- Upcoming Events
- Saturday, June 7: Clean the Bay Day
- Saturday, June14: Second Saturday Evening Hike
- Thursday, June 19: Summer Evening Picnic
- Saturday, June 21: Adopt-A-Road Cleanup along Indian River Road
- On-going - Volunteers Needed for Gardening
- News
- Chesapeake Budget
- Connecting Chesapeake
- Indian River Design Guidelines
- Indian River High School Scholarship
- Chesapeake VoiCeS
- Oyster Gardening
- May Recap
Upcoming Events
Saturday, June 7, 2025: Clean the Bay Day @ Indian River Park
- 9AM to Noon
- Location: Indian River Park trailhead
at Rokeby Ave. and Main St. (2003 Rokeby Ave.) which is located just south of Military Highway, i.e. across Military Highway from the Fire Station. - The Friends of Indian River's will be hosting Clean the Bay Day at the Indian River Park
- Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves. Long pants recommended. Some of the cleanup area is in the river flood plain which can be muddy.
- We will have water and snacks but 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.
- Please pre-register at https://forms.gle/EiokEr1KHgStDVqt7 (suggested but not required)
Saturday, June 14, 2025: Evening Hike @ Indian River Park
- 6 pm to 7:30 pm
- Location: Indian River Park entrance
- at Rokeby Ave. and Main St. (2003 Rokeby Ave.) which is located just south of Military Highway, i.e. across Military Highway from the Fire Station.
- Join us for a hike along the nature trail and through the park. 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.
- Please pre-register at https://forms.gle/1V6v7U6EdPV4phwC6 (suggested but not required)
Thursday, June 19, 2025: Summer Evening Potluck Picnic
- 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. 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.
- To help coordinate who is bringing what, we set up a Sign Up Genius form at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094DADA92FA2FA7-56804950-friends
Saturday, June 21, 2025: Adopt-A-Road Cleanup along Indian River Road
- From 9 AM to 11:30 am
- Meet at Lilac Avenue and Indian River Road. Park along Lilac Avenue by the Norfolk Highlands Primary School.
- 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 and at Blue Heron Landing Park.
- 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. 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.
- Please pre-register at https://forms.gle/fmzaaiipuXW2JE5H6 (suggested but not required)
On-going
- We will have a regular need for volunteers to help maintain our gardens and plantings both along Indian River Road at the Oaklette Bridge and at the native plant garden at Indian River Park. This is in addition to our monthly volunteer days. The tasks include regular weeding and other garden work; some work involves small group events during the week; once orientation is completed, some work might be on an individual schedule.
- If you are interested in helping out, e-mail us at info@friendsofindianriver.org for more information.
Chesapeake Budget
On May 13, the Chesapeake City Council approved the City's Operating and Capital Budget for 2025-2026. The new fiscal year starts on July 1st.
1) We are pleased to see new funding for several items that can benefit the Indian River Area including
- (NEW) #26-300 Indian River Strategic Acquisition of Real Property - This project funds the purchase of commercial and residential property along key transportation corridors within the Indian River Planning Area to support the implementation of the Indian River Planning Area Study and Redevelopment Strategy, adopted by City Council in 2021.
- (NEW) #15-300 Chesapeake Pedestrian Access Improvements - funds improvements to pedestrian crossings at 33 signalized intersections that include high-visibility crosswalks, pedestrian signal poles, push buttons, and curb ramps with detectable warnings. Per Highway Safety Improvement Program - VDOT Smart Portal, these include the intersections at Indian River Road and Tatemstown Road, Indian River Road and Sparrow Rd, Sparrow Rd and Providence Rd, Sparrow Rd and Military Highway, Providence Rd and Dunbarton Dr (near Georgetown Primary), and Providence Rd and Campostella Rd, Border Rd and Campostella Rd.
- (New) #20-300 Urban Forestry & Tree Inventory Plan - This will include the development of an Urban Forest Master Plan, which will inform future decisions regarding the City's tree canopy. This is another important project that the Friends of Indian River have requested for several years to reverse the steady decline of tree canopy cover in our community and across the City. As per the data on urban tree canopy recently published in TreeCanopy.US, created by the Arbor Day Foundation, with the USDA Forest Service and PlanIT Geo, the tree canopy in the Indian River and Campotella area in 2023 was 1,022 acres or 25.5% of the area's total area of 4,010 acres. This was a loss of 73 acres of tree canopy since 2018 when our tree cover was 27.3%.
- (NEW) #27-300 Wayfinding Signage - This project funds the design and implementation of a scalable wayfinding sign ‘family’ consisting of entryway, gateway, and both pedestrian and vehicular wayfinding signage. This sign family will connect areas in the City to a cohesive Chesapeake identity while highlighting unique community features. Our community can benefit from better wayfinding to direct to locations such as Blue Heron Landing Park, the IR Library, IR Community Center, the Cuffee Center and the new pool, Indian River Park, Plymouth Park, etc. This was also identified as a need in the Indian River Planning Area Study.
2) The City approved funding for bike lanes on Indian River Road in 2022 - #40-270 Indian River Rd. Diet - Phase I - but the project has yet to get underway. With the first summer coming at the new Blue Heron Landing Park, it becomes ever more urgent to implement a safe crosswalk at the new park. VDOT's Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Action Plan (PBSAP) identifies Indian River Road in Chesapeake as one of the Top 1% statewide roadway segments in priority to review for safety projects and other planning needs. We've effectively had a lane diet in place for the past 9 months with Oaklette Bridge Rehabilitation work and it did not negatively impact traffic throughput. The current roadway configuration with two lanes going each way has demonstratively made the road easier for pedestrians to cross at Blue Heron Landing. Public Works is engaged in design studies for a crosswalk and the bike lanes and finished the speed limit study. The Friends of Indian River continue to advocate for getting these safety improvements implemented now.
4) With the pending completion of the Indian River Design Guidelines, we look forward to starting funding for #16-290, Indian River Façade Improvement Grant of $40K per year. We believe this will be another important tool to help support commercial revitalization along Indian River Road corridor, consistent with the Indian River Small Area Plan.
5) We asked that some of the funding for #42-270 Streetscaping and Landscaping of Various Gateway Corridors be applied to the Indian River area. Streetscaping was another key element of the Indian River Planning Area Study and Redevelopment Strategy,
6) The Budget also includes several previously funded projects that are either underway or pending include
- #65-230 Philmont Ave Septic System Disconnection (and replacement by sanitary sewer system) - expected to start this summer
- #52-250 Norfolk Highlands Stormwater Improvements - expected to start this summer
- #72-270 Cuffee Community Center Pool - design in progress
- #05-260 Broadlawn Apartments Stormwater Outfall Improvements
- #61-270 Providence Road Crossing Replacement (replacement for the existing damaged cross pipes under Providence Road near the middle school) -
Connecting Chesapeake
Indian River Design Guidelines
On May 20, the City Council approved the new Indian River Design Guidelines. As a key stakeholder in the Indian River Small Area Plan, the Friends of Indian River worked with the Planning Department to provide input on this document.
We thank the Planning Department and the consultant team for their diligent work on these guidelines and their strong emphasis on getting community input.
Indian River High School Scholarship
Chesapeake VoiCeS
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is holding a virtual session of its Volunteers as Chesapeake Stewards (VoiCeS) program. This multi-week adult education course is designed to deepen your understanding of the Chesapeake Bay and how you can make a difference in its restoration. A number of our members have taken this class and recommend it highly. Held virtually over six consecutive Wednesday evenings, this interactive course features expert speakers covering a wide range of environmental topics relevant to Virginia, plus chances to get out in the field. Dates: Wednesdays, July 9–August 13, 6:00–8:00 p.m. Online via Zoom.
Register at https://events.cbf.org/vavoices25
Oyster Gardening
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Oyster Gardening Program gives citizens an opportunity to help bring back this vital species by growing oysters alongside their docks. Once grown, the adult oysters are returned to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for planting on sanctuary reefs. Learn more at https://www.cbf.org/how-we-save-the-bay/programs-initiatives/virginia/oyster-restoration/oyster-gardening/
May Recap
The guest speaker at our May meeting was Lisa Renée Jennings, Hampton Roads Grassroots Coordinator for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Lisa Renée leads advocacy and volunteer efforts for the Save the Bay program in our region. Many of our founding members have gone through the Chesapeake Bay Foundation volunteer training and the meeting was a great chance to hear the latest from the organization and share all our local efforts and successes.
