Lynnhaven River NOW E-News

January 21, 2015

Upcoming Events

Mon, Jan. 26 -- Conservation Lobby Day in Richmond. See details below.

Mon & Tues, Jan 26-27 -- Sustainability in the Classroom for Teachers

Tues - Thurs, Jan 27-29
Collecting Spat Catchers at OLD OFFICE on Pleasure House Road

Tues & Wed, Feb 3-4 --
Project WET training for Teachers

Fri, Sat, & Sun, Feb 5-8 --
Winter Wildlife Festival

Sat, Feb 14 -- Land-based River Cleanup, 9-Noon

Thurs, Feb 26 -- Public Policy Committee Meeting, Brock Center, 6 PM -- All Welcome

Sat, Feb 28 -- 2nd Annual Lynnhaven Trashion Show, Lynnhaven Mall, 1-3 PM

Sun, March 1 -- SOLD OUT Taste of Tidewater Oyster Tour SOLD OUT - Watch for future events, May 31st and Aug. 23rd

Mar 4-7 -- Green Schools National Conference, VA Beach Convention Center

Conservation Lobby Day

Virginia Conservation Network, Mon, Jan. 26th

This event will launch you into the 2015 General Assembly session and give you the tools to be most effective when lobbying your legislator.

When: Monday, January 26, 2015 - 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Where: CenterStage, Rhythm Hall - Richmond, VA

Cost: $25.00 starting cost ($35.00 beginning Jan. 14)

Food will be provided and we will be carpooling from Virginia Beach.

To register: www.vcnva.org
To carpool contact Karen at Karen@LRNow.org or 757-962-5398.

Volunteers Needed
Two Opportunities

Volunteers are needed on Saturday, February 7th to help man our LRNow information table at the Winter Wildlife Festival. To help out, please contact Trista@LRNow.org or call 757-962-5398.

Would you like to learn to count spat (baby oysters)? We will train you; no previous experience needed. We need volunteers on the following dates:

Tues, Jan. 27th, 4-6 pm

Wed., Jan. 28th, 9 am-5 pm

Thurs., Jan. 29th, 9 am-1 pm

If you are interested, please contact Meredith@LRNow.org.

We have moved to the Brock Environmental Center
3663 Marlin Bay Drive.

Our phone number, 757-962-5398, and our email addresses have not change.

Stop by and see us.

SAVE THE DATE

13th Annual

LRNow

Oyster Roast

Saturday, April 18th

If you have a torn or faded Pearl Home flag, bring it to our office and we will exchange it for a new one.

One of our Pearl School students is make an outfit for the Trashion Show in February from the old flags.

January Native Plant of the Month
Winterberry
Beautiful berries all winter.

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2015 Virginia General Assembly

Bills We Are Following
Updates in red below...

The Virginia General Assembly opened January 15th in Richmond and there are a few bills that we are following and hope that you will consider.

The first is the Virginia Coastal Protection Act, House Bill 2205, sponsored by Delegate Ron Villanueva from Virginia Beach. This act will create the Commonwealth Resilience Fund, a dedicated source of revenue to help localities fund coastal adaptation and climate r

esilience efforts. The act specifies that 50% of the funds will support Hampton Roads Coastal Adaptation Efforts. For more information:
https://www.richmondsunlight.com/bill/2015/hb2205/fulltext/

This bill will be heard by the House Commerce and Labor Committee. For a list of committee members, go to: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?151+com+H14

The second is a bill introduced by Senator Jeff McWaters of Virginia Beach, Senate Bill 1107, that will prohibit intentional release of balloons. Many of the balloons that are released in ceremonies and celebrations end up in our waterways choking and maiming wildlife. There are better alternatives, bubbles or planting a tree for instance, that do not create litter and harm wildlife. For more information: https://www.richmondsunlight.com/bill/2015/sb1107

This bill will go to the Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee Thursday, January 29th. Let Senator McWaters and the other committee members know that you support banning intentional balloon releases. For a list of committee members, go to: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?151+com+S1

The third is a bill introduced by Senator Lynnwood Lewis of Hampton Roads, Senate Bill 880, that will give Virginia Beach and other localities the option of pursuing our own actions to control single use plastic bags that litter the landscape and clog stormwater drains. Virginia Beach could lead the way in controlling this unnecessary source of pollution and litter. For more information:

https://www.richmondsunlight.com/bill/2015/sb880/

An additional plastic bag bill has been submitted by Senator Jeff McWaters of Virginia Beach, Senate Bill 1103. His bill will also give our city the option of pursuing our own actions to control single use plastic bags that create unnecessary litter in our communities. This bill provides more detail on what uses would still be allowed.
Both bills will be heard by the Local Government Committee.

For more information:
https://www.richmondsunlight.com/bill/2015/sb1103/

For a list of Local Government Committee members, go to:
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?151+com+S7

Join us in Richmond for Conservation Lobby Day next Monday, January 26th and come to the next meeting of the LRNow Public Policy Committee, Thursday, February 26th, at 6 PM at the Brock Environmental Center. All are welcome to attend.

Winter Wildlife Festival

February 5-8, Great Neck Recreation Center

This is your chance to witness winter wildlife all around Virginia Beach; whether it's following fascinating bird activity, exploring the natural areas of our community or the musings of harbor seals near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Learn what it takes to properly observe and identify wildlife in their natural settings.

The festival kicks off with a talk by renowned wildlife photographer, Kevin Karlson, on Friday, Feb 6,7 PM, at the Oberndorf Central Library sponsored by LRNow and Back Bay Restoration Foundation.

The schedule includes an LRNow Pleasure House Point Birding trip, 1-4:30 PM,on Saturday, Feb. 7, and a Rain Barrel workshop, 10-11 AM, on the 7th.

For a complete schedule or to register for any of the many outings and informational sessions, go to VBgov.com/WinterWildlife.

Collecting Spat Catchers
Jan 27-29 at the OLD OFFICE on Pleasure House Road

I hope everyone had a wonderful 2014 and perhaps even collected a fair amount of oyster spat in your spat collector cages last year! We will be ready, beginning January 27th to take the spat you captured all year, count them, and transfer them onto sanctuary reefs.

Please drop off your oyster shells and concrete at our OLD OFFICE at 1608 Pleasure House Road on:

Tues, Jan. 27th, 4 - 6 pm

Wed., Jan. 28th, 9 am - 5 pm

Thurs., Jan. 29th, 9 am - 1 pm

If you want to save your cages and use them to participate again this spring, you can take them with you after you drop off your cage content. If not, you can just leave your cages with us.

If you are available to help us count your spat or others' spat, we would love to train you and receive your help during this roundup! Email Meredith@lrnow.org.

River Cleanup, Potters Road

Land-Based

All are welcome Rich

Saturday, February 14th

9 AM - Noon

To register or for more

information, contact us at

757-962-5398 or Dana@LRNow.org

Lynnhaven Trashion Show
Saturday, February 28th

Lynnhaven Mall Center Court, 1-3 PM

See the amazing outfits these high school students

are able to design and make out of all recycled and reused materials! They will amaze and entertain you.

Come and support your school for the People's Choice Award. Six high schools are participating:

Kempsville, Landstown, Cox, First Colonial, Green Run and Ocean Lakes.

Their creativity is impressive!

Project WET Training for Teachers
Tuesday and Wednesday, February 3 & 4

Project WET is a nationally developed, comprehensive water education program for

teachers and informal educators. The workshop will give you background information and lesson plans and activities that you can take right back into the classroom with you.

The Educator's Guide and the materials can only be obtained by attending the entire workshop.

The cost for everything is $10. To register for the workshop, February 3 and 4, 6-9 PM, Great Neck Recreation Center.

January
Native Plant of the Month:

Ilex verticillata or Winterberry

Height: 3-12 ft.
Spread: 3-12 ft.
Part Shade to Full Sun
Blooms: June & July
Fruits: Aug - Feb.

Requires both a male and a female plant for fruiting.

Can be planted any time, slow growing, upright, deciduous shrub.
Good alternative to invasive nandina or heavenly bamboo.
Tolerant of erosion, clay soil, wet, boggy, or swampy conditions, air pollution.

Birds love the berries in winter.

To order a plant, call, 962-5398, or email Dana@LRNow.org.

Cost is $ 22