Dear Friends;


We wish to extend our most heartfelt thanks for your participation and support this year of Wake Soil and Water Conservation District’s 1 Big Sweep and Environmental Education programs. As you know, these programs help
conserve and protect our soil, water and natural resources, and engage Wake County residents of all ages in learning about and volunteering in activities to protect our watersheds and preserve water quality.


Thanks to your dedication, these programs are making a difference in Wake County with unparalleled success for Big Sweep and national acclaim for youth environmental education programs in Wake County.

Volunteers from Department of Environmental Quality removing 5,250 lbs. of trash (including 68 tires) via waders and kayaks from Walnut Creek near the Southeast Raleigh YMCA.


Last year Wake County Big Sweep volunteers:

  • Removed over 60,000 lbs of trash from Wake County parks, neighborhoods, open spaces, preserves, and waterways- the best clean-up season ever for Wake County Big Sweep
  • Worked on 15 new clean-up locations along with 12 new organizations and 13 first-time Zone Captains to help lead more than 40 cleanup events
  • Donated more than 3,000 hours of their time

This would not have been possible without the 1000+ dedicated and hard-working people, like yourself, taking time out of your busy schedule to make this happen.

Enloe High School’s “Subchronic Exposure” team won big at all three levels of competition: Area 4 Envirothon, NC Envirothon, and NCF Envirothon.

Environmental Education Programs

In the last two years with your tireless help engaging, coaching, and educating our youth:

  • More than 900 4th and 5th grade students participated in the annual Conservation Poster Contest illustrating their science knowledge and understanding of the importance of protecting our community’s natural resources
  • 12 middle and high school teams participated in the 2023 Area 4 Envirothon with Wake County teams capturing both the middle and high school championships and 6 teams going on to compete at the state level. Our own Wake County Envirothon Team , from Enloe Magnet High School, captured 1st place in the NC Envirothon for an unprecedented 6th time and advanced to the International Envirothon competition in New Brunswick, Canada. The ‘Subchronic Exposure’ team placed 6th overall, competing against the best high school teams from 50 US states, 8 Canadian provinces, Singapore, and China
  • 6 high school students from Wake County received full scholarships for the Resource Conservation Workshop at NC State University to inspire them to pursue careers in resource conservation and protection

None of these milestones could have been reached without your support.

We thank you for your commitment and your continued support to help protect Wake County’s natural resources.

With sincere gratitude for you,

The Friends of Wake Soil & Water

Funding for these programs is provided in part by Wake Soil & Water Conservation District, Wake County, Friends of the District (a 501c3 non-profit organization) and donors and supporters like you.