French Broad river cleanup

One of Trailside Property Group’s missions is to service our community by taking care of the beautiful outdoor spaces surrounding Asheville.  In 2023, we began hosting trash cleanups.  Our first was a river cleanup along the beautiful French Broad!

The French Broad river stretches 219 miles and is one of the oldest rivers in the world.  It is home to many different plants and animals, including endangered species such as bog turtles and the Appalachian Elktoe Mussel.  Both tourists and locals alike enjoy fishing, paddling, rafting, and more along the river.  Unfortunately, the water tends to hold quite a bit of trash, especially stretches closer to cities such as Asheville.  

River cleanups can be tough to organize, because they require quite a bit of equipment.  Thankfully, our local partners were extremely supportive and excited to help.  Mountain True provided us with canoes and paddles.  Hare’s Ear Fly Fishing and Pisgah Outdoors joined us with additional boats and their knowledge of the river.  

We started at French Broad Outfitters and floated down the river to Silverline Park, grabbing trash along the way.  Around 30 people joined us.  Most were Asheville residents, but we did have someone join us while they were on vacation from Alaska!  We pulled around three truckloads of trash out of the river.  Clothing, single use plastics, and tires made up the majority of it.  Afterwards, we went to Zillicoah Brewing to celebrate.  

The cleanup was a great reminder of our impact on the environment, and how important it is to reduce our use of single use items when possible.  Even when an item makes it into a trash can or recycling bin, there is still a chance that it ends up in our waterways.  We are grateful for the opportunity to work with our community to keep Asheville clean, and we hope you join us next time!