March 2026 Second Saturday Cleanup
2026-03-14 09:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York) | McCumbers Branch, 1301 Rankin St., Wilmington, NC, 28401
Click here to register!
Cape Fear River Watch is partnering with Keep New Hanover Beautiful for our Second Saturday Cleanup on March 14th! The cleanup will take place in the Burnt Mill Creek watershed. We will be focusing our efforts on McCumbers Branch near Rankin St. The cleanup will take place from 9-11 a.m. at 1301 Rankin St. Parking will be available in the large grass lot. Follow our cleanup signs!
Waders and/or waterproof boots will be ideal here, so if you have those please bring them! We will provide pickers, bags, gloves and safety vests. As always, remember to dress appropriately for the weather, apply bug spray, and bring plenty water.
We hope to see you out there!

Second Annual Sip & Shuck Fundraiser
2026-03-15 16:00 - 19:00 | The Alley, 1605 Queen St., Wilmington, NC, 28401
Click here for tickets!
Join us for bivalves and brews during our second annual Sip & Shuck! Our hit oyster roast fundraiser is back on Sunday, March 15th from 4-7 p.m. at The Alley at The Cargo District in Wilmington. We have kindly been gifted another 1,500 oysters raised with care by the UNCW Shellfish Hatchery to share with you. Eat good and feel great knowing that, just like an oyster, you are helping protect and improve the water quality of the Cape Fear River.
Each $75 ticket gets you 20 oysters cooked by your Cape Fear Riverkeeper Kemp Burdette, two locally-crafted beers (with four pours to choose from) by Mad Mole Brewing and The Alley, and live music courtesy of The Noseeums. Tickets are limited—and this sold out fast last year—so reserve your spot at the shucking table today!
Dinner is available at Salita Pizza, right in The Alley, plus other tasty Cargo District offerings.
This event is generously supported by the Crafted Outpost and The Alley!

Greenfield Lake Golden Hour Guided Paddle
2026-03-19 17:30 - 18:30 | Greenfield Lake Boathouse, 302 Willard St., Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
Click here for tickets!
Come explore Greenfield Lake “after hours” as we embark on a golden hour guided tour by paddleboat in celebration of Cape Fear Creek Week. We will wind through a secluded cove, offering sightings of cypresses, fish, reptiles, and roosting birds. Along the way, we will learn about algal blooms, spillways, and watersheds—and how protecting the water quality of this hidden urban gem helps protect the Cape Fear River Basin as a whole.
One registration per paddleboat, please list all passengers (including the registrant) in your registration. Each paddleboat fits up-to four people. Limited boats available–secure your spot early!
We will meet at the Greenfield Lake Boathouse no later than 5:15, to hit the water by 5:30. Parking is available at 1739 Burnett Blvd., Wilmington, NC 28401.
Greenfield Lake Boathouse is run in support of Cape Fear River Watch.

April First Saturday Seminar
2026-04-04 08:00 - 10:30 | Cape Fear River Watch Headquarters, 617 Surry Street, Wilmington, NC, 28405, United States
The state’s oldest history museum, founded in 1898, the Cape Fear Museum focuses on the history, science, and culture of the Lower Cape Fear region. Museum Director Kate Baillon will give us an exclusive preview of the state-of-the-art exhibits and experiences coming to the museum’s new Grace St. campus this summer, including a planetarium, education space, and much more.

Be sure to join us before the seminar at 8 a.m. to warm up with free coffee and pancakes!

Please note: our front door is currently out of use due to renovations, please follow the signs and use our side door for seminar entry!

April 2026 Second Saturday Cleanup
2026-04-11 09:00 - 11:00 | 811 Martin St. Wilmington, NC 28401, 811 Martin St., Wilmington, North Carolina, 28401
Click here to register!

Every month is Earth Month for us at Cape Fear River Watch!

We are partnering with Keep New Hanover Beautiful for our monthly community litter cleanup from 9-11 a.m. on April 11th! The cleanup will take place in an area that flows into Greenfield Lake. We will be focusing our efforts on the area’s around the Good Shepherd Center. We will meet at the intersection of 8th and Martin—an address that will get you close is 811 Martin St. (please do not park in the Good Shepherd parking lot). Just follow our cleanup in progress signs! We will bring pickers, bags, gloves, and safety vests—you bring your passion for clean water. As always, remember to dress appropriately for the weather and bring yourself sunscreen, bug spray, and plenty of water.

ecoBLAST at the Cowan Museum of History and Science
2026-04-11 10:00 - 14:00 | Cowan Museum of History and Science, 411 S. Main St., Kenansville, North Carolina, 28349
Click here to see what’s in store!

Join us on Saturday, April 11, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for ecoBLAST, part of the North Carolina Science Festival. This free event will be held on the grounds at the Cowan Museum of History and Science at 411 S. Main St., Kenansville, NC 28349. There will be FREE admission and FREE parking, and a family-friendly day full of discovery and fun.

What to expect:
• Up-close encounters with animals
• Fun, hands-on learning for all ages
• Interactive games & exhibits
• Delicious food trucks on site

It’s the perfect way to spend a spring day!

April 2026 Paddle - Ivanhoe *Experience Required*
2026-04-18 08:45 - 14:00 | WRC Ramp at Ivanhoe, 3681 Ivanhoe Rd, Ivanhoe, NC, 28447
Click here to register!
Join us as we continue our exploration of the Cape Fear River Basin by boat as we paddle the Black River! This paddle will be a little longer than our other paddles. We’ll paddle around 9 miles of the upper reaches of the Black River from the WRC put-in near Ivanhoe, NC to Henry’s Landing. This is a more advanced paddle and is not recommended for beginners. There will be approximately 3.5 hours of paddling and some possible portages due to downed trees or blockages in the river. In addition to a beautiful blackwater river, expect snags, strainers, sandbars, and low water. This is not the paddle for first time paddlers, but we will offer plenty of other beginner-friendly paddles this year!
We will meet at the put-in no later than 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, April 18th.
Put-in: WRC Ramp at Ivanhoe
Take-out: Henry’s Landing *Henry’s Landing is a private landing and there is a $5 fee per boat to use the landing. You will need to bring $5 in cash on this trip, exact change required.*
All paddlers should wear a PFD. Paddlers using CFRW boats are required to wear a PFD. Other items to remember to pack include sunscreen, bug spray (wasps are present on this paddle), hat, sunglasses, water, snack/lunch and water shoes. If you have an allergy that is severe, remember to bring your epi-pen or medication.
We have a limited number of boats available to CFRW Members for a suggested donation ($25 per boat; includes PFD and paddle). If you would like to use a CFRW boat, please indicate so during your registration. For this paddle, we are only offering single kayaks. If you wish to use a tandem, please email morgan@cfrw.us prior to registering and we may be able to accommodate. If you need join or renew prior to the paddle, you can click here or call our office at 910-762-5606.
To help CFRW continue to bring you engaging programs like our paddle series, water quality monitoring, and educational seminars, we ask you that make a $10 donation either online with your registration or by bringing cash or check to the paddle on Saturday. THANK YOU!
If you need help the day of, please call Kemp at 910-264-8036. Conditions may change in the period leading up to the paddle. Please check your email the night before and the morning of the paddle to ensure that the paddle has not been cancelled.

Practice Public Hearing
2026-04-20 17:30 - 19:30 | Cape Fear River Watch Headquarters, 617 Surry Street, Wilmington, NC, 28405, United States
In one week, the state’s Environmental Management Commission will be in Wilmington to hear public comments on a proposed “minimization rule” on the discharge of PFAS, or forever chemicals, in the Cape Fear River Basin. This rule, which was written by polluters themselves, will (shocker) not actually limit the amount of PFAS that polluters can discharge into our river, our drinking water. If passed, this would simply require polluters whose discharge is above the safe threshold to make a plan on how they “might” do something about it.

And the state wants us to believe them, but we in the Cape Fear River Basin know FAR too well that polluters will not put people over their profits. We need you to show up to this public hearing and tell the EMC face-to-face: enough is enough, we need REAL regulations on PFAS in the Cape Fear River Basin and statewide.

We will be hosting a practice hearing from 5:30-7:30 p.m. this Monday, April 20th at the CFRW office to help you prepare. Bring your comments and practice with your Cape Fear Riverkeeper Kemp! Kemp and friends from Cape Fear Sierra Club will provide an overview on PFAS, what this rule means, and other need-to-know information. We’ll enjoy snacks and refreshments, share stories on how PFAS impacts us, and then come together on Thursday, April 23rd to fight this:

Wilmington City Hall at Skyline Center, 1st Floor Conference Center
929 North Front St., Wilmington, NC 28401
6 p.m. (speaker registration starts at 5 p.m.)
Wear BLUE to create a river of support for the Cape Fear River Basin!

If you cannot make it, please sign our petition at tr.ee/peopleoverpolluters and we’ll send you additional ways to take action before commenting closes on June 15th.

Pender County River Cleanup
2026-04-25 09:00 - 11:00 | N.C. Wildlife Boat Ramp, 525 Whitestocking Rd., Burgaw, North Carolina, 28425
Click here to register!
Join Pender County Parks & Recreation for a kayak-based cleanup on the Northeast Cape Fear River from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday, April 25th!
We’ll meet at the N.C. Wildlife Boat Ramp at 525 Whitestocking Rd, Burgaw, NC 28425.
All cleanup materials will be provided, and a limited number of kayaks from our CFRW fleet will be available. Feel free to bring your own kayak and help keep the Northeast Cape Fear clean!

May First Saturday Seminar
2026-05-02 08:00 - 10:30 | Cape Fear River Watch Headquarters, 617 Surry Street, Wilmington, NC, 28405, United States
Join us for another wild installment in our monthly seminar series! Jeremy Bivins, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator based in Carolina Beach, will offer an inside look into the lives of our wild neighbors in the Lower Cape Fear. Jeremy will share tips and tricks on how you can best coexist with urban wildlife, including responsible feeding practices and what to do if you come across one that is orphaned or injured. Plus, Jeremy will debunk myths about some of our misunderstood “pest” species.

Saturday, May 2nd at 9:00 a.m.
CFRW Office (617 Surry St.)
Join us before the seminar at 8 a.m. to warm up with free coffee and pancakes!

Please note: our front door is currently out of use due to renovations, please follow the signs and use our side door for seminar entry!

Paddle Through History on Moores Creek
2026-05-16 08:30 - 14:00 | Moores Creek National Battlefield, 40 Patriots Hall Dr., Currie, NC, 28435, United States
Click here to register!
Join us and Moores Creek National Battlefield for a patriotic paddle along Moores Creek in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
Moores Creek is situated along a 88-acre national park that commemorates the battle between Patriots and Loyalist militia on February 27th, 1776. This battle was the first major victory for the Patriots and independence in North Carolina. The creek itself is a peaceful, slow moving blackwater creek that flows into the Black River, a major tributary of the Cape Fear River.
We will experience the creek as it was in 1776, starting at the battlefield, passing under the historic bridge, and tucking into untouched cypress swamps. This paddle is an out-and-back with a roughly 2.5 mile route. Following the paddle, we will load up and take time to enjoy lunch within the park, before joining a park ranger for an exclusive history tour (included with paddle registration!).

June 2026 First Saturday Seminar
2026-06-06 09:00 - 10:00 | Cape Fear River Watch Headquarters, 617 Surry Street, Wilmington, NC, 28405, United States
We’re reaching the mid-year mark, and much has happened around the Cape Fear River Basin already. Let’s catch up! Our next seminar is a special one, as we hear an advocacy update from our Executive Director and Cape Fear Riverkeeper Kemp Burdette. Kemp will dive deeper into the advocacy campaigns you’ve seen us working on—from PFAS to the proposed port expansion and everything in-between—and share how you can take action, too.
🗓️: Saturday, June 6th at 9:00 a.m.
📍: CFRW Office (617 Surry St.)
🥞: Join us before the seminar at 8 a.m. to warm up with free coffee and pancakes, plus the chance to meet our new summer interns!
Please note: our front door is currently out of use due to ongoing renovations, follow the signs and use our side door for seminar entry.

June Second Saturday Cleanup
2026-06-13 09:00 - 23:00 | 735 Medical Center Dr., Wilmington, NC 28401, 735 Medical Center Dr., Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
Click here to register!
Cape Fear River Watch is partnering with Keep New Hanover Beautiful for our Second Saturday Cleanup on June 13th! The cleanup will take place in the Greenfield Lake watershed behind the Bojangles and Speedway on US 421 from 9-11 a.m. We will be cleaning up the woods, as well as the surrounding stormwater ditch and pond. Parking is available along Silverstream Lane, and an address that will get you close is 735 Medical Center Dr, Wilmington, NC 28401. Just follow for our “cleanup in progress” signs! We will bring the pickers, bags, gloves, and safety vests. You bring your passion for clean water. As always, please remember to dress appropriately for the weather and bring yourself plenty of water. We hope to see you out there!

June 2026 Third Saturday Paddle
2026-06-20 08:30 - 13:00 | Archie Blue Community Park, 1601 Wynnwood St., Wilmington, NC, 28401, United States
Click here to register!
Join us as we continue our exploration of the Cape Fear River Basin by boat! This month, we will paddle a route that spans four waterways, with Downtown Wilmington in view. Our trip will start us off back in Burnt Mill Creek, into the marshes of Smith Creek, under the Isabel Holmes Bridge on the Northeast Cape Fear River, then passing by the riverwalk on the main stem of the Cape Fear River, before finishing off below the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.
