Orange County is celebrating its third annual “Creek Week,” with activities offered via the Public Works Department to celebrate local waterways through March 23.
The County — along with local governments and organizations across the state — recognizes Creek Week to raise awareness about and celebrate Orange County’s creeks, streams, rivers and other waterways.
Various water-oriented events were planned for each day of the week, like a youth fishing clinic and a volunteer workday in Pritchard Park, as well as some that spanned the whole week, including a weeklong countywide community scavenger hunt.
Sammy Bauer, a stormwater educator for the Chapel Hill Public Works Department, said Creek Week is a chance to get out and help folks nurture deeper relationships with the waterways that sustain the community. They said Creek Week is a big celebration of our local waterways and how important they are.
Bauer decided to propose the idea of Creek Week three years ago when they saw the success that other communities had with it. Orange County partnered with the statewide Clean Water Education Partnership to take part in their regional Creek Week.
Some local businesses in Orange County are offering celebratory events for Creek Week, as well. 1922 by Carolina Coffee Shop in Chapel Hill will be serving a Creek Week-themed latte and Golden Fig Books in Carrboro and Durham will have a water-themed book display.
“Our bodies are 70 percent water, right?" Bauer said. "If you live, work or play in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area, and you get your drinking water from OWASA, a lot of that water is coming from Morgan Creek or Cane Creek. So 70 percent of your body is made up of these waterways.”
Melissa McCullough, a Chapel Hill Town Council member who spent more than 30 years working for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said creeks are an important part of our ecosystem that are often overlooked. She said fun activities offered during Creek Week are a way to bring attention to the importance of our local waterways.
On March 20, “Creek Week Crafternoon" provided a chance for elementary schoolers to decorate nature-themed bookmarks at the Chapel Hill Public Library.
