Charlotte Metro · North Carolina

Improving Charlotte,
Greenway by Greenway

Five project sites across the Charlotte metro — where paved greenways run directly behind commercial strips and trash falls into the seam between County Parks, Storm Water Services, NCDOT, and private retail. NCDOT collected 1.2 million pounds of litter in Mecklenburg County in FY2024 alone. The 50th/50 mobility ranking makes workforce-via-cleanup unusually persuasive.

Fund a Charlotte Project See the Sites ↓
5
Project Sites
Identified
2
Counties
Covered
5
EJ
Communities
20+
Local Partners
Identified
Why Charlotte

Where Greenways Meet Strip-Mall Sprawl

The 15th-largest US city, one of the three fastest-growing metros, a banking capital ranked dead last (50/50) on intergenerational mobility. Its 19-mile Little Sugar Creek Greenway is the most commercially-adjacent urban greenway in the Carolinas. NCDOT collected 1.2M+ pounds of litter in Mecklenburg County in FY2024.

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Last in Mobility, First in Need
Charlotte ranks 50th out of 50 large metros on Opportunity Insights' intergenerational mobility index. HOLC redlining concentrated pollution in the Historic West End while I-77 and I-85 were routed through Black neighborhoods. The workforce-development-via-cleanup narrative turns this shame into a grant hook.
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Fragmented Cleanup Ecosystem
County Parks, CMSWS, City DPW, NCDOT, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and private retail each own their slice. Catawba Riverkeeper, NCWF, CharlotteEAST, and Keep Charlotte Beautiful each run 1–2 mass events per year per site — leaving a wide between-events gap that MarketFoundry's surgical small-crew model fills.
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Banking Capital Philanthropy
Foundation for the Carolinas ($3B+ assets), Leon Levine Foundation ($1B+), Duke Endowment, Knight Foundation Charlotte, plus Bank of America, Truist, Wells Fargo, Honeywell, Lowe's, and Duke Energy corporate giving. Arguably the strongest corporate-philanthropy ecosystem in the Southeast for this work.
Project Sites

Five Corridors, Two Counties

Each site pairs a paved greenway or commercial corridor with a creek where fractured jurisdiction between County Parks, CMSWS, NCDOT, railroads, and private retail creates the gap. Click any card for full details.

Recommended First

Little Sugar Creek — Park Road Shopping Center

Dilworth / Madison Park, Charlotte 28209

Near-perfect Poway Creek analog — a 1956 open-air shopping center (Harris Teeter, Chick-fil-A, Reel Theaters) sitting 30 yards from a paved county greenway. CMSWS's Litter Gitter downstream captures ~200 lbs every three months. Autobell Car Wash cleaned the adjacent segment for 25 years. Lowest risk, highest sponsor readiness.

Visual Impact: 8/10Feasibility: 9/10
Closest Poway Match

Central Avenue — Eastland Yards

East Charlotte 28212

Charlotte's densest Latino commercial frontage — "Charlotte's premier immigrant main street." A pastor's cleanup found a water bottle full of used needles; 20 volunteers collected 1,500 lbs in months. CharlotteEAST adopted the corridor in 2018, distributing grabbers to 66 businesses. The strongest documented demand signal in the research.

Visual Impact: 9/10Feasibility: 9/10
Site Confirmed

Stewart Creek — MLK Jr. Park

Historic West End, Charlotte 28208

Greenway runs behind the Five Points commercial node with Johnson C. Smith University (HBCU, founded 1867) as cultural anchor. HOLC "D" redlined in 1937, I-77 routed through in the 1960s. The strongest Black-community EJ framing in Charlotte. County Parks designates this site for World Cleanup Day.

Visual Impact: 9/10Feasibility: 8/10
Strongest Data

Duharts Creek — Gastonia

Gastonia, Gaston County 28056

The only site with a peer-reviewed quantified demand signal — a 3-year study captured 150,750 pieces of litter (96% plastic) at Catawba Riverkeeper's trash trap. Keep Gastonia Beautiful officially references this site. Former-mill-town workforce framing in a largely untouched corridor far from Mecklenburg-centered mass events.

Visual Impact: 9/10Feasibility: 9/10
Site Confirmed

Chantilly Ecological Sanctuary — Briar Creek

East Charlotte 28205

A FEMA-buyout floodplain hemmed by the Monroe Road commercial strip and apartment complexes, with Briar Creek as the spine. NC Wildlife Federation has removed thousands of pounds of litter since 2020. Briar Creek is on NC's 303(d) impaired-waters list. Inside the official Corridor of Opportunity. An oasis in underserved East Charlotte.

Visual Impact: 9/10Feasibility: 9/10
From Funding to Impact

How a Project Gets Completed

Every project follows the same documented process. Your donation triggers real, trackable action.

1
Site Confirmed
Location scouted, access verified, safety risks assessed, CSO schedules checked, local partners contacted.
2
Crew Organized
Local crew assembled with grabbers, puncture-resistant gloves, snake gaiters, hi-vis vests, and sharps containers.
3
Project Executed
3–5 hour cleanup with 4–6 crew. Before photos on arrival. All debris bagged and hauled.
4
Results Documented
During and after photos captured. Bags counted, carts and tires logged, metrics recorded.
5
Report Published
Full project page with before/during/after gallery, metrics, crew details, and sponsor recognition.
Where the Money Goes

What Your Donation Funds

Every dollar goes directly to project execution. No overhead, no middleman.

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Crew Wages
Paid crew members earning real wages — workforce training, not volunteerism.
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Equipment & Supplies
Grabbers, contractor bags, puncture-resistant gloves, sharps containers, hi-vis vests, puncture-resistant gloves.
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Project Coordination
Scouting, partner outreach, encampment assessment, 311 follow-up, and crew scheduling.
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Documentation
Before/during/after photography, metrics tracking, and published project reports.

Based in the Charlotte Area?

If you're a local business, waterway organization, or community group that wants to help bring one of these projects to life — as a sponsor, partner, or crew participant — we'd love to connect.

Get in Touch →
Recommended First Project

Little Sugar Creek — Park Road Shopping Center

Dilworth / Madison Park, Charlotte 28209
Access Point
Park Road Shopping Center, 4100 Park Rd, Charlotte, NC 28209
Walk to greenway entrance at rear near Reel Theaters / Brandywine Rd. Secondary dedicated trail lot at 2229 Tyvola Rd.
Why This Site
Near-perfect Poway Creek analog — a 1956 open-air shopping center with Harris Teeter, Reel Theaters, Chick-fil-A, and Blackhawk Hardware sitting 30 yards from a paved county greenway. CMSWS's Litter Gitter downstream at Freedom Park captures ~200 lbs every three months. Autobell Car Wash has cleaned the adjacent segment for 25 years (June 2025: 450 lbs including a shopping cart and fire extinguisher). Four agencies, no owner of the edge.
What to Expect
Fast-food wrappers, plastic shopping bags, beverage bottles, Styrofoam, cigarette litter, shopping carts, tires in creek bed, occasional furniture dumped over Brandywine bridge. Expect 6–10 bags plus 1–3 trophy items.
Cleanup Structure
Start at shopping center rear (near Reel Theaters), enter greenway at Brandywine Rd., work north toward Hillside Ave. ~0.6 miles out-and-back; 4–6 crew, 3.5 hours. No known active encampment at this segment.
Safety Notes
Poison ivy on banks (long pants required). Water snakes possible, occasionally copperheads. Moderate Brandywine Rd. traffic at crossing. No known active encampment at this segment (differentiating it from the Midtown reach). Flash-flood risk if rain within 24 hours.
Community Impact
Downstream water-quality benefit for the entire Catawba basin. Primary value is high visibility to affluent shopping-center traffic — useful for sponsor storytelling and donor visibility. EDENS (shopping center owner) is the natural anchor corporate sponsor.
Local Partners
Catawba Lands ConservancyCarolina Thread TrailCMSWS Adopt-a-StreamAutobell Car WashQueens University
Scores
8/10
Visual Impact
9/10
Feasibility
Fund This Project →
Closest Poway Match

Central Avenue — Eastland Yards

East Charlotte 28212
Access Point
Charlotte East Language Academy, 8550 Central Ave area, Charlotte, NC 28212
Alternate staging at Eastway Park / Sheffield Park lot. Walk Central Ave. commercial frontage and Eastland Yards construction perimeter.
Why This Site
The densest Latino commercial frontage in the Carolinas — "Charlotte's premier immigrant main street." CharlotteEAST adopted Central Avenue in 2018, distributing grabbers to 66 businesses. Pastor Matt Kusak's Serve Saturday cleanups found a water bottle full of used needles; 20 volunteers collected over 1,500 lbs. Eastland Yards construction (completion spring 2027) means perimeter litter accumulates during build-out.
What to Expect
Fast-food wrappers, plastic bags, beer cans and nip bottles, used syringes (documented — sharps protocol mandatory), condoms, auto parts, construction debris along Eastland fenceline, tires.
Cleanup Structure
Central Ave sidewalks between Eastway Dr. and N. Sharon Amity (~1 mile one-way, both sides). Or Eastland Yards perimeter fenceline (coordinate with site superintendent). 4–6 crew, 4–5 hours, daylight only 9 AM–2 PM.
Safety Notes
Mandatory sharps protocol — puncture-resistant gloves, sharps tubes, pre-cleanup briefing. High Central Ave. traffic — hi-vis vests. Milton Rd. is a documented hot spot — keep footprint on Central Ave. commercial frontage only. Active construction zone no-entry. Low tree canopy means early starts May–September.
Community Impact
Latino / immigrant community (19% foreign-born, median HH income $47,169 vs. $73,124 countywide). Inside the City-designated Albemarle/Central Corridor of Opportunity and EJScreen 75th-percentile block groups. Beneficiaries include ourBRIDGE for KIDS students and thousands of daily transit riders.
Local Partners
CharlotteEAST (primary)ourBRIDGE for KIDSLatin American CoalitionKeep Charlotte BeautifulEdifi Church
Scores
9/10
Visual Impact
9/10
Feasibility
Fund This Project →
Site Confirmed

Stewart Creek — MLK Jr. Park

Historic West End, Charlotte 28208
Access Point
Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 1410 W. 2nd St., Charlotte, NC 28208
Park lot with restrooms and water. Secondary access at Bruns Avenue Elementary (501 S. Bruns Ave.) for longer routes.
Why This Site
The greenway runs directly behind the Five Points commercial node (West Trade / Beatties Ford / Rozzelles Ferry convergence) with Johnson C. Smith University (HBCU, founded 1867) as cultural anchor. Classic jurisdictional gap between County Parks, CMSWS, City DOT, NCDOT, Norfolk Southern, and private retail. County Parks designates this site for annual World Cleanup Day.
What to Expect
Single-use plastics, fast-food wrappers from Beatties Ford retail, cigarette butts, Styrofoam, beer bottles, stormwater-deposited bank debris, occasional tires. Possible sharps — bring containers.
Cleanup Structure
Meet at MLK Jr. Park picnic shelter. Greenway-surface team and creek-bank team (stay within 6–10 ft of water, do not enter stream). Work north toward Bruns Ave. ~1–1.5 miles one-way; 4–6 crew, 3–4 hours.
Safety Notes
Legacy-contamination flag — heavy metals documented in Stewart/Irwin sediments; surface pickup only, no digging. Snakes, poison ivy, scratchy brush on banks. I-77 underpass segments may have encampments — reroute if observed. Daylight only. Flash-flood protocol: wait 24–48 hours after rainfall.
Community Impact
Strongest EJ case in Charlotte. Historic West End neighborhoods were HOLC-graded "D" in 1937. I-77 and I-85 were routed through in the 1960s–80s. Community leader: "This area deserves the same attention as any other — this is considered a community of least resistance." Unlocks EPA Region 4 EJCPS, Duke Endowment, and Truist Foundation.
Local Partners
Historic West End Green DistrictCleanAIRE NCJohnson C. Smith UniversityCatawba RiverkeeperWest Blvd Neighborhood Coalition
Scores
7/10
Visual Impact
8/10
Feasibility
Fund This Project →
Strongest Data

Duharts Creek — Gastonia

Gastonia, Gaston County 28056
Access Point
1704 Lowell-Bethesda Rd, Gastonia, NC 28056 (Duhart Creek Pump Station)
On-street turnouts. Group staging at Gaston Christian School lot, 1625 Lowell-Bethesda Rd. Coordinate with Catawba Riverkeeper in advance.
Why This Site
The only site with a peer-reviewed quantified demand signal — a 3-year Community Science study captured 150,750 pieces of litter (96% plastic) at Catawba Riverkeeper's trash trap here. Keep Gastonia Beautiful officially references this site. Duharts flows off the back of Gastonia's Franklin Blvd commercial-industrial corridor into the South Fork Catawba. The trap sorts, weighs, and photographs output — exceptional grant-reporting data for free.
What to Expect
Per the peer-reviewed data: ~83% polystyrene fragments and plastic bottles, food wrappers, plastic bags, cigarette butts, fast-food packaging, occasional tires. The trap data provides exceptional grant-reporting metrics.
Cleanup Structure
Focus on streambank 50–150 yards upstream and downstream of the Lowell-Bethesda bridge, plus assist with emptying the trap under Riverkeeper supervision. 4–6 crew, 3–4 hours.
Safety Notes
Lowell-Bethesda has no shoulders — cones + hi-vis mandatory. Creek is deep after rain — bank only. Ticks, poison ivy, snakes standard. Low encampment risk.
Community Impact
Strong former-mill-town workforce framing — Gastonia is a majority-working-class All-America City with historic textile-mill economy. Frame as "former mill-town workforce revival + clean-water infrastructure." Downstream South Fork Catawba communities benefit. Duke Energy is the presenting sponsor of Catawba Riversweep.
Local Partners
Catawba Riverkeeper (primary)Keep Gastonia BeautifulCity of Gastonia PWGaston CollegeGastonia Rotary
Scores
9/10
Visual Impact
8/10
Feasibility
Fund This Project →
Site Confirmed

Chantilly Ecological Sanctuary — Briar Creek

East Charlotte 28205
Access Point
1336 Norland Rd, Charlotte, NC 28205
Secondary parking at Chantilly Park, 1621 Morningside Dr. New Briar Creek Greenway trailhead at Monroe Rd. under construction (2025–2027).
Why This Site
A FEMA-buyout floodplain hemmed by the Monroe Road commercial strip on one side and apartment complexes on the other, with Briar Creek as the spine. NC Wildlife Federation has sustained on-site restoration since 2020 — removing thousands of pounds of litter. Briar Creek is on NC's 303(d) impaired-waters list. UNC Charlotte Urban Institute calls Chantilly "an oasis in East Charlotte, underserved by green space."
What to Expect
Wind-blown plastics from Monroe Rd. retail, beverage containers, Styrofoam, cigarette litter, auto parts, occasional tires at creek crossings, illegal bulky dumping at private lot edges.
Cleanup Structure
Walk the ~1.5-mile sanctuary loop plus the commercial-edge buffer along Monroe between Lola Ave. and Bramlet Rd. Focus on downstream eddy points where plastic collects on woody debris. 3–6 crew, 3–5 hours. CMSWS Adopt-a-Stream supplies tools.
Safety Notes
Coordinate with CMSWS — this is a restored engineered wetland with plantings and BMPs that must not be disturbed. Widespread poison ivy; copperhead risk on warm days. Low-to-moderate encampment risk. Don't work during or after heavy rain — intentional floodplain.
Community Impact
Inside the official Albemarle/Central Corridor of Opportunity; 19% foreign-born. Documented park-access gap — Charlotte scores <50% of residents within a 10-minute park walk. The FEMA-buyout floodplain creates a textbook climate-displacement EJ narrative.
Local Partners
NC Wildlife Federation (primary)CMSWS Creek WeekCatawba RiverkeeperWomen's Impact FundCharlotteEAST
Scores
7/10
Visual Impact
8/10
Feasibility
Fund This Project →