Evergreen Issue 14
It’s Earth Day Every Day in NC
FEATURE
Get involved this month and all year long
Earth Day is a worldwide movement, celebrated on April 22 every year. The purpose of the movement is to encourage preservation through education and organized events that make a tangible positive impact on the world around you. Think tree planting parties and river cleanups. In North Carolina, Earth Day is celebrated throughout April, with festivals and events happening all over the state as spring takes hold.
This month-long celebration of stewardship gives residents and visitors alike multiple opportunities to join a massive movement that’s not only practicing sound NC Leave No Trace principles, but making NC’s outdoor spaces healthier. And there are so many ways you can participate, from picking up litter in the state’s capitol to removing plastic for the Atlantic Ocean and making trails last for generations in Pisgah National Forest.
Here are five ways you can participate in NC’s Earth Day activities this month and beyond.
Great Raleigh Cleanup
The Great Raleigh Cleanup is a non-profit organization that has removed more than 411,000 pounds of trash from the city’s neighborhoods over the years. There are a variety of programs you can participate in, from long-term “Adopt a Block” initiatives to specific group cleanups that focus on local parks, creeks and road corridors.
Pisgah Project Day
Hosted by the Pisgah Conservancy with support from Explore Brevard, Pisgah Project Day is the single largest volunteer event in Pisgah National Forest, with hundreds of participants working to complete dozens of improvement projects across the entire national forest. The event is scheduled for April 25 this year. Register first to help improve trails, recreation areas and trailheads.
Green City Clean City
Green City, Clean City is a nationwide organization that uses the power of volunteers to help restore neighborhoods while empowering veterans. The group picked up 48,245 pieces of trash last year alone through various neighborhood cleanup events. Register to participate in one of their efforts scheduled this month in NC.
NC Wildlife Diversity Program
The NC Wildlife Resources Commission spearheads a variety of volunteer opportunities that allow you to engage with the state’s most cherished local creatures. Volunteers can listen for frog calls at night, survey wading birds on the beach or even monitor peregrine falcon nest sites on cliffs. Check out the multiple volunteer opportunities and see if you can squeeze some citizen science into your next NC adventure.
Ocean Blue Project at Carolina Beach
Ocean Blue Project organizes volunteer beach cleanups designed to remove single-use plastic from our oceans all over the world. On April 25, Carolina Beach will be the site for a large-scale volunteer event as part of their East Coast Sea to Shore Tour initiative.
Want to find more chances to show your love for NC during Earth Month? Check out this search engine to Earth Day events all over the state, where you can filter by location and type of event.
Earth Day celebrations are a great way to join a community moving towards a healthier future, but there are plenty of ways you can make a positive impact on NC’s green spaces outside of these organized events. Try practicing one of these Outdoor NC Leave No Trace Principles the next time you’re exploring the Tarheel State.
outdoor nc leave no trace tips to help make every day earth day
Tip #1: Trash Your (Pet’s) Trash
Taking your dog (or cat!) on a hike in the woods or a stroll along the beach is one of the great joys of pet parenthood. It’s also a great opportunity to show a solid stewardship mindset by packing out any waste your pet decides to deposit. Not only does dog poop pose an inconvenience to other users on the trail or beach, it presents potential hazards to the ecosystem as well. Dog poop can add unnecessary nutrients to the soil and even spread invasive species. Carrying small bags to remove your pet’s waste is an easy way to keep your favorite open spaces wild and healthy.
Tip #2: Leave It As You Find It
Spring is a wonderful time to explore NC’s diverse system of rivers, which offer everything from scenic hour-long floats to multi-day excursions through wild forests and coastal plains. When paddling or fishing NC’s rivers, let’s be sure to leave the rocks in the river bed as you find them. These beautiful stones are an integral part of the river’s ecosystem and often form the shelters for aquatic creatures like the rare Hellbender salamander. Leaving the stones in place is one easy way we can enjoy the river without impacting the habitat of local creatures.
Tip #3: Stick to Trails
There are more than 300 miles of trails in the Pisgah Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest, which is an enticing proposition for hikers looking to leg it to thunderous waterfalls and summit views. Sticking to those established trails is one of the best ways you can keep the forest healthy. Staying on marked trails and avoiding unofficial “social trails” confines your impact to a specific path while maintaining the health of trailside plants. It will also help you stay safe and found, as those unofficial trails aren’t recognized on maps.
spotlight
Asheville Is a River Town
Asheville is a well-known arts and culinary hub, but the city in Western North Carolina’s mountains is also home to a beautiful portion of the French Broad River, one of the oldest rivers in the world. The French Broad is a wide, calm waterway that wraps around the south side of downtown, and a variety of community partners emphasize the river’s health with hands-on stewardship efforts. Visitors can see the hard work in person by joining a guided canoe paddle of the French Broad, seeing the Biltmore Estate and Asheville’s River Arts District from the helm of a boat. Want to keep your feet on land? The French Broad River Greenway offers an easy way to connect with the riverfront with paved sections connecting parks along the banks of the river. Find out more about the French Broad River and its greenway here.
spotlight
Johnston County Values Green Space
Johnston County, or JoCo as the locals call it, sits just 30 minutes east of Raleigh, in North Carolina’s Piedmont offering an enticing mix of small-town charm and mellow adventure. It’s also a community that knows the value of preserving its green spaces. Through advocacy and hands-on stewardship, the volunteer-driven Friends of Johnston County Parks works to enhance access to outdoor recreation while helping residents and visitors connect with the very landscapes that define the community. One of the group’s largest efforts is their annual Earth Day Countywide Cleanup, which brings volunteers together to help remove litter and improve public spaces across the entire county. Join this massive effort, or one of the group’s other initiatives the next time you visit JoCo.
spotlight
Mitchell County has Mile-High Beauty
Mitchell County, in Western North Carolina, is home to some of the tallest and most stunning mountains in the state, including Roan Mountain, a mile-high peak that hosts a particularly scenic section of the Appalachian Trail. Mitchell County is working to ensure that increased visitation of this popular trail goes hand in hand with long-term preservation. You can see the beauty of the mountains and the community-led stewardship efforts firsthand at the NC Rhododendron Festival, a celebration of the rhododendron that thrive on the side of Roan Mountain. At the festival in June, Mitchell County will formally introduce their 10-Year Tourism Action Plan, which focuses on sustainable access, education and stewardship so future generations can enjoy Roan Mountain. Find out more here.
You’re invited to join the outdoor nc movement
Join the movement to preserve and protect North Carolina’s beloved outdoor spaces and you’ll be entered to win a getaway to North Carolina! Together we can preserve our beloved outdoor spaces for generations to come. Click to learn more.