County Open Space Program to Host Nature Walk for Creek Week 2026

The Durham County Open Space Program will host a guided nature walk at the New Hope Creek Bottomlands Trail, from 4:00 – 5:30p.m., on Friday, March 20, as part of Durham’s annual Creek Week.

Residents are encouraged to join Open Space staff for the nature walk offering a fun, educational opportunity to learn about Fig Buttercup, an invasive plant species that has spread rapidly along creeks and streams in our region. Participants will learn about how to identify the plant, its life history, its impact on local ecology, and what can be done to stop its spread. This event will also allow participants to explore part of the New Hope Creek Preserve, one of the four parks and preserves managed by the Open Space Program.

This event is open to individuals aged 5 and older. Participants under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Participants should arrive prepared to walk up to 1.5 miles on natural surface trail and boardwalk. Depending on recent weather, the trail may be muddy. Click here for the New Hope Creek Bottomlands Trail Map.

Participants are asked to RSVP using this link: https://forms.office.com/g/Cegn2DUEga

Durham’s Creek Week, coordinated by Keep Durham Beautiful, is an annual celebration of Durham’s many wonderful waterways. In years past, the Open Space Program has hosted trash cleanup workdays at the New Hope Creek Bottomlands. This year, however, thanks to the great work of the Open Space Program’s dedicated volunteer Trail Stewards, there simply is not enough trash in this area to justify a full trash cleanup workday. This year’s event will therefore focus on a different threat to our riparian ecosystems – a highly invasive plant – and the coordinated regional effort to eradicate it. 

For questions about this event, please contact David Bradley, Open Space Specialist, at dabradley@dconc.gov or 919-943-3997.