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Middle school students making up the Neighborhood Ecology Corps took to Little Rock Creek this week clean out the local Trash Trout.

“There was a quite a big crew — it was great. It wasn’t super-in-need of a clean-out, but it was a learning experience,” Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop said.

Lately, the weather has been dry in Triangle area, so there wasn’t a whole lot of trash in the Trash Trout. Without rain washing trash into the waterways, trash tends to stay on the land. However, this group was willing to improvise, Sam said.

“The kids were cool — they wanted to do the Trash Trout. They all wanted to get in the creek and in the trap, but they also wanted to clean the surrounding banks. And we did a separate count for that,” Sam said.

While there wasn’t a lot of trash, there was enough: sporting equipment, plastic bottles, a tennis shoe and a “good amount” of Styrofoam were among this week’s finds. In the water and on the banks, they also spied their fair share of wildlife, including a crawfish in the creek and a water snake in a tree on the bank.

Sam said it’s important for groups like this to make a connection and have a sense of collective ownership over the Trash Trout.

“I think getting in and cleaning out the Trash Trout inspired people to want to do more,” Sam said.

The Neighborhood Ecology Corps is a program offered by the Walnut Creek Wetland Center; the Little Rock Creek Trash Trout is located adjacent to the center.

Learn more about the Neighborhood Ecology Corps on the City of Raleigh website — they’ve got photos of the last Trash Trout clean-out with this crew!