BRTA Awards $3,500 for Seven Community Projects
Sometimes a relatively small investment — placed in the hands of people who care deeply about their community — can make a very visible difference.
Burke River Trail Association is awarding seven $500 Keeping It Beautiful Community Beautification Mini-Grants, investing a total of $3,500 in projects across five Burke County trail communities: Glen Alpine, Drexel, Valdese, Rutherford College and Hildebran.
The pilot program was created this fall to support small, locally led improvements in downtowns, parks and other community spaces.
“We wanted to make this simple,” said BRTA Executive Director Beth Heile. “Tell us the place, tell us what you want to improve, tell us who will make it happen — and most importantly, tell us who will keep it beautiful afterward.”
BRTA originally anticipated funding up to six projects. Seven eligible applications were received, and all seven demonstrated strong local ownership, clear plans for ongoing care and the potential to create a noticeable improvement. BRTA chose to fund all seven.
Glen Alpine: Three Locally Led Improvements
Glen Alpine residents responded especially strongly to the new program, submitting three different projects.
At the Veterans Memorial, Reid Scott, the Ruritan Club and local volunteers plan to replace grass on two steep banks with groundcover. The areas are difficult and time-consuming to mow and weed-eat, so the project is designed to both improve the appearance of the memorial and reduce future maintenance needs.
Two additional grants will beautify the north and south Burke River Trail signs at Glen Alpine Downtown Park. Jim Glick worked with Settlemyre Nursery on coordinated landscape plans using perennial plants including butterfly bush, abelia, pink muhly grass and creeping phlox. Volunteers will provide the labor, helping BRTA’s investment go even further. The two projects will transform currently bare areas surrounding the trail signs into landscaped gateways within the park. GA Park North Sign photos GA Park South Sign photos
The Glen Alpine projects have an especially meaningful connection to the town’s ongoing economic development planning process. During the August 31 public visioning session led by the North Carolina Department of Commerce, facilitator Phil Boggan shared examples showing how thoughtful landscaping can change the appearance and feel of a community. Several of the Glen Alpine residents who later submitted or helped shape mini-grant projects were in the room that evening.
Less than a month later, those ideas are becoming action.
Drexel: Turning a Bare Edge Into a Landscape
In Drexel, the grant will support landscaping along an existing planting area along Main Street. The plan calls for low-growing shrubs, groundcover, mulch and other plantings to turn a long, currently bare edge into a more attractive feature.
The project makes use of an existing planting area and local involvement, creating a visible improvement without creating an entirely new space to maintain.
Valdese: A More Welcoming Community Center Entrance
The Town of Valdese Parks and Recreation Department will use its $500 grant to improve the front porch area of the Valdese Community Center on Massel Avenue.
The plan includes rocking Adirondack-style chairs and a seasonal planter, creating a warmer and more welcoming entrance to one of Valdese’s most heavily used public facilities. Parks and Recreation staff will complete the project and provide ongoing care.
Rutherford College: Landscaping a New Community Outreach Center
Abernethy Memorial United Methodist Church will use its grant to landscape the front of the newly renovated Barnhardt House.
The church recently transformed a former Scout Hut into a community outreach center. The building is already hosting Alcoholics Anonymous meetings twice each week, as well as free Tai Chi and Yoga classes. The grant will help add flowers and shrubs to the front of the building.
A 10-member Barnhardt House Committee has committed to caring for the landscaping after installation, providing one of the strongest examples of the local stewardship the program was designed to encourage.
Hildebran: Supporting a New Gathering Space
The Town of Hildebran will use its grant toward improvements surrounding a new 12-foot-by-20-foot wooden gazebo in an existing raised area near the town’s recreation facilities.
The project will transform an underused planting area into a more permanent gathering and shade space within an already active public recreation area. The Town will take responsibility for ongoing maintenance.
Small Grants, Local Ownership
One of the most encouraging parts of the first Keeping It Beautiful grant round was the amount of local ownership behind the proposals.
Some projects involve town staff. Others rely on civic organizations, churches or volunteers. Several include donated labor, existing maintenance support or additional local investment that will allow BRTA’s $500 contribution to stretch considerably further.
That was exactly the intent of the program.
BRTA did not want to create seven new projects for the organization to manage. Instead, the goal was to help local people who already care about their communities make good ideas happen.
The result is seven projects, five communities and $3,500 invested directly into making Burke County’s trail towns more welcoming and cared for.
And when the work is finished, there is no lengthy grant report.
Recipients simply send BRTA a few photos so the organization can celebrate their work and share the improvements with the community.
More Than a Trail
The Burke River Trail Association works to connect nine Burke County towns through a 40-mile pedestrian corridor along the Catawba River. But BRTA’s mission extends beyond building trail.
Trails can serve as catalysts for stronger communities, economic opportunity and quality of life — and sometimes that starts with something as simple as flowers, a welcoming place to sit, or a neglected corner that finally gets some attention.
9 TOWNS • 40 MILES • 1 TRAIL
Information from September 14, 2026
BRTA Launches Community Beautification Mini-Grants
Sometimes a small investment can make a big difference in how a community looks and feels.
Burke River Trail Association is launching Keeping It Beautiful, a new Community Beautification Mini-Grant program designed to help local people improve visible spaces in the nine communities along the Burke River Trail corridor.
BRTA will award up to six $500 mini-grants this fall for small beautification projects in downtown areas, public parks and other community spaces.
Projects might include flowers, shrubs, native or perennial plantings, mulch, planters, soil improvements or other simple landscaping enhancements.
More Than a Trail
The Burke River Trail is about much more than building a path along the Catawba River.
Our work is also about helping strengthen the communities the trail connects — creating places where people want to walk, gather, visit and spend time.
We have seen firsthand how relatively small projects can have a visible impact. BRTA’s Storybook Trail partnerships have helped communities add new family-friendly destinations in Drexel, Hildebran and Rutherford College. This new program takes that same idea — providing a little help to local people who are ready to make something happen — and applies it to community beautification.
A planter filled with flowers. A neglected bed brought back to life. A park entrance that could use some color. A downtown corner that simply needs someone to care about it.
Those small improvements add up.
Who Can Apply?
The program is intentionally simple.
Applications may come from:
- Town governments or recreation departments
- Community or civic organizations
- Nonprofits
- Garden or downtown groups
- Businesses or business organizations
- Individual residents or small groups of residents
Projects do not have to be located beside a Burke River Trail sign or directly on the trail. We are looking for visible spaces that contribute to the appearance and character of one of our trail communities.
If the applicant does not own or control the property, approval from the town or property owner will be required before funding is awarded.
Keeping It Beautiful
One thing matters just as much as planting the flowers: who will take care of them afterward?
Applicants will be asked to identify the person or group that will continue watering, weeding, mulching and caring for the area after the initial project is complete.
BRTA wants these mini-grants to create improvements that last.
Keep the Application Simple
There is no lengthy grant proposal.
Tell us:
- Where the project is.
- What you would like to do.
- How you would use the $500.
- Who will make it happen.
- Who will keep the area looking good.
Then send us a few photos of the area as it looks today.
No matching funds are required. Volunteer labor, donated materials and additional contributions are certainly welcome.
BRTA anticipates selecting up to six projects, with no more than one project per town during this initial round unless funds remain available.
Important Dates
Applications due: September 25, 2026
Recipients announced by: October 1, 2026
Selected projects will receive a $500 Community Beautification Mini-Grant to help bring their idea to life this fall.
When the work is finished, we simply ask recipients to send us a few photos so we can celebrate the people helping make their communities more beautiful.
Have a Spot in Mind?
Maybe you already know the neglected flower bed.
Maybe there is a corner of your downtown you pass every day and think, someone could really make that look nice.
Maybe you are already the person quietly buying flowers, pulling weeds or taking care of a public space because you love your town.
We would love to hear your idea.
Applications and photos may be submitted to:
Burke River Trail Association
burketrails at gmail
9 TOWNS • 40 MILES • 1 TRAIL
Using trails as a catalyst for stronger communities, economic opportunity and quality of life across Burke County.