Join us online at our Annual Meeting on Thursday, Jan 20 to help plan what our group needs to do in 2022 to start turning the just approved Indian River Redevelopment Strategy into real change for our community. See all the details below!
Also in this month's newsletter, we have:
- 2021 Year in Review
- Upcoming Events
- Annual Meeting, Thur, Jan 20, 7 pm
- Rescheduled: Adopt-A-Park/Invasive Species Workshop, Sat, Feb 5, 9 am
- No Second Saturday Hike this January
- Other News
- Holiday Lights & Decoration Contest Winners
- Tree Planting on Indian River Road - Update
- New Rain Garden at Indian River Park
We were very happy to end 2021 on a high note: on December 21st the Chesapeake City Council unanimously approved the Indian River Planning Area Study and Redevelopment Strategy, wrapping up two years of work with the City Planning Department. The plan outlines a strong, interconnected combination of actions that provide a roadmap to improve the quality of life of the community. But turning them into reality will require persistent engagement with the City and our other partners. Implementing this plan will be a key topic at our Annual Meeting on Thursday, January 20th, 7 pm, and we will need your continued involvement to make that a success.
Overall in 2021, our volunteers completed nearly 900 hours of effort doing cleanups, gardening and beautification, planning for the tree planting project at the Oaklette Bridge (see below), various outreach programs, working with the City and our other partners, and much more. View our full Year End Report at http://www.friendsofindianriver.org/2021/12/2021-year-in-review.html
Annual Meeting
Please join us at our Annual Meeting. We will hold elections for our board and review plans for the coming year. We will review the just approved Indian River Planning Area Study and Redevelopment Strategy to see what steps our group needs to take in this year to start turning the plan into reality.
We'll also have the latest community news.
Adopt-A-Park/Invasive Species Workshop @ Indian River Park
Location: Meet at the Indian River Park entrance at Rokeby Ave. and Main St. (2001 Rokeby Ave.) which is located just south of Military Highway, i.e. across Military Highway from the Fire Station.Learn to identify various invasive plant species that threaten Indian River Park and natural areas across the Tidewater region. Those found in the park include English Ivy, Chinese Privet, Multiflora Rose, Linden Viburnum, and others.
Then we'll have a work effort to clear some outbreaks of the English Ivy. The more volunteers that come out, the more that we can accomplish!
Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves. We'll be working both to remove Ivy on the ground and on trees. Bring pruning clippers, loppers, screwdrivers (which are amazingly useful in prying ivy off tree trunks) and/or pruning saws if you have them. We will have water and snacks, but we also always encourage folks to bring their own water in reusable bottles to minimize use of single use cans and bottles. Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision.
To save time and allow for better social distancing, please pre-register at https://forms.gle/NKq7m3pMS4JwyV5X6
No Second Saturday Hike this January
Other News
Our judges had a hard time picking winners for the 3rd Annual “Main Street” Indian River Holiday Lighting & Decoration Contest. Multiple businesses did an excellent job and we finally narrowed it down to 3 Winners and 2 Runners-up. The winners are E and E Auto Sales, Affordable Transmission, and Mobile Pig-Nic Catering / The Pig Shop Restaurant. The Runners-Up were Wickers Crab Pot and Botanica Spiritual House. See a close up of the winners at https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofIndianRiver/posts/4856554121076567
Honorable Mentions go to Hair20 Studio, NAE Federal Credit Union, Subway, Trade Team USA, Moulton Tax Service, Holloman-Brown Funeral Home, and Vohringer & Bryant Chiropractic.
Next year we may expand our categories to include Best Lights, Best Christmas Tree/Holiday Display, and Best Wreath. So, start dreaming about next year's Holiday Season!
Tree Planting along Indian River Road at Oaklette Bridge
Work on the tree planting by the landscape contractor is now planned for the middle of January. We're hoping for good weather. We'll still need volunteers to support planting of 30 shrubs and 34 muhly and fountain grasses at the site, but this will now likely be in March.
Thank you to the team of volunteers who planted the new rain garden at Indian River Park in early December. The plants are small today, but we look forward to seeing them grow!
We always encourage you as an individual to pick up any stray litter that you come across along our roads, parking lots, and in our parks. Every piece of trash collected is one less that causes harm to wildlife in our natural areas and waterways. And just as important, reduce your use of single use packaging to not create litter in the first place. Take The Pledge to keep Virginia Litter Free at https://loversnotlitter.org/pledge/
Now is a great time to become a member or renew your membership, or just make a donation online at http://www.friendsofindianriver.org/p/membership.html
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