Thanks, Y'all

We cleaned up in the NC Big Sweep! Tons of trash were collected and properly disposed. The Lake Wylie Covekeepers said there was a bit less than last year, and there were more volunteers. They hope that is because less refuse is being dumped in our wonderful waterways.

A cove in Lake Wylie on our cleaning day

Looking over the totals of stuff collected, I'm prompted to say thank you to Carolina folks for your efforts. It's awesome.

We want to give an extra-special thanks to those who collected in places where they did not have a team of helpers. Some of the places listed from the 2009 cleanup are staffed by lone volunteers.

How about in Bladen County, in the Cape Fear River basin, where one volunteer picked up 5 bags of trash and one tire, totaling 100 pounds.  Or in Burke County in the Catawba river basin, where a single volunteer picked up one bag of trash, weighing twenty pounds. Here are more places where one volunteer, or a handful of volunteers worked to clean up the joint: Halifax County; Yadkin County; Caswell and Camden Counties. It's difficult to do it all by yourself, and takes a certain fortitude to do alone.

To all of you who worked, with and without recognition, we raise a toast. Hurray! We do appreciate what you've done. Thanks, Y'all!!

Sweeping This Weekend

When we walk the roadways, we usually need a bag. We can't pass by litter without picking it up and disposing of it properly.

So we love events like this, bringing our communities together in concert to clean up our land and water.

On Saturday, October 2, volunteers from all over North Carolina will pick up litter from land and waterways. The NC Big Sweep stewardship project is part of an international coastal cleanup plan, but has expanded to include removing trash on the land.

The organizers say since they started the event twenty years ago, they have collected 9.8 million pounds of trash.

I'm sorry that we missed South Carolina's Big Sweep effort last week, on September 25th. Thank you for your part in taking care of the environment!

This weekend, the Big Sweep needs you in North Carolina. There is something going on in every county. We will play a part this weekend: can you join us?

To help, visit the web site and Volunteer Sign Up page. You can offer donations, or become a member as well. For more information, contact North Carolina Big Sweep, P.O. Box 126, Zebulon, NC 27597; Phone (919) 269-9380, or ncbigsweep@bellsouth.net.