Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Keep Jonesboro Beautiful (KJB) is inviting Jonesboro residents to the Green-Up Jonesboro Sip-and-Share next Thursday.

It will feature a 20-to-30-minute presentation by Dr. Jerry Farris, a retired professor of environmental biology from Arkansas State University. He will speak on how green infrastructure helps cities and towns by enhancing community space, lowering energy costs, improving property values, and more.

The public will be invited to participate in an open discussion about the topic after Farris’s presentation, where residents can speak on how they think Jonesboro is doing in terms of green infrastructure, what they would like to see, and any other factors they would like to provide input on.

“Keep Jonesboro Beautiful is involved in helping our community be ‘clean, green, and beautiful.’ To that effect, we have worked a lot on cleaning up, such as the monthly community cleanups,” KJB chair Beverly Parker said. “Keep Jonesboro Beautiful has done amazing work to make our city ‘cleaner,’ so, as we move on to ‘green’ and ‘beautiful,’ it’s important that we have the community come along with us in this attainment of being a ‘greener’ community.”

According to Parker, being a greener community is about enhancing one’s community space. For example, a little bit of green space in a nearby park or near one’s home can enhance community space, she said.

“We want trees to be available for children to play under,” Parker said. “So, making our community greener and making the spaces friendlier and more inviting helps people spend more time outdoors.”

Plus, trees and green spaces can help lower energy costs, she said. For example, a shade tree can help keep one’s home cooler, and shrubbery around a home can help insulate a house and buffer it from winter winds. She also noted that property values are increased in areas with trees and green space.

Managing on-site stormwater is also important as more cities are using infrastructure to improve water quality, she said.

“We can use water that is on site… meaning it’s not all going into the storm drain… to have features that are interesting and lovely to improve our community,” Parker said, noting how detention ponds are important to infrastructure as they can not only be used to increase wildlife and host wildflowers but also as a green space for a neighborhood.

Green-Up Jonesboro will be Oct. 23 at 5:30 p.m. in the main lobby of the Embassy Suites, located at 223 Red Wolf Blvd.

There are no admission cost and registration is not required. Drinks are not included; however, there will be a cash bar.