News

Sound Rivers Program Director Clay Barber was in the field, and in a creek, this week, scouting out a location for a Nashville trash trap.

Clay met up with Town of Nashville Parks and Recreation Director Koy Worrell and Assistant Director Ashley Hamlet for a stroll through Stoney Creek Environmental Park, a “passive park” owned by the Town of Nashville, offering residents the opportunity to enjoy and interact with nature. Featuring trails and a greenway through a wetland area, the park sits on the banks of Stoney Creek, a tributary of the Tar River.

“This all started because Ashley and Koy reached out to (Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper) Katey (Zimmerman) expressing interest in a trash trap,” Clay said. “It’s a really cool spot; a very nice park.”

A Stoney Creek trash trap would be the second installed on tributaries in this region of the Tar River, and part of a Cummins Water Works grant to Sound Rivers that also funded the installation of the East Tarboro Canal trash trap in Tarboro.

Clay said he and the Parks and Rec crew scouted two potential sites in the park. Both had their pros and cons, but Clay believes their enthusiasm for the project, the easy access and number of people who visit the park regularly make either a good location.

“The area, the community, the staff, all seemed really great,” Clay said. “Putting a trash trap here would be one more reason to gather and pick up trash in the whole area.”

Sound Rivers launched its Litter-Free Rivers program in early 2023, just a year after the first trash trap was installed on Jack’s Creek in Washington. Since then, traps have been installed on Duffyfield Canal in New Bern, Little Rock Creek in Raleigh, Adkin Branch in Kinston, Greens Mill Run in Greenville, East Tarboro Canal in Tarboro, a tributary of Jack’s Creek in Washington, Marsh Creek in Raleigh and Little Creek in Clayton. Another has been approved by the Town of Smithfield.

Through Litter-Free Rivers, Sound Rivers and an army of volunteers removed nearly 6 tons of trash from waterways and their banks. More than 2 tons have been removed in 2025.

Like Sound Rivers’ Litter-Free Rivers program? Donate today to keep your waterways Litter-Free!

Interested in helping with a trash trap cleanout? We’d love your help! See when the next ones are scheduled here!

Your group (civic, friend, family, school, church, scout, etc.) can volunteer to Adopt A Trash Trap for a month of monitoring and cleanouts. Visit our Adopt A Trash Trap page to find out how.