The Friends
of South Ellerbe Creek
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Durham
residents clean creeks for Earth Day
The Old West Durham
Neighborhood Association helped organize the stream cleaning group on
Green Street where a triumphant cheer erupted among 10 volunteers after
they dragged a chain-link fence out of South Ellerbe Creek. They were
among 50 who volunteered their time to clean a three-block stretch of
the creek near E.K. Powe Elementary School. Other items dragged from this
part of the creek included tires, bottles, cans, a computer, the fence
and even a French picture book dedicated to cats, "Le Chats."
The thorough job
of the volunteers showed in their post-cleanup appearance. A Duke college
professor had twigs in his hair, and a scientist from the National Institute
of Environmental Health had dirt streaked from sweat running down his
arms. Students from Duke and local public schools assisted, along with
members of neighborhood and conservation groups.
-Herald-Sun (April 2002)
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Working
for a Green Space Near E.K. Powe Elementary
The Friends of South Ellerbe
Creek, E.K. Powe PTA, Ninth Street Merchant's Association, the Neuse River Foundation,
the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association (and other neighborhoods like Watts-Hillandale
and Trinity Park), Club Boulevard Elementary, the Eno River Association and
others are working to establish a green space across from E.K. Powe (along Green
Street -- roughly between Ninth and Carolina). The City of Durham is pursuing
open space impact fees to match grants from other funding sources.
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South Ellerbe Creek is
a tributary of the Neuse River. To help protect the stream, the entire green
space will remain as a natural area. The roots, branches and twigs that hang
over the creek, and grow in its surrounding areas, fall into the creek and provide
a habitat for life in the creek and farther down river. Eventually, there are
plans for a short nature trail and small footbridge (replacing the existing
footbridge) that would connect nearby residential areas with Ninth Street and
public transportation. Preserving the site as a natural area will help protect
the creek and could serve as a model for other neglected urban streams in the
Triangle. For this reason, the Neuse River Foundation is supporting our efforts
to protect this stretch of South Ellerbe. The three benefits to Durham are:
- Community: the
green space would serve as the quiet heart of a neighborhood that has lost
two parks to road construction. The nearby neighborhood is in transition and
establishing an open space in the center would help build a stronger sense
of community. Many organizations, far beyond the Ninth Street area, have written
letters of support for the open space. A natural area might also help attract
customers to the Ninth Street shopping district.
- Schools: generations
of E.K. Powe students have used the green space next door as an outdoor biology
classroom. Preserving this open space is an opportunity to ensure that future
students benefit from their lessons along the creek, adjoining wetlands and
other natural areas. The stretch of South Ellerbe along Green Street offers
a variety of flora and fauna including: wild rose bushes, blackberry bushes,
wild pear trees, cat tails, thrush grasses and other wetland plants, large
bull frogs, rabbits, and racoons. Several varieties of birds also live near
the green space -- including a nesting pair of red tail hawks, several other
hawks, male indigo buntings, rufous-sided towhees, purple finches, and several
types of woodpeckers.
- Environment:
with its 303D status, the Ellerbe Creek watershed is listed as Durham's most
polluted stream system. Protecting the natural areas along this section of
South Ellerbe Creek would reflect the Durham City Council's recent decision
to hold "protecting natural areas" as one of its top priorities for the year.
Science teachers at E.K. Powe were especially excited to see an intact wetlands
area just to the south of the creek -- near the school.
Community leaders meet with Mayor Nick Tennyson (center)
and Mayor Pro-Tem Howard Clement (left).
Letter:
Volunteers
helped make a cleaner Ellerbe Creek (Herald-Sun. May 5, 2001)
Thanks to the work of many volunteers, a corner of Durham is better off today
than it was yesterday. On April 28, some 75 hearty souls took the plunge to
lend a hand and clear all sorts of debris from South Ellerbe Creek in Walltown
Park. Our fast-growing, very wet trash heap included everything from shopping
carts and television sets to water-logged carpet and an old wood wheel that
is now lawn art.
Many local groups joined
forces to improve South Ellerbe - a three-mile creek that flows through several
neighborhoods in western Durham. The Walltown Community Association worked alongside
Urban Hiker magazine, Durham Rotary Club worked with Sierra Club, Environment
First worked with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Old
West Durham with Self-Help, Shodor Foundation with the Durham Rescue Mission,
the People's Alliance with Stormwater Services, and Partners Against Crime II
with folks from the City Council. Durham's fish, and folks who drink water,
are most grateful.
JOHN SCHELP Durham
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