While we need every day to be Earth Day, the "official" day is Saturday, April 22nd. This day will also be the March for Science - a day to celebrate science, the role it plays in each of our lives, and the need to encourage research that gives us insight into the world around us.
At our next monthly meeting on April 20th, we'll have Vicki Roberts from the Beekeepers Guild of Southeast Virginia talk to us about How Bees are Important to the Ecosystem. And on Earth Day, April 22nd, we'll have an event at Indian River Park to explore the critical role of native plants in supporting the bees, and the birds, and keeping the entire natural ecosystem working.
We also urge our members to keep informed on the federal budgeting process. Budget proposals on the table threaten funding for the Chesapeake Bay Cleanup, the Eastern Branch Restoration, and a broad swath of scientific research, educational, and environmental protection programs. We all need to be ready to reach out to our elected representatives.
Sincerely,
Rogard Ross
Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator
Monthly Meeting - How Bees are Important to the Ecosystem
Date: Thursday, April 20th, 7 pm
Location: Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Dr.
Join us for a discussion with Vicki Roberts from the Beekeepers Guild of Southeast Virginia on How Bees are Important to the Ecosystem. We'll also have the latest area news. There will be light refreshments and door prizes.
Earth Day at Indian River Park
Date: Saturday, April 22nd, 9:00 am to Noon
Location: Indian River Park, 2001 Rokeby Ave. (south of Military Highway)
Join us for our Earth Day event at Indian River Park. Plans include a guided tour of our native plant garden followed by a hike along the nature trail. After that we'll hold a service event from 11 to 12 to do some trash pickup and weeding. There will also be information tables from groups such as the Friends of Indian River, the Chesapeake Master Gardeners, the Cape Henry Audubon, and the Virginia Native Plant Society.
If you want to help with the cleanup or gardening, 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). Volunteers under 18 years of age must have adult supervision.
Other News
- The Campostella Square/Plymouth Park Civic League is meeting on Thursday, April 13th at the Cuffee Center at 6:30 pm.
- The Elizabeth River Project is hosting a screening of "Before the Flood," a National Geographic documentary featuring Leonardo DiCaprio at the historic Commodore Theatre in Portsmouth on Thursday, April 20th, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. The screening is free but the Commodore Theater asks that you consider purchasing lunch from their tasty menu while you're there. For details, see https://www.facebook.com/events/271551879962268/
- The Norfolk Highlands Civic League is organizing a community wide yard sale for Saturday May 6th.
- Seven volunteers came out for our rescheduled Adopt-A-Road cleanup on April 1st. We picked up about seven bags of litter - there was lots of small stuff: an uncountable number of cigarette butts, lots of candy wrappers, shreds of food wrappers and other stuff from convenience stores and fast food places, and a fair number of plastic bottles and cups.
Do you live along the tidal waterway? Well, you can help the river by becoming an Oyster Gardener. Help raise baby oysters off your shoreline, especially if you have a pier or other easy access to the water. And best of all, we will likely be able to keep many of the oysters raised on newly established reefs along the mouth of the Indian River. Chesapeake Bay Foundation led Training classes start in June. Click here for more information and let us know if you sign up!- You can start submitting nominations for the Chesapeake Notable Yards Contest. Judges are looking for visual appeal and garden design, healthy lawn practices, native trees, shrubs and flowers, food gardens and/or wildlife habitat, rainwater harvesting and runoff control, and as a new bonus category, homeowner who are active in the community. Nominations are open through May 31st and judging will be in June. http://www.cityofchesapeake.net/government/Boards-Commissions/full-listing/ceic/award-programs-contest/Notable-Yards-Nomination-form.htm
There was a question the other day on Facebook: why do we have a neighborhood named "Norfolk Highlands" if we are in Chesapeake? Read the answer here.- You can now also become a member of the Friends of Indian River, renew your membership, or make a donation online at http://www.friendsofindianriver.org/p/membership.html
Five years ago, the Friends of Indian River held our first meeting. The sixteen people who came to that first meeting didn't know what we could accomplish, but what a productive five years it has been. Please join us at our March meeting on the 16th, 7 pm to celebrate our five year anniversary. We will also have guest speaker Jim Haluska with us to discuss sea level rise and how it impacts our area.
On Saturday, March 18th, we will be doing our quarterly Adopt-A-Road cleanup along Indian River Road; we will meet at the post office.
And mark you calendar for Earth Day on Saturday, April 22nd at Indian River Park. Our theme will be celebrating science and examining the role native plants play in our ecosystem, followed by a service event to clean up trash and remove some invasive species around the entrance area.
Sincerely,
Rogard Ross
Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator
Monthly Meeting - Sea Level Rise
Date: Thursday, March 16th, 7 pm
Location: Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Dr.
It is our Five Year Anniversary and we'll be celebrating our accomplishments. We'll also be looking into the future with our discussion on sea level rise. Jim Haluska, doctoral candidate in physical oceanography at ODU, will discuss factors contributing to sea level rise, where we'll see its effects, and the near-term outlook. We'll use maps to see the local areas vulnerable to tidal flooding. Afterwards, there will be light refreshments and door prizes.
Adopt-A-Road Cleanup along Indian River Road
Date: Saturday, March 18th, 9:30 am to Noon
Meet at side parking lot of Indian River Post Office, 3810 Indian River Road, Chesapeake, for our next quarterly cleanup along Indian River 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.
Other News
- Congratulations to our own Carol Warren for receiving a Certificate of Appreciation from the Chesapeake Environmental Improvement Council for her work to improve our natural areas, including her efforts to revitalize the Plymouth Community Park and establish a canoe/kayak launch site along the Indian River.
- This Saturday, March 11, the City will hold the first Chesapeake Recycles Day of 2017 at the TCC Chesapeake Campus. This is a great opportunity to bring your household hazardous materials, household papers to shred, old electronics, Goodwill items, plastic bags, regular recyclables, and such. Food donations are also being collected for a local pantry by the Oaklette United Methodist Church. For important limits on what you can bring and other details, please see http://www.cityofchesapeake.net/government/City-Departments/Departments/Public-Works-Department/wastemanagement-recycling/chesapeake-recycles-day.htm
- On Saturday, April 8th, head on out to the 26th Annual Gathering of the Guilds at the Francis Land House in Virginia Beach. It will be the first opportunity to peruse a selection of native plants on sale by our local chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society. For more info see http://www.beekeepersguild.org/
- We've been briefed on the on-going meetings between the City, Aqua Virginia, elected officials, and the State Corporation Commission on the Aqua water system issues affecting the Indian River Estates neighborhood, parts of Norfolk Highlands, and the Indian River Shopping Center. There has been progress on the negotiations including plans for a new water storage tank, booster pumps, interconnection with the city water system, and ultimately replacement of parts of the aging water distribution pipes. But there is still no fully documented plan ready for review. We continue to track the progress along with the Norfolk Highlands Civic League.
We had an excellent turn out for our Adopt-A-Park Clean Up at Plymouth Park last month. Special shout-out for the members from the Campostella Square Plymouth Park Civic League and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters who came out to help, and of course our ever dependable core volunteers! Overall, 17 volunteers pulled out 14 full bags of trash, 4 tires, and miscellaneous other debris - about 450 pounds of trash.- At the federal level, the EPA is looking at a cut in the proposed annual budget for the Chesapeake Bay Cleanup from $73 million down to $5 million. Such a cut would impact efforts by our partners to improve the health of the Elizabeth River and our own Indian River. Please watch for more information on this as it develops.
- You can now also become a member of the Friends of Indian River, renew your membership, or make a donation online at http://www.friendsofindianriver.org/p/membership.html
Our next meeting is on Thursday, March 16th, 7 pm, at the Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive, Chesapeake, Va. 23325. A very brief portion of the meeting will be to review and approve our 2017-2018 budget. We will also need to approve the minutes from the March 2016 and January 2017 meetings. Our guest speaker will be Jim Haluska, doctoral candidate in physical oceanography at ODU, who will speak about sea level rise in southeastern Virginia. There will be light refreshments after the presentation.
