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!