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.

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

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 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.

Annual Meeting

We held our Annual Meeting on the 15th and held elections for our Board of Directors.  We have one departing board member, Keith, who we would like to truly thank for his service this past year.   And we welcome our newest board member, Sara as a Director At-Large. Our other Directors At-Large are Sharon and Amy; our officers are Secretary Helene, Treasurer Jayne ,and  VP Diane and Rogard continuing on as President for another year.

We also talked about our goals and projects for the new year.   We're continuing most of existing efforts around Community Beautification, improvements to Indian River Park, Education and Outreach, and various interactions with the City.    A new focus in a greater partnership with the Elizabeth River Project and supporting the new Eastern Branch Environmental Restoration Strategy.  As various efforts and events get under way, keep an eye out for our calls for volunteers.   And, if you have a particular interest, skill, or trade that you would like to use to volunteer to help the community, let us know.   There are so many possibilities and we'd love your help.

Cleanup and Annual Meeting Results

The weather held for our quarterly Adopt-A-Road Cleanup today.   Eight volunteers fanned out along Indian River Road and collected 6 bags of trash.   We had at least one person jump out of their car to say Thank You to the volunteers.   I also extend a Big Thank You to those who came out to make our neighborhood look better and keep the trash from being washed into the river and bay.   Your efforts matter and are appreciated.

We had a good turnout at the Annual Meeting on Thursday.   Congratulations to our newest At-Large board member Keith and to Jayne who will assume the role of Treasurer.   Rounding out the board we have myself as President, Diane as VP, Helene as Secretary, Amy and Sharon as At-Large members.  After the elections, we discussed plans for the coming year and reviewed the calendar of events (see http://www.friendsofindianriver.org/p/calendar.html).   Attendees shared ideas for expanding membership and continuing improvements in the community.

Everyone was interested in hearing updates about the shopping center.  Even during our cleanup, the owner of the Crossroad Cleaners hurried out to ask us about any news.   We have heard from the City Manager who indicated there was "significant progress" regarding the water supply issues and that discussions were "continuing to proceed about the economic development" of the center.   But there was no report of any breakthrough on negotiations.   We expect to have a follow-up meeting with the City staff at the end of January.

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, February 13th when Kathy Russell, outreach coordinator of TFC Recycling, will answer your other questions about recycling and the Recycling Perks program.    On Saturday, February 15th at 8:00, the Friends will sponsor an early morning bird walk in Indian River Park to try to find forest birds as part of the national Great Backyard Bird Count.  That same morning at 9:30 we will have a volunteer event to remove invasive Ivy in the park.   You are welcome to participate in either or both events.

Volunteer Appreciation

At our December Holiday Party, we recognized our many volunteers who performed around 500 hours of volunteer service around our community.   And this undercounts the hours of effort put in by our volunteer board of directors in organizing various activities!

Certificates of Appreciation were handed out for:
10+ hours of service: Diane B., Helene H., Jim H., Barbara M., Amy W., Kenny W., and Chris W.
30+ hours of service: Ed B., Linda B., Sharon K., Carol W., and Jayne W.
and for those with Perfect Meeting Attendance.

Once again, thank you to all our volunteers!

Meeting, Cleanup Results and Upcoming Events

Its been a busy few days for the Friends of Indian River.   On Thursday evening we had our regular monthly meeting.   Carol reported on what I consider our group winning the Outstanding Citizens Award and the Mayor's Outstanding Service Award at the Chesapeake Environmental Improvement Council Awards Luncheon.   This is an accomplishment that would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of all our volunteers and members.    Then our speaker for the evening was Pam Fisher, President of the Beekeepers Guild of Southeast Virginia, who gave an extremely interesting and information filled presentation about the importance of bees in our gardens and how to attract and support bees.   We also approved our budget for our 2013 fiscal year which starts on April 1st; a copy of the budget is available on request.   

On Saturday, 11 volunteers braved the ominous clouds to come out and clean up along Indian River Road.   These cleanups are important to help beautify our neighborhood and keep trash and pollutants from being washed down the storm sewer into the river.   Despite a short rain event that interrupted the cleanup, we collected about 14 bags of garbage, about 7 of which we hauled up from the shoreline under Indian River Bridge.   Unfortunately the trash included all the usual items - bottles, cans, styrofoam, plastic bags, an innumerable number of cigarette butts (which are NOT biodegradable) - and at least one discarded motor oil container and one old motor oil filter found in the gutter.    A big thank you to our volunteers for their good work and dedication.

In April and May, we shift our attention to gardening.   Our speaker on April 11th will be naturalist, forager, and publisher Vickie Shufer will present "Meet the Natives" regarding how to use native plants in your garden.   On April 13th we resume efforts around Indian River Bridge by working to clear weeds and invasive plants from the four planters at the bridge corners in preparation for May 4th when we will plant gardens at the two bridge corners on the westbound side of the road to match the two we planted on the other side in the fall.

Stay tuned for updates on these events and much more information as we continue into our second year.  

Great Backyard Bird Count

Update Feb 23 2013

American has just completed its biggest Great Backyard Bird Count ever and in our Indian River neighborhoods we had 13 checklists submitted from 6 observers.   Together they identified 48 bird species.   Birds on everyone's checklist included the Carolina Chickadee and the Northern Cardinal.   One of the more rarely reported sightings was a quartet of Greater Scaup ducks.

Cumulative counts from the various checklists:

143	American Crow			34	Northern Cardinal
126	American Goldfinch	7	Downy Woodpecker	7	Northern Mockingbird
81	American Robin	2	Eastern Bluebird	3	Pied-billed Grebe
1	Belted Kingfisher	2	Eastern Towhee	4	Pine Siskin
34	Blue Jay	110	European Starling	4	Pine Warbler
7	Boat-tailed Grackle	4	Fox Sparrow	5	Red-bellied Woodpecker
1	Brown Pelican	1	Gray Catbird	10	Red-breasted Nuthatch
5	Brown Thrasher	3	Great Black-backed Gull	2	Red-tailed Hawk
50	Brown-headed Cowbird	1	Great Egret	200	Red-winged Blackbird
26	Bufflehead	4	Greater Scaup	84	Ring-billed Gull
42	Canada Goose	1	Hairy Woodpecker	2	Sharp-shinned Hawk
33	Carolina Chickadee	1	hawk sp.	5	Song Sparrow
9	Carolina Wren	7	Hooded Merganser	10	Tufted Titmouse
32	Cedar Waxwing	71	House Finch	1	Turkey Vulture
105	Common Grackle	30	House Sparrow	1	White-breasted Nuthatch
32	crow sp.	13	Mallard	114	White-throated Sparrow
21	Dark-eyed Junco	97	Mourning Dove	10	Yellow-rumped Warbler

---

The group had a real treat at our meeting on Feb 14 as Anita and Anne from Wildbirds Unlimited talked to us about backyard birding - and even left us with some treats to share with our feathered friends.   We also discussed moving our meeting date and narrowed our consideration to the 1st Wednesday of the month starting in September.   Our next meeting will be Thursday, March 14 and Pam Fisher will be talking to us about Bees in our Garden.  On Saturday, March 16 we will have a volunteer event for our quarterly Adopt-A-Road cleanup along Indian River Road.

This weekend (Feb 15 thru 18) is the Great Backyard Bird Count.   Its an opportunity for everyone to participate in a fun and easy effort to counts birds around the nation.   This citizen effort provides valuable information to help determine what birds are where; the data is collected and analyzed by researchers at  Cornell Lab of Ornithology.   You can spend as little 15 minutes, or much of the weekend if you wish, watching birds in your backyard and reporting the count online.   For details and the link to submit your count, visit http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/whycount.html

If you do participate in the count, send a copy of count to info@friendsofindianriver.org.   We would love to have a cumulative count of what was reported in our area.

Annual Meeting - January 10th

The Friends of Indian River will hold our Annual Meeting at Thursday, January 10th at our usual location at the Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive, Chesapeake, VA.    After a brief review of our accomplishments for 2012 and a Treasurer Report, we will hold elections for the volunteer Officers and Board of the organization.   Everyone is invited to the meeting; supporting members who have paid their membership dues may vote.   

The nominating committee has offered the following slate of candidates.   Most the current board members have volunteered to stand for re-election this year.

- President - Rogard Ross

- Vice President - Diane Burke

- Treasurer - Carol Warren

- Secretary - Helene Haluska

- Director 'At Large' - Amy Weber

- Director 'At Large' - Jayne Whitney

- Director 'At Large' - Sharon Komenda

Nominations will also be accepted from the floor during the meeting.  If you can not attend the meeting but would still like to vote, please respond back to this e-mail by January 1st, 2013, to request an absentee ballot.

The business part of the meeting should take about half an hour.   After this we will have a short video presentation on invasive plants and how to remove english ivy.

Holiday Party - Thursday, Dec 13th

We are pleased to invite you to the Friends of Indian River Holiday Party on Thursday, December 13 at 7 PM at the Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive, Chesapeake, VA

• Bring a desert to share.  This will be our end of year celebration to recognize our many volunteers who have strived to make Indian River a better place.    We'll have a silent auction, so you can finish some Christmas shopping too.
• 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.  

Thank you for your support!

This Week: Regular Meeting and Adopt-A-Road

Please join us for our regular monthly meeting is this Thursday, November 8th at 7 PM in the John Teter Room at the Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive, Chesapeake, VA.   Rogard Ross will make a Photo Presentation about the wildlife along the shores, parks, and back yards of Indian River.   Light refreshments will be served afterwards.  Also consider bringing a donation of non-perishable food items for the Oaklette United Methodist Church food pantry.

On Saturday, November 10, we'll be cleaning up 1 mile of Indian River Road from the city limits at Wingfield Avenue all the way to MacDonald Road as part of the Adopt-A-Road program. 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.   We'll meet at the side parking lot of Indian River Post Office, 3810 Indian River Road, Chesapeake at 9 AM.  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.

And Remember to Vote on Election Day, Tuesday, November 6.   Polls are open from 6 AM to 7 PM.  

Council Member Debbie Ritter attends monthly meeting

We had a very engaging discussion with Council Member Debbie Ritter at our meeting yesterday.   The conversation ranged from how the city government is organized (the Council sets policy and the City Manager and Departments execute day to day operations), to the Council's oversight responsibility, to how the state legislature must pass enabling laws for local government to take action because of the 'Dillon Rule'.

Closer to home, we discussed how the Indian River neighborhoods, being a mature community, often feels forgotten by the city when it focuses on new high growth areas.   We have areas - particularly around the old Indian River Shopping Center - that need revitalization, but the city generally is not focused on incentives for retail business.   But we need attention and we need a plan.   Volunteer efforts for block by block beautification are useful, but a more concerted effort with the city is desired.   We left the meeting with the intent to keep the conversation going with City Council members, the Norfolk Highlands Civic League, and the property owner, and other interested parties.

Thank you to Sandy for bringing brownies and Sharon for bringing Banana Bread.

We still welcome more volunteers for our beautification and planting work at the Bridge tomorrow, Saturday, October 13, starting at 9 am.   If you are going to the Indian River High School Fall Craft Show on October 20, we'll have an information display at booth 76; stop by and say hi.  Our next regular meeting will be Thursday, November 8 and will include a slide show about local wildlife; we'll also collect non-perishable food for the Oaklette United Methodist Church food pantry at that meeting.

September Meeting - Trees of Chesapeake

Those of you who missed our meeting this past Thursday missed an excellent talk by Chesapeake Master Gardener Ed Bradley on the trees of our region.   He talked about the need to reconnect with nature and "bringing the botanical garden to the people".    The layout of nature trails built at the Chesapeake Arboretum and at ODU were detailed.  And Mr. Bradley went on at length about the potential of Indian River Park and its mature southern hardwood forest.   His brief hikes into the park identified 33 species of native trees from the American Beech to the Winged Sumac.  He sees the park as an excellent site for another nature trail as long as we select a location that does not interfere with the existing bike trail system.

Also on Friday, Rogard Ross spoke at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Clean Water Breakfast down in Great Bridge.  This was an opportunity to share the Friends of Indian River mission with other parties across Chesapeake including representatives of the Chesapeake Public Works department and Cooperative Extension Office.