South Wake Conservationists

Much appreciation to all the volunteers who showed up for our trash trap training and SWC’s initial clean-up of the trap. They braved the cold weather and the deepish water to remove 16 pounds of trash (it appeared another group may have have been there recently).  Our instructor, Madison, is a volunteer with the Great Raleigh Clean Up and a PhD candidate at NC State in the study of trash in our water systems. Part of her study is to track water bottles as they flow down Marsh Creek (one bottle floated 35 miles in 24 hours!).  We’re going to do our best to provide her with data to help support her thesis.

We’d also like to give a shout out to the Great Raleigh Clean Up and Sound Rivers for providing such quality gear, including gloves, trash pickers and chest high waders that kept us dry and reasonably warm. 

After instructions, we all entered the waist high water to remove trash.  We were surprised by the large amount of organic debris that was also trapped in the cage, including a baby snake! Madison taught us that we could open the back of the trash trap to allow the remaining debris to float downstream.  Thanks to her clear guidance, we are ready to manage future clean-ups on our own. The group found this to be a satisfying and fun activity, despite the conditions.

Gratefully, all 6 volunteers agreed to be on our list of ‘Rapid Response Team’ members, as trash may accumulate quickly after rainstorms.  This “as needed” response will hopefully prevent stormwater from overwhelming the trap which may allow trash to flow downstream.