It was 10 a.m. on a fine Sunday morning in April, and the parking lot at the Lake Pine entrance to Apex Community Park was completely full. A group of high school students gathered to the side wearing work gloves and lightweight orange safety vests, ready to participate in one of many environmental conservation events coordinated between the Town of Apex and local nonprofit SWANEC (South Wake Area Native Ecosystem Conservation).
High school students June Chae of Cary Christian School and Stefan Anderson, Connor Chase, Tushar Choudhary, and Mason Finger of Middle Creek High School founded SWANEC in 2024. Their mission?
Apex Friendship High School students Kiersten Huang, left, and Elana Huang join forces on a community workday.
“Our primary goal is to restore and preserve the natural ecosystem of South Wake County,” says the SWANEC website. “We remove invasive species, restore native habitats, and mobilize volunteers across southern Wake County to protect the landscapes that sustain our local wildlife and communities.”
June Chae, SWANEC’s incoming project coordinator, traces his interest in conservation back to his childhood with his sister.
“We would always take the coral honeysuckle, and we’d always suck on the honey that would come out. And then as time went on, that was my stepping stone where I grew really interested in nature and where I grew a passion for it.”
June highlights the fact that, unlike the Japanese honeysuckle ubiquitous throughout the Triangle, coral honeysuckle is a native species. As he grew up and met friends who shared his interest in the environment, all came to understand the importance of native plants — and the threat posed to them by invasives.
“We realized that all these invasive species are choking out these species that are really necessary for the ecosystem in these parks,” says June.
The teens decided to take action.
“We decided, ‘Why not just create a youth-led impact that really makes not just an impact, but allows other people to collaborate, even if they have no experience?’” June explains.
“They’re super engaged. They’re super passionate about the work they do,” says Apex Environmental Programs Coordinator Nora Skinner.
It was important to the group that the initiative be led by young people — not despite their inexperience, but because of it.
“We want this to be sustainable. We want something to have a voice for the upcoming generations, and for people to really have a determination and a will to carry on preserving our ecosystem,” June states. “Because we want to sustain this relationship between people who are growing and growing, and not just as people, but as individuals who will make a lot of impacts in their daily lives, and we want them to gain those skills through SWANEC while also advocating and making an impact while they’re younger.”
And they have made an impact. Using data validated by the Towns of Cary and Apex, SWANEC estimates that they have removed more than 70,250 square feet, or 6,644 pounds, of invasive plants to date.
The organization’s impact was confirmed by Nora Skinner, Environmental Programs Coordinator for the Town of Apex. Nora states that 846 pounds were removed at Apex Community Park from June to October 2025, while 930 pounds have been removed already in 2026. Additional removal events are scheduled later this year in other Apex parks.
SWANEC volunteers have removed more than 6,000 pounds of invasive plants since the organization was founded in 2024.
Nora has nothing but praise for the teens of SWANEC and their work.
“It’s been really inspiring to work with them,” she says. “They’re awesome students. They really have their nose to the grind for this kind of work.”
Some of the invasive plants that SWANEC has helped remove around Apex include Japanese stiltgrass, English ivy, and Japanese honeysuckle. And according to Nora, it’s not just teenagers doing the work of removal at these events.
“People have really shown up and shown out,” she says. “We’ve had a ton of volunteers this year. I think the word’s beginning to get out.”
Apex Friendship High School students Addison Thorne, left, and Adrika Sarathy show off some of the invasive plants they have removed.
The community is responding well to the group and its efforts. Of the local volunteers recruited from Apex, Nora says, “They’re super engaged. They’re super passionate about the work they do. Even people at the park not involved with the events, if they’re walking around the lake trail, they’ll pop over and say, ‘Thank you for the work you’re doing’ or, ‘This is awesome. How can I get involved?’”
Several of the students who founded SWANEC are seniors who will soon be graduating and attending college. Nora anticipates that the experience they’ve gained with SWANEC will be of great benefit to them moving forward.
“Having this kind of experience is going to be great for them. And the work that we’re doing is so important. It’s just been really, really awesome to get to do this with them and share this important work,” she says. “I hope that they stick around in the area because if this environmental department grows in Apex, I’m going to need some help. So I hope they’re willing to stick around and enter this kind of field because they’re awesome at it.”
Passersby often stop to share appreciation with groups of students as they work.
June also sees great possibilities ahead.
“I’m a little sad to see the (seniors) go,” he says. “But honestly, I see a lot of opportunities, and I’m grateful to even have them in the first place.”
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