Local waterway group, Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River, and the Rotary Club of Sylva will be working together to cleanup Scotts Creek in preparation for its new designation as a Mountain Heritage Trout Waters. The designation is expected to bring more tourists and fisherman to the creek to fish.

Volunteers will meet at Monteith Farmstead Park in Dillsboro and divide into small teams, each with a set of trash bags and a designated clean up spot. Participants are asked to register in advance and will receive a t-shirt.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or www.WATRnc.org or 828.488.8418. 

Cullasaja Gorge clean up needs hands

For a bit of environmental dirty work, a cook out and a free t-shirt, volunteers can join this year’s Cullasaja Gorge Clean up on Saturday, April 13, in Macon County.

The Cullasaja Gorge is the steep and scenic route between Franklin and Highlands, a primary tourist corridor. The clean-up is sponsored by the Highlands Chamber of Commerce, the town’s Main Street Committee, the Franklin Chamber of Commerce, Venture Local Franklin, and Stay And Play In The Smokies. 

Participants will meet at Pine Grove Baptist Church at 9 a.m. and then carpool different assigned sections of the Gorge for clean up work. Following the clean up, the group will meet at the Cliffside Lake shelter area for a cookout.

828.526.2112 or 828.421.0535.

Rafters and walkers needed for large-scale Tuckasegee clean up

Volunteers are needed to help remove trash from Jackson County’s primary waterway during the 29th annual Tuckasegee River Cleanup on April 20.

Anyone willing to help clean up the river can register between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. April 20 on the lawn of Western Carolina University’s A.K. Hinds University Center. Volunteers will be issued life jackets and paddles, then will be transported to the river, where they will be set off down the river in rafts with trash bags.

The event, sponsored by WCU’s Base Camp Cullowhee, will last several hours. It will be followed by a free cookout event at 5 p.m. with live entertainment and door prizes.

All participants who ride rafts during the cleanup must weigh at least 40 pounds and wear shoes that will not come off in the water. An alternative walker’s route is available for those who prefer to not raft on the river.

864.906.7444.