Education &
Youth Programs
Over the past 20 years, we have provided free educational opportunities to a variety of groups with the goal of cultivating community stewardship. Our current education initiatives feature a hands-on approach to learning, allowing students to get out of the classroom and learn new skills. In spring of 2023, we worked with over 100 middle and high school students to clean up more than 600 lbs. of debris (litter, invasive species, etc.) in the Greater Cincinnati area.
RootS to Boots
Roots to Boots is a paid workforce development program from Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, beginning in 2024, that prepares young adults for careers in horticulture, landscaping, and greenspace management. Designed for Hamilton County residents ages 18–24, the program offers hands-on, in-field experience, skill-building, and exposure to real career pathways and employers in the green economy—no prior experience required.
Program Details:
Cohort Sessions: June-September 2026 (Summer) & September–November 2026 (Fall)
Cohort Size: 10–12 participants per session
Duration: 12 weeks per cohort*
Time Commitment: 8–10 hours/week**
Compensation:
Participants earn a stipend distributed based on:
● Consistent attendance (trainings and in-field work)
● Completion of job readiness & skill demonstration objectives
*There is a holiday break during the week of July 1st
** The first week will consist of 3 days (MWF) of training to accommodate OSHA training
Please note, the application cannot be saved and accessed at a later time. We recommend completing any long-form responses in a separate document then pasting them into the application to avoid losing work.
Tree the Crc
Our Tree the CRC initiative supports the 2023 Green Cincinnati Plan to increase equity of the urban tree canopy. Tree planting will focus on Cincinnati Recreation Centers and playgrounds in areas of the city that are currently under the 40% the Green Cincinnati Plan seeks to maintain. If you or your students are interested in helping increase tree canopy across Cincinnati, complete the form below to get in touch with our Roots to Boots Manager, Caroline Cain, at caroline@keepcincinnatibeautiful.org.
Students will gain:
-
hands-on understanding of the heat island effect
-
green workforce skills and knowledge
-
a first-hand look into community collaboration
-
service hours for graduation seals
Cultivating Stewardship
KCB cultivates connection between people, passion, and place. Our Education program seeks to nurture good stewards of our shared public spaces that are committed to a vibrant and collaborative city and who inspire their neighbors to better care for these spaces . We hope these good stewards become future leaders in their communities who work alongside the city and community partners like KCB to envision and actualize a greener Cincinnati.
Our current offerings include a urban forestry initiatives, student litter clean-ups, cultivating stewardship classroom sessions, and pre-event information sessions for corporate sponsors. If you’re a student, teacher, or youth organization leader looking to host an event, please reach out to the Roots to Boots Manager (caroline@keepcincinnatibeautiful.org).
Looking for an easy way to cultivate stewardship in your students? Check out our digital resources page! It includes book lists, work sheets, and other fun activities for getting youth involved in caring for their community!
You can also download a pdf of our Cultivating Stewardship Field Guide.
