Keep Catoosa Beautiful

08/19/2026

You do not have to be a Resident of Owasso to participate in this recycling event ♻️

07/30/2026

Thank you for the acknowledgment. We love Keeping Catoosa Beautiful!

Our Flowers look amazing we appreciate Keep Catoosa Beautiful for planting the flowers, for us and a special thanks to Rhonda Honey and her granddaughter!

07/23/2026

For our children and grandchildren who may never see the magic of fireflies in their lifetime. It’s up to us to make a difference! If not now, when? If not you then who?

ARE YOU AWARE?
I have seen this in person but it was even more remarkable than this photo I found online, in my Dad's backyard in Claremore on 'Valentine Lane' decades ago. It is a congregation of fireflies called "a sparkle" where thousands of fireflies hover above the grass seeking a mate. I will never forget it. It was a magical moment for me to stand and watch in complete and total awe of Nature.

But I haven't seen it since.

We don't use pesticides at Wild Heart and we have over 130 acres of land we leave to Nature, but it isn't enough to make a dent in the problem, so I am sharing the following information and resources: (and more of my thoughts in the comments)

Firefly and lightning bug populations are genuinely declining across North America and the world. Assessments by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) show that about 1 in 3 North American firefly species are currently at risk of extinction. The decline of these bioluminescent beetles is primarily driven by three main factors:

Habitat Loss: Fireflies spend up to 95% of their one- to two-year life cycle as larvae living underground, in moist soil, and in leaf litter. The paving of open fields, deforestation, and the development of wetlands heavily destroy these essential environments.

Light Pollution: Fireflies use specific flash patterns to find mates. The ambient glow of streetlights, porch lights, and security floodlights drown out their visual signals, causing mating rates to drop.

Pesticides & Lawn Chemicals: Broad-spectrum insecticides and heavy lawn chemicals kill off both the adult fireflies and their primary food sources (slugs and snails).

Conservation groups are actively tracking these drops, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service even designating some species—such as the Bethany Beach firefly—under the Endangered Species Act. You can help protect them in your own backyard by leaving a portion of your yard un-mowed, skipping chemical pesticides, leaving fall leaf litter and rotting logs undisturbed, and turning off outdoor lights at night.

For more information on the conservation status of different species, check out the Xerces Society Firefly Conservation page. You can also explore local habitat tips using Firefly.org.

https://www.xerces.org/endangered-species/fireflies
https://www.firefly.org/

07/22/2026

🪴Free Summer seeds at the Catoosa Public Library🪴

Residents are welcome to use the Catoosa Seed Library for free, even without a library card. Households can check out four packets at a time and are welcome to donate their own. If you sign up for a library card, you can pick out an extra packet! Let's get planting!

A warm thanks again to our partnership with Keep Catoosa Beautiful for making the seed library possible! Make sure to check out their page for more events that bring love, care, and nature to Catoosa. ☺️

🌱

07/03/2026

For ideas on recycling, reducing and reusing stop by our office at Catoosa Chamber of Commerce building for a brochure on how you can make a difference. See comments below for more great ideas on reducing environmental waste from your home.

Day 2 of Plastic Free July focuses on using what we have instead of buying new. This can be really simple and easy!

-Use an old food jar as a vase
-Bring your reusable water bottle every where
-Turn old towels into washcloths

Using what you already have prevents every day items from going into the landfill and saves money! How are you using what you have? Tell us in the comments! 😆⬇️♻️

06/28/2026

Keep Catoosa Beautiful is proud to announce that we have an office in the Catoosa Chamber of Commerce building. While we might not always be there, you can find brochures and flyers on conservation, our upcoming events and how you can volunteer.
We would to take this opportunity to thank our financial supports who make all of our programs and projects possible.
Kyle Gibson of Tulsa Topsoil Teresa McAfee O’Donnell of The Bella Donna Wedding Chapel and Event Center
David McAfee of DT Specialized Services
Mr. Terry McAfee
Mayor Greg and Mrs. Latricia Williams
Jenson Hall of Premier Patios
Catoosa Walmart #03055
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Kyle Gibson, Teresa McAfee O’Donnell, Chamber Director Ronna Montgomery and everyone at Keep Oklahoma Beautiful for their mentorship our nonprofit Keep Catoosa Beautiful. Thank you!

06/23/2026

Plant your flower garden with pollinator friendly plants 🐝

06/11/2026

As Keep Catoosa Beautiful moves forward with our own plans for similar projects and events in Catoosa, let’s get our young leaders involved with our organization! Together we all can make a difference in Oklahoma!

A 13-year-old Tulsa gardener is helping celebrate the Route 66 Centennial by designing a new pollinator garden outside Fire Station 66. Through a partnership with Oklahoma 4-H and a Keep Oklahoma Beautiful grant, Nick Berry spent months researching and selecting native plants that will attract bees....

06/02/2026

A statement from our very own Shenandoah Stites about the newest addition to the Blue Whale Park:

I am in awe of the beautiful Blue Whale Park and Visitors Center! As the health of our City’s parks is very important, let me share the great things that l noticed yesterday.
First the large windows of the Visitors Center have the story of the Davis’s and how the Blue Whale came about. It is opaque on the outside but once you are inside the building you can see the Blue Whale and the pond. This window treatment will greatly reduce bird strikes against the glass.
The two mature trees that are along a beautiful walkway near the front of the pond are healthy. Our City chose wisely in their selection of tree removal along the front section of the pond. Choosing to remove trees is never an easy decision but it was done thoughtfully.
I noticed that the large boulders along the walkway were not cemented in. (Hurray!) Instead they are stacked in a way to allow nature to move in. (Think little lizards who will certainly eat their share of mosquitoes)
The new trees that have been planted had the mulch added correctly. Not piled high around the base of the trees. Putting a mountain of mulch around a sapling only serves to cause the roots to girdle around the tree and it will kill it. Speaking of trees, it looks like many of the mature trees have been tended to by removing under growth. That certainly means they have a better chance of thriving.
Even the kind of and placement of the trash cans was done in a way to reduce unwanted trash from being thrown away near the water. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing parks with trash cans near a water’s edge, ugh!
Our City of Catoosa - Municipality didn’t just build a building, they thoughtfully chose good conservation practices for the area.
I know more great things are coming for the Blue Whale Park! Little things make a difference. May we all learn ways to be good stewards of our planet and our community!

05/18/2026

Our Great American (litter) Cleanup was a success. Thank you for all of the Volunteers who joined us in making Catoosa Beautiful!
We are fortunate to have a great group of teen volunteers who consistently volunteer for our community projects.
Thank you to our two City Hall volunteers for donating their time. We would also like to thank Catoosa’s Walmart for being such a great Business Partner with us at Keep Catoosa Beautiful. In addition to the donation of water, snacks, and a cooler, they had a great group of employees who volunteered! Be sure to thank them for their participation and support. Thank you to the Rice Family for the water donation and Port City Signs and Grafix for the logo decal donations. Thank you to the donors for all of the raffle prizes. Finally, with great appreciation, we thank the Catoosa Chamber of Commerce (Oklahoma) for allowing us to use the parking lot and facilities for our "home base".
In addition we had a special surprise visit from Megan with Keep Oklahoma Beautiful who brought tee shirts and vinyl stickers for all of our volunteers.