WAKE COUNTY BIG SWEEP

Transcription

1 WAKE COUNTY BIG SWEEP ~ List of Watershed Cleanups ~ Dear Volunteers, Here s our spring schedule for 2018 with 14 litter cleanups! To volunteer, select one of the 9 sites that indicate Volunteers Welcome! Be sure to read the site description carefully for requirements regarding minimum age of volunteers and whether adults must accompany children. Contact Big Sweep Zone Captain or park office directly to pre-register and to make sure the site is appropriate for your group. All volunteers must sign a Big Sweep liability waiver to participate. Dress for the weather & put safety first! Big Sweep cleanups may be cancelled and/or re-scheduled due to severe weather. THANK YOU for keeping our waters clean! SATURDAY MARCH 17, 2018 Swift Creek Week is March 17-24, 2018! APEX Swift Creek at Apex Community Park ~~ VOLUNTEERS WELCOME! 9:00 am-12:00 pm At 9:00am, meet at the south end of the parking lot to receive instructions, gloves, trash bags and data cards. Volunteers should wear long pants and sturdy shoes or boots. Volunteers will work until 12:00pm to reduce litter in the park and keep the watershed healthy. Light refreshments will be provided. This spring cleanup is coordinated in partnership by Town of Apex, 86it, and Wake County Big Sweep. Please register in advance with Zone Captain James Misciagno at james.misciagno@apexnc.org Directions: Apex Community Park is located at 2200 Laura Duncan Road, Apex, NC Enter the park through the main entrance off of Laura Duncan Road. Follow Chardstone Court, pass tennis courts, and enter the final parking lot. This is a circular parking lot. Volunteers will meet at the south end of the parking lot. SATURDAY MARCH 24, 2018 Swift Creek Week is March 17-24, 2018! Swift Creek at Lake Wheeler Park ~~ VOLUNTEERS WELCOME! 9:00 am to 11:00 am Come clean up the shoreline and park grounds of Lake Wheeler! Check in at 9:00 am at the waterfront program center. Volunteers will clean up until 11:00am. Gloves, trash bags and data cards will be provided. Please wear appropriate clothing for cleanup (no open-toed shoes.) Volunteers under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Afterwards, you can enjoy lots of Swift Creek Week activities! Questions? Please call the park office at Directions: From Beltline I-40/440, take Lake Wheeler Road exit and drive south for 5 miles. Enter park on right-hand side at 6404 Lake Wheeler Road, Raleigh, NC

2 Wake County Big Sweep, Spring Page 2 SATURDAY APRIL 7, 2018 FUQUAY-VARINA Kenneth Branch at Carroll Howard Johnson Environmental Education Park ~~ VOLUNTEERS WELCOME! 8:30 am-12:30 pm Volunteers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Meet at 8:30 am to receive instructions, gloves, trash bags and data cards. The park topography is somewhat challenging so volunteers should wear long pants and closed-toe shoes. This Big Sweep is sponsored by the Town of Fuquay-Varina Engineering and Parks & Recreation Departments. Please pre-register with Zone Captain Matt Poling at mpoling@fuquay-varina.org Directions: Carroll Howard Johnson Environmental Education Park is located at 301 Wagstaff Road, Fuquay-Varina, NC MORRISVILLE Lake Crabtree at Lake Crabtree County Park ~~ VOLUNTEERS WELCOME! 9:00 am to 12 Noon PRIZE RAFFLE! Must register online! Minors and high school students must be accompanied by adult (does not have to be child s guardian.) Groups with minors must complete waivers prior to the event. Meet at 9:00 am at Boat Rental Tower to clean up the shore of Lake Crabtree and its connecting creeks. Gloves, trash bags and data cards will be provided. Cleanup continues until 12 noon. Pre-registration is required. Register at the following web site: If new to online registration system, click "Create an Account" in upper right hand corner to get started. Questions? Contact Zone Captain Carol Cunningham at Directions: Lake Crabtree Park is located at 1400 Aviation Parkway, Morrisville, NC From I-40, take Exit 285 (Aviation Parkway). Go south towards Morrisville, away from airport. Proceed downhill less than 1/4 mile and turn left at the light into park. Once in park, take fourth right to go to Boat Rental Tower.

3 Wake County Big Sweep, Spring Page 3 THURSDAY APRIL 12, 2018 Unnamed Tributaries to the Neuse River ~~ For the Wise Wolves at Wakefield Middle School ONLY! Led by Co-Zone Captains and special education teachers Jessica Miller and Pat Adriance. SATURDAY APRIL 14, 2018 CARY Town of Cary (multiple sites across town) ~~ (Neuse: Walnut, Crabtree, Swift and Middle Creeks; Cape Fear: Lower & Upper New Hope Creeks) VOLUNTEERS WELCOME! Please join us! Volunteers are needed for the Town of Cary s Spring Litter Sweep on Sat., April 14 th. Join us at one of our organized sweep sites or we can help you organize a project in a location of your choice. All supplies and materials are provided, including trash pickup service at the completion of the project. To register, all volunteers must Zone Captain Sarah Justice at sarah.justice@townofcary.org. RSVP with your selected sweep location or propose one of your own. Volunteers 15 years or younger must be accompanied by an adult. Richland Creek Streamwatch in western Raleigh ~~ ADULT VOLUNTEERS WELCOME! 9:00 am-12:00 pm Join the Umstead Coalition in cleaning and monitoring Richland Creek in preparation for the 2018 Walk/Run/Bike for Umstead event on April 21st! Bring drinking water and snacks. Wear sunscreen, hat, sturdy shoes that can get wet, long pants, and a rain jacket if raining. Trash bags and work gloves provided. You must register online at: SPECIAL MEETING PLACE: Park in private meadow at 6000 Reedy Creek Road, Raleigh, NC Directions: NCSU to Blue Ridge Road: Turn left onto Reedy Creek Road (across from NC Art Museum.) Go about 2 miles, past NCSU horse farm, past Schenck Forest, slightly past Richland Lake. Turn RIGHT at a farm gate into a private meadow. NOTE: CAREFUL!!! WATCH FOR PEOPLE ON GREENWAY BOTH DIRECTIONS BEFORE TURNING OFF REEDY CREEK ROAD! Questions? Contact Zone Captain and Umstead Coalition Chair Jean Spooner by phone at Cell: or

4 Wake County Big Sweep, Spring Page 4 SATURDAY APRIL 14, 2018 continued Walnut Creek Wetland in southeast Raleigh ~~ VOLUNTEERS WELCOME! 9:00 am to 12 Noon Raleigh Parks & Recreation, Partners for Environmental Justice, and Wake County Big Sweep invite you to help in maintaining this one of a kind wetland. Meet at the Walnut Creek Wetland Center located at 950 Peterson Street, Raleigh, NC Please wear work clothes, pants and boots (no open-toed shoes) and bring a water bottle. Volunteers must pre-register! Contact Zone Captain Frances Carmichael at or WC.WetlandCenter@raleighnc.gov Directions: From Martin Luther King Blvd., take South State Street to Peterson Street. Turn right onto Peterson. Walnut Creek Wetland Center is on the corner of Peterson and State Streets. SATURDAY APRIL 21, 2018 Earth Day and last day of 2018 National Volunteers Week! GARNER Lake Benson and White Deer Parks and Streets of Garner ~~ VOLUNTEERS WELCOME! 9:00am-10:30am BREAKFAST provided for volunteers! Volunteers are needed to help clean up the streets of Garner as well as White Deer and Lake Benson Parks. Sign up online at: or by calling White Deer Park Nature Center at On-site registration begins at 8:30am at the Holly Shelter the day of the event. Volunteers should wear closed-toed shoes and bring drinking water and sun protection. Breakfast and all clean-up equipment will be provided. Directions: White Deer Park is located at 2400 Aversboro Road, Garner, NC TUESDAY APRIL 24, 2018 Bulldog Creek (now a named un-named trib to Hare Snipe Creek) ~~ For York Elementary s York Creek Keepers ONLY! Led by Zone Captain and teacher Suzy Greene in partnership with teachers Janna Houston and Marisa Chandler.

5 Wake County Big Sweep, Spring Page 5 SATURDAY APRIL 28, 2018 Marsh Creek near intersection of Brentwood Road and Stoneybrook Drive ~~ VOLUNTEERS WELCOME! 11:00 am until 1:00 pm. Sleep in or catch your fave cartoons! Meet Zone Captain Parnell Bell of the Blue Phoenix Group on the bridge at 11 am. Gloves, trash bags and data cards will be provided. Wear clothes & shoes that can get dirty and wet. Please dress for the weather. To pre-register, contact Parnell at Directions: From I-440 Beltline, take Capital Blvd./US 1 North exit. Travel north, away from downtown. Turn right onto Brentwood Road. See Post Office on right, then turn left onto Stoneybrook Drive. See new bridge over Marsh Creek and park here on side of road. SATURDAY MAY 5, 2018 Falls Lake in north Raleigh ~~ For Abbotts Creek Elementary students, parents, faculty and staff ONLY! Led by Zone Captain and Science Specialist Krista Brinchek. SATURDAY MAY 12, 2018 Crabtree Creek at Lassiter Mill Park ~~ For St. David s School students, parents, faculty and staff ONLY! Led by Zone Captain and Science Teacher Molly Bostic. Upper Crabtree Creek in western Raleigh ~~ For Crabtree Creek Canoe and Kayak Club members ONLY! Led by Zone Captain Art Ross and Big Sweep Partner James Hilton of Hanson Aggregates Crabtree Quarry. Thank You for volunteering with Wake County Big Sweep! Our Partners, Zone Captains and Volunteers Make All the Difference! For more information on Wake County Big Sweep, call or sbjones@wakegov.com

6 Wake County Big Sweep, Spring Page 6 News Flash! Community Partner Recognized for Doing the Heavy Liftin! Alecia Watkins with Raleigh Solid Waste Services wins 2017 Big Sweep Partnership Award! There are two major parts to every Big Sweep cleanup. Everyone is familiar with the first part the recruiting and leading of volunteers in removing unwanted debris. Equally important is the second part that involves the proper disposal and recycling of the volunteers collected litter. For the past 12+ years, there s a special someone we have called upon to help us do the heavy lifting. And we mean this literally, as some of the litter our volunteers find is VERY HEAVY and CUMBERSOME such as furniture, mattresses, box springs, dryer drums, car parts, chemical and oil drums, lawn equipment, and even pianos! Alecia Watkins, Administrative Special Programs Coordinator with Raleigh Solid Waste Services, proudly displays the 2017 Big Sweep Partnership Award. The honor was bestowed by the Wake Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors for Alecia s exemplary customer service and assistance to the Wake County Big Sweep program. WANTED: SPONSORS to adopt and support a Wake County Zone Captain! Choose one of our 30 Zone Captains to help in making their cleanup a safe and enjoyable experience for Big Sweep volunteers! Contact Wake County Big Sweep at sbjones@wakegov.com Our special Big Sweep partner is Alecia Watkins, Administrative Special Programs Coordinator with the City of Raleigh Solid Waste Services, who uses the imap system to schedule the entire collection fleet to efficiently pick up bulky and special loads across the capital city. For example, Alecia dispatches trucks each fall and spring to our largest cleanups at Walnut Creek Wetland in southeast Raleigh, Marsh Creek off Capital Blvd., and neighborhoods where large debris has been found. Then there have been times when our Big Sweepers have come across large debris where they weren t expecting any. When a new Raleigh school first opened, the students, teachers, and parents came across a full-size door, giant sewer pipe, doghouse, wading pool, sandbox cover, 8 tires, 3 barbeque grills, and a large TV antenna. These items didn t fit in the school s dumpster and the Principal was worried that the school children would get hurt. On very short notice, Alecia sent a full collection crew to safely remove the debris and dispose of it properly. Such prompt response, excellent customer service, and long-time dedication is why we owe a TON of appreciation to Alecia and Solid Waste Services it s their professional assistance that is instrumental in ensuring that Wake County Big Sweep runs smoothly, effectively and successfully. CONGRATULATIONS Alecia Watkins!