Clean the Bay Day
Saturday, June 4th We need you! This year will be the 23rd annual Clean the Bay Day. LRNow will be doing cleanups at Beach Garden Park, Hutton Launch site and Birdneck Launch site and can use volunteers at all of those sites. But, what we would love to see is a group in every neighborhood in the Lynnhaven watershed, picking up trash and helping clean up our river. If you are willing to organize a few of your neighbors to clean up in your neighborhood for a few hours on June 4th, please call our office. We will help you get organized, get trash bags to you and arrange for pickup of your trash. You can call our office at 757-962-5398 or email Helen, hkuhns@lynnhaven2007.com or Chase, chase@lynnhaven2007.com. Together we can make a big difference! |
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Green Infrastructure Website
Reduce Runoff: Slow is Down, Spread it Out, Soak it In---Rain Gardens, Rain Barrels, Green Roofs and More
EPA Launches New Strategy to Promote Use of Green Infrastructure to Reduce Stormwater Runoff
There is so much good information on this website, http://epa.gov/greeninfrastructure , developed by the Environmental Protection Agency. I think you will find it worth your time to review some of the information and watch some of the videos. Interesting titles include Reducing Lawns with Small Gardens; Restoration with Native Plants; Reduce Runoff: Slow it Down, Spread it Out, Soak it In and much more. And, who knows, you may become inspired to develop a project of your own. |
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Community Events
Bicycle Safety: Traffic Skills 101
May 27 & 28
Traffic Skills 101 is a certified course through the League of American Bicyclists and will be available locally on May 27 & May 28 at East Coast Bicycles, 9605 Gramby Street, Norfolk. The cost is $35, bring a friend for an additional $15. For more information or to register contact Bruce Drees at 757-647-3987 or hrcyclist@cox.net.
Virginia Aquarium Sensible Seafood Fest 2011
Thursday, May 26th, 6-9 pm
Sponsored by Farm Fresh
Sample delicious sustainable, local food, plus beer and wine.
Learn about regional environmental initiatives.
Ticket prices: Members - $35, Non-members - $40
For tickets and information call 385-0262 or 385-0272 or purchase tickets online at www.VirginiaAquarium.com. Guests must be 21 or older.
Kayak Fishing and Marine Explorers Camp, Ages 8-11, July 11-15
Kayak Fishing Camp, Ages 11 and up, July 18-21
9am-4pm, Lynnhaven River Inlet
Kayak Fishing Camp offers fun, hands-on activities that will allow young anglers and marine biologists the chance to catch many species of marine organisms in the LynnhavenRiver and Chesapeake Bay.
More information and Questions? Bob Carroll @ 804-721-8806 or email Bob at vbseacamp@yahoo.com
CBF/VIMS Seagrass Planting
Saturday June 25; 11am - 5:00pm in Broad Bay,(meeting location TBD, either at the Lynnhaven or First Landing boat launch depending on space/availability).
Please join the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) on Saturday, June 25th to restore seagrasses to Broad Bay! Volunteers will help plant a pilot study to learn how widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima)can be restored to local waterways. Among other roles, widgeongrass is essential to shellfish habitat.
Details: RSVP to Tanner at tcouncil@cbf.org. We will be in touch shortly on meeting location specifics. On Saturday June 25th, you will meet students from VIMS and learn how to plant widgeongrass. We will transport you in vans to the planting sites in Broad Bay, a few miles away. Planting is expected to last until 5 pm, after which we will transport you back to your vehicles.
We will provide all of the necessary planting tools. Planters will be in approximately knee deep water. Children are welcome with adult supervision. Make sure you bring lunch, plenty of water, sunscreen, and shoes that can get wet (dive booties, water shoes, or cheap canvas tennis shoes work well).
For more information, contact Tanner at tcouncil@cbf.org.
Nature Conservancy
Eelgrass Harvesting Project
May 25-June 12
There will be numerous opportunities to get involved with this intersting project on the eastern shore of Virginia. Eelgrass is a simple, ribbon-like seagrass that once thrived in the coastal bays of the Eastern Shore and the Lynnhaven River.
Volunteers will be snorkling and gathering grasses for transplant.
For more information, go to www.nature.org/seagrassrestoration
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3rd Annual Bayside History Day Bike Tour
Saturday, May 21, 9 am to 2:30 pm
 An 11 mile loop starting and ending at the Bayside Public Library and including five stops at historic points along the way. LRNow and the Tidewater Bicycle Association are co-sponsoring a guided tour by bike of historic homes, farms and churches along the Lynnhaven River. This is an 11 mile, family-paced ride. A lunch and drinks will be provided. Helmets are required. The cost is $20 and includes a box lunch, drinks and all entrance fees. Pre-registration, including pre-payment, is required.
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Rain Barrel Workshop
June 7, 6:30-8:00
A rain barrel is an easy way to reduce stormwater runoff from your property and make the water available for irrigating your garden.
Sign up for our summer workshop to construct your own rain barrel to take home with you that day.
This workshop is offered by LRNow in partnership with Mike's Rain Barrels.
Date: June 7, 2011
Time: 6:30-8:00 pm
Location: LRNow Office at 1608 Pleasure House Road, Suite 108
Cost: $60 and includes all materials and use of tools
Space is limited. Dress for outdoors in work clothes for hands-on activities.
Advanced registration, including payment, is required. For registration information, call 757-962-5398 or email office@lynnhaven2007.com.
Workshops will also be offered on July 6th and August 8th.
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The Lynnhaven, Restoring a Legend
Our Book is Now Available  Our beautiful new book, The Lynnhaven--Restoring a Legend, premiered with great reviews at last week's Oyster Roast. This gorgeous hard cover coffee table book contains the reflections of forty different people through their essays, their photographs and their paintings. Some are remembering their childhood experiences on the river and others reflect more current times. All share the way the river has shaped and enriched their lives. You will enjoy this book over and over. You will want to have a copy for yourself and copies to give as gifts. Books are available in our office. Please call us at 757-962-5398 or email chase@lynnhaven2007.com for more information or to reserve your copy. |
Oyster Gardening
2011 Dates Set for New Gardener Seminars, Taylor Float Workshops and Roundups The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Lynnhaven River NOW will again be partnering to offer you an opportunity to become an oyster gardener, to turn in your one year old  oysters to be placed on a conservation reef and to build a Taylor Float to house your baby oysters over the next year. New gardeners need to attend one of the New Gardener Seminars before beginning. The seminar will help you learn how to maintain your oyster garden throughout the next year. Seminars will be offered on: Tuesday, August 9th, 6:00-7:30, at VA Weslyan College and Tuesday, August 30th, 6:00-7:30, at the Great Neck Rescue Squad Building. Pre-registration is required and a donation to CBF of $30 is suggested to offset the program costs. For more informaiton or to register contact CBF at 757-622-1964 or hamptonroads@cbf.org. To build a Taylor Float, pictured above, to house your baby oysters, plan to attend one of our Taylor Float workshops at the LRNow office on the following dates: Thursday, August 4th, 6:00-7:30 and Thursday, August 25th, 6:00-7:30, 1608 Pleasure House Road, Suite 108. The cost for all materials, dock lines and a small mesh bag is $75. We will walk you through the construction process. Pre-registration is required. For more information or to register contact LRNow at 757-962-5398 or office@lynnhaven2007.com. If you are already one of our many volunteer oyster gardeners, you will have an opportunity to turn your oysters in at one of two Virginia Beach Roundups this summer at First Landing State Park, 64th Street Boat Ramp: Saturday, July 23rd, 9:00-11:00 and Saturday, August 27th, 9:00-11:00. Please register with CBF, 757-622-1964 or hamptonroads@cbf.org in advance of the roundup to guarantee that you will be able to receive your new batch of seed oysters. A $30 donation is suggested per 1,000 seed oysters to offset program costs. |
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Virginia Beach Stewardship Award
Applications due June 1, 2011
Have you made any environmentally-friendly improvements to your home, business, or community facility over the past year? If so, please let others know and encourage them to do likewise by submitting a Virginia Beach Stewardship Award nomination. Just fill out a self-nomination form for yourself, your garden club, scout troop, civic league, school, or other organization. Nominations may be submitted online or by mail, and photo attachments are encouraged. Eligible outdoor projects include, but are not limited to, environmentally sustainable home and business projects such as:
- Replacing lawn areas with landscape beds and buffers, or non-native vegetation with native plants
- Planting edible gardens, butterfly gardens, or rain gardens
- Creating oyster reefs, wetlands, or buffers in riparian areas or dunes
- Installing rain barrels for irrigation
- Replacing impervious areas with plants, permeable pavers, mulch, or stepping stones.
Applications are available online at: www.vbgov.com/eso, under "Related Documents" on the right column; Submission deadline is June 1, 2011. For more information, please call the Virginia Beach Planning Department Environment and Sustainability Office at (757) 385-4621, or email questions to: eso@vbgov.com. The nominated project must have been completed between April 1, 2010 and June 1, 2011. Awards will be presented at a Virginia Beach City Council meeting in June.
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