Environmental Projects Coordinator Clay Barber got out on the water this week as part of the Blue Economy Corridor project research.

Organized by the Blue Economy Corridor project head Dr. Emily Yeager, Yeager, fellow East Carolina University professor Dr. Beth Bee, undergraduate assistants assisting with the project, Anjalee and Taylor, joined Clay and Knee Deep Adventures owner Kelsey Curtis for the 4 1/2-mile, three-hour trip from Town Common park to Port Terminal. Curtis is on the Blue Economy Corridor Community Advisory Council; Clay is on the BEC board of directors, also representing Sound Rivers as a community partner.

“The purpose was to explore the Blue Way firsthand and begin identifying assets along that stretch of the river,” Clay said.

Along the way, the group paddled past Sound Rivers’ camping platform at River Park North, explored a cypress swamp and paddled into Barber Lake at Wildwood Park.

The Blue Economy Corridor is an interactive GIS mapping project, aiming to link all —environmental, cultural, recreational — assets tied to the Tar-Pamlico River, from Rocky Mount to Washington.

For more information about the Blue Economy Corridor project, visit the website!