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Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop and Program Director Clay Barber were back in waders last week, leading Durham residents on a one-of-kind educational experience.

On Saturday, Sam and Clay teamed up with Partners for Environmental Justice and the Walnut Creek Wetland Center Assistant Manager Celia Lechtman to host a Creek Walk on Little Rock Creek.

“The Creek Walk was, as usual, just lovely — it was a lovely community event,” Samantha said. “Attendees were a mix of people who are very familiar with the Wetland Center and folks who just kind of wandered in from the community who were interested in finding out more about Sound Rivers and Partners for Environmental Justice. So it was a good mix of veteran folks and new folks.”

The Creek Walk started with an orientation: the history of the wetlands, the history of PEJ and the Wetland Center and how Little Rock Creek fits into the larger picture of the Neuse river basin. They toured the grounds and made a stop at the “Norman Builds a Park” installation—a large form copy of the book illustrating the history of the center and how it came to be through PEJ founders Norman and Betty Camp.

“Then we made our way to the creek and got in our waders and had a mini-Water Watch training,” Samantha said. “Everyone put on their observational lenses, started noticing things, asking questions. We talked about the flow of the water, its clarity, the trash we could see and erosion.”

Samantha introduced the crowd to the YSI meter, a water-quality instrument that measures parameters such as dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature and turbidity.

“First, we used our eyes to look at the visible things, then we used the YSI to point out the invisible indicators of creek health,” Samantha said. “And then we just walked and looked and asked questions and talked. It was great.”

The walk ended at the Little Rock Creek trash trap, where Clay explained to the group how the device collects trash as water flows through it. The Little Rock Creek trash trap was the third trash trap installed as part of Sound Rivers’ Litter-Free Rivers program.

Samantha said creek walks and wetland walks serve a valuable purpose.

“We love the creek and wetland walks, and the community loves them,” she said. “It feels really empowering for community members to learn how to look out for the streams in their own backyards.”

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