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What can you do with 35 volunteers, kayaks and canoes galore, and a couple of hours of paddling a river?

Remove more than 750 pounds of trash from the Neuse River.

On Sept. 12, Sound Rivers’ staff, sponsors and river-lovers met up at the Wildlife Resources Commission boat ramp in Goldsboro for the inaugural Spruce Up The Neuse river cleanup.

“It was really fun. We had a really solid turnout for this being our first big paddle event in Goldsboro,” said Emily Fritz, Sound Rivers’ volunteer coordinator. “We had some amazing partners that really helped it all pull together: Mother Earth Brewing, EZ Bait & Tackle, The River Bar, Reclaim hydration, Great Outdoor Provision Company, Down East Kayak Adventures and the volunteers — everyone who came out — were so about our mission.”

Tires, a dumped toy car, Department of Transportation traffic cones were all part of the stash pulled from the Neuse, in addition to standard finds: plastic bottles and Styrofoam containers.

“It was a huge success. We are hoping to continue doing events like this because it’s a great opportunity to get people out on the river,” Emily said. “We definitely want to bring this to more spots along the rivers that could use some TLC.”

Like the work Sound Rivers is doing to keep your rivers Litter-Free? We do! Donate today to support the next big river cleanup!