Volunteer

Current volunteer opportunities to help make a difference include:
Birdhouses and Wildlife Cams Monitoring (begins March 1, 2019)
Trash Can Litter Reduction Team (ongoing)
Clean-Up Events (ongoing)
Bynum Beach Access Tree Limb & Debris Removal (Saturdays in March 2019)

Bynum Beach Access Tree Limb & Debris Removal

Chatham County Parks & Recreation has contacted Friends of Lower Haw for recruiting volunteers for one or more workdays on Saturdays in March at Bynum Beach Access.  Bynum Beach Access is a mess, and Parks & Rec could use volunteers to help remove downed limbs and possibly cut more limbs where needed.  Two Parks & Rec employees will be present to coordinate the volunteer workday.  If you are interested in helping with a workday at Bynum Beach Access, contact us at lowerhawevents@gmail.com with "Bynum Beach" in the subject line.


Birdhouses and Wildlife Cams Monitoring (begins March 1, 2019)

Looking for a fun way to volunteer this spring and summer?  Friends of Lower Haw is recruiting volunteers for our new birdhouse and wildlife camera project in the Lower Haw River State Natural Area!  The birdhouses and wildlife cams were funded by a generous donation from bePhilARThropy's 2018 Bynum Bridge Fest.
Friends of Lower Haw and New Hope Audubon are partnering on a bird nest box project around the Lower Haw River State Natural Area. We have installed 12 (of 14) nest boxes intended to accommodate a variety of bird species. These boxes can be found in 4 general areas, described further below. We are almost finished installing all of the nest boxes, and now we are ready to start monitoring them for nesting activity, but we need your help beginning this March!  The idea is that each volunteer will check nest boxes in a given area roughly once a week, and then report the results. We would like to begin with coverage of all the boxes from March through June.
We are also installing 2 wildlife cameras to capture the action, which will also require volunteer monitors.  The wildlife cameras will be monitored year-round, downloading the images every month or so
Specific locations of the boxes and cameras are all visible on this map at https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1cxjhB8yKPnpg-Wh6ktqUhBkKVoI3hf43&ll=35.77168745728508%2C-79.14180779999998&z=16 
Please let us know if you are interested in signing up as either a birdhouse monitor, or a wildlife cam monitor, or both!  More details on both activities will be provided to those who are interested in helping.  If you are interested, please contact Matt Spangler at mbspang12@gmail.com with your preferred area(s) and availability (e.g., March through June or a shorter period of time). Please share this email with others who may be interested.
Nest box locations (see map):

  1. Bynum Mill (the field where Bynum Mill once stood, on the NE side of the river) has 5 bluebird boxes
  2. Bynum Trail (down the trail accessible from the Bynum Mill parking lot, on the NE side of river) has 2 prothonotary warbler boxes
  3. SW Bynum (downstream from Bynum Beach Road on the SW side of the river, adjacent to Chatham Parks land) has 1 wood duck box, 1 bluebird box
  4. Bynum Dam (just north of the Bynum Dam on the NE side of river, accessible from 15-501) has 1 brown-headed nuthatch box, 2 prothonotary warbler boxes, 1 wood duck box
Trash Can Litter Reduction Team (ongoing)

We initiated an ongoing project to help with the trash problem along the riverbank. We installed trash cans at popular access points at the Haw River, and volunteers empty the bins on a regular basis, since State Parks does not have the staffing resources to do it. Locations include US 15-501 near the Bynum Dam, next to the old Bynum Bridge, the Bynum Mill lower parking lot, and US 64 on the SE side. We augment annual clean-up efforts by tackling the trash problem on an ongoing basis. Litter is not only an eyesore that detracts from the beauty of this state natural area, it also harms wildlife, their habitats, and water quality.  This project has been successful in reducing the amount of litter from recreational use at popular access points!  Join us in helping to keep the Lower Haw River State Natural Area beautiful. Volunteers sign up on a monthly basis for locations and months of their choice.  Contact Matt Spangler at mbspang12@gmail.com if you want to volunteer to help tackle the trash problem. 


Clean-Up Events (ongoing)
Friends of Lower Haw coordinates volunteer clean-up teams during spring, fall, and winter. We will post dates of future clean-up events on this page.  If you are interested in volunteering for a clean-up event, please contact lowerhawevents@gmail.com with "Clean-Up" in the subject line.