Wild Ideas for Clean Creeks

Triangle Land Conservancy will host Wild Ideas for Clean Creeks on March 20, 2018 at ReCity in downtown Durham starting at 5:30pm. Community members are invited to come meet your creek and celebrate 10 years of watershed protection and collaboration while enjoying free local food and Durty Bull Brewing Company beer. Register online at https://triangleland.org/explore/wild-ideas. Triangle Land Conservancy’s Wild Ideas series provides a unique venue for experts and the community to share their innovative ideas to improve lives through conservation by safeguarding clean water, protecting wildlife habitat, supporting local farms and food, and connecting people to nature. This particular gathering celebrates the 10th anniversary of Durham Creek Week, a time to discover and clean up our local streams. Creek Week is a collaboration between the organizations, government departments, businesses, and citizens that help protect Durham’s watersheds and drinking water. At Wild Ideas for Clean Creeks you’ll hear from 5 speakers about some of the ongoing initiatives and ideas that are cleaning up our creeks, conserving the land that filters our water, and planning for tomorrow. Talk one- on-one with the people making it happen during the Creek Week Expo. Margaret Sands, Membership and Community Outreach Coordinator at Triangle Land Conservancy, describes the connection, “Creek Week does a great job bringing awareness to the Durham community about ways to clean up our local creeks and encouraging people to get involved. We at Triangle Land Conservancy are excited to use Wild Ideas for Clean Creeks as a platform for upstream solutions to meet downstream actions.” The featured speakers for Wild Ideas for Clean Creeks are Dr. Emily Bernhardt (Associate Professor of Biogeochemistry, Department of Biology at Duke University), Crystal Dreisbach-(Don’t Waste Durham), Chris Dreps (Executive Director, Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association), Robert Howes (Director of Conservation and Stewardship, Triangle Land Conservancy), Darryl Moss (former Mayor of Creedmoor and Water Quality Advocate), and Stephanie Panlasigui (Director of Conservation, Eno River Association). The emcee for the event is Laura Webb Smith, (Creek Week Organizer, Public Education Coordinator Public Works Department, Stormwater and GIS Services for the City of Durham). After the presentations there will be an expo featuring local organizations that help protect our local watershed including City of Durham Water Management, CompostNow, Conservation Trust for North Carolina, Don’t Waste Durham, Durham Hub Farm, Durham Parks and Recreation, Durham Soil and Water Conservation District, Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association, Eno River Association, Frog Hollow Outdoors, Haw River Assembly, Keep Durham Beautiful, NC Association of Floodplain Managers, NC Forest Service, Northeast Creek Stream Watch, and Urban Community Agrinomics.

“The Creek Week committee is an impressive representation of the passion for water quality at every level of our community. It is because of creative collaborations and dedication from these groups that Durham is among the first municipalities in the nation to embrace an innovative model for funding conserved land to filter clean drinking water. I can’t wait for the community to see them all gathered in one room to share their ideas” said Sands. TLC extends special appreciation to our program sponsors Bank of America, Triangle Community Foundation, Wells Fargo, Murphy’s Naturals, Centrex Properties Inc., Great Outdoor Provision Co., Duke Energy Foundation, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina for their support of this free event.