March and April Activities

Greetings,

Spring is on its way and here are the Friends of Indian River activities for March and into April.

Thursday, March 17 - Regular Meeting: John Wilson of New Earth Farms
Join us at our monthly meeting for a discussion on Earth-friendly farming practices and learn about Biochar, a charcoal based soil amendment for your garden.   Also learn a bit about Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs).   There will be light refreshments and door prizes after the presentation.  The meeting starts at 7 PM in the Social Hall at the Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive.

Saturday, March 19: Adopt-A-Road Cleanup along Indian River Road

We'll be doing our quarterly roadside cleanup along Indian River Road from 9:30 AM to Noon. This will help to spruce up the area, collect trash that will otherwise get washed into the river and impact wildlife, and give us the opportunity to interact with residents and businesses along Indian River Road.   The city will provide garbage bags and orange safety vests. We'll have water and a few snacks available. Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves and other items that may be useful.    Meet at side parking lot of Indian River Post Office, 3810 Indian River Road, Chesapeake.

Eastwyck Apartment Proposal
There is still no news on the Eastwyck Apartment Proposal.  It is again not on this month's Planning Commission agenda.   We'll provide more information when it becomes available.

Saturday, April 16th - Indian River BioBlitz

Mark you calendar for a day of free nature and wildlife programs at Indian River Park.  Join expert guides on a variety of hikes to explore the park and document as much of the plant and animal life present.
- 8:00 am Birding Hike with Tony Wood, Cape Henry Audubon
- 9:30 am Amphibians & Reptiles Hike with Dean Bohon, Northwest River Park
- 11:00 am Insects & Butterflies Hike with Dr. Deborah Waller, ODU
- 11:00 am to 1:00 pm Various activities including Meet Your Park Rangers, Snake Exhibit, and more, No RSVP required
- 1:00 pm Tree Hike with Mike Aherron, VA Department of Forestry
- 2:30 pm Wildflower and Plants Hike with Mike Andruczyk, Virginia Cooperative Extension
- 4:00 pm Wildlife Habitats Hike, Jessica Ruthenberg, Virginia DGIF

Co-sponsored by the Friends of Indian River and the Chesapeake Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. Let us know which hike(s) you would like to join - RSVP to info@friendsofindianriver.org or online at http://goo.gl/forms/Ao70I1NyGe

Want to help out? We need volunteers to help at the welcome station, help with the hikes, and to keep track of our wildlife sightings.   Contact us at info@friendsofindianriver.org

Thursday, April 21 - Regular Meeting: Lorraine Schreiber on The French Potager: Decorative Vegetable Gardening
Norfolk Master Gardener Lorraine Schreiber will talk to us about how the  French kitchen garden intermingles vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs.   Come and find inspiration in its intimate and sensual style, complicity with nature, and charm.   There will be light refreshments and door prizes after the presentation.  The meeting starts at 7 PM in the Social Hall at the Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive.

And our calendar of events through June is available at

http://www.friendsofindianriver.org/p/calendar.html

February Activities

Saturday, February 13th, CANCELLED - Great Backyard Bird Count Guided Bird Walk

I'm sorry to say that we will be cancelling the bird watching walk on Saturday morning.    With the arctic front moving in the forecast is 20 mph winds and a brutal wind chill of around 12 F Saturday morning, not fit conditions for bird watchers or birds.    But you can still participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count on your own, either from the warmth of your home looking out the window or on your own personal bird walk for those prepared to brave the elements.    Just report your bird sightings online at
        http://gbbc.birdcount.org/
You can also let us know about your sightings by dropping us a comment and photos on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofIndianRiver/

Also on Saturday, our friends at the Cape Henry Audubon Society will still be hosting a bird seed sale at Southern States store at 1764 South Military Highway from 8 am to 4 pm. A portion of the sales price goes to support the local Audubon Society activities.

Thursday, February 18th, 7:00 pm - Monthly Meeting - Flowers of Hampton Roads

Join us for our regular meeting with guest speaker Dean Bohon of  Northwest River Park.  He'll be telling us about the Flowers of Hampton Roads. There will be light refreshments and door prizes after the presentation.   Meeting starts at 7 PM in the Social Hall at the Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive.

Saturday, February 20th, 9:30 am - Volunteer Work Day at Indian River Park
We plan to hold a volunteer work day to remove Invasive English Ivy at Indian River Park from 9:30 AM to Noon. Our goal for the day will be to remove English Ivy from the woods around the trailhead parking area. Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves; we recommend long pants and long sleeved shirts. Bring pruning clippers, loppers, screwdrivers (which are amazingly useful in prying ivy off tree trunks) and/or pruning saws if you have them. We'll have water and snacks available. Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision. Meet at the 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..

Eastwyck Apartment Proposal
The Eastwyck Apartment Proposal is NOT on the February Planning Commission agenda.   We will provide more information as to when its going back to the Planning Commission when we have it.

and further in the future ...

Saturday, April 16th - Indian River BioBlitz

Mark you calendar for a day of free nature and wildlife programs at Indian River Park.  Join expert guides on a variety of hikes to explore the park and document as much of the plant and animal life present.
- 8:00 am Birding Hike with Tony Wood, Cape Henry Audubon
- 9:30 am Amphibians & Reptiles Hike with Dean Bohon, Northwest River Park
- 11:00 am Insects & Butterflies Hike with Dr. Deborah Waller, ODU
- 11:00 am to 1:00 pm Various activities including Meet Your Park Rangers, Snake Exhibit, and more, No RSVP required
- 1:00 pm Tree Hike with Mike Aherron, VA Department of Forestry
- 2:30 pm Wildflower and Plants Hike with Mike Andruczyk, Virginia Cooperative Extension
- 4:00 pm Wildlife Habitats Hike, Jessica Ruthenberg, Virginia DGIF

Co-sponsored by the Friends of Indian River and the Chesapeake Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. Let us know which hike(s) you would like to join - RSVP to info@friendsofindianriver.org or online at http://goo.gl/forms/Ao70I1NyGe

Want to help out? We need volunteers to help at the welcome station, help with the hikes, and to keep track of our wildlife sightings.   Contact us at info@friendsofindianriver.org

January Activities

 On Tuesday, January 19th, the zoning change request for the 240 unit Eastwyck Crossing Apartments, adjacent to Indian River Park, is going to the City Council for a final public hearing and vote. This is the last opportunity for the public to comment on the proposed complex. Persons wishing to speak must submit a speaker card BEFORE the start of the meeting at 6:30 pm at City Hall. For more information, please see this post.

The Friends of Indian River Annual Meeting on Thursday, January 21, 7 pm at Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive, Chesapeake, Va. 23325. We will hold elections for our officers and board and discuss plans for 2016. With the continued support of our members and volunteers, we will build upon last year’s successes. There will be light refreshments and door prizes.

Saturday volunteer work day is CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER On Saturday, January 23, we need volunteers to help remove Invasive English Ivy at Indian River Park. Our goal for the day will be to remove English Ivy from the woods around the trailhead parking area. Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves; we recommend long pants and long sleeved shirts. Bring pruning clippers, loppers, screwdrivers (which are amazingly useful in prying ivy off tree trunks) and/or pruning saws if you have them. We'll have water and snacks available. Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision. 

December Events - Ivy and Holiday Party

Three dates to mark on your calendar for December
- Wednesday, December 9th, 7 pm - Planning Commission meets again to vote on Eastwyck Crossing Apartment proposal adjacent to Indian River Park
- Saturday, December 12th, 9:30 am - Volunteer Event to Remove Invasive English Ivy at Indian River Park
- Thursday, December 17th, 7 pm - Holiday Party and Volunteer Appreciation Event

Eastwyck Crossing Apartments
The previous Planning Commission meeting ended in a tied vote on the proposed Eastwyck Crossing Apartments located adjacent to Indian River Park at the south end of Miller Avenue.   The site was approved for a condo development in 2008, but now the developer wants to build a 240 unit apartment complex.   Concerns raised include the crowding of local schools (Indian River Middle School is over 120% of capacity), reduced proffer payments to the city (from $3811 per unit to $2000 per unit), negative impact to the city and school budget, the loss of the woodland at the site, and impact to the park.   The proposal will have another public hearing at the next Planning Commission on Wednesday, December 9th, 7 pm at City Hall; those wishing to speak must register before 7 pm.  Thereafter the proposal goes to the City Council in January for a final vote.  For more discussion, see this post on Facebook.

Volunteer Event to Remove Invasive English Ivy at Indian River Park

On Saturday, December 12th, we need volunteers to help  remove Invasive Ivy at Indian River Park from 9:30 AM to Noon.   We'll mainly be cutting English Ivy that has grown up trees.   This will prevent the ivy from creating fruit and creating new outbreaks in the park.  Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves; we recommend long pants and long sleeved shirts. Bring pruning clippers, loppers, screwdrivers (which are amazingly useful in prying ivy off tree trunks) and/or pruning saws if you have them.  We'll have water and snacks available.   Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision.  Meet at the 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.

Holiday Party and Volunteer Appreciation Event
On Thursday, December 17th, at 7 pm at Oaklette United Methodist Church, we will hold our end of year celebration to recognize our many accomplishments, recognize our volunteers, and socialize. Bring a desert to share and join the festivities.  We'll have a silent auction, so you can finish some Christmas shopping too.
If you have some items to donate for the silent auction, those are welcome; just bring them in and we'll add them to the auction table.  Please also consider bringing a donation of non-perishable food items for the Oaklette United Methodist Church food pantry to the meeting this evening.   Even if you have not been to a meeting in a while or if this would be your very first meeting, we encourage you to come out and partake in the merriment!

October Events

On Saturday, October 10, we'll be doing Adopt-A-Spot: Gardening at Indian River / Oaklette Bridge from 9:30 AM to Noon.   Meet at the Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive, Chesapeake and walk over to the bridge.    We will do some fall gardening and maintenance around the bridge and the newly planted trees.   We may also do some roadside cleanup along Indian River Road if we have enough volunteers.   Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves. Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision.

Our next regular meeting is on Thursday, October 15 at 7 PM in the Social Hall at the Oaklette United Methodist Church.  Councilmember Ella Ward will speak with us on various topics including the role of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission.  There will be light refreshments and door prizes after the presentation.

Saturday, October 24 is a big Adopt-A-Park Volunteer Work Day at Indian River Park from 9:30 am to Noon.  Meet at the park entrance at Rokeby Ave. and Main St. (2001 Rokeby Ave.)   We'll be spreading mulch and working on various projects around the park including trail maintenance, invasive plant removal, tending to the native plant garden at the entrance, and trash pickup. The more volunteers that come out, the more that we can accomplish!   Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves. If you can, bring shovels, rakes, pruners, saws and other gardening tools. We will have water and lots of snacks. (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.

See our full calendar for all talks and volunteer events this year.  For the latest news and happenings, do like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.   We hope that everyone will be able to make it out to at least one volunteer event to help improve our community. 

September Events

We hope everyone had a great summer.   We're gearing up for a busy fall season for our community.

On Saturday, September 12th, our fall calendar starts off with a really big event - RiverFest at Nauticus in downtown Norfolk.   The Elizabeth River Project's annual festival is at a new venue and this year's focus is on the Eastern Branch including our Indian River.     There will be Workshops, an Art Show, Kids Activities, Food Vendors, a Native Plant Sale, Eastern Branch Boat Tours, a Closing Party and Concert, and its all Free (except for stuff you may buy from vendors).   The Friends of Indian River will have a table set up at the event to highlight our watershed.  The event runs from 10 am to 5 pm, so come on down and join the fun.

Thursday, September 17th, is our next regular meeting at Oaklette United Methodist Church,  520 Oaklette Drive, Chesapeake, VA, at 7 pm.   Julie Finn of Meadows of Bliss will have a presentation on Attracting Butterflies with Native Plants.   Really, who doesn't want butterflies? Come and learn how to bring them to your backyard.  There will be light refreshments and door prizes after the presentation.

The following Saturday, September 19th, from 9:30 AM to Noon, we'll have our  Adopt-A-Road Cleanup and International Coastal Cleanup At Indian River Oaklette Bridge    We'll be cleaning along Indian River Road with a special emphasis on the shoreline around the Oaklette Bridge as part of the International Coastal Cleanup. This goal is to collect trash that will otherwise get washed into the river and impact wildlife. Meet at the side parking lot of Oaklette United Methodist Church.   The city will provide garbage bags and orange safety vests. We'll have water and a some snacks available. 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.

For the rest of the year, we'll have a full calendar of talks and volunteer events.  We hope that everyone will be able to make it out to at least one volunteer event to help improve our community.   In November, we will also have a boat trip for members on the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Education Boat out of Pleasure House Point in Virginia Beach.   Space is limited and we'll have details available at the next regular meeting.

Clean the Bay Day 2015

What a great Clean the Bay Day at Indian River Park today.    With gorgeous weather over 90 volunteers from around the city came to the park to remove trash and debris that sullies our natural area and would otherwise slowly get washed into Chesapeake Bay.   We had participants from Cub Scout Packs 42, 700, and 800, the Junior Master Naturalists, the Oscar Smith High School National Honor Society, Capital One Bank, local residents, and of course, our core volunteers from the Friends of Indian River.    Dozens of cub scouts and their families fanned out scouring the main trails, other teams headed out to the far reaches of the park, while the undaunted students from Oscar Smith headed out into the muddy flood plain to retrieve being washed downstream by the storm runoff.

Actually, the park trails were in excellent shape with little trash, allowing us to focus our efforts on the flood plain.  By the end of the morning, our hardy volunteers had hauled out 38 consolidated bags of trash, a tire, a fire extinguisher and a muddy, soggy mattress.   All in all, we estimated that we removed 850 pounds of trash, which was about 20% less than last year.   The most common items were beverage containers - cans, bottles, cups - and food wrappers.    The largest item of the day was the mattress.   The most interesting item was an old Red Ryder BB Gun (with a warning about the risk of possible eye injury).

After the cleanup, many participants stayed around for the after picnic and enjoyed burgers, hot dogs, camaraderie,  and the good feeling of success.    And our next cleanup, along Indian River Road is only two weeks away!    For more photos see HERE

A thank you to our hardy gardeners for coming out on this beautiful day to tidy up the gardens at the Oaklette Bridge along Indian River Road.   Six volunteers turned out on this Memorial Day weekend, weeding, mulching and planting flowers at the gardens at each corner of the bridge.     The crepe myrtle planters were weeded and the sidewalk cracks were cleared.   The bald cypresses and American hollies in the median were also pruned and mulched.    Thanks to these volunteers the gardens are looking gorgeous!

Upcoming Events in May and June

We got a lot of activities going on over the next month - hikes, our monthly meeting, gardening, Clean the Bay Day, and architectural tours.   There's something for everyone and we hope you come out partake in the fun.   We do particularly need volunteers of our Adopt-A-Spot gardening on May 23rd and Clean the Bay Day on June 6th.   Come on out and help make our community better!

 On Saturday, May 16th, from 9:30 am to 11 am, there will be a guided hike along the nature trail and through Indian River Park.  Meet at the park entrance at Rokeby Ave. and Main St. (2001 Rokeby Ave.) and 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.   

Thursday, May 21st, 7 pm is our next regular meeting at Oaklette United Methodist Church; Jackie Shannon from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation will be telling us about Oyster Gardening and Oyster Restoration along our Eastern Branch.   As always, there will be light refreshments and door prizes after the presentation.

On Saturday, May 23rd, from 9:30 am to noon, come out and help with our Adopt-A-Spot gardening around the Indian River / Oaklette Bridge, including the area around the last year's tree plantings.   We'll be putting in a few new plants, doing weeding, and putting down mulch.   Meet at Oaklette United Methodist Church.   Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves. If you can, bring any gardening tools such as like cultivators, and shovels that are helpful in planting. Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision.​

We also need on-going volunteers who will be willing to "adopt a corner" routinely go out and check on the bridge gardens and do some routine weeding and watering.   Contact us at info@friendsofindianriver.org  if you are interested and we'll discuss the details!

Saturday, June 6th is Clean the Bay Day and we'll be doing our cleanup at Indian River Park from 9 am to Noon at the park entrance at Rokeby Ave. and Main St. (2001 Rokeby Ave.).   We will be working along the stream buffer in Indian River Park, the headwaters of the Indian River.   This will help to spruce up the area and collect trash that will otherwise get washed into the river and impact wildlife.    The city will provide garbage bags.   We'll have water and snacks available.  Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves and other items that may be useful.   There is also trash to be collected from the flood plain of the creek, which is wet; bring rubber boots if you can help in this area.   Participants under 18 years of age must have adult supervision.  We will have a picnic after the cleanup around noon.  The Friends of Indian River will provide hot dogs, burgers, and drinks.   We invite folks to bring a side dish like dessert, chips, pasta salad to share.  To help our planning, please RSVP to info@friendsofindianriver.org if you know you will join us.   (Last minute volunteers are still always welcome).

And on Saturday, June 13th, we organizing a tour the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's new Brock Environment Center at Pleasure House Point in Virginia Beach.  The Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Brock Environmental Center, now open at Pleasure House Point in Virginia Beach, is one of the most energy efficient, environmentally smart buildings in the world.   The Brock Environmental Center is designed to meet the strictest environmental standards in accordance with the Living Building Challenge™ and is the first in the nation to embrace energy and water independence.   Come see this cutting edge architectural example.  The tour is at (corrected time)  Noon but we may meet before hand to carpool, stay tuned for details.  Space is limited so you MUST RSVP to info@friendsofindianriver.org

Indian River Park Adopt-A-Park

Our volunteer day at the park was cut short today by the on and off rain, but Thank You to the  12 volunteers who accomplished a lot, fixing up the entrance area.   Pulling weeds, spreading mulch, and staking trees, we got the gardens around the parking area refreshed and ready to show off their spring blooms.   We also planted two Washington hawthorn seedlings which should add some nice color to the trees along the roadway in the coming years.   The native plants we planted this winter are popping up all over.   The red chokeberries are just past bloom, the columbines are looking great, and a lot more color is getting ready to burst forth.   Along the nature trail we also found native trumpet honeysuckle in full bloom, and less showy, along the forest floor mayapple blossoms.

Blue flags

Picnic area

Atlantic White Cedars

Columbines

Trumpet honeysuckle

Mayapples

April Activities

At our next regular meeting on Thursday, April 16, 7 pm., representatives from Chesapeake Parks, Recreation and Tourism will be talking to us about our local parks and recreation centers, including upcoming plans and events.   As always, there will be light refreshments and door prizes after the presentation

On Saturday, April 25, we are holding an Adopt-A-Park Volunteer Work Day at Indian River Park, from 9:30 am to Noon.  Meet at the park entrance at Rokeby Ave. and Main St. (2001 Rokeby Ave.) We'll be working on various projects around the park including trail maintenance, invasive plant removal, tending to the native plant garden at the entrance, and trash pickup - depending on volunteer availability. The more volunteers that come out the more that we can accomplish! Afterward, we'll also do a short guided walk of the nature trail for those interested.  Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves. If you can, bring shovels, rakes, pruners, saws and other gardening tools. We will have water and lots of snacks. (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.

March Adopt-A-Road Cleanup

We had a great turnout for our quarterly Adopt-A-Road Cleanup along Indian River Road.   Ten of our regular, dedicated volunteers turned out on this beautiful day.   And we had help from a group of volunteers from Naval Air Station Oceana.    With the extra help from the Navy, we were able to do an extra thorough job all the way up to railroad overpass at the Norfolk city line.   Together, the combined team collected over 30 heavy bags of trash including lots of plastic bottles, cans, plastic bags, food wrappers, cigarette butts, and automotive fragments.   Once again, a big thank you to these hard working volunteers!

Volunteers out in force!

The Navy sends a message: Stop Littering!

March Activities

Our next regular meeting is on Thursday, March 19, 7 PM in the Social Hall at the Oaklette United Methodist Church.   Lynn Gilbert will will teach us about Vermi-Composting.   Learn how you can take your kitchen scraps and turn them into a rich compost to enrich your soil and jump start your plants.   And in the process you help reduce the flow of trash to our landfills and provide great stewardship of our environment.   We are now meeting in the big social hall at the church, so there is plenty of room for you to come on out and join us for this interesting presentation.   As always there will be light refreshments and door prizes after the talk.

On Saturday, March 21, from 9:30 AM to Noon, we'll be doing our quarterly Adopt-A-Road Cleanup along Indian River Road.  We meet at side parking lot of Indian River Post Office, 3810 Indian River Road, Chesapeake and we'll be cleaning up 1 mile of Indian River Road from the city limits at Wingfield Avenue all the way to MacDonald Road. This will help to spruce up the area, collect trash that will otherwise get washed into the river and impact wildlife, and give us the opportunity to interact with residents and businesses along Indian River Road.  The city will provide garbage bags and orange safety vests. We'll have water and a few snacks available. 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.

February Activities

February 13th thru the 16th is the Great Backyard Bird Count, a worldwide citizen science effort to identify the distribution of birds.   

As part of this event on Saturday morning, February 14th, the Friends of Indian River will host a guided bird walk around the lake between the Indian River Community/Rec Center and the Indian River 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.  Meet at the Indian River Community Center, 2250 Old Greenbrier Rd, at 8:30 am.  We'll be out for about 1 to 1.5 hours.  We'll have some binoculars and a spotting scope, but do bring your own if you have some!

Even if you can't make it out to the walk, you can report your bird sightings at  http://gbbc.birdcount.org/get-started/  or http://ebird.org/.   If you got photos, there is a new Flickr group to share your nature photos from around the Indian River area at https://www.flickr.com/groups/indianriver/.

Our February meeting was cancelled due to the snow and ice. Jackie Shannon's presentation on Oyster Gardening and Restoration will now be at our May meeting.   At that time we'll learn all about oysters, how important they are to water quality, plans for restoring oyster reefs along the Eastern Branch and Indian River, and how you can help raise baby oysters to restore such reefs.   

Lastly, the Elizabeth River Project and Friends of Indian River are looking for historical photos, maps, and stories about the Indian River and the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River. These artifacts will help us share the story of this branch with its citizens. If you have photos you’re willing to share, or even a story about growing up near the river, send us a message at info@friendsofindianriver.org.

Native Plant Garden at Indian River Park

On Saturday we finally got the new native plant garden installed at Indian River Park.   The plants mostly don't look like too much right now, but giving them this extra time to acclimate to their new home will give them a great start in the spring.   A big thank you to the 20 enthusiastic volunteers who came out on this chilly morning to get the job done.   Kudos to Amy Weber for her work on designing the garden layout and planning the event.  Also, thank you to Eric Gunderson and Southern Branch Nursery, Inc.  Besides being the source for the native plants for the garden, Southern Branch Nursery donated several extra plants for the garden and Eric stayed through the morning to help plant and provide his expertise.   Next we'll be working on getting identification signs placed on the plants.  You can find some more photos of today's work at our online photo album.

Quarterly Cleanup/International Coastal Cleanup

We had our big cleanup today around the Oaklette/Indian River Road Bridge today.   Ten hardy volunteers came out this morning picking up trash along the approaches to the bridge, collecting more trash from under the bridge, and also do a lot of weeding around the four gardens at the bridge corners.   A couple of volunteers ventured out on the river by canoe to collect trash.

Altogether we collected 17 bags of trash by noon.   We had lots of bottles and cans, food wrappers, wayward plastic bags, and of course, the abysmal cigarette butts.   We also removed fishing line, six pack rings, a deflated balloon, pieces of clothing, and even an arrow.   We owe our volunteers a big round of gratitude for coming out making our neighborhood more attractive and removing hazards that could injure wildlife and pollute our river.    But we could have used twenty more volunteers to fully sweep Indian River Road across the City of Chesapeake.

Some upcoming events:

- Next Saturday, September 20th is Chesapeake Recycles Day.  You can bring your old electronics, batteries, old clothing, household hazardous wastes (like paints), and regular recyclables to Southgate Plaza in South Norfolk. http://www.cityofchesapeake.net/Assets/documents/departments/public_works/recycle/Ches+Recycles+Day+Flyer+-+SoNo+2014.pdf

- On Wednesday, September 24th, you can catch a presentation on "Urban Parks and Backyard Habitats: Wildlife, Native Plants, and Why They Matter" by Rogard Ross (me) at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Supper Club meeting.  (Free, but registration required), see http://www.cbf.org/events/calendar?cgid=1&ceid=1194&cerid=0&cdt=9%2f24%2f2014 

- On Saturday, October 4th, we will be planting a native plant garden at Indian River Park.   Bring your gardening tools and give us a hand!

- And on Thursday, October 9th, is our next regular meeting.   We'll have Councilmember Suzy Kelly with us and we'll get to ask her questions about local economic development - and about the Indian River Shopping Center.

We hope you can participate in future events and help make our neighborhood a better place.

Major volunteer efforts at Indian River Park

In a tremendous burst of activity, the Friends of Indian River, with help from a lot other groups and individuals, logged 180 volunteer hours over the last 2 days working in Indian River Park.

 On Friday, 20 volunteers from the Friends of Indian River and a crew from Banyan Grove apartments in Virginia Beach, were at the park planting trees and shrubs around the new parking area at Rokeby and Main.   The Chesapeake Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism arrived early with the native trees, compost, and a water truck to support our effort.   The trees and shrubs came from the nursery at the Chesapeake Arboretum, thanks to support from the local Virginia Cooperative Extension Agent, Mike Andrucyzk.  

The volunteers received guidance from several Chesapeake Master Gardeners and help from a Parks maintenance crew member wielding a powered auger.    Through the morning, the volunteers dug holes, carefully planted and watered the young trees, including a screen of Atlantic White Cedars and several Bald Cypresses, the official city tree.   Then we started to move around mulch to create neat beds around the new trees.

This is only the first phase of efforts around the parking lot.  Parks Planner Lennie Luke tells us that over the summer the Parks Department plans to add picnic tables, railing, an information kiosk, and more.   In the fall, the Friends will be out there again to finish creating a demonstration native plant garden next to the parking area.   There are plans to include our park in a tour of sites during the Virginian Native Plant Society Annual Conference this fall.

But we weren't done yet.   On Saturday, many of the same volunteers returned to the park to lead the Clean the Bay Day event.   This time 40 volunteers – grateful for the new parking area -descended on the park to clean up trash in the park.   Volunteers came from our Friends group, the Tidewater Master Naturalists, the Cub Scouts, Centura College, the Kempsville Presbyterian Church, and as individuals, to help find and pick up trash.  This annual event, started by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and supported by counties and cities across Virginia, including the City of Chesapeake, aims to clear the trash that spoils of shores and endangers wildlife. 

Indian River Park protects the headwaters of the Indian River which flows into the Bay.  While the trails in the park are reasonably well kept and usually have minimal litter, over the year a significant volume of litter gets washed down the stream and is spread over the flood plain. Much of this is thoughtlessly discarded bottles, cans, food wrappers, and cigarette butts that are washed in from the surrounding neighborhoods as storm waters wash them from yards and streets into the park.    This year our volunteers trudged into the flood plain and pulled out nearly 1000 pounds of trash including all previously mentioned items, several tires, and - winning the prize for oddest item - a 10' kiddie slide.   Afterwards, many of volunteers got together to enjoy a well-deserved picnic.

We owe a tremendous thank you to all the volunteers who came out over the past couple of days and really over the past year.  Without their efforts we could not have accomplished the many projects we've been involved in including the tree planting along Indian River Road, the gardens at the bridge, roadside cleanups, the new nature trail at the park, and several other efforts.

Beautification Successes

Wow, we had a successful week!   On Friday, thanks to the cooperative efforts of the Friends of Indian River, the City of Chesapeake Public Works, the Sheriff's Office, and a multitude of supporting agencies, we've planted around 30 trees along Indian River Road just east of the bridge. Fifteen community volunteers who took time off on Friday to make this happen.    You can find photos of the planting at https://www.facebook.com/media/set (no Facebook account required).

Saturday morning, ten volunteers came out again to participate in the Great American Cleanup. Working along Indian River Road and around the shoreline at the bridge, we collected 18 bags of trash and a tire; about half from along the street and half from around the bridge. Another big Thank You to the the dedicated crew!

These efforts to beautify our community would not be possible without the dedication of our volunteers.   On behalf of the entire community, we extend a heartfelt Thank You to all our volunteers.

Sincerely,
Rogard Ross
President, Friends of Indian River

Tree Planting Rescheduled for Friday, April 11th, 9:30 am

We have been working with the City to reschedule the tree planting and the best available date is Friday, April 11th.   We understand that not everyone can make it on Friday, but at least we'll get it done and give the trees a chance to acclimate before the weather turns hot.    We're asking for available volunteers to arrive at 9:30 am, meet at the corner of Lilac and Indian River Road.   The work may stretch into the afternoon, so stay as long as you are available; join us later in the day if you are not available in the morning.   Please see the original message below for details on what to bring and what to expect on the day of the planting.

On Saturday, April 12th, we have an already scheduled cleanup along Indian River Road at 9:30 am.  We'll focus our efforts around the bridge and finish any leftover planting tasks from Friday.   If you can't make it out on Friday, consider joining us on Saturday.   Meet at the side parking lot of the Post Office.


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We are one week away from our big volunteer tree planting along Indian River Road that we are doing with the City of Chesapeake.  Many of you probably saw the city crews out on Friday chopping back the overgrown privet on the westbound side of Indian River Road.   This was in preparation for the big tree planting on March 29th.   Sometime next week the city will be digging the holes for the trees, which will be delivered on that Saturday morning.

We are asking volunteers to meet around 9:30 am, Friday, April 11th, on the corner of Lilac and Indian River Road so we can get everyone signed in and organized into teams.    We'll give a demonstration on planting the trees and will have Master Gardeners with us to help show folks how to plant the trees.  We hope you can come out and join us.

Please wear closed-toe shoes, a hat and bring work gloves.  If you can, bring shovels, rakes, and other gardening tools helpful in planting.  We will have water and lots of snacks.  (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 park along Lilac Avenue, or walk if you are nearby.

We'll be planting  about 7 bald cypresses, a few hollies, 6 goldenrain trees, almost two dozen plum trees, maybe some nandina, and if we have enough volunteers doing some weeding in the planters on the bridge corners.