Thursday, May 26, 2022

June Newsletter and Events

 The days are getting longer, the weather is getting hotter, and the Friends are wrapping up spring with a number of great events in June starting with Clean the Bay Day on June 4th.  

  • Upcoming Events
    • 6/4 Saturday - Clean the Bay Day Event at Indian River Park 
    • 6/11 Saturday - Second Saturday EVENING Hike at Indian River Park
    • 6/16 Thursday - Spring Picnic 
    • 6/18 Saturday - Adopt-A-Road Cleanup along Indian River Road
  • Other News
    •  Chesapeake Capital Improvement Budget approved in May
  • Get Involved
    • Conservation Landscaping

Upcoming Events

Clean the Bay Day 

Date: Saturday, June 4, 9 am
Location: Indian River Park at Southern Volkswagen off Paramont Avenue.

This year we are partnering with Southern Volkswagen to clean up the west side of Indian River Park for Clean the Bay Day.  The focus will be floodplain and forest edge along the Volkswagen dealership and down to Military Highway.    This area has been neglected for a long time and needs a lot of love; this will actually be the second half of a cleanup started earlier this spring.  

Sign up at https://forms.gle/kWifnY2nbaE4vJ4F6 and we'll update with parking directions as the date gets nearer.  

Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves. We also always encourage folks to bring their own water in reusable bottles to minimize use of plastic bottles. Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision.

Second Saturday EVENING Hike at Indian River Park

Date: 
Saturday, June 11, 6 pm to 8 pm

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.

With summer solstice approaching, we'll change things up for our Second Saturday hike in June and do an evening hike starting at 6 pm.

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/xN3UdDvi1WMd24fq9

Spring Evening Potluck Picnic

Picnic do Bruno | Michell Zappa | Flickr
Date: Thursday, June 16, 6 pm to 8 pm (come out anytime during the event)

Location: Picnic Pavilion behind Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive; park in side lot along St. Lawrence Dr.

Rather than our usual monthly meeting, in June we'll have a potluck picnic out behind the church.   This will also be the 10-year anniversary of the founding of the Friends of Indian River so we'll celebrate that also!

Bring a dish to share and join us for some camaraderie as we roll into summer.  The Friends will set out tables and chairs, provide a main protein dish (likely chicken).  We suggest bringing a comfy lawn chair.

In the event of rain, we will move the event inside the church's fellowship hall, however, in this case ONLY restaurant purchased or pre-packaged food from a store is permitted to be consumed inside.  

To help coordinate who is bringing what, we set up a Sign Up Genius form at 

Adopt-A-Road Cleanup along Indian River Road

Date: Saturday, June 18, 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/ypFBfAn7N1crjj2R7


Other News

Capital Improvement Budget

In May the City Council approved the City's 2022-2023 Capital Improvement Budget.   This included funding for key programs to kickstart the initiatives defined in the Indian River Planning Area Study approved at the end of last year. These include funding for development of an Indian River Road Design Guidelines Manual and Overlay District, the first phase of the Indian River Road Redesign, Enhanced Signage & Landscaping at Entrances to the City, and multiple other projects that affect our community.  

We thank the City Council for approving the funding to meet the strategic goals of making our City economically strong, culturally diverse, and environmentally responsible. Within the Indian River area, we look forward to partnering with the City in building a safe, well-connected community of vibrant residential neighborhoods with a thriving "Main Street" and strong commercial areas.   See additional details at https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofIndianRiver/posts/5336999803031994

Get Involved

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 $5000), buffers (up to $2000), 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

Thank you to the many volunteers who came out for our volunteer events in in the last couple of months including at the Native Plant Garden at Indian River Park, Dollar Tree employees coming out for Earth Day to do invasive plant removal at Indian River Park, and for our quarterly Adopt-A-Road Cleanup.

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/