News

When Sound Rivers Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz, intern Claire von Haefen and new volunteer Grace Messaoui dropped by the Walnut Creek Wetland Center last week, they were on a mission: clean out the Little Rock Creek trash trap. What they got was an opportunity to share their work with visitors.

“During our cleanup, we had an impromptu talk with some students who were on a field trip to the Wetland Center,” Emily said. “We discussed the geography of Little Rock Creek and how trash ends up in our waterways.”

They also talked about Little Rock Creek’s unfortunate history.

“Before the Walnut Creek Wetland Center was established, the site was historically used as a dumping site, and there are reminders of that throughout the creek,” Emily said. “A great example of that is the trees growing through tires stuck in the banks of Little Rock Creek.”

Emily, Claire and Grace removed 10 pounds of trash from the trash trap.

“Our best finds were a sparkly heart and many raccoon prints along the banks of the creek,” Emily said.

Sound Rivers has installed on tributaries of the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico rivers as part of its Litter-Free Rivers program. The Litter-Free Rivers program launched in May of 2022 with the Jack’s Creek, Washington, installation, and nine more trash traps have since been installed on urban waterways: 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 second trap on a small tributary of Jack’s Creek in Washington and three more that were recently added on Marsh Creek in Raleigh — a partnership between the City of Raleigh, The Great Raleigh Cleanup and N.C. State University.

If you or your group would be interested in volunteering to clean out a trash trap or adopting a trash trap for a month, check out the following:

More information about the Adopt A Trash Trap program.

Find out when and where the next trash trap cleanouts are scheduled — we’d love to have your help!

Like Sound Rivers’ ever-expanding Litter-Free Rivers program? We definitely do! Donate to support keeping your waterways litter-free!