Released by Matthew Starr, Upper Neuse Riverkeeper
There will be hundreds of people kayaking and canoeing down the Neuse River this Saturday to rid the waterway of trash, according to clean water advocates.
“Loose on the Neusse is a big event every year,” said Upper Neuse Riverkeeper Matthew Starr. “We’ve received a great response and expect an awesome crowd. The people of North Carolina love having clean water, whether they’re drinking it or boating in it, and this event goes a long way toward keeping our waterways healthy and looking good.”
The Loose on the Neuse 2016 event is Saturday, July 23, 2016, 9am-5pm (EDT). Gather at Anderson Point Park, 20 Anderson Point Drive, in Raleigh NC. Sign-up is here.
The Upper Neuse Riverkeeper have teamed up with Sweetwater Brewing Co., Orvis, Paddle Creek, Frog Hollow Outdoors, Chriba Chriba, and Flirting with Fire to host the event. There will be prizes, an after party, and lots of trash pulled from the Neuse River.
“Garbage can endanger wildlife and contaminate water,” said Matthew Starr, Upper Neuse Riverkeeper. “And it’s just plain ugly. But we can’t clean it all by ourselves”
Last year, 150 people participated, collecting a few thousand pounds of trash from the river and this year a expected 300 people will come out to cleanup the river and celebrate clean water. Clean water has been a high-profile issue in the news in recent months, on subjects ranging from toxic algal blooms to coal ash contamination around Duke Energy plants. Starr hopes the urgency of clean water issues will continue to energize people who want to help.
