INC NEWS - Volunteers Still Needed for “Big Sweep” October 7

[RW Pickle]

>From the City PR Dept.
RWP
27 Beverly

Annual Event Removes Litter from the Banks of Durham’s Streams and Lakes
 
Durham, N.C. – City and County of Durham residents are getting ready to
put on their work gloves and boots to help clean up the banks of Durham’s
streams and lakes during the annual North Carolina “Big Sweep,” coming to
Durham on Saturday, October 7, 2006, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 
 
This year’s event, coordinated by the City and County of Durham, along
with Keep Durham Beautiful, Inc. (KDB), will focus on removing litter from
Durham’s streams and watersheds.  According to Dorothea Pierce, executive
director for KDB, more than 10 volunteer groups have formed to tackle
litter removal from waterways such as Jordan Lake, Ellerbe Creek and New
Hope Creek.  “These groups are organized and ready to make a difference in
the appearance of our waterways in Durham,” Pierce said. “However, we
still welcome more volunteers to either form their own teams or join one
of our existing teams on October 7 and prepare to make Durham a cleaner,
greener place to live, work and visit.”
 
According to Mike Shiflett, coordinator for the Adopt-a-Park Program on
behalf of the Northgate Park Neighborhood Association, his neighborhood is
getting involved because they feel the community needs to take
responsibility for the appearance of its streams, roadways and
neighborhoods.  “Residents sometimes don't see all the work that goes into
maintaining and improving our parks, green spaces and streams in our
community,” Shiflett said.  “With Big Sweep, our volunteers from the
neighborhoods get down and dirty working together with City departments
like Public Works and Solid Waste along with Keep Durham Beautiful.  As
residents of Durham, we can't expect someone else to do it alone.  We've
got to take responsibility for this community together.”
 
Durham residents, organizations or volunteer groups interested in
volunteering for this year’s cleanup events should contact Jennifer
Brooks, watershed conservationist with the Durham Soil & Water
Conservation District, at (919) 560-0558 or at jbrooks at co.durham.nc.us;
Laura Webb Smith, public education coordinator of the Stormwater Services
Division with the City’s Department of Public Works at (919) 560-4326,
extension 235 or at laura.smith at durhamnc.gov; or Pierce at (919) 560-4186,
extension 252 or at dorothea.pierce at durhamnc.gov.  
 
North Carolina Big Sweep was founded as Beach Sweep in 1987.  In 1989, a
public-private partnership officially became Big Sweep, the nation's first
statewide waterway clean-up. Since its founding, North Carolina Big Sweep
has had more than 200,000 volunteers and collected over seven million
pounds of trash from North Carolina watersheds.  For this year’s event,
all 100 counties in North Carolina will be participating.  To learn more
about this organization or this year’s upcoming event, visit
http://www.ncbigsweep.org.
 
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Local media interested in covering any of the cleanup events on October 7
should contact Jennifer Brooks, watershed conservationist with the Durham
Soil & Water Conservation District, at (919) 560-0558, (919) 730-4703
(cell) or jbrooks at co.durham.nc.us for location and meeting time
information.