Reviewed 2010

The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. has been dedicated to preserving, protecting and enhancing the scenic quality of our highways since 1928.

Georgia's rampant growth has placed more automobiles on the highways which has contributed to the devastating greenhouse effect and global warming. One car gives off close to a pound of carbon dioxide for every mile it is driven. A mature tree can take approximately 26 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air in a year. Therefore, Georgia needs its publicly owned roadside trees for Pollution Control.

GCG continues to oppose the existing Highway Beautification Act of 1965 because it encourages and subsidizes billboard blight. GCG believes that intrusive billboards and gaudy signs destroy our scenic heritage which in turn diminishes our quality of life. GCG works side by side with citizens, other environmental groups, and Scenic America to help retain the beauty of our landscapes and protect our natural habitats.

The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. supports federal and local legislation that promotes the following:

• The reduction or elimination of billboards to protect existing trees.
• Prohibition of the destruction of trees on public lands to improve visibility of billboards.
• Landscaping of highways to protect roadside biodiversity with emphasis on use of native plants and the protection against destruction or degradation of natural habitats.
• Vigorous protection of all historic trees.
• No placement of billboards at sites where trees exist.
• Rehabilitation of canals and bridges.
• Creation of scenic byways in our state.
• Encouragement of Scenic Enhancement Initiatives.

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