Good Times at the Open House and Native Plant Sale
It was a hot one Saturday, but everyone had a great time at Simple Gifts Community Garden for the annual open house and native plant sale, in collaboration with SWC. Visitors to the garden had access to native plants not readily available locally, joined tours of the garden, learned about the value of pollinators and…
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Successful First Trash Trap Clean Out on Walnut Creek at Lake Johnson
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…
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Eco Kids on the Roof
The SWC Eco Kids project to launch a sustainable garden program on the roof of the Southeast Raleigh Elementary School kicked off its first hands-on session with 25 fourth and fifth-grade students Friday, just before their Spring break. The team had been working well in advance, planting a variety of pollinator plants and seeds in…
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SWC Did the Bash!
It was a blustery day, and we had to batten down all the hatches, but it was a great turnout at the SWC exhibit at the Beech Bluff Bash at Beech Bluff County Park in Willow Spring Saturday. This was our second year exhibiting there, with last year being the grand opening of this wonderful…
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Invasive Removal with Wake Audubon at Carol Howard Johnson Environmental Park in Fuquay-Varina
South Wake Conservations teamed up with Wake Audubon and the city of Fuquay-Varina for a second swipe at removing invasive privette from this nature preserve. We achieved our main objective of being able to see a natural forest, down to the stream along Honeysuckle Trail, upon arrival at the parking lot. While there, we also…
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Switch Cane Restoration – 3rd Time’s the Charm!
After delays due to freezing weather and a sick snake, our eager team of South Wake Conservationists, and volunteers from the NC State Dept. of Environmental Quality, were able to remove a canopy of mostly invasive plants to allow sun to shine on what we now know is native switch cane. The additional chlorophyll will…
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What a Day for a Guided Walk through Swift Creek Bluffs in Full Bloom!
A group of South Wake Conservationists and guests were treated to a wonderful guided walk through the forested bottom-lands of Swift Creek Bluffs Nature Preserve by naturalist Dr. Eric Pauley on Saturday. The weather was perfect, a multitude of spring ephemerals had emerged, displaying their best flowers, and there was a lot to see and…
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SWC Teams Up with Big Sweep and Siemens to Preserve Farm Land
This family farm has been nurtured by several generations, and is now surrounded by encroaching suburbia near Wendell, NC. The team, along with family members, collected 5200 pounds of trash, 52 tires, 2 utility trailer chassis and decades worth of vapor barrier material used in seeding. These efforts support the family’s application for an agricultural…
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We came, we saw, we conquered!! (Well maybe a small spot)!!!
Members of South Wake Conservationists, along with the Hemlock Bluffs Strike team, tackled some well entrenched bamboo stalks, along with trifoliate orange and privet shoots, at this Natural Preserve run by the city of Cary and the state of North Carolina. This large “clump” of bamboo has been growing at the site for at least…
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Preparing for the Eco Kids Garden!
We are one step closer to holding our first Eco Kids garden workday with 4th and 5th grade students at the Southeast Raleigh Elementary School rooftop garden! Eight SWC volunteers were on the roof Wednesday to inspect, clean up, and inventory the 34 raised beds in preparation for our first hands-on planting and education session…
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A Break in the Rain: Eagles and More at Jordan Lake Dam
Mother Nature almost had other plans for us this morning, but she provided just enough of a break to nearly 30 eager nature lovers that gathered at the Jordan Lake Dam for our highly anticipated Bald Eagle Watch. Jeremy Bock, a SWC member and local birder, shared fascinating insights into the behavior and resurgence of…
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Seeds are Cool!
SWC joined forces with the Tri-County Conservationists Saturday morning to participate in a seed-cleaning workshop at the NC Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill. We first had a terrific orientation to the mission and operations of the lab by Conservation Grower Ali Touloupas, followed by hands-on use of various equipment and devices to separate the seeds…
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Native Plant Explosion at Bass Lake Park
It seems a lot of folks were more than ready to get outside and have some “dirt therapy” after all the Thanksgiving feasting! Over twenty volunteers came to Bass Lake Park Sunday afternoon to refresh, plant, and mulch a multitude of new native plants in the SWC Native Shade Plant Demonstration Garden. Debra Quinlan and…
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A Tree for John
SWC members and friends gathered Sunday afternoon to dedicate a ten-foot white oak (Quercus alba) at Crowder County Park as a living memorial to John Kinsella, long-time SWC VP and board member and key leader of a multitude of conservation projects and activities over the years. Beth Kinsella and John and Beth’s son and daughter-in…
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Did Somebody Say “Privet?!”
This conservation crew is on it! SWC and Wake Audubon continue to rally around a very exciting collaborative project at a little-known gem of a nature park in Fuquay Varina called the Carroll Howard Johnson Environmental Education Park. Today, we removed another large trailer load of invasive plants, mostly Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), but also…
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SWC Flocked Together at Sylvan Heights Bird Park!
What a truly great day SWC had on Saturday during our recent outing to Sylvan Heights Bird Park in Scotland Neck! The sun was shining, the birds were vocalizing their presence, and the air was filled with a sense of wonder as we explored this incredible park. From the moment we stepped outside of the…
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Making Room for River Cane
On Oct. 19th, our eager SWC crew was assigned the task of removing woody invasives to give a small patch of river cane more sun to create a beachhead to support additional growth. Due to the thick brush, our small crew was perfect. Celia, the park’s activities director, explained the importance of this native plant to…
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Best One Yet! Kids in Nature Day 2025
It was a grand day at Lake Benson Park on Oct. 4th, as SWC held its fourth annual Kids in Nature Day! The weather was perfect, and kids got to explore 25 different nature activities, including nine with live animals. There were birds of prey, arachnids, insects (including bees), reptiles, amphibians, crustaceans, macroinvertebrates (both aquatic…
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Privet Begone!
SWC joined Wake Audubon on a project today, led by Jim Hunsberger, to tackle the invasives at Carroll Howard Johnson Environmental Education Park in Fuquay Varina. The team uprooted, cut down and treated, or otherwise removed two full tandem-trailer loads of Chinese Privet this morning. There was also a massive Oriental Bittersweet that took several…
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Looking for Clues on the Trail
On a beautiful early-fall afternoon last Saturday, kids enjoyed exploring the trails near the Harris Energy and Environmental Center in New Hill, looking for signs of wildlife. As part of the SWC Eco Kids Program, Bonnie Eamick, Environmental Educator, led a group of inquisitive kids along the wooded trails and along a dry creekbed in…
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