The only way to see true progress is to get our community working to improve the health of our streams alongside us. There are many ways to make an impact at home and in our community!

Events and Workshops

Blacks Run Clean Up Day

Get a group together, or your family, or just yourself, and join us on April 12, 2025, for the Annual Blacks Run Clean Up Day and Arbor Day Tree Planting event.

Day of Event Details:

Beginning at 9:00am - Visit the Green Scene, in the grassy lot beside Turner Pavilion, to gather your Cleanup Day materials, and enjoy visiting booths with environmental experts from around the area. 

The prizes don't stop there! After visiting the Green Scene, you will journey to your cleanup location. During your cleanup, participate in our Social Media Photo Contest! There will be a prize for individuals who photograph the following:

  • Most Enthusiastic Group
  • Largest Item
  • Largest Group
  • Weirdest Object

To participate in the Social Media Photo Contest, you may do one of the following:

  • Tag @harrisonburgpublicworks on Facebook
  • Tag @hbgpublicworks on Instagram
  • Use the hashtag #BRCD2025 on your Facebook or Instagram post

11:30am - 1pm Pizza Party

After you have completed your cleanup, join us back at the Green Scene for the lunchtime Pizza Party. All registered participants will receive free pizza! Turn in your Green Scene Passport for a chance to win a Raffle prize!

After Blacks Run Cleanup Event 

Receive a special participant voucher at the Green Scene, visit with participating Downtown Breweries/Cideries/Cafes during open hours on Cleanup Day, and receive discounted brews and other exciting Blacks Run Cleanup Day specials. Specials so far include:

  • Hibiscus Blonde Ale BRCD specialty brew plus $1 off any pint on tap at Brothers Craft Brewing
  • The closest brewery to the BRCD Green Scene, offering $1 off pours at Pale Fire Brewing Company
  • Harrisonburg's newest wine bar, offering $1 off glass or flight of wine or 10% off to-go bottles of wine at Rootstock Wine Bar VA
  • A Clean Up Day After-Party, offering 50% off your first cider, plus even better deals if you sign up to be on the Sage Bird Clean Up Team at Sage Bird Ciderworks
  • Brewmaster Nick serves up the release of the Elderberry Blonde Ale specialty brew for Blacks Run Clean Up Day at Three Notch'd Brewing Company
  • The new coffee shop in town, offering $1 off specialty coffees and 25% off their coffee flights at Drifters Cafe 

To register to participate in the 2025 Blacks Run Cleanup Day event, visit http://arcg.is/1PKWzz0

Interested in being a sponsor or have general or registration questions? Contact Austin Shenk, Environmental Specialist, at Austin.Shenk@HarrisonburgVA.gov or 540-820-0089. 

All volunteers need to complete and return the Liability and Photo Release Statement [114KB] prior to the event on April 13, 2024.

Parental or Guardian Liability & Photo Release form [104KB]

Can't make it on April 12?  Blacks Run always needs some TLC. Get a small group together and schedule a day for your volunteers to clean up a section of Blacks Run.

How much trash has been collected during past events? View Blacks Run Clean Up Day statistics from past years through the Stream Clean Up Dashboard

Small Group Stream Clean Ups

If you or your organization are interested in participating in a clean-up at any other point during the year, please contact Public Works at Stormwater@HarrisonburgVA.gov or 540-434-5928. Just tell us what size group you have and what day you would like to do your clean up. Based on that information, a staff member will assign you a stream section to clean. Staff will provide you with gloves, trash bags and safety vests for your clean up. 

Use the online form to sign up online for a small group clean up! 

Frequently Asked Questions and Safety Tips: Stream Clean-Up Safety Tips.pdf

 

Rain Barrel Workshop

Why Rain Barrels? 

Rain Barrels can be attached to downspouts to capture roof runoff. The water stored in the rain barrel can be used to water gardens or lawns. Rain barrels can also help control stormwater runoff, which can cause erosion and degrades our streams.

Benefits:

Although rain barrels are available at garden stores, they are not cheap! During the workshop, you will convert a heavy plastic pickle barrel into a functional rain barrel. In addition to learning how to install and maintain your rain barrel, you will learn about your role in water conservation and water quality protection.

Overview:

In this workshop, you will receive a recycled plastic barrel and a rain barrel kit from the Shenandoah Valley Soil and Water Conservation District that you will use to build your own rain barrel. During the workshop, you will drill holes, install the faucet, and complete other tasks to allow a barrel to catch rainwater for use around your property. Save water AND money through the Stormwater Utility Fee Credit Program (if you live in the City of Harrisonburg). 

  • Think about where you will place your rain barrel so you can decide on which side of the barrel to place the faucet.
  • Be ready to take your barrel home!
  • Ages 6 and up may attend. Those under 18 should have a parent or guardian present.
  • Tools and materials provided.

Upcoming Workshop Information

Workshop Sponsored by: 

Composting Workshop

During a Workshop Participants will:

  • Convert a plastic tote into a functional worm composting bin.
  • Learn how to create and maintain a compost bin.
  • Learn the benefits of composting.
  • Learn their role in waste reduction and water quality protection.

Participants are encouraged to: wear comfortable clothes that may get dirty and bring work gloves. As part of the workshop, participants will receive soil for the compost bins as well as 10-12 Red Wiggler Worms to get your compost bin started. Assistance will be provided at the workshop for construction of the bins. Bins, tools and other building supplies will be provided.

 

What Residents Can Do

Get Involved. This is one of the most important things you can do to help protect the city’s streams and waterways. Make an effort to find out what is going on in your community regarding water quality issues. You can do this by attending public meetings, doing small group clean ups, doing tree plantings. You can also sign up through Notify Harrisonburg! to be notified of upcoming environmental events. The City encourages you to ask questions and get involved. To find out more about how you can help email Stormwater@HarrisonburgVA.gov .

 

How You Can Help:
  • Be Salt Smart. Salt is important to keep you safe during snowy and icy weather, but too much can run off and harm our local waterways. Follow these tips to keep you and the environment safe.
    • Shovel early and often, before snow becomes icy.
    • Treat according to the forecast and temperature. When the pavement is below 15 degrees Fahrenheit, salt wont work.
    • A little salt goes a long way. Just a 12-ounce coffee mug can cover a 20 ft of driveway.

    • Sweep up excess salt and store it in a sealed container for the next winter event.

  • Dispose of household and automobile chemicals and other waste products properly. Dispose of your home chemicals such as paint, solvents, cleaning agents, motor oil, antifreeze, batteries and mercury properly. Never pour any of these materials into a sewer or storm drain. The homeowner must take these products to the Household Hazardous Waste Collection days at the county landfill located at 813 Greendale Road, Harrisonburg, VA 22801. For more information about Household Hazardous Waste Days visit our webpage.
  • Dispose of pet waste properly. Clean up pet waste. Pet waste that is not disposed of properly may wash into the nearby storm drains and into the local waterways. Animal waste adds harmful bacteria and nutrients to the streams that can be harmful to humans and wildlife.
  • Do not dump anything into the storm drain. Properly dispose all hazardous materials such as motor oil, paint and antifreeze. Anything dumped into the storm drain eventually reaches the city’s streams, such as Blacks Run, and later on, the Chesapeake Bay. You can report pollution at using our online form or emailing Report-Pollution@HarrisonburgVA.gov
  • Fix plumbing leaks and conserve water. A tiny leak can add up to a gallon in minutes. Saving water saves you money. For more water conservation tips, visit Public Utilities Conservation Efforts webpage!
  • Sweep up debris on sidewalks instead of washing it away with a garden hose. By volume, sediment is one of the largest pollutant sources entering the nation’s streams and rivers. The dirt and gravel that runs off our sidewalks and streets have a negative impact on the water quality of the city’s creeks and streams.
  • Keep your car tuned and periodically check for fluid leaks. This keeps oil from leaking onto the ground and can increase gas mileage, saving you money and protecting the environment by reducing water and air pollution.
  • Wash your car or other outdoor equipment at a commercial car wash instead of at your home. The grease, oil and other chemicals that we wash off these items can run off of our driveways and lawns and enter the storm sewer system and eventually discharge to local streams and rivers. Even the soaps we use to clean these items can cause problems for some aquatic life. If you do wash your car at home, make sure the soap you are using is biodegradable and phosphate free to ensure that it will not impact wildlife once it reaches our local streams.
  • Use cat litter or other absorbents to soak up spills. Never wash spills away with a garden hose. Pour cat litter on oil leaks and other household chemical spills to soak them up.
  • Properly maintain your septic system. If you have a septic system at your home, it is important to ensure that it is functioning properly.
  • Report dumping activities. If you see anyone dumping materials into the storm drain or stream, please use our Report Pollution webpage so that City staff can address the issue as quickly as possible. 
 
Around the Yard: 
  • Use less lawn chemicals and always follow the label directions. Rains can wash away your fertilizers and pesticides, which is a big waste for you and toxic for aquatic life. Do not use chemicals on your lawn before it is expected to rain, and try using organic or slow-release products, which are better for your lawn and for the environment. Be conservative with pesticides and herbicides (weed killers) and try natural alternatives. The Virginia Cooperative Extension offers assistance with many services including soil testing and assistance in determining how much fertilizer to use on your lawn and insect, disease and weed control assistance. For more information contact the Virginia Cooperative Extension location in Harrisonburg at (540) 564-3080.
  • Clear street gutters and storm drains of trash, leaves and grass. Trash may clog drains and cause your street to flood in a storm. Leaves and grass wash to our creeks and streams where they decay, reducing the oxygen in the water that fish need to survive. Trash and debris can also cause numerous problems for fish and other aquatic animals.
  • Compost leaves, branches and grass clippings. Compost makes great mulch for your garden or flowerbed. Leave grass clippings on the lawn as you mow to return nutrients to your lawn. You can also mow over fallen leaves and use them as compost for your lawn and garden.
  • Pick up trash and litter in your yard. Much of the trash in our yards and along roadways will eventually find its way to a stream or river. This not only adds to a streams pollutant level, but fish and some birds can become trapped or choke on some types of trash and die.
  • Reduce the amount you water your lawn. Lawns need less than an inch of water per week. If it rains an inch, do not water. Try using a rain gauge.