Monday, March 28, 2022

April Newsletter and Events

 

Thank you 
everyone who contributed to our end of fiscal year fundraiser!  Thanks to your generous support we blew past our $1800 goal, raising $1872 for the year; and there are still a few days left to give!

In this month's newsletter, we have:

  • Get Involved
    • Indian River High School Scholarship
    • Conservation Landscaping
  • Upcoming Events
    • 4/2 Saturday - Adopt-A-Park @ Indian River Park
    • 4/9 Saturday - Second Saturday Hike at Indian River Park
    • 4/23 Saturday - Earth Day Event - Adopt-A-Road Cleanup along Indian River Road 
  • Other News
    • Indian River Road Tree Planting
    • Plymouth Park Tree Planting
    • Indian River Area History and Conservation


Get Involved

Indian River High School Scholarship

The Friends of Indian River is once again sponsoring an $500 education Scholarship for a current Indian River High School senior who will be a college freshman next year. The scholarship will recognize a senior who excels in leadership, citizenship, extracurricular activities and academics. Applications are due Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Learn more at http://www.friendsofindianriver.org/p/friends-of-indian-river-scholarship.html

Conservation Landscaping

Interested in improving the natural value of your property?  Would you like to add beauty while helping the environment?  The Elizabeth River Project is still offering matching funding for installing living shorelines (up to $4000), buffers (up to $1500), or maybe a Rain Garden (up to $2000). The Friends of Indian River has limited funds to kick in up to another $250 toward these projects in the Indian River section of Chesapeake.  Learn more at http://www.friendsofindianriver.org/p/conservation-landscaping-program.html

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/


Upcoming Events

Adopt-A-Park @ Indian River Park

Date: Saturday, April 2, 9 am

Location: 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.

We'll be tending to the native plant garden at the park entrance.  We may also do some  trail work, pruning, weeding, and cleanup.

Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves. If you can, bring shovels, rakes, pruners, saws and other gardening tools.  We'll have water and snacks available.  We also always encourage folks to bring their own water in reusable bottles to minimize use of plastic bottles and cans.  

Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision.
We will be following all recommended Covid-19 safety precautions in place at the time of this event.  

To save time and allow for better social distancing, please pre-register at https://forms.gle/9owyesoXD4Ni1oc48

Second Saturday Hike at Indian River Park

Date: 
Saturday, April 9, 8:30 am to 10:30 am

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 about the history of the park, the native trees and plants in this century old forest on the Indian River floodplain, and its value to maintaining the health of local butterfly, bird, and wildlife populations. Note: the forest trail has uneven surfaces and minor elevation changes.

To speed up registration and improve social distancing, please pre-register online at https://forms.gle/AKsmchfVBDBsrd7N9

Earth Day Event - Adopt-A-Road Cleanup along Indian River Road

Date: Saturday, April 23, 9 am

Location: Meet at Lilac Avenue and Indian River Road.  Park along Lilac Avenue by the Norfolk Highlands Primary School.  It is a No Parking zone along Oleander Avenue (parallel to Indian River Road).

We need your help for our quarterly cleanup.   Join us for a few hours to clean up the mile of Indian River Road from the city limits at Wingfield Avenue all the way to MacDonald Road. We are also asking all business owners along Indian River Road - and everywhere really - to make sure they sweep up in front of their storefronts as part of the effort.   And if you can't make it out for our organized cleanup please take 15 minutes and cleanup the street and ditches in front of your home; pass the word to your neighbors!

For our main cleanup on Indian River Road, the city will provide garbage bags and orange safety vests.  One focus will be the area around the Bridge and the future Blue Heron Landing Park. Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves and other items that may be useful.  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/fYFD2u8uEE5iGE2r7

No Monthly Meeting in April



Other News

Indian River Road Tree Planting


We finally got the new planting along Indian River Road at the Oaklette Bridge installed in March.  Almost two years in planning, the project combined grant funding from the Virginia Department of Forestry Virginia Trees for Clean Water Grant and the Chesapeake Parks, Recreation and Tourism / Chesapeake Environmental Improvement Council - CEIC License Plate Beautification Fund.   Our contractor Basnight Land and Lawn prepared the site and planted 14 native trees - magnolias, red cedars, fringe trees, a red bud, and a black gum - and several shrubs.  On the last Saturday of March, 14 volunteers came out to plant 20 more shrubs, 31 native muhly and fountain grasses, and 200 daylilies.  And we still have a few shrubs to add in.  Combined with the new HRT bus shelter, the site is looking really great.  Of course, we also have the native bald cypresses and American holly in the road median and in the coming years Blue Heron Landing Park will be developed across the street.  This gateway is really starting to come together!  Over the coming years, we will be needing help to weed and maintain the site, so stay tuned for volunteer requests.

Plymouth Park Tree Planting

March 19 was the day for a community wide tree planting in the Plymouth Park neighborhood, organized by the Virginia Cooperative Extension.   Over 50 trees were planted in the local park, along Border Road, and at residences around the community.  At Plymouth Community Park, we had 8 Friends of Indian River volunteers come out and we planted 2 Persimmon Trees, 2 Hazelnut Trees, and a False Indigo Bush, which are all native to this area.   In another effort led by the Chesapeake Tree Board, trees were planted along Border Road which will eventually help absorb runoff as part of a stormwater swale.  


Indian River Area History and Conservation

At our March Meeting, our own Rogard Ross gave an information filled presentation about the history of our area and conservation efforts to protect its future.  If you missed the meeting, you can view an extended copy of his presentation at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nd1fuPt0NsoO3holU3LpgTP2iABBdsx_/view?usp=sharing




Friday, March 11, 2022

Second Saturday Hike and Invasive Work on 3/12 Cancelled

 The Second Saturday Hike and Invasive Work on 3/12 is cancelled due to bad weather in the forecast.

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

March Newsletter and Events

 In this month's newsletter, we have:

  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer Survey
    • Tree Planting Opportunity in Plymouth Park
    • Indian River High School Scholarship
    • Conservation Landscaping
    • Year End Fundraiser
  • Upcoming Events
    • 3/12 - Saturday - Second Saturday Hike at Indian River Park
    • 3/17 - Thursday - Monthly Meeting - Topic: History of the Indian River, from the Chesepian Indians to Suburbia and Beyond
    • 3/19 - Saturday - Tree Planting at Plymouth Park
    • 3/26 - Planting at Indian River Road/Oaklette Bridge
  • Other News
    • Great Backyard Bird Count Hike
    • Adopt-a-Road Cleanup Results
    • Invasive Plant Removal Workshop

Get Involved

Volunteer Survey

If you haven't done so already, please take our short 3 question Interest Survey.  We'd like to hear what efforts you are most interested in.   Take the survey at https://forms.gle/eV6tkPcGhDv9yYQn6

Tree Planting Opportunity in Plymouth Park

Tree Planting Target Area
Attention Homeowners in the Plymouth Park Area: The Virginia Cooperative Extension will be planting trees in your area on Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19, from 9:00 a.m. to noon as part of Virginia Cooperative Extension/Chesapeake’s Arbor Day tree planting program.  If you are a homeowner in the Plymouth Park area in Chesapeake and would like to have a FREE TREE or trees planted on your property, please sign up online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/R2VXQ5P by March 4, 2022.  For additional information, please contact their office (757-382-6348).   This is a one-time community enrichment offer; different communities are selected for this program based on percentage of existing tree cover.

Chesapeake Master Gardener volunteers will do the planting.  You can pick from several tree species while signing up.  Simply complete the online questionnaire to reserve your tree(s).  

Indian River High School Scholarship

The Friends of Indian River is once again sponsoring an $500 education Scholarship for a current Indian River High School senior who will be a college freshman next year. The scholarship will recognize a senior who excels in leadership, citizenship, extracurricular activities and academics. Applications are due Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Learn more at http://www.friendsofindianriver.org/p/friends-of-indian-river-scholarship.html

Conservation Landscaping

Interested in improving the natural value of your property?  Would you like to add beauty while helping the environment?  The Elizabeth River Project is still offering matching funding for installing living shorelines (up to $4000), buffers (up to $1500), or maybe a Rain Garden (up to $2000). The Friends of Indian River has limited funds to kick in up to another $250 toward these projects in the Indian River section of Chesapeake.  Learn more at http://www.friendsofindianriver.org/p/conservation-landscaping-program.html

Year End Fundraiser

We're making progress on our end-of-fiscal-year fundraiser.  We're more than 85% of the way toward our goal of $1800 by March 31st.  We just need another $258 to go over the top!  Help us meet our goal!  This is a great time to become a member, renew your membership, or just make a donation online at http://www.friendsofindianriver.org/p/membership.html

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/


Upcoming Events

Second Saturday Hike at Indian River Park

Date: 
Saturday, March 12, 8:30 am to 10:30 am

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 about the history of the park, the native trees and plants in this century old forest on the Indian River flood plain, and its value to maintaining the health of local butterfly, bird, and wildlife populations. Note: the forest trail has uneven surfaces and minor elevation changes.

To speed up registration and improve social distancing, please pre-register online at https://forms.gle/dTEvaxgpJNTfqbQH8

Monthly Meeting - Topic: History of the Indian River, from the Chesepian Indians to Suburbia and Beyond

Date: Thursday, March 17, 7 pm

Location: Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive

We plan to meet in person for our Monthly Meeting in March.  The speaker will be our own Rogard Ross who will do a presentation on the "History of the Indian River, from the Chesepian Indians to Suburbia and Beyond".

We'll have a short business meeting to review our budget for our 2022-2023 fiscal year.  We'll also have the latest community news.

*New* Tree Planting at Plymouth Park

Date: Saturday, March 19, 9 am

Location: Plymouth Community Park, 605 Pond Lane

We need volunteers to help plant trees at Plymouth Park.  We plan to plant 2 Persimmon and 3 Hazelnut trees at the park.  
Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves. If you can, bring shovels and rakes.  We'll have water and snacks available.  We also always encourage folks to bring their own water in reusable bottles to minimize use of plastic bottles and cans.  Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision.

To speed up registration and improve social distancing, please pre-register online at https://forms.gle/Pbut2pBRUzTfv2Vo6

Planting at Indian River Road/Oaklette Bridge

Date: Saturday, March 26, 9 am until complete
Location: Meet at Lilac Avenue and Indian River Road.  Park along Lilac Avenue by the Norfolk Highlands Primary School.  It is a No Parking zone along Oleander Avenue (parallel to Indian River Road).

We'll need volunteers to support planting of 14 trees, 30 shrubs, and 34 muhly and fountain grasses in the side median between Indian River Road and Oleander Avenue.  The heavy lifting will be done by a contractor whole prepare the site and plant the trees.  But we need volunteers to do the shrub and grasses planting and help with other tasks. 

Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves. If you can, bring shovels and rakes.  We'll have water and snacks available.  We also always encourage folks to bring their own water in reusable bottles to minimize use of plastic bottles and cans. 
 
Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision.  Recommended for age 16 and older.  

To speed up registration and improve social distancing, please pre-register online at 




Other News

Had an excellent hike around the Lake between the Indian River Community Center and High School for the Great Backyard Bird Count in February.  We saw at least 16 species and heard 2 more, including Canada Geese, Mallards, Hooded Merganser, a Pied-billed Grebe, Ring-billed Gulls, Bluebirds, Robins, Cardinals, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Great Blue Heron and more.   See more pics at https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofIndianRiver/posts/5102008726531104

We had a beautiful day in mid-February for our Adopt-A-Road cleanup.  We thank the six volunteers who came and collected about 20 bags of trash and other items - about 300 lbs in total along Indian River Road and around the bridge.  It had been many months since our last cleanup and, unfortunately, there was a lot of need for our efforts that day.  Our next cleanup will be on April 23rd.

A few volunteers came out for the invasive plant removal workshop at Indian River Park at the start of February.  They made a significant dent rolling back the Ivy that had crossed the main north-south trail.  Additional volunteer efforts will be done on after the Second Saturday events.  If you are interested in getting involved, e-mail us at info@friendsofindianriver.org