Petition to Ban the Release of Balloons in Enterprise, Alabama
By Bella & Josie – Girl Scout Silver Award Project Hello! We are Bella and Josie, and we’ve been proud Girl Scouts in Enterprise for the past 8 years. Right now, we are working toward earning our Silver Award -the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can achieve. To earn it, we must identify a problem in our community and take action to create lasting, positive change. For our project, we’ve chosen to focus on the harmful effects of balloon releases in our area. While balloon releases may look beautiful in the moment, they have serious environmental and safety consequences once they fall back to the ground. We are collecting signatures to show the City of Enterprise how important this issue is to its residents. Our goal is to present this petition at a City Council meeting and respectfully ask the Enterprise City Council to pass a local ordinance banning the intentional release of balloons. We also hope to educate the community about the dangers involved and promote safer, more sustainable ways to celebrate. We want to be clear: we are not talking about a single balloon that accidentally slips from a child’s hand.
This proposed ordinance would focus on large, intentional balloon releases for events like birthdays, memorials, grand openings, and other celebrations. These mass releases cause the most harm—and they are completely avoidable. There are many safer, meaningful alternatives available. Who is impacted?
When balloons return to earth, they become litter -often landing in trees, rivers, roads, farms, and parks across our city. Wildlife such as birds, turtles, and farm animals can be injured or killed by eating balloon fragments or becoming tangled in the strings. People are affected too -especially those who care about protecting the environment and keeping our community clean and safe. We are still researching the full impact on aircraft, but since Enterprise is near Fort Rucker, where helicopter flight training happens daily, it’s important to consider the potential risks. Balloons drifting through flight paths could pose hazards to pilots and training missions. What is at stake?
If we don’t act, our environment will continue to suffer. Animals will continue to be harmed. Our public spaces will remain littered. And we may even be putting local aviation activities at risk. However, if Enterprise leads the way by passing a ban on intentional balloon releases, we can join other forward-thinking cities choosing cleaner, safer ways to celebrate. This ordinance would also support the City of Enterprise’s mission to keep our community clean, beautiful, and welcoming for everyone who lives here or comes to visit. Why is now the time to act?
Every balloon release adds to the problem - another mess to clean up and another risk we could have prevented. Many cities in Alabama and across the country have already taken action. Now is the perfect time for Enterprise to do the same. Taking this step shows we care about our city, our wildlife, and the future of our community. Please sign and share this petition to show your support. Help us protect our hometown, support Enterprise’s goal to stay clean, and help us earn our Silver Award by making a real difference! Thank you!
Bella and Josie
Girl Scouts, Troop 9114