The annual High Rock Lake CleanSweep is set for Saturday, Sept. 16, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. This is the only lake event that encompasses both Rowan and Davidson Counties for a unified collaborative effort that benefits the region.

This year, HRLCleanSweep will serve as the official kickoff event for Rowan and Davidson County Creek Weeks. High Rock Lake is the second largest lake in North Carolina, with more than 300 miles of shoreline. The lake is formed by the Yadkin River and feeds into Badin and Tillery, respectively.

The High Rock dam catches most of the larger debris which could remain in High Rock Lake. But there needs to be more of a community effort to remove random debris floating on the lake, from footballs and beverage cans to flip flops and even pieces of docks. High Rock Lake is situated between Davidson and Rowan counties and provides recreation opportunities for residents and visitors alike, adding to the economy of more than a dozen municipalities.

A few years ago, Shane Graham and Barry Childers who both grew up on the lake wanted to revive the lake clean sweep from their youth, a community effort that was held annually. The two men, now local business owners on their respective ‘side’ of the lake, have personal experience with items floating along the shoreline and ending up in desolate coves or homeowners’ properties.

“With such a beautiful natural resource in our literal backyards it is imperative that we rally all the stakeholders to make sure it’s here for generations to come,” said Graham, president of the HRLCleansweep Committee. The High Rock Lake CleanSweep committee board members are volunteer leaders Shane Graham, Barry Childers, AnnMarie Clark, Toni Wooten-Wright, Karen Baldwin, Edgar Miller, Jeff Swing and Joyce Caron-Mercier. With two clean-up/collection access points on the lake, volunteers can use either N.C. Wildlife Access ramp location at Bringle Ferry Road, Salisbury or Hwy. 8, Southmont, for supply pick up and debris drop off at the end of the day.

Homeowner associations, Scout troops and dozens of individual homeowners and even those who do not live on the lake but have been enjoying it for years are invited to come out to the wildlife access ramp to receive supplies and identify the location that they preferred to work. No matter the connection to the lake, all have one thing in common, an appreciation for our natural resources and the desire to keep our recreational gem sitting between Rowan and Davidson counties — clean and safe.

To inquire about service hours for your group, please reach out via email to info@HRLcleansweep.org. Students will walk away with a signed certificate with the number of hours they participated. In addition to the necessary clean-up supplies, volunteers will receive free T-shirts and lunch. Last year’s results from our army of ‘clean sweepers’ were impressive: 4,560 pounds of trash hauled into the Rowan County provided dumpsters and 3,040 pounds from the Davidson side into Best Disposal dumpsters.

“We can’t do this alone; it takes hours of volunteer time from our board members months in advance to get the permitting in order, request sponsorships and engage our County leaders. Again this year, Cube Hydro/Eagle Creek Renewable Energy is our premier sponsor. The folks at Cube Hydro Carolinas understand how vital High Rock Lake is in the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Basin,” shared Graham.

“With our ramped-up initiative to make a larger impact, we decided to engage Lexington’s Media Placement Services, an agency that came to us with ideas on how to amplify our event through social media, banner ads, a new website http://www.hrlcleansweep.org and email for inquiries, info@hrlcleansweep.org,” Graham continued. “We are pleased that through our effort, new sponsors have joined and include Toni Wooten-Wright, Keller Williams Real Estate and Skip Jacks Harbor. Our returning sponsors joining Eagle Creek Renewable Energy, Childress Marine Construction, Cozart Lumber, Domino’s, Lexington BBQ, MPS, Swing Insurance, Safeco Insurance, Uwharrie Real Estate, Yadkin River Keeper, High Rock Lake Association, and Best Disposal, Lexington. Sponsoring businesses underwrite the expenses of the year-round initiative. We would love more volunteers, as more hands mean less trash in our lake. We have been planning this year’s event since the day after last year’s CleanSweep.”

Local government agencies such as Rowan County, Keep Davidson County Beautiful, and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission also support the event.

“We organize the HRLCleanSweep for many reasons, the obvious is eradicating the ‘stuff’ that is floating on the lake, gathered around trees and bushes on the shoreline and our ‘front yards.’ As a Rowan County business owner that makes his living from the lake, the end result is the same — a clean and safe recreational body of water that is an inviting place for fishermen who want to spend their day and money here, regardless of side of the lake,” said Childers, vice president of the committee.

The cleanup effort for our lakes and rivers is a year-round campaign,” said Edgar Miller, executive director of Yadkin Riverkeeper. “We have several events throughout the year including bridge and river clean ups on Earth Day in April and Rowan Creek Week, among others. All to keep our lakes and the river trash free.” The Yadkin Riverkeeper organizes a group of kayakers to paddle into the various coves on the Davidson County side for additional access onto smaller areas that may hold debris.

As noted above, the Fifth Annual Rowan Creek Week will take place Sept. 16-23 and is in conjunction with the annual HRLCleanSweep. Davidson County will also be celebrating Creek Week. In collaboration with multiple environmental organizations and local municipal departments, Creek Week offers recreational, educational, and volunteer opportunities to allow everyone to enjoy and contribute to healthy waters in our area. Kelli Isenhour with Rowan County has taken this initiative into the classroom.

“We want our next generation to appreciate the natural resources that we have in our backyard from Dan Nicholas Park to the Spencer Trading Ford and High Rock Lake,” she said.

To receive updates on RoCo Creek Week, follow them on Facebook and Instagram (@rowancreekweek).