Jaylei Davis | Nov. 10, 2026
Swannanoa river on Warren Wilson College Campus on Nov. 5, 2026 in Swannanoa, N.C. (Finn McKenny/Echo)
In 2024, just a few months after Hurricane Helene devastated the Warren Wilson College (WWC) community, a new crew, the River Stewards Crew, was formed to help rebuild the Swannanoa River to its former glory.
Many crews within WWC, from the Community Engagement Crew to the Forestry Crew, helped with the post-Helene restoration on and off campus. Much of the on-campus efforts were focused on WWC’s forest and farmland, which are maintained by the Forestry, Farm and Garden Crews. The river, which was massively changed by the hurricane, did not have a crew dedicated to its restoration.
Mazzy Carroll, a senior at WWC on the River Stewards Crew, explained the creation of that crew seemed necessary.
“It became very, very clear that the college needed some sort of crew to be working with the river,” Carroll said. “I think that it makes sense [since] we have a Farm crew, we have Forestry [Crew], we have [a] Garden [Crew], and then we have this beautiful river flowing through [our campus].”
Peter Erb, the river stewards crew supervisor and conservation coordinator, explained that after the Army Corps of Engineers conducted debris removal efforts in and along the banks of the Swannanoa River, they left behind significant ecological devastation.
“The Army Corps of Engineers coming in to clear away all of the debris…were pulling out [and] cutting live trees..and getting as much material, 'cause they were paid by the pound of what they removed from the rivers,” Erb said. “I think folks here, we wanted to kind of step up our interest in responding to the needs, the kind of the ecological needs on the river,”
The debris removal, along with lingering effects from the hurricane itself, affected the fish population and the ecosystem. In particular, the lack of flora around the river made the habitat unlivable for the fish, and Erb wanted to rebuild that ecosystem.
The River Stewards are reintroducing native plant species into and around the river to help create a better environment for the fish and other organisms. Carroll listed the vegetation the crew was reintroducing and their benefits to the river.
“Right now we're planting a lot of Silky Willow, Button Bush [and] Silky Dogwood,” Carroll said. “These plants will be reinforcing the stream banks, making them less susceptible [to erosion] when the next flood event comes, all while providing more shade for communities of fish.”
This year the River Stewards are hoping to expand beyond the WWC section of the river where they have up to this point focused their renewal efforts to a larger area in the greater Swannanoa community.
Erb shared his hopes for the River Stewards as the crew branches out and involves more community members in the river restoration.
“Our big emphasis, particularly this year and moving into the future, will be working with [the] community,” Erb said. “We'll be leading a dozen or more workshops in the region that will bring in community members to learn how to restore the rivers [and] really understand why we care.”
The River Stewards Crew was created as a response to the destruction of Helene, and has dreams of continuing to make an impact on WWC’s land and Swannanoa as a whole. The crew is hoping that by branching out into the community, it will teach others about the importance of the river and its restoration. They especially want to involve landowners who might have had their own streams devastated and teach them how to begin planting and reinforcing on their own land.