Roswell’s environmental education coordinator highlights hands-on school programs, Earth Balloon tours and volunteer efforts

Liberty Gates, Roswell’s environmental education coordinator, told Mayor Mary Robisho that her work centers on hands-on programs for students and community members to build stewardship of local natural resources.

Gates said her role is “just fun” and varies day to day, from leading water-plant tours and preschool pollinator activities to running recycling-center tours and organizing cleanups along the Chattahoochee River. She described a typical week that included a water-plant tour for third graders, a preschool relay to teach pollination, social media outreach and an upcoming river cleanup.

The heart of Gates’s outreach is classroom-ready, state-aligned programming. She said the department’s education brochure—available on the city website—lists lessons and workshops designed to meet Georgia state standards, including water-quality testing with kits, recycling demonstrations, tree-focused programs, guided hikes and pollinator education.

A frequent tool in Gates’s outreach is the Earth Balloon, an inflatable globe printed with satellite imagery. “It’s about 20 feet tall,” Gates said, “and when we take students inside, they get a visual sense of how much of the planet is water and how little of that is fresh water we can use.” She said the balloon helps students grasp scale and local context, and provides an entry point to discuss why Roswell’s Chattahoochee River matters.

Gates stressed the value of facility tours to connect residents with infrastructure. She said seeing the water plant and recycling center “connects that water resource, which is our Chattahoochee River, and then your home or business,” and helps people appreciate the science and labor behind clean drinking water.

The city’s environmental recognitions — including platinum-level green community status, Tree City USA designation and awards from the Georgia Association of Water Professionals — reflect, Gates said, documented steps Roswell took to meet award criteria and showcase ongoing staff work.

Volunteers play a central role in the department’s work. Gates described Adopt a Stream as a community-science program in which trained volunteers collect and submit water-quality data, and the adopter-road program in which groups commit to periodic cleanups. Rivers Alive is Roswell’s larger September event with volunteer sites across the city to remove invasive plants and litter.

Gates encouraged educators and residents to use the city website to book programs; the education brochure lists offerings and includes her contact information for scheduling. Her core message, she said, is that “everybody has a role in environmental stewardship” — small daily actions like recycling, composting, and protecting storm drains add up, and volunteers amplify local conservation.

Mayor Mary Robisho closed the segment by congratulating Gates on being named Roswell’s employee of the year and previewing a follow-up discussion focused on water quality and upcoming opportunities for resident participation.