSU community is reducing single use plastic waste.

"We're so excited to have student volunteers from the CENLA Campus Council involved in this grant project. Their involvement will play a key role in making a meaningful impact in the campus community" said Bryn Edmonston Dill, CENLA Campus Council coordinator and campus manager. Created in 2020, the Council consist of NSU students who attend classes on the Alexandria campus. They work closely with Dill to offer extra-curricular initiatives, programs and events for NSU students in Alexandria.

The KLB University Affiliate program was developed in 2021 in response to a growing interest in sustainability, waste reduction and litter prevention at the university level. NSU joined the KLB University Affiliate program in 2023, leading to grant funded projects focused on clean-up, beautification and waste reduction on the Natchitoches campus. Building upon the success of those projects, the partnership with NSU's CENLA Campus in Alexandria was developed this year.

Jason Parks, execuitve director of the CENLA Campus said, "Our campus at England Industrial Airpark offers state-of-the-art classrooms and labs plus specialized workshop and seminar space for diverse and dynamic learning experiences. This grant project helps make our campus even more inviting for students, faculty, staff and visitors."

Keep Louisiana Beautiful's mission is to promote personal, corporate and community responsibility for a clean and beautiful Louisiana. Through programs and statewide network of affiliates and partners, KLB provides tools and resources to prevent litter, reduce waste, increase recycling and beautify spaces. Keep Louisiana Beautiful is a non-profit organization dedicated to achieving a cleaner, greener Louisiana through litter reduction and beautification initiatives. To get involved, visit keeplouisianabeautiful.org.