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Biology class volunteers for Kinston trash trap cleanout

Education, Environmental, Litter-Free Rivers, Neuse River Watershed, Sound Rivers, Stormwater Runoff, Volunteer, Volunteers, Water Quality

Posted on March 28th, 2024

What in the waterway? Yes, it's a fire extinguisher.

Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz has been on the move this week, making the volunteer-organizing rounds from New Bern to Kinston to Greenville.

On Monday, she met up with Dr. Maria Messner’s biology class from Lenoir Community College for a Kinston trash-trap cleanout. In addition to suiting the students up in waders, Emily shared information about the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico watersheds and the importance of water sampling. The class took inventory of the trash they collected, which included some interesting finds.

Students wade into Adkin Branch to retrieve trash from the trash trap.

“We removed 66.8 pounds of trash from the trap, and the weirdest items included a basketball hoop and a fire extinguisher,” Emily said, adding that the group also had a guest appearance from a baby turtle. 

Emily was also part of Wednesday’s installation of Sound Rivers’ newest Litter-Free Rivers trash trap on Greens Mill Run in Greenville. You can read about it here!

A baby turtle was one unexpected trash trap guest.

Would you or your group be interested in volunteering to clean out a trash trap? Email Emily at emily@soundrivers.org!

This is what 66.8 pounds of trash looks like…

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