2009 Hometown Spirit Award Nominee:
Christy Perrin

Nominated by: Elizabeth Adams and Elena Horvath, who both state on the nomination form:

“Christy Perrin has worked to strengthen our community by facilitating a collaborative partnership to restore the Black Creek Watershed through the Watershed Education for Communities and Officials (WECO) Extension Program at NCSU. The Black Creek Watershed Association (BCWA) was initiated as a result of the interest, passionate debate, and the resulting hard feelings about the approval of an apartment complex development and the associated realignment of the Black Creek Greenway closer to Lake Crabtree. She and Patrick Beggs worked to bring together residents, town staff, local scientists and engineers to study the Black Creek Watershed and to develop a common understanding of the problems and to come to a consensus on how to improve its quality and safety.

Christy facilitated discussions between residents and town staff, and coordinated the research and presentations by scientific and engineering experts who helped the group to measure the current health and quality of watershed. Presentations included information about existing best management practices (BMPs) and the use of Low Impact Development (LID) techniques to manage storm water runoff to reduce the peak flows that create urban stream flooding events.

Christy has helped us learn what we can do individually and as a community to reduce the amount of pollutants, such as fertilizers, pet waste, petroleum products, and sediment pollution from construction sites that wash into streams. Her efforts have helped raise awareness of Town of Cary water conservation initiatives such as the turf buy-back program and rain barrel discounts. Christy has helped to organize the Big Sweep for Black Creek, where residents worked with Town staff to help remove trash in an effort to preserve and enhance the natural habitat of the greenway and stream. She has presented the BCWA plan to HOAs, who have responded with a willingness to install pet waste stations and to help identify locations for storm water retention devices on common areas. Christy helped the BCWA form a recommendation to the Parks and Recreation Department encouraging the incorporation of low impact development techniques into the plans for a potential pool facility within the watershed.

Christy has worked with Town Staff to identify sites for the installation of retrofit storm water BMPs, and hopes to also reach out to existing property owners and developers. Collectively all of these actions will help reduce pollutants and restore a more natural infiltration of rainwater to reduce the urban stream flooding that is occurring along the Black Creek trail, and reduce sediment accumulation in Lake Crabtree.

Through her efforts, Christy has helped us to understand, appreciate and realize the need to improve an important natural resource – the Black Creek Stream and our beloved Black Creek Greenway. She has helped to strengthen Cary by promoting effective communications between stakeholders and has strengthened our sense of community by giving us the opportunity to collaboratively work together.

Christy is a positive, optimistic, and encouraging hometown leader who energizes and helps harness the knowledge and resources of Cary to pro-actively plan for and manage a healthy and sustainable community.”