Programs

Yadkin Riverkeeper works to provide a clean and healthy river, whose benefits are shared in a sustainable and equitable way. Please support the following programs designed to protect the river and educate the public.

Tour de Yadkin

Tour de Yadkin is a wonderful way for paddlers and their families to explore the easy waters of the Yadkin River. Beginner paddlers are welcome! This is a great opportunity for folks to get outside, and have fun, while enjoying the serene beauty the Yadkin River offers. Participants will soon recognize how valuable clean water is to the vitality of our state. The Yadkin is the lifeblood of this entire region, and to all the communities that rely on the Yadkin for fishable, swimmable, drinkable water.

The 4^th Annual Tour de Yadkin is a 165-mile paddling adventure on North Carolina’s second largest river basin. For three weeks from June 9 to 29, 2013, hundreds of paddlers in canoes and kayaks will take to the water from the highlands of Wilkes County to the Uwharrie Mountains of south central North Carolina to experience the simple beauty of this national treasure. Paddlers will learn about the rich cultural and natural heritage the Yadkin River Valley has to offer while enjoying a summer day on one of the most beautiful rivers in NC, centrally located in Piedmont NC. Paddlers can join the Tour for a few hours or multiple days. Along the way are unique experiences that make the month of June a fun time for the whole family on the river.

Operation Medicine Cabinet

Operation Medicine Cabinet Overview

Operation Medicine Cabinet is a collaborative effort of law enforcement, health and safety, substance abuse prevention, environmental organizations and others. We are working together to protect our kids, communities and waters from the dangers of leftover prescription drugs. Yadkin Riverkeeper is proud to participate in this collaborative effort.

OMC has two goals: to stop pharmaceutical flushing that pollutes water and to eliminate unused medications unsafely stored in households, which can cause unintentional poisoning or be misappropriated. OMC partners law enforcement with the public through Take-Back events that provide a safe, anonymous opportunity for the public to dispose of unused medicines. Through events and education, OMC increases both public and organizational participation to reduce the harmful practice of pharmaceutical flushing.

River Protection Program

Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks The Yadkin Riverkeeper® River Protection Program sponsors a full-time Riverkeeper licensed by the National Waterkeeper® Alliance. The role of the Yadkin Riverkeeper is to protect water quality throughout the Yadkin River basin through routine patrols, analyzing sewage discharge permits, and working with regulators and elected officials to enforce compliance with the federal Clean Water Act and NC pollution control laws.

The Yadkin River Story

UPDATE:
The Winter/Spring 2011 issue of North Carolina Conversations, a publication of the North Carolina Humanities Council, included a lengthy article by Pheobe Zerwick on the Yadkin River Story, accompanied by Christine Rucker's photos. Click the publication's title above to read the entire article on the NC Humanities Council website. The North Carolina Humanities Council is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Yadkin River Story is a multimedia documentary project about a stretch of the Yadkin River near the East Bend and the people who have made the river a part of their lives. Photographer Christine Rucker and writer Pheobe Zerwick combined their talents for the project. They partnered with the Yadkin Riverkeeper to obtain grants from the N.C. Humanities Council, the John W. and Anna H. Hanes Foundation and the Arts Council of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County.

Muddy Water Watch

Muddy Water Watch (MWW) is a state-wide initiative to reduce stormwater runoff from construction sites by providing training workshops and materials developed specifically for citizens on the NC Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973 and the NC NPDES General Permit for construction stormwater runoff. MWW was developed so that trained volunteers will be able to properly identify sedimentation and erosion violations from active construction sites, as well as document poorly maintained Best Management Practices (BMP’s).

Floating Classroom

floating classroom example The goal of a Floating Classroom Program is to educate and motivate our youth to become more responsible stewards of our state's water resources, not only by experiencing estuarine water quality research firsthand, but also by learning about the policy issues that affect estuarine health, and by understanding how each person can contribute to protection of our state's public trust aquatic resources.