News

Program Director Clay Barber was out in the field this week with a chainsaw in tow — again.

After last week’s adventure freeing a trash trap from a tree with Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop, Clay partnered up with Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman and Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz to do the same in Greenville.

“Emily and Katey and I went out to Green Springs Park from about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for our ‘Greens Mill Run trash trap chainsaw massacre and cleanout,’ Clay laughed. “It was another good learning opportunity, because every tree that’s got to be removed is a little different. This one wasn’t so much jammed up in the trap but the trap just wanted to sit on top of the tree at a funky angle.”

Heavy rains can lead to erosion of stream banks, and sometimes that means trees end up in the water and are swept downstream. When they end up in or near a trash trap, they need to be removed — carefully. 

“We took our time and tried to assess how this tree would behave once we started removing weight from one end; we didn’t want anybody to get rolled over,” Clay said. “This one was hanging off the bank at a sharp angle, and it’s got two forks, and it’s just giant. It took just two cuts, one on each fork of the tree, and that was enough to put a few feet between the side of that trash trap and the tree. I think the next substantial rain or flood will take it on downstream.”

While Clay was cutting, Katey and Emily tasked with making sure the largest part of the tree didn’t start moving.

“It was a group effort to break the tree,” Clay said. “It wanted to pinch the saw no matter which way I cut, so Emily and Katey were in the water pulling on ropes from the upstream end to make sure we had the room.”

The day’s outing also included cleaning out the trash trap once it was liberated from the tree, and Emily and Katey getting a chainsawing lesson.

“We had Chainsaw 101 on the tailgate of the truck,” Clay said, adding that included how to file a blade, talking about saw components, safety measures, and Katey and Emily both making some practice cuts.

Sound Rivers’ Litter-Free Rivers program started with a Jack’s Creek, Washington, installation in May of 2022. Since, trash traps have been installed on Duffyfield Canal in New Bern, Little Rock Creek in Raleigh, Adkin Branch in Kinston, Greens Mill Run in Greenville, East Tarboro Canal in Tarboro, three more were recently added on Marsh Creek in Raleigh (in partnership with the City of Raleigh, The Great Raleigh Cleanup and N.C. State University), a second Washington trash trap on a small tributary of Jack’s Creek and on Little Creek in the Town of Clayton.

The Town of Smithfield will be getting a trash trap in 2026 and a fifth Raleigh trash trap is scheduled to installed this Friday on Walnut Creek in Raleigh. The Town of Nashville is also considering locations for its own trash trap.

If you or your group would be interested in working for water quality by volunteering to clean out a trash trap or Adopt a Trash Trap for a month, check out the following:

More information about the Adopt A Trash Trap program.

Find out when and where the next trash trap cleanouts are scheduled — we’d love to have your help! Email emily@soundrivers.org.

Like Sound Rivers’ ever-expanding Litter-Free Rivers program? We definitely do! Donate today to help Litter-Free Rivers grow!