Volunteers for clean up

This past Saturday 30 individuals met at the Indy Coffee House to braved the wonderful weather to donate their time to the service of cleaning up the Davidson River.  Earlier this year, we attempted to clean up the river from the entrance of Pisgah National Forest on 276 to the confluence of Looking Glass Creek.  We were not able to reach all locations.  However, this October 3rd a small army of volunteers were able to clean up all 18 pull offs along the river, remove 5 illegal campsites, and even pull a large rusty drum from the stream.

Clean up crew

Three cleanup crews started at the most frequented and largest areas, Sycamore Flats, Coon Tree area and the bridge area at the Davidson River Campground.  These areas typically have a lot of trash, but recent floods pushed a lot of the trash downstream.  In spite of this, volunteers were able to remove many bags of trash.  The groups then headed along the river stopping at each pull off to collect cans, bottles, bait canisters, and frequently flip flops.  With the help of all the volunteers it appears that every pull off had someone there picking up.  This was a tremendous job cleaning 5 miles of river.  The most unusual find was a basket ball and football that was in great shape and still inflated.  I am not sure these two items were intended to be left behind.

John and crew coming out of the woods

The crews were groups of people from different backgrounds and all ages.  The great thing about this day was the variety of people present.  This demonstrated a community effort that spans many walks of life.  One person commented, “It was great to see so many young people.”  The ages ranged from middle school through young at heart.  A big thanks goes to the First United Methodist Church of Brevard.  There were many individuals from the church out to help as part of the Great Day of Service.  Pastor Mike Jordan and Kim Dodson pitched in as well as many others.  Additionally, Outward Bound and Montreat College jointly brought 15 individuals to participate in the day.  Julie Springstern of Outward Bound headed this group up.  Students came from all over the states, San Francisco to New Jersey.  One individual was from Italy.  Others came from the Brevard community and pitched in.

Outward Bound and Montreat College

There are many things worthy of our time, some more important than others.  It is not to judge the amount someone contributes, but value the contribution.  As each little act helps create a better place, whether it is helping an elderly person or nature, we build a stronger community for everyone.  I thank each and every person for reaching out and taking valuable time to build a stronger community.  The Davidson River is like the life line of the community; it helps define why we are here and brings us joy.  People came together, left the river a littler cleaner and hopefully met someone new.  Take the time to help someone next week, pick up a piece of trash or hold a door open; it makes a stronger community.

Peace