Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful (KPB) has revised the first book in its "Open Your Eyes to Litter" series of five educational activity books. The series was created over 20 years ago, and more than 1 million copies of the original series were distributed to schools throughout Pennsylvania. To account for the changing environment, new environmental education standards and new types of litter, KPB is working with illustrator and concept artist Brady Mock and the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR) to update the series.

The newly revised first book in the series is designed for kids in kindergarten through grade three. It is an introduction to what litter is and whom it affects, and the book includes prompts and activities. It is also available in Spanish.

In addition, the series includes "Open Your Eyes to Litter: Our Littered Past," also available in Spanish; "Open Your Eyes to Litter: Think Before You Toss"; "Open Your Eyes to Litter in a Watershed"; and "Open Your Eyes to Litter: Keeping Our Greenways Clean." The books provide hands-on learning and are appropriate for children in kindergarten through grade six.

Updates to the second through fifth books are planned to take place in 2024. Each revision will address Pennsylvania Department of Education academic standards for environment, ecology and geography and will have a supplementary teacher's guide that suggests multi-discipline educational activities that expand on the information, ideas, and activities in each book.

Pennsylvania's first-ever Litter Action Plan, announced by the Governor's Office in 2021, called for education and outreach strategies to ensure all Pennsylvanians know littering is unacceptable, and there are better ways to manage their waste. KPB's "Open Your Eyes to Litter" series answers that call.

All of the books and teacher's guides are available to download at http://www.keeppabeautiful.org/programs/education/open-your-eyes-to-litter/.