Cape Fear River Watch

May Community Cleanup
2021-05-22 09:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York) | Leland – S. Navassa Rd, 158 S Navassa Rd, Leland, NC, 28451, United States
We’re partnering with the Town of Leland to host an additional cleanup this month! On the morning of Saturday, May 22nd from 9-11am we’ll be cleaning up an old junkyard near Sturgeon Creek. Remember to dress appropriately, wear your mask and sunscreen, and bring plenty of water. As always, we’ll provide pickers, bags, buckets, and gloves. Parking is available on-site on the grass along S. Navassa Rd. Navigate to 158 S Navassa Rd. See you out there!

June 2nd Saturday Cleanup - Great American Cleanup with KNHB
2021-06-12 09:00 - 11:00 | Kerr Ave Wetland, 4502 Fountain Dr, Wilmington
We’re changing it up a little bit for our cleanup coming up on Saturday, June 12th from 9-11am. While we always partner with Keep New Hanover Beautiful, next month’s partnership will look a little different, as June 12th is KNHB’s Great American Cleanup. As part of the Great American Cleanup, we have the opportunity for volunteers to register to receive a free cleanup kit, including a trash picker, a safety vest, a pair of gloves, a couple of trash bags and a scale. CFRW will be cleaning up the Kerr Ave Wetland located at 4502 Fountain Dr. You can read more about the cleanup and register for it here!
Feel welcome to join us following the cleanup at Wrightsville Beach Brewery to enjoy a celebratory beer! We are WBB’s 11% partner for the month of June, so 11% of proceeds from their beer of the month will be donated to CFRW!

Cargo District Cleanup
2021-07-11 17:00 - 18:00 | Crafted Outpost, 615 S 16th St Unit 120, Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
Cape Fear River Watch is excited to be partnering with Crafted Outpost to host a cleanup after their Consciously Curated Crafted Market. The market will take place from 12pm-4pm. The cleanup is scheduled to take place afterwards from 5pm-6pm. We will focus the cleanup on Castle Street. To arrive, head towards the intersection of Queen Street and 17th Street. Parking will be available in the gravel lot next to Crafted Outpost. Additional parking can be found in streetside spots along either Queen Street or Castle Street. Volunteers will be walking westbound on either side of Castle Street. We will provide gloves, bags, pickers, and safety vests. Please remember to dress appropriately and bring some water. We hope to see you there!
Please register beforehand using this form, thanks!

Riverfront Amphitheater Cleanup
2021-08-01 08:45 - 11:00 | Riverfront Park, 10 Cowan St, Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
Cape Fear River Watch and Island Wildlife – Cape Fear Region are excited to partner together for this cleanup at the Riverfront Park and surrounding downtown area on Sunday! Thanks to this partnership, the cleanup will also be a Trees4Trash event. That means that as a volunteer, your impact is doubled: for every 25 pounds of trash that you pick up, Trees4Trash will plant a tree to promote healthy wildlife habitat, mitigate climate change, and buffer storm water runoff and sediment load in waterways.

The cleanup will also be supported by Keep New Hanover Beautiful and Plastic Ocean Project! Thank you!

For the cleanup, here’s what you need to know:

Meeting time: 8:45am. Please sign in with CFRW and with Island Wildlife!
Start time: 9am
Duration: We’re anticipating a maximum of two hours
Address: 10 Cowan St.
Parking: Street parking
Look for: CFRW & Island Wildlife tent & sign-in table, cleanup signs & feather flag. We’ll be staging the cleanup from the amphitheater itself.
What we’re cleaning up: Amphitheater, surrounding city blocks, storm drains, river walk, overflowing trash cans, and potentially in the marsh grasses under the boardwalk (if safe and feasible). We will have some maps available of different areas of downtown to hit.
We provide: Pickers, gloves, safety vests, bags, and water (please bring a reusable bottle). We hope to have enough supplies for everyone present, but if you have any cleanup supplies of your own, please bring them!
Please bring: Sunscreen, hat, & water bottle

If you have any questions feel free to email Rob at rob@cfrw.us
Please register beforehand using this form: https://cfrw.app.neoncrm.com/eventReg.jsp?event=6271&

August 2nd Saturday Cleanup
2021-08-14 09:00 - 11:00 | Railroad Tracks 3rd-17th, 811 Martin St, Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
After a month off, it’s time to get back at it! CFRW will be partnering with Keep New Hanover Beautiful, hosting our monthly second Saturday cleanup on August 14th from 9-11am.

We are going to focus our efforts on the Greenfield Lake Watershed by cleaning up the railroad tracks that run from 3rd to 17th St. The railroad tracks, the roadway, and the storm drains will all need to be cleaned.

There is potential for some of our houseless community members to be in the area of our cleanup. Please be respectful of their space and belongings. If you see something that may be someone’s personal belongings, please leave it be.

The address will lead you to the Good Shepherd Center. Please don’t park in their parking lot – rather, park on either 8th St or Martin St. Look for the CFRW cleanup signs!

We will provide pickers, bags, safety vests, gloves, and a good time. We will need some volunteers to clean up the interior of the ditch. So if you have your waders or tall rubber boots, bring them! As always remember to dress appropriately, bring sunscreen, and water. We hope to see you out there!

Please register in advance!

International Coastal Cleanup
2021-09-11 09:00 - 11:00 | Greenfield Lake Boathouse, 302 Willard St., Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
Save the date for this year’s International Coastal Cleanup, a project of the Ocean Conservancy that engages people to remove trash from the world’s beaches and waterways. Cape Fear River Watch and Keep New Hanover Beautiful are teaming up with other local nonprofits and businesses to host cleanup sites all throughout New Hanover County. Partners include our local chapter of Surfrider, the Wilmington Yoga Center, and more!

Cape Fear River Watch will be based out of the Greenfield Lake Boathouse, and volunteers will be able to clean up either on land or by boat. As always, we’ll supply all the supplies you need except water and sunscreen! Check out our FB event for updated information.

Please register beforehand.

November 2nd Saturday Cleanup
2021-11-13 09:00 - 11:00 | Railroad at N 30th St., 2929 Princess Place Dr., Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
Cape Fear River Watch is excited to partner with Keep New Hanover Beautiful for our Second Saturday Cleanup on November 13th! The cleanup will take place in the Smith Creek Watershed at the intersection of Princess Place Dr. and Evans St from 9:00am-11:00am. We will be heading East and West along the railroad tracks. Parking is available at 2929 Princess Pl Dr, Wilmington, NC 28405. Just look for the CFRW cleanup signs! CFRW will provide pickers, bags, gloves, and safety vests. As always remember to dress appropriately and bring water. We hope to see you out there!
Please register beforehand!

February Second Saturday Cleanup
2022-02-12 09:00 - 11:00 | Crossroads Center, 894-1 S Kerr Ave, Wilmington, 28403
Cape Fear River Watch is excited to announce our February Second Saturday Cleanup! February’s cleanup will be located in two separate locations. The first will be the drainage easement that runs behind Crossroads Center and Wilmington Brewing. The second location will be the southern continuation of that easement that runs behind Jackson BBQ. We will all meet at a central staging location which will be located at the parking lot of Crossroads Center. 894-1 S Kerr Ave, Wilmington, NC 28403 should get you to the right location.

This cleanup will be a special one as it will be in part of a larger week of action put on by the NC Plastics Waste Reduction Coalition to push an executive order that calls for the governor to reduce unnecessary single use plastics within state institutions. As many of you know, we find a lot of plastic at our cleanups. We want to bring that to the attention of our leadership at the state level, so we will be collecting a bit of data this go around! It will be pretty straightforward, just a data sheet and pen are needed! CFRW will be providing gloves, pickers, safety vests, bags, data sheets, and pens.

If anyone has waterproof knee boots please bring them: we will need some people to walk through the center of the ditch which typically has standing water in it. Please remember to dress warmly!

Since Covid cases are on the rise we will be trying to implement practices that allow for social distancing. Please keep this in mind when attending the event and do your best to respect others around you. Since this is an outdoor event and we will be able to practice social distancing, masks are not required. We do recommend that you bring yours so you have the ability to wear one if needed.

We hope to see you there! If you have any questions feel free to reach out to Rob via email at rob@cfrw.us. We hope to see you out there!
Please register beforehand here: https://cfrw.app.neoncrm.com/eventReg.jsp?event=7303&

CleanUp GreenUp!
2022-03-13 09:00 - 12:00 | Bellevue Cemetery, Princess Place Dr., Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
UPDATE: We have changed the date of the event to SUNDAY, MARCH 13th due to inclement weather on the 12th. We hope to see you on Sunday at 9am at Bellevue Cemetery!

We are so excited for our “CleanUp, GreenUp” event on Saturday, March 12th! Meet us at Bellevue Cemetery at 9am for a kickoff and greeting.

Based out of the Bellevue Cemetery, we will coordinate our efforts to beautify this part of downtown Wilmington through a trash cleanup and native tree planting!

We will have over 100 native and fruiting trees to plant! Please bring your own gloves if you have them.

Volunteers interested in the cleanup portion specifically will then need to make their way over to Rankin St (navigate to 13th and Rankin). Parking will be available along the street. We will be focusing on McCumbers Ditch as well as the easement area that runs alongside it. The tide should be approaching low while we are out there so if you have waders or muck boots, those would be much appreciated. We will provide pickers, gloves, safety vests, and bags. It may be a bit cold in the morning so make sure to dress appropriately. We hope to see you out there! If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to Rob at rob@cfrw.us.
Please register beforehand for this event here: https://cfrw.app.neoncrm.com/eventReg.jsp?event=7308&

April 2nd Saturday Cleanup - Squash Branch
2022-04-09 09:00 - 11:00 | Greenfield Lake-Northern Finger, 1626 Lake Branch Dr, Wilmington, 28401
We are excited to once again partner with Keep New Hanover Beautiful for our April Second Saturday Cleanup!
Location:
We will be cleaning up in the Greenfield Lake watershed this month! We will be focusing our efforts on the northern finger of the lake at the intersection of East Lake Shore Drive and Lake Branch Drive (called Squash Branch). The litter tends to accumulate in this portion of the lake. Like last month, we will have the option to clean up via watercraft. We will have limited capacity with the amount of kayaks we are able to bring, so if you have our own and the means to transport it please do so!
You can find parking along the street. A hard address you can use to get you to the location is 1626 Lake Branch Dr, Wilmington, NC 28401.
What to Bring:
CFRW will provide pickers, gloves, safety vests, bags, and bug spray. If you have waterproof boots those are recommended for the shore banks. Don’t forget to bring your water and sunscreen.
You can register here.

Kerr Ave Wetland Cleanup
2022-04-30 10:00 - 12:00 | Kerr Ave Wetland, 4502 Fountain Dr, Wilmington
Cape Fear River Watch is excited to partner with UNCW POP on a joint effort to clean up the Kerr Avenue Wetland. The Kerr Avenue Wetland is a critical resource in the Burnt Mill Creek Watershed that helps to filter out pollutants as they enter into Burnt Mill Creek. Now it’s up to us to do our part to help keep it clean! The cleanup is going to take place this Saturday (4/30) from 10am-12pm. CFRW and UNCW POP will be providing gloves, pickers, vests, and bags. We recommend that you bring sunscreen, water, and waterproof footwear (if you have them). Parking will be located at the UNCW Road Park and Ride location. The parking lot is located at the intersection of Hoggard Dr. and St. James Dr. It is a short walk down St. James Dr. to the wetlands from there. Staff members will be onsite to direct you to the cleanup. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to Rob at rob@cfrw.us. We hope to see you out there!
Please register beforehand here

May Second Saturday Cleanup
2022-05-14 09:00 - 11:00 | Emerson St., 4151 Emerson St., Wilmington, NC, 28403, United States
CFRW will be partnering with Keep New Hanover Beautiful to host our monthly Second Saturday Cleanup on May 14th, from 9-11am. We are going to focus our efforts on the Burnt Mill Creek Watershed by cleaning up the ditch off of Emerson St. The ditch is physically located on Emerson Street, just south of Marlboro St. Park along Emerson St. in the gravel pull off areas. Look for the CFRW cleanup signs! We will provide pickers, bags, safety vests, gloves, and a good time. We will need some volunteers to clean up the interior of the ditch. So if you have your waiters or waterproof boots bring them! As always remember to dress appropriately, bring sunscreen, and water. We hope to see you out there!
Please register beforehand here.

June Second Saturday Cleanup
2022-06-11 09:00 - 11:00 | Railroad Tracks 3rd-17th, 811 Martin St, Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
Please register in advance here!
We will once again be partnering with Keep New Hanover Beautiful to host our monthly second Saturday cleanup on June 11th from 9-11am.
We are going to focus our efforts on the Greenfield Lake Watershed by cleaning up the railroad tracks that run from 3rd to 17th St. The railroad tracks, the roadway, and the storm drains will all need to be cleaned.
To arrive, navigate to 811 Martin St. This address will lead you to the Good Shepherd Center. Please don’t park in their parking lot – rather, park on either 8th St or Martin St. Look for the CFRW cleanup signs!
There is potential for some of our houseless community members to be in the area of our cleanup. Please be respectful of their space and belongings. If you see something that may be someone’s personal belongings, please leave it be. We will provide pickers, bags, safety vests, gloves, and a good time. We will need some volunteers to clean up the interior of the ditch. So if you have your waders or tall rubber boots, bring them! As always remember to dress appropriately, bring sunscreen, and water. We hope to see you out there!

Leland Community Cleanup
2022-06-18 09:00 - 11:00 | S. Navassa Rd, 152 S Navassa Rd, Leland, NC, United States
Help us clean up S Navassa Rd in the Sturgeon Creek watershed! This cleanup will be located at the site of the future Sturgeon Creek Park!
Navigate to 152 S Navassa Rd – look for CFRW cleanup signs! We will provide everything you need in terms of cleanup supplies: pickers, gloves, buckets, and bags. Be sure that you bring plenty of water and sun protection. Hope to see you there!
Please register beforehand here!

August Second Saturday Cleanup
2022-08-13 09:00 - 11:00 | Railroad at N 30th St., 2929 Princess Place Dr., Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
Cape Fear River Watch is excited to partner with Keep New Hanover Beautiful for our Second Saturday Cleanup on August 13th! The cleanup will take place in the Smith Creek Watershed at the intersection of Princess Place Dr. and 30th from 9:00am-11:00am. We will be heading East and West along the railroad tracks. Parking is available at 2929 Princess Pl Dr, Wilmington, NC 28405. Just look for the CFRW cleanup signs! CFRW will provide pickers, bags, gloves, and safety vests. As always remember to dress appropriately and bring water. We hope to see you out there!
Please register beforehand here.

August Bonus Cleanup
2022-08-20 09:00 - 11:00 | NC
We have a special project we are working on for the next couple of months. There is a location in the Smith Creek Watershed that is in dire need of cleaning up. We approximate 5,000 – 6,000lbs of litter in this location. Because of the large amount of trash and debris, we anticipate that this will take 3 cleanups, with the first being held on Saturday, August 20th from 9-11am. This is going to be a joint effort project with multiple groups involved. The area was previously inhabited by some unhoused folks so special conditions apply to this cleanup. We will list those below. Also if you choose to help with this cleanup you MUST call/text/email Rob Clark, our Water Quality Programs Manager, before the cleanup. He would like to discuss some things that will make this cleanup unique. He can be reached at 910-409-2186 or rob@cfrw.us. Please reach out to him Monday-Friday from 9:00am-5:00pm. With the amount of litter in this area we will also be asking people to bring certain items if they have the means of doing so. These items will also be listed below. We know it is a lot to ask for our volunteers to do back-to-back cleanups, but this is an opportunity to remove a large amount of litter from the Smith Creek Watershed and almost double the amount of trash we have already collected this year! As always CFRW will provide pickers, bags, gloves, and safety vests. Please don’t forget to check the lists below and prepare accordingly. We look forward to seeing you all out there.

Cleanup Requirements
-Cleanup participants must be 18 or up.
-Close toed shoes are required.
-Must call Rob at 910-409-2186 prior to cleanup to discuss cleanup.

Items Needed For Cleanup
-Truck and Trailer (to haul trash)
-Wheelbarrow’s
-Cut resistant gloves (if you have them)
-Shovels
-Bugspray

September Second Saturday Cleanup
2022-09-10 09:00 - 11:00 | Front St & Greenfield St, 110 Greenfield St, Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
Cape Fear River Watch is excited to partner with Keep New Hanover Beautiful for our Second Saturday Cleanup on September 10th! The cleanup will take place in a section that drains directly into the Cape Fear River, drainage ditches that run parallel with Front St. at the intersection of Greenfield St. We have had a lot of rain recently which has deposited trash in this area. The cleanup will take place from 9:00am-11:00am. Parking is available at 110 Greenfield St. Just look for the CFRW cleanup signs! CFRW will provide pickers, bags, gloves, and safety vests. As always remember to dress appropriately and bring water. We hope to see you out there!
Please register beforehand here!

September Bonus Cleanup
2022-09-17 08:30 - 11:00 | NC

October Second Saturday Cleanup: Willard Pond
2022-10-08 09:00 - 11:00 | Willard Pond, 1528 S 16th St, Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
Please register beforehand here.
Cape Fear River Watch is excited to partner with Keep New Hanover Beautiful for our Second Saturday Cleanup on October 8th! The cleanup will take place in the Greenfield Lake Watershed. We will be focusing our efforts on Willard Pond and the connecting wetlands. The cleanup will take place from 9:00am-11:00am. Parking is available along Willard St. An address that will get you close is 1528 S 16th St, Wilmington, NC 28401. Just look for the CFRW cleanup signs! CFRW will provide pickers, bags, gloves, and safety vests. As always remember to dress appropriately and bring water. We hope to see you out there!

2nd Saturday Cleanup: Squash Branch
2022-11-12 09:00 - 11:00 | Greenfield Lake-Northern Finger, 1626 Lake Branch Dr, Wilmington, 28401
REGISTER HERE.
CFRW will be partnering with Keep New Hanover Beautiful to host a cleanup of Greenfield Lake’s Squash Branch on Saturday, November 12h from 9-11am.
This area will require some kayaks, so if you have your own kayak please feel free to bring it! We will also bring some for volunteers to use. Parking can be found along Lake Branch Dr. across from Lake Forest Baptist Church (1626 Lake Branch Dr.). Look for the CFRW & KNHB cleanup signs! We will provide pickers, bags, safety vests, gloves, and a good time. The areas along the banks can get a bit mucky so if you have waterproof boots bring them! As always remember to dress appropriately, bring sunscreen, and water. We hope to see you out there!

NO Dec 2nd Saturday Cleanup
2022-12-10 09:00 - 11:00 | 617 Surry Street, Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
We will not be hosting a 2nd Saturday Cleanup in December. Please join us in January!

2nd Saturday Cleanup: 3rd - 17th St Railroad Tracks
2023-01-14 09:00 - 11:00 | Railroad Tracks 3rd-17th, 811 Martin St, Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
We will once again be partnering with Keep New Hanover Beautiful to host our monthly Second Saturday Cleanup on January 14th from 9-11am. We are going to focus our efforts on the Greenfield Lake Watershed by cleaning up the railroad tracks that run from 3rd to 17th St. The railroad tracks, the roadway, and the storm drains will all need to be cleaned.

The address (811 Martin St.) will lead you to the Good Shepherd Center. Please don’t park in their parking lot – rather, park on either 8th St or Martin St. Look for the CFRW cleanup signs!

There is potential for some of our houseless community members to be in the area of our cleanup. Please be respectful of their space and belongings. If you see something that may be someone’s personal belongings, please leave it be.

We will provide pickers, bags, safety vests, gloves, and a good time. We will need some volunteers to clean up the interior of the ditch. So if you have your waders or tall rubber boots, bring them! As always remember to dress appropriately, bring sunscreen, and water. We hope to see you out there!

Please register here.

2nd Saturday Cleanup- Front Street
2023-02-11 09:00 - 11:00 | 617 Surry Street, Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
Cape Fear River Watch is excited to partner with Keep New Hanover Beautiful for our Second Saturday Cleanup on February 11th! The cleanup will take place in an area that drains directly into the Cape Fear River! We will be focusing our efforts on the stormwater ditches, roadsides, and the connecting wetlands on Front Street. This cleanup will be BYOB(bring your own boots) as we will need as many people with waterproof boots to access the litter on the wetland side of the stormwater ditch. There is also a large amount of litter that has been deposited in the adjacent wetlands. This litter is only accessible with waterproof boots. The cleanup will take place from 9:00am-11:00am. Parking is available in front of New Anthem Brewing as well as the overflow lot across the street. An address that will get you close is 110 Greenfield St, Wilmington, NC 28401. Just look for the CFRW cleanup signs! CFRW will provide pickers, bags, gloves, and safety vests. As always remember to dress appropriately and bring water. We hope to see you out there!
Please register here!

2nd Saturday Cleanup
2023-03-11 09:00 - 11:00 | 617 Surry Street, Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
Cape Fear River Watch is excited to partner with Keep New Hanover Beautiful for our Second Saturday Cleanup on March 11th! The cleanup will take place in an area that flows into Greenfield Lake! We will be focusing our efforts on the stormwater pond, ditches, creek, and the surrounding forest. If you have waterproof boots it wouldn’t hurt to bring them. They will be helpful in the creek and retention pond. The cleanup will take place from 9:00am-11:00am. We will be meeting at the cul de sac on Silver Stream Lane. An address that will get you close is 735 Medical Center Dr, Wilmington, NC 28401. Just look for the CFRW cleanup signs! CFRW will provide pickers,bags,gloves, and safety vests. As always remember to dress appropriately and bring water. We hope to see you out there!
Click here to register.

January 2026 Second Saturday Cleanup
2026-01-10 09:00 - 23:00 | Crossroads Center, 894-1 S Kerr Ave, Wilmington, 28403
Click here to register!
New Year, same cleanups!
For our first Second Saturday Cleanup of the year, we will focus our efforts on two locations within the Burnt Mill Creek watershed. The first will be the drainage easement that runs behind Crossroads Center and Wilmington Brewing. The second location will be the southern continuation of that easement that runs behind Jackson BBQ. We will all meet at a central staging location, which will be located in the parking lot of Crossroads Center. 894-1 S Kerr Ave, Wilmington, NC 28403 should get you to the right spot.
CFRW will provide gloves, pickers, safety vests, bags, data sheets, and pens. If you have waterproof knee boots or waders, please bring them; we will need some people to walk through the center of the ditch, which typically has standing water. Please remember to dress warmly!
We look forward to seeing you all there and starting off 2026 strong!
