Stokes 5th Graders get Environmental Awareness

The Stokes County Soil & Water Conservation District hosted their annual Environmental Awareness Day at Hanging Rock State Park on Thursday, April 19, 2012 ... and this year DRBA got to help with the Tub'O'Bugs program developed by our own Wayne Kirkpatrick. DRBA staffer, Dale Swanson, along with Chad Lange and Sara Jo Durham, talked with class after class of Stokes County 5th graders about the importance of healthy streams and all of the remarkable "fish food" that lives in them in the form of macro-invertebrates. -->

It was a lot of fun for us and it sure looked like the children enjoyed the creepy-crawlies while they absorbed just a little environmental science.

Dan River Cleanup :: Hart's Access to Highway 89

Preparing to launch the cleanup from Hart's Access
at the Hwy 704 bridge

At 10:00am on April 14, 2012, a total of 5 young men met at the intersection of Highway 89 and Old Lynchburg Rd. just north of Danbury, NC. Four canoes and one kayak were loaded onto Dave Kuley's trailer and we headed upstream for the first river cleanup in Stokes County of the year. We logged over 7 miles in just under 7 hours with a total take of 1,100 pounds of tires (18), roof metal, hypalon, old equipment of various types, and plenty of containers of every description.

Canoes as trash barges.

Many thanks to Nathan Krizmanich, Jimmy Newsome, Lucas Conkle & Dave Kuley. Special thanks to Oakley Mabe for permitting use of his property near the Highway 89 bridge for accessing the river and unloading our over burdened canoes. Further thanks to Kitty Brown for providing trash transport from the river to the Stokes County Solid Waste Transfer Station in Quaker Gap and to Jesse Moore for outstanding supervisory services.
One final thanks to the County for accepting our collected refuse without charge!

At the end of a long Big Sweeping day.This photo does not do justice to the pile of junk behind us.

If you know an organization that would like to help clean up our river and county please contact Sara Jo Durham or Dale Swanson for more information and to schedule a cleanup.

April 14 River Cleanup - TIME CHANGE

In light of the cool weather we've been having we will delay meeting on Saturday morning until 10am. Be sure to dress appropriately with synthetic clothes in layers ... it WILL be warming up a little!

Spring River Clean-Up Events

Mark your calendars!

The Dan River Basin Association is hosting a river clean-up on April 14th in Stokes County. We will be focusing on the 6.5 mile section of the Dan River between Hart's Access and the Highway 89 Bridge. Trash bags and gloves will be provided by North Carolina Big Sweep. In addition to your canoe or kayak, everyone should bring their own lunch.

We will meet at the Highway 89 bridge at 9am at a private access with the generous permission of the property owner. From here we will shuttle to Hart's Access at the Highway 704 bridge upstream.

Two weeks later, on April 28th, the Tarheel Paddlers Association will be holding a river clean on the Hanging Rock section of the Dan in conjunction with the Dan River Company. For more information visit TarheelPaddlers.org.

Check back later for updates on more DRBA clean-up events. Over the course of the next couple months we will be working our way down the Dan River in an effort to keep the river clean and free of trash. Please let us know if there is a particular section of river in need of our attention.

Improvements at the Snow Creek Access

Eric Juday (TRR) and Dale Swanson (DRBA)
happy to be unloading boulders from
Piedmont Stone, Inc.!

After many months of planning and false starts there are now two barriers made of large boulders at the Snow Creek Access on the Dan River. Several years ago the Davis Chapel Historical Association partnered with the Dan River Basin Association to establish a public access on property they own between Dodgetown Road and Snow Creek. Protecting the property from vandalism and littering has been a challenge and all are hopeful that the boulders will stop people from driving motorized vehicles onto the property - as well as into the river at the historical ford.

Ray Rhodes deftly rolls a boulder
into position as Chad Lang guides.

Primary funding for this project was provided by an American Canoe Association "Club Fostered Stewardship Grant" sponsored by L.L. Bean.

We are extremely thankful to Piedmont Stone, Inc. for the donation of several hours of equipment and operator time in addition to providing the boulders for the project at a great price. Without the expert guidance of Ray Rhodes on the forklift we surely would have taken twice as long. Special thanks to Joey James who was instrumental in making this happen.

Of course, putting shovels (and picks and rakes) in the ground requires hands-on labor as well and this project could not have been completed without the assistance of many river-loving volunteers. They are listed below.

After-boulder float on the Dan River!

Following the dirty work many of the volunteers as well as a few late arriving cheerleaders enjoyed a beautiful float from Moratock Park in Danbury back down to the new and improved Davis Chapel/Snow Creek river access. A perfect conclusion to a productive day protecting public access to the river in Stokes County!

Volunteers in attendance:
W.T. Heath
Benjamin Heath
Sara Jo Durham
Duane Brown
Trish Owens
Chad Lang
Rhonda Dane
James VanLew
Monty Hamby
Ann Somers
Dale Swanson
and especially - Eric Juday

Hoping to see more access improvements throughout Stokes with this one now behind us!

Contributing local organizations not mentioned above:
Davis Chapel Historic Association
Triad River Runners
Smith River Valley Canoe Club
Tarheel Paddlers Association
Dan River Basin Association