Are you looking for some ways to get involved in your North Carolina (NC) community? Well, there are these events called river sweeps, litter sweeps, and park clean-ups (oh my!) which are all excellent and easy ways to volunteer and participate.
Volunteering in our communities can have many rewards, like giving us self-purpose, self-fulfillment, self-esteem, and many other positive things with the self prefix. There are potential mental and physical health benefits, and you might have fun and meet new friends during your time.
So what are these sweeps and clean-ups mentioned in the first paragraph, where and when are there opportunities, and what else do you need to know (FYI) outside walking around and picking up trash.
Let’s get right into it.
River Sweeps
River Sweeps are volunteer clean-ups along a river, stream, or other body of water.
We all have some rivers or streams somewhere in our communities. These events help with water quality and pollution reduction by removing litter and debris before it can enter our local waterways. We should all do our diligence to make our waters more drinkable, swimmable, and fishable.
According to their website, The Catawba Riverkeepers is a NC non-profit whose mission is to “preserve, protect, and restore” all the water flowing through the Catawba-Wateree River Basin. This total adds up to 8,900 miles of rivers, streams, and lakes.
That’s a whole lot of rivers for individuals to help sweep.
Each year the Catawba Riverkeepers have their big river sweep at 12 locations spread between Lake James and Lake Wateree. This year’s one takes place on October 7. Check their website https://catawbariversweep.org/ for more information. Other river clean-ups are scheduled throughout the year, and any of these would be a good cause to come out for.
FYI, river clean-ups are done by boat or walking along the stream bank. I’ve only participated in one where you walk along the bank on land. Some wisdom when picking trash along a river is to wear hard sole shoes for ankle coverage and support, to wear pants if you have to walk through thorns and briars, and to wear gloves because you never know what you might have to pull a tire out of the river.
Litter Sweeps
Discovery Channel or Nat Geo should make a program about Litter Bugs. They’re awful, and why litter sweeps, a volunteer clean-up along a road or highway is crucial. We don’t want the thrash they hurled out their car windows to end up in a storm drain, out a stormwater pipe, and into the water we just river swept.
Have you ever seen some big random orange trash bags beside a road and wondered why they’re? Probably not. Sigh! Well okay. Those bags could’ve been filled with trash during an NC Litter Sweep and waiting for someone from the NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to collect them.
NCDOT has two roadside clean-up drives each year in the spring and fall, with this upcoming fall one starting September 13 through September 30. You can contact your local litter program coordinator with any volunteering or program questions. Click on the NCDOT: Litter Management Coordinators website https://www.ncdot.gov/initiatives-policies/environmental/adoptahighway/Pages/coordinators.aspx to find your county contact.
FYI, safety and security are imperative in any of these events. Make sure you wear a safety vest during a Litter Sweep. Becoming extra visible to car drivers is very important since you’ll be picking up cigarette butts and beer cans along the streets—also, thumbs up to litter sweeps with sidewalks.
Park Clean-Ups
Last but not least, park clean-ups are volunteer or citizen clean-ups of a public green area, generally in a neighborhood or town.
Parks are where we play and gather. Some park features include ball fields, picnic shelters, trails, playgrounds, dog parks, etc. Not to sound corny, but we don’t want our parks to be where trash gathers, and rubbish is just a listed feature. That last sentence may be a little trite, but hopefully, you understand. We want our parks to remain beautiful and pristine for everyone to enjoy.
Your community and neighboring community’s websites and social media are excellent places to look for park clean-ups. Local and state governments operate many parks and often have citizen clean-up days through their parks and recreation and stormwater departments.
The Carolina Thread Trail and Catawba Land Conservancy also have volunteer activity opportunities for trail construction, maintenance, and habitat restoration. More information about that can be found here: https://www.carolinathreadtrail.org/how-you-can-help/volunteer/
FYI, pay extra attention to parking lots and wood lines when cleaning up parks. Somehow cigarette butts and fast food wrappers magically appear in these places. It was probably the wind and not those nasty bugs I mentioned earlier.
In conclusion
-River sweeps, litter sweeps, and park clean-ups are some of the many efforts to get involved in your community.
-These sweeps and clean-ups can be many self-things to yourself and better the environment.
-The act of sweeps and clean-ups is relatively easy. You show up, grab a trash bag and trash picker, and walk around the defined area picking up trash and litter.
-All these events are outside; much information says being outside is excellent for mental and physical health.
-Sometimes there are donuts and coffee beforehand.
Hopefully, you have enough detail somewhere in this to start finding a sweep or clean-up in your area. Please join if you want to get involved or can spare a few hours on a Saturday. I’m sure the volunteer and organization groups would love to have you. Happy sweeping!
<END>
Follow me on Instagram: @stormstrouper
Shoot me an Email: stormstrouper.writing@gmail.com