Join Durham County Stormwater staff at Daughters Coffee & Books for a Creek Week Story Time event on Tuesday, March 17th at 10:30AM! This event is free to attend so stop by and grab a drink, listen to a story or two, and color some themed coloring pages.

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO EXPECTED STORMS! NEW DATE TBA!

Water connects us all—flowing across communities, industries, and ecosystems. But what happens upstream doesn’t always stay upstream. Join a distinguished panel of water professionals at Durham Main Library as they explore the relationship between upstream and downstream activities and water quality and the ways different organizations and individuals are involved.

This engaging discussion will bring together experts in stormwater engineering, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or “forever chemicals”), watersheds, pollution, sedimentation, and more to examine how human impacts influence waterways from headwaters to receiving waters. Panelists will share their professional experience, research, solutions, and collaborative strategies that protect water quality across entire watersheds!

Join Chris and Mindy Meyers from Home Repair Lab for an exclusive class at their shop! This class will include lecture information, followed by some hands-on practice and Q&A. City of Durham Water Department staff will be in attendance for a special program for Fix-a-Leak Week!

Relevant for homeowners, first time home buyers, and renters. Registration is required, and participants will sign a safety waiver for Home Repair Lab. Home Repair Lab is located at 803 Ramseur St, Suite E. Participants will receive a 50% discount for Home Repair Lab's Toilet Basics class after the program.

The hike will lead you to a noteworthy natural area called Willie Duke’s Bluff where you can see outstanding displays of spring wildflowers, including some that are rare and unusual in our area of the Piedmont.

The site boasts a showy display of spring ephemerals, with extensive areas of Dutchman’s Breeches, along with the rare Eastern False Rue Anemone or Isopyrum and numerous other wildflowers, including Bloodroot, and both Southern or Dimpled Troutlily, and its northern, tetraploid counterpart. The shrub layer consists of Spicebush, Pawpaw, and Painted Buckeye, which will be in various stages of flowering.

$4 per person, pre-registration is required. Children under the age of 6 do not require a ticket.

This event is rain or shine. You will be contacted if severe weather is expected that would cause us to cancel the hike. Well-behaved dogs are welcome as long as they are under your control and on a 6-foot leash.

Join volunteers with MetLife to clean up Northeast Creek at Residence Inn Blvd and NC-54!

Volunteers will meet in the parking lot of the Chik-Fil-A at 104 Residence Inn Blvd and clean the creek and wooded area across the street.

This event can accomodate 20 volunteers and is appropriate for ages 8 and up. Volunteers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the event. Expect to navigate steep stream banks and tree branches/vegetation.

Please contact Julie Johnson at jjohnson42@metlife.com with any questions.

register to attend below!

Join Toxic Free NC and partners for their fifth and final soil shop on March 14 from 3-5PM at Communities in Partnership (101 S Driver St) in East Durham.

Residents near East End Park and Durham community members concerned about soil contamination at city parks are invited to bring a sample to be screened for lead and other contaminants. There will also be resources about protecting health and information about the city’s next steps toward addressing the issue.

At this event, you can:

• Bring a soil sample from your yard to be screened

• Learn about possible health risks and practical ways to reduce exposure

• Review what testing has found so far

• Hear about the city’s next steps and potential plans for cleanup

Learn more here!

Join us on Saturday, March 14 at 2PM at Northgate Park for a Riparian Tree ID Walk with Leaf & Limb Arborist Matt Archibald!

Matt is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, Tree Risk Assessment Qualified and a veteran in the industry for 12 years and counting. The group will walk and talk about what they're seeing, ask questions to Matt, and learn about what is happening with the trees that they see on the walk.

Attendance will be capped at 20 participants, so registration is required to attend.

REGISTER TO ATTEND BELOW!

Come join Cub Scout Pack 400 to learn about fossils, fingerprinting, and genetics, launch marshmallow catapults, and find out how to prevent water pollution!

This free event is open to the public. Pizza and bake sale items will be available for sale to support Cub Scout Pack 400 - limited Pi Day items will be available as well!

Celebrate Durham Creek Week with Two Sisters Adventure Company with a hike along the Eno River! Explore and learn about the Eno River watershed and the importance of our wet natural places. Children welcome. Hike lasts 1.5-2 hours. No dogs allowed. Specific meeting location TBA.

$15/per person: Reservation/Payment must be made prior to arrival. Space for this hike is extremely limited.

Walk the trails at local Durham Parks with DPR staff. Come and see what surprises nature has in store as the seasons change on this guided one-hour walk. Sign up with your friends, or make new ones along the way!

Participants need to wear weather appropriate clothing and closed-toed shoes. Preregistration is required for all participants.

Join fellow volunteers and community members to participate in a litter cleanup in Third Fork Creek and along W Lakewood Ave with the Southside Neighborhood Association!

Volunteers will meet at the at the corner of Fargo and South Streets and clean up in the surrounding area. This event is suitable for all ages. Volunteers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the event.

Please contact Kesson Anderson at kessona@gmail.com with any questions.

This event is full!

Join the Friends of Ellerbe Creek to clean up along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) at Redwood Rd and Falls Lake!

The meeting location will be at the intersection of Tom Clark Rd and Redwood Rd. Take I85N towards Falls Lake, take exit 183 at Redwood Road, turn right and drive 0.7 miles to the left-hand bend where Redwood meets Clark.  

Cleanup supplies such as litter grabbers, gloves, safety vests, and trash bags will be provided. Closed-toed shoes or boots are required. This event is recommended for volunteers aged 8 and older. Volunteers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the event. Expect to walk a minimum of 1 mile on unpaved ground.

For questions, please contact Ian Pond at iandavid33@hotmail.com.

This event is now full!

The lower third of Durham County resides in the Jordan Lake Basin. The Durham watersheds within this basin include Sandy Creek, Third Fork Creek, Northeast Creek, New Hope Creek, Mud Creek, and Stirrup Iron Creek. Join Clean Jordan Lake for a cleanup at the Jordan Lake State Park New Hope Overlook! This is an area that haven't been visited in many years for a cleanup, and reports are that it is heavily trashed after Chantal last year.

This event can accomodate boaters, kayakers, and walkers. Volunteers with their own boats are needed to help ferry volunteers and carry back collected trash bags.

For more information, reach out to info@cleanjordanlake.org.

Join the Friends of Ellerbe Creek to remove litter and bagged trash from previous cleanups from the shore of Falls Lake near the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Volunteers will meet at the MST End of East Geer St. Trailhead, located near 4340 E Geer St.

Volunteers with motorized boats are also needed to help collect the filled bags from the shoreline and deliver them to a staged dumpster at Hickory Hill Boat Ramp. If you have a motorized boat and are interested in helping, send an email to Ian Pond at iandavid33@hotmail.com.

Volunteers should be prepared to walk a minimum of two miles out to the trail and back. This event is not recommended for volunteers under 12 years of age. Volunteers between the ages of 12-15 must be accompanied by an adult.

REGISTER TO ATTEND BELOW!

Join the Durham Saves Water team at Home Depot at 3701 Mt Moriah Rd on Saturday, March 222nd from 1PM to 4PM for Fix a Leak Week!

Are dripping faucets and mysterious water bills giving you a headache? We've got you covered!

Discover practical solutions to conserve water, save money, and contribute to a greener planet. From simple DIY fixes to insider advice, we've got the knowledge you need to tackle leaks head-on. And, be sure to check out The Home Depot’s extensive inventory of WaterSense labeled products.

Join staff and volunteers from the Durham Community Land Trustees for a creek cleanup in Historic Hayti! This cleanup is a part of an ongoing community creek restoration project in Hayti.

Volunteers will meet at 800 Simmons Street and continue to the creek from there.

Please contact Ajax Wooley at ajax@dclt.org with any questions.

This event is full!

Our Women’s Kayaking 101 class is designed to give women and non-binary paddlers the needed foundation of skills and techniques to build your kayaking skills through individualized instruction. Class lasts approximately 3-4 hours and all paddling equipment is included. Kayaks are for a SINGLE PADDLER. This class is not appropriate for children under 13.

Women’s Kayaking 101: $55. Reservation/Payment must be made prior to arrival. For more details or information, email connect@twosistersadventure.com.

Join the Southside Neighborhood Association for a litter cleanup of Third Fork Creek near W Lakewood Avenue. Volunteers will meet at the corner of South St. and W Lakewood Ave.

Please wear closed-toed shoes and clothes that can get dirty. This event is not recommended for volunteers under the age of 8. Volunteers between the ages of 8-15 must be accompanied by an adult.

For more details or information, contact: leanne.june@gmail.com.

Register to attend below!

Join KDB Litter Leader Hayley Blum to clean up the headwaters of Sandy Creek and the trails and roads surrounding Maplewood Cemetery. Volunteers will meet in the cemetery at the end of Belfort Street off of Chapel Hill Rd.

This event is for the adventurous! Be prepared to walk through a densely wooded area to access the creek banks, and potentially steep climbs down to reach the creek bed. We recommend wearing long pants and sleeves. No volunteers under the age of 13, and volunteers aged 13-15 must be accompanied by an adult.

Please contact Hayley Blum at hayleyblum@gmail.com with any questions.

REGISTER TO ATTEND BELOW!

This year the Museum of Life & Science is excited to celebrate Creek Week with the Ready, Set, Resilience (RSR) program, delving into environmental concepts through collaborative storytelling.

Come out to the museum on Saturday, March 22 between the hours of 10AM and 3PM for professional and community-led puppet shows, poetry slams, and performances of resilience fables throughout the day. Connect with the community and natural surroundings as you explore the campus!

This event is included with the price of admission to the museum. Learn more here!

Join members of the Merrick-Moore Community to clean up along Cheek Rd from Mt Zoar Baptist Church to Junction Rd.

Please wear closed-toed shoes and clothes that can get dirty. This event is not recommended for volunteers under the age of 12. Volunteers between the ages of 12-15 must be accompanied by an adult.

Contact LA Davis-Durante at ladavis@merrickmoorecdc.org with any questions.

The lower third of Durham County resides in the Jordan Lake Basin. The Durham watersheds within this basin include Sandy Creek, Third Fork Creek, Northeast Creek, New Hope Creek, Mud Creek, and Stirrup Iron Creek. Join Clean Jordan Lake for a cleanup along the southern branch of Jordan Lake in Pittsboro. Meeting place will be at the Cul de sac at the end of 455 Ryan Rd.

For more information, reach out to info@cleanjordanlake.org.

Registration and more details are available using the link below.

Join UCAN for Creek Week at Catawba Trail Farm! Dive into a variety of hands-on projects, including cleaning golf balls from the Little River and prepping bottle caps for a Bottle Cap to Bench recycling project. Come out, lend a hand, and be a part of protecting our local waterways and environment!

Come join the Friends of Ellerbe Creek for a pedestrian and boat-based clean up of Ellerbe Creek from Red Mill Road down to Falls Lake. Boaters must be able to provide their own boat.

Registration will be limited to 20 pedestrians and 20 boaters. Boaters MUST provide their own boat and PFD. For more details or information, email: iandavid33@hotmail.com.

The re-introduction of Bald Eagles has been one of our Country’s shining legacies as a true environmental comeback. Jordan Lake is now considered one of the largest summertime nesting areas for Bald Eagles in the Southeast. Join us as we paddle the northern reaches of Jordan Lake in search of it’s majestic residents. While we can not guarantee a bald eagle sighting, we can say that over the last handful of years we have spotted between 8 and 35 eagles on every trip that has run, along with tons of other amazing raptors and residents of the lake.

Bald Eagle Paddle: $58. Reservation/Payment must be made prior to arrival. For more details or information, email info@froghollowoutdoors.com.

Enjoy a relaxed evening on the water with Frog Hollow Outdoors! Paddle out to a great location on Falls Lake to watch the sunset and then slowly make our way back after the final sun glints have disappeared. Discover the sights and sounds of the water after dark on this relaxing and fun paddle.

Sunset Paddle: $38. Reservation/Payment must be made prior to arrival.

For more details or information, email: info@froghollowoutdoors.com

Join the Eno River Association as we celebrate World Frog Day! Frogs and toads make up one of the most diverse vertebrate orders, and also one of the most threatened. We'll talk all things frogs - from evolution and identification to conservation - through the lens of the Eno River Watershed, while leaving time for questions and discussion.

Please register below to receive the Zoom link for this virtual presentation. For more details or information, email hillary@enoriver.org.

Join Durham Parks & Rec for Creek Week and help clean up Twin Lakes Park for community members and the birds that call it home. Equipment, bags, and trash pickers will be provided. Dress for the weather and wear closed toed shoes.

For more details or information, email: shay.kamstra@durhamnc.gov.

Join us for an exciting outdoor adventure to celebrate Creek Week at the Duke Forest Shepherd Nature Trail! This family-friendly event, perfect for ages 6 and up, invites you to explore the wonders of a local creek and have hands-on experience discovering creek critters which could include amphibians and macroinvertebrates. Led by expert and Duke Professor Dr. Ron Grunwald and dedicated staff from Durham City and County Stormwater, participants will learn about the vital role of creeks in our ecosystem and how we can protect them for future generations.

Get your hands wet as you explore the creek, search for hidden critters, and gain valuable insights into the importance of creek conservation. Bring your curiosity, your sense of adventure, and prepare for an unforgettable day outdoors! Please wear water-friendly shoes and clothes that can get dirty.

*Before registering, please read the safety rules and attendee expectations for this event here.*

Come participate in Creek Week and help keep Lake Michie beautiful. This is an open-ended event with no registration required. Come out to Lake Michie between the hours of 6:30AM and 4PM and clean up anywhere around the park that is in need. Check in with DPR Outdoor Recreation Staff to receive cleanup equipment and instructions.

As an extra incentive, anyone who participates in the event will have their kayak rental fee or boat launch fee waived!

Youth under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. See details about Lake Michie here. For more information, email Shay.Kamstra@durhamnc.gov.