Cleaning and cooperating on the Dan River

I found a great article on local college students that teamed with the Tar Heel Paddlers to have a clean-up day along the Dan River:

HPU Students Participate In Dan River Cleanup
HIGH POINT, N.C., Sept. 7, 2009 - High Point University students involved in the Outdoor Activities Club and a kayaking class recently cleaned a 12-mile section of the Dan River in Stokes County.

This cleanup, part of the Big Sweep North Carolina initiative, marks the 12th cleanup in which these two groups have participated since 2003. The HPU groups typically help clean up the Dan River twice a year.

Clay Stradley, a senior biology major at HPU, has participated in the event previously.

"When I look at the current state of the environment, I am looking for any opportunity to make an improvement," Stradley says. "So that is why I opted to go on the Dan River cleanup again. It's also just fun to be outdoors enjoying nature."

The groups couldn't have done it without local partners that supplied them with the items needed to help clean up such a large area.

Kelly Norton, director of Experiential Learning, says HPU partners with the Tarheel Paddlers Association, a group of local paddlers who cleaned a section of the river at the same time; the Dan River Company, which donated the canoes that were used as trash barges; Hanging Rock State Park rangers, who arranged pickup of the trash that was unloaded at the Hanging Rock access on the Dan River; and the National Association Conservation District of Stokes County, which provided trash bags and gloves, helped advertise the event and arranged trash pickup at Moratock Park.

At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in a fun environment with caring people. HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with 3,700 undergraduate and graduate students from 50 countries and 44 states at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report No. 5 among comprehensive universities in the South and No. 1 in its category among up-and-coming schools. Forbes.com ranks HPU in the top 6 percent among "America's Best Colleges." HPU was included in The Chronicle of Higher Education's "Great Colleges to Work For" 2009 listings. The university offers 68 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors and seven graduate degree programs. It is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. Visit High Point University on the Web at www.highpoint.edu.

This is a great program and shows how much we can accomplish when we work together. In the same frame of thought, The Dan River Basin Association will soon have an office in Stokes County. This group is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the river and will be a welcome partner to us. Glad to have you on board. Here is a link to their web site:http://www.danriver.org/