Volunteer

Join our community of volunteers who help make a difference in the Lower Haw River State Natural Area!  We have a variety of opportunities and flexible time commitments.  Contact lowerhawevents@gmail.com and let us know your interests.

Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities:

August 23, 2025 from 9:00 to 11:00 AM - Great Southeast Pollinator Census and Pollinator Garden Workday

We're doing a combo! The Great Southeast Pollinator Census is taking place August 23rd and we are going to participate during our pollinator garden workday. You don't need to be an expert in insect identification to participate in the census. Help capture a snapshot of pollinator activity, including the types of pollinators and which flowers they visit. We will be spending 15 minutes during our workday to fill out a datasheet. It's easy! Select a plant that has insects landing on it and put a tally mark next to the type of insect each time it lands on the plant. Also during the pollinator garden workday, we will be removing invasive plants from our garden. No sign-up required.

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Pollinator Garden

Friends of Lower Haw's pollinator garden is located near the US 15-501 parking lot by the Haw River. We partnered with the North Carolina Wildlife Federation to make our garden a Pollinator Pitstop on their Butterfly Highway program. We hold volunteer workdays to help with weeding, removing invasive plants, and continuing to plant more native plants to enhance our pollinator garden. This is a good opportunity to learn about native and invasive plants, or to put your knowledge of native and invasive plants to good use. Bring your own lopping shears, hand pruners, or trowels, drinking water, insect repellent, and work gloves. We recommend wearing long pants, long sleeve shirt, and closed-toe shoes. There are no restroom facilities at this location. Directions: The pollinator garden is located at the US 15-501 parking lot by the Haw River. The address is 4551 US 15-501 N, Pittsboro NC 27312 (GPS 35.77657, -79.14726). From Chapel Hill, take US 15-501 South towards Pittsboro and the parking lot will be on the right before crossing the Haw River.  From Pittsboro, take US 15-501 North towards Chapel Hill and cross over the Haw River, make a left U-turn after crossing over the river, and head South a short distance to the parking lot on the right.

Whack Attack! Invasive Plant Removal Workdays

Friends of Lower Haw holds invasive plant removal workdays with State Parks biologists. Invasive plant workdays typically involve identifying and removing non-native plants using clippers, pruners, saws, or any other non-motorized hand tool. Only State Parks staff are allowed to use motorized equipment like chainsaws and brush saws for larger plants. Learn about invasive plants and removal techniques. Bring your own loppers or hand pruners, work gloves, insect repellent, and water. Wear long pants, long sleeve shirt, and sturdy closed-toe shoes.

Birdhouse Monitoring

Friends of Lower Haw uses volunteers to monitor our birdhouses in the Lower Haw River State Natural Area.  The birdhouses were funded by a generous donation from bePhilARThropy's Bynum Bridge Fest. Volunteers sign up to monitor one or more boxes between February and June every two weeks for nesting activity, then weekly if there is a nest, and report the results. Adoption is a commitment for the entire breeding season.

Wildlife Camera Monitoring

Friends of Lower Haw uses volunteers to monitor our wildlife cameras in the Lower Haw River State Natural Area.  The wildlife cameras were funded by a generous donation from bePhilARThropy's Bynum Bridge Fest. We have 3 wildlife cameras to capture wildlife activity and need volunteer monitors for each wildlife camera. The wildlife cameras are monitored year-round, downloading the images every month. See a presentation by Matt Spangler at this link and on our Publications page about the Secret Life of Animals based on our wildlife camera images.

Trail Building Crew

We are partnering with the Chatham County Parks & Recreation department's Trails & Open Space Planner to recruit volunteers for our trail building crew. If you are interested in joining our volunteer trail building crew, please contact us at lowerhawevents@gmail.com. 

Clean-Up Events

Friends of Lower Haw is not offering group volunteer clean-up events. If you are interested in volunteering for clean-up events, please visit the Clean Jordan Lake website to see their upcoming events or find out how to adopt a shoreline or feeder stream.  Even though Friends of Lower Haw is not offering group volunteer clean-up events, you can still help do nature a favor by taking a trash bag and work gloves with you when you go for a walk along the Haw River and pick up trash along the way.