Thursday, February 7, 2019

February Newsletter

****** Due to the on-going rain, we are rescheduling the Plymouth Park cleanup to next Saturday, March 2, 9 am to Noon at Plymouth Community Park at 701 Pond Lane (two blocks north of Border Rd) ******


In this month's issue:
- Great Backyard Bird Count Hike - Rescheduled: Sunday, Feb 17
- Monthly Meeting - Justin Shafer presents on Green Infrastructure -  Thursday, Feb 21
- Adopt-A-Park Cleanup At Plymouth Park, Rescheduled: Saturday, Mar 2
- Local Organizations become River Stars




Great Backyard Bird Count Hike at Indian River "Woodland" Lake
Rescheduled: Sunday, February 17, 8:30 am to 10:30 am
Location: Meet at the Indian River Community Center, 2250 Old Greenbrier Rd.

ts the weekend of the Great Backyard Bird Count, a worldwide effort to identify the distribution of birds; as part of this we'll be leading a guided bird walk around the lake between the Indian River Community/Rec Center and the High School. When scouting the site, a variety of birds were spotted including Cormorants, Mallards, Pied-Bill Grebe, Bluebirds, - Yellow-Rumped Warblers, Woodpeckers, and more. We'll have some binoculars and a spotting scope, but do bring your own if you have some!





Monthly Meeting - Justin Shafer presents on Green Infrastructure
Date: Thursday, February 21, 7 pm 
Location: Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive, Chesapeake, VA


Learn about what is Green Infrastructure and how it can help alleviate flooding and water quality issues in this engaging discussion with Norfolk's Environmental Engineer Justin Shafer

There will be light refreshments and door prizes after the meeting.



Adopt-A-Park Cleanup At Plymouth Park
Rescheduled: Saturday, Mar 2, 9 am to Noon 
Location: Plymouth Community Park at 701 Pond Lane (two blocks north of Border Rd)

Plymouth Community Park is a small waterside park along the Indian River that is in need of some love.   We'll be doing some trash pickup and some pruning and weeding.   Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves, pruners, and loppers that may be useful. Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision.


Other News



Wickers Crab Pot Seafood, Rivercrest Condos, and (nearby in Virginia Beach) the Coastal Virginia Unitarian Universalists were local organizations inducted today as new River Star Businesses at the Elizabeth River Project annual recognition luncheon.  Thank you to these establishments for taking the extra steps to be good stewards of our ecosystem!   Read more about these and other River Stars in this week's Inside Business https://pilotonline.com/inside-business/special-reports/elizabeth-river-stars/ 

Thank you to the 11 volunteers who came out to Indian River Park in January for our Adopt-A-Park Ivy Removal. We cleared about 500 sq. ft. of invasive english ivy along the outer loop trail. That filled about 11 big garbage bags.



You can become a member of the Friends of Indian River, renew your membership, or make a donation online at http://www.friendsofindianriver.org/p/membership.html