At ECWA we believe that once we bring people to the creek they will fall in love with the creek. That is why we offer a variety of opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to experience our preserves and work first hand. RSVP here for an upcoming event or click on the event in the calendar below.
Creek Smart Tours
Come learn about (and see firsthand) some of the work that ECWA is doing around Durham to reduce stormwater runoff. ECWA offers regular Creek Smart Tours that include stops at our Pearl Mill Nature Preserve, Watts Elementary, and the North Street Community. On the tour you will visit examples of stormwater mitigation projects in various stages of completion as you learn how bioretentions, rain gardens, and cisterns can provide wildlife habitat and benefit the creek. We also have a self guided walking tour that you can take in your own time.
Come learn about (and see firsthand) some of the work that ECWA is doing around Durham to reduce stormwater runoff. ECWA offers regular Creek Smart Tours that include stops at our Pearl Mill Nature Preserve, Watts Elementary, and the North Street Community. On the tour you will visit examples of stormwater mitigation projects in various stages of completion as you learn how bioretentions, rain gardens, and cisterns can provide wildlife habitat and benefit the creek. We also have a self guided walking tour that you can take in your own time.
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Nature Walks and Outings
ECWA offers regular nature walks for people to come and learn about a particular topic from a local expert on one of our preserves. The subject matter varies greatly, but past walk topics have included: birding, butterflies, dendrology, fall colors, ferns, geology, stream insects, lichens, wildflowers, and more. ECWA also engages in partnerships to offer special tours not often open to the public. One of our most popular nature walks of the year is in our Glennstone Memorial Day Heron Rookery hike. The Heron Rookery is owned by the city of Durham but we gain special access to give attendees the unique opportunity to see hundreds of nesting blue herons and their fledglings. ECWA celebrates the Ellerbe Creek through the Ellerbe Creek BioBlitz in the fall. This BioBlitz is an opportunity for watershed residents to practice citizen science by gathering data on the nature in the Ellerbe Creek watershed. |
Workdays and Creek Clean Ups
ECWA owns over 140 acres of open-to-the-public nature preserves. Maintaining these preserves for public use while also working to restore native habitat takes a LOT of work! Come join get your hands dirty with our Stewardship Program at a community preserve workday! Volunteer activities include picking up trash, maintaining and creating new trails, and managing invasive species (such as ivy and privet removal).
ECWA also offers multiple off-preserve creek cleanups each year. Look for opportunities to canoe down the Ellerbe Creek from Red Mill Road to where the creek meets Falls Lake, picking up trash along the way.
ECWA owns over 140 acres of open-to-the-public nature preserves. Maintaining these preserves for public use while also working to restore native habitat takes a LOT of work! Come join get your hands dirty with our Stewardship Program at a community preserve workday! Volunteer activities include picking up trash, maintaining and creating new trails, and managing invasive species (such as ivy and privet removal).
ECWA also offers multiple off-preserve creek cleanups each year. Look for opportunities to canoe down the Ellerbe Creek from Red Mill Road to where the creek meets Falls Lake, picking up trash along the way.
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Beaver Queen Pageant
The Beaver Queen Pageant is ECWA’s annual fundraising event . A mash-up of community, creativity, playfulness, and advocacy, the event is uniquely Durham. Founded in 2005 by members of the Duke Park neighborhood to protect beavers from a potentially harmful road construction project, the pageant attracts thousands of people from all over the Triangle. Held the first Saturday in June at Duke Park, the Beaver Queen Pageant is a free, family-friendly beaver ‘beauty pageant’ where contestants take on beaver personalities such as" Fur Pelton John" and "Tinder Beaver." Embracing pageant goers of all genders, races, and orientations, The Beaver Queen Pageant is not only fun but honors diversity, supports our community, and furthers the protection of green space for all. |
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