There was good news in today’s Times-Dispatch for Richmond parks lovers. At long last, there is a light at the end of the Monroe Park-renovation tunnel. Mark Robinson reports that, 21 months after the park at Belvidere and Main streets was closed, “the city of Richmond is planning to remove the fence surrounding the park on Aug. 29, though some work will continue until a ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for the end of September…”

Writes Robinson: “The city is working with a non-profit called the Monroe Park Conservancy on the $6.8 million improvements…The renovation has included below-ground improvements aimed at limiting water runoff from the park…Visitors will also find new benches, trash cans and pathways lit by new LED lanterns throughout the 8-acre park, which dates to 1851.”

Click here for more on what the visitors will find in the park when the fences come down.

The James River Association released a report on swimming in the James River this morning that the group hopes will aid river lovers in knowning when and where to swim in America’s Founding River. The report — Swimming Safety in the James – Know Before You Go: Bacteria Monitoring Results 2013-2017 — synthesizes five years of water quality monitoring data to reveal bacteria patterns in the James River, which affect conditions for recreation.

Since 2013 the JRA has monitored water quality at popular recreation locations on the James and its tributaries. Each weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day, trained volunteers collect water samples at designated locations where the public is known to frequent for paddling, fishing and swimming. Results are verified for quality assurance and then uploaded to the JRA’s James River Watch website, an online resource for river conditions important to boaters, paddlers and swimmers. Weekly water samples test temperature, water cloudiness or turbidity, and E. coli bacteria. In high concentrations, E. coli can be harmful to human health and indicate greater likelihood of other harmful bacteria in the water.

For any activity that takes you into the James River, it’s good to know river conditions before you head out.

James River Watch data shows that, on average, the river is generally safe for recreation, with 83% of all samples taken over the past five years meeting the state’s safety standard. The other 17% of samples that showed high levels of bacteria were primarily found after significant rain events, which wash bacteria pollution into the river from surrounding land or from sewage systems. Although bacteria levels vary based on weather conditions, testing sites in or immediately downstream of urban areas tend to be bacteria hotspots, as well as sites in rural areas where farm animals have access to streams and rivers.

“This data demonstrates that our local waterways are safe for recreation most of the time, but extra caution is necessary after rainstorms,” said Jamie Brunkow, the JRA’s James Riverkeeper. “It’s important for river goers to know local conditions before spending time on the river. Checking James River Watch is an easy way to ensure a safe, fun time on the water.”

Virginia has cleanup plans in place for many of the sections of the James River that are impaired by bacteria pollution. These cleanup plans call for practices that reduce urban stormwater and agricultural pollution, the same issues that are also critical for meeting Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay goals. The state will be updating its Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan over the next year.

“Human health continues to be at risk due to pollution entering the James River,” said Brunkow. “To ensure that the James is safe for everyone to enjoy, we need to strengthen and adequately fund state and local programs to address polluted runoff from urban stormwater and agriculture.”

To access Swimming Safety in the James: Bacteria Monitoring Results 2013-2017 visit www.jrava.org/know-before-you-go. To learn more about local river conditions visit www.jamesriverwatch.org.

It was fun to head out to Riverrock on Saturday and Sunday to take in all that RVA’s adventure sports scene has to offer. In a couple of hours on both days, my kids and I watched bouldering, slacklining, bmx biking, kayaking, standup paddleboarding and dog jumping. And the kids participated in a number of those disciplines through the “Interactive Village.”

Of course, it was also fun to peak over at the RVAOspreyCam.com site that’s clearly visible from the T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge. A couple of people asked me what I was pointing at to my kids, and were blown away when I explained. There’s nothing better than opening people’s eyes to the wild wonders of Richmond, especially when they can experience those wonders right in the middle of downtown.

I mentioned to those folks that the osprey cam wouldn’t exist without the generous support of the Friends of the James River Park and sent them to find the Friends’ Riverrock booth at Tredegar to learn more. And, of course, supporting our RVAOspreyCam effort is just the tip of the Friends’ iceberg. That’s why I’ve included the above video. It’s part of the group’s Science in the Park push to show people, through video camera traps, all the incredible wildlife that’s right under our noses in the amazing 550-acre series of greenspaces called the James River Park. Check it (and all the other videos) out and considering becoming a member!

We spend countless hours with our community’s young people talking about the process of tackling a
new idea, so we thought it useful to share with the rest of you how BridgePark has tried to chart a careful
process as advocates for the community. Below is a brief summary of the bold steps to date. We have so enjoyed this ride with Richmond.

In March 2012, local leaders Mike Hughes (at the time, President of The Martin Agency), and Ella Kelley
wrote a letter to the editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch suggesting that the soon-to-be-demolished
Huguenot Bridge would “make quite a park.” The two were inspired by the wildly successful High Line in
New York and our own iconic river and culture. It was an overwhelmingly popular idea. However, plans
to remove the old bridge in favor of a new one were too far apace to reverse.

The ruins of the Richmond-Petersburg Railroad bridge. Credit: CPJ Photography

Later that year, Mike, Ella, and a team of local advocates reoriented around a site downtown and formed a private foundation to further advance the idea. Many experts across Virginia, including architects, designers, marketing experts, planners, and city staff contributed time and other resources to plans for the proposed park.

Richmond Bridgepark Foundation envisioned an adaptive reuse of the powerful ruins of the 1838 Richmond-Petersburg Railroad Bridge, a site just below the Manchester Bridge and downstream of the Dam Walk later proposed in the City’s Riverfront Plan. The idea was to erect a new bridge deck on top of the old piers. Again, the community embraced this novel ideation to increase river access and the sheer beauty of this site.

Throughout 2013 and beyond, the Foundation undertook an extensive community engagement effort to
share the BridgePark concept with hundreds of community members, receiving valuable feedback from
many of our most dedicated leaders and river stewards.

In December of 2013, on a pair of somber Sunday mornings, Mike and Ella left this life and left us with a
weighty responsibility to embrace the extraordinary with the same boldness and love that they did.
The following year, The Foundation leaned into its founders’ audacity and began thinking even bigger
about the opportunity BridgePark could present for our City. BridgePark hired local engineering firm,
The Timmons Group, and local architecture firm, Spatial Affairs Bureau (SAB), to first examine the
community’s input from these 18 months of meetings, then collect data and analyze the proposed
BridgePark site with that advice in mind. The study considered the existing conditions and opportunities
provided by the natural landscape alongside the stated wants and needs of the community.

Ted Elmore gives a presentation about the BridgePark. Credit: Collegiate School

That study also had the goal of probing the idea of repurposing the ruined pillars and, in so doing, unlocking the greatest potential for BridgePark. What is the absolute best opportunity for our city with this site?

As a design and community engagement tool, SAB built a 14’ long, 4’ wide scale model of the proposed site based in part on the survey prepared by The Timmons Group. The model has been used to engage the community in maximizing BridgePark’s vision.

During the ideas study, more than 30 city departments and community organizations tested the model
with the architecture team to provide feedback for the final recommendations of the study. Preliminary
study results were then presented to over 100 stakeholders, gathering another round of comments.

The Foundation then hosted three open community meetings in 2015 to outline the ideas and receive
further reactions and suggestions. In total, the model has been displayed in 10 different locations throughout the city. Displays prompt fascinated stares, pointed questions, and critical feedback. And, for several days when we weren’t looking, a creative Richmonder posted a coterie of sea monsters below the model of the bridge.

Of the many ideas presented by our design team, the community was by far most attracted to the
potential of “parking” on a portion of the Manchester Bridge along 9th Street downtown. That space
would offer a city-level park reminiscent of the original High Line prompt, preserve views of the stunning
and historically significant ruins, avoid building in the River, complement the proposed river-level Dam
Walk, unlock the adjoining Kanawha Plaza, create cost and construction efficiencies over repurposing
the ruins, reduce the city’s carbon footprint, and make strong direct connections to destinations within
the city, all at the same grade.

‘What If’ cards… Credit: Chris Marcussen Photography

The Foundation then went to work tenfold at further developing this idea with the community,
launching yet another extensive community engagement process around the concept, including
speaking engagements with our consultants and staff, hundreds more meetings, several student-led studies and workshops, cards inviting collaboration, panels, and programs. The idea became more
popular than ever. BridgePark began planning and fundraising for its next phase

In September of 2016, Kanawha Plaza, an identified opportunity in the BridgePark plan, underwent a cleanup and renovation that could pave the way for a larger vision.

In December of 2016, the T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge (aka the Dam Walk, aka the T-Pott)
opened upstream of the BridgePark site, creating a dramatic river-level crossing of the James. The T-Pott
immediately drew record crowds of crossers to the riverfront.

In February of 2018, the Foundation launched Phase Two of architecture and engineering for the
project, reengaging SAB and hiring structural engineering and planning firm Buro Happold to further test
and refine the project, again with the community’s input in mind. Receipt of Phase Two’s master plan
and results will prompt a fourth round of community engagement, so look out for those announcements. The much-loved model will go back on tour. Only this time, it will need larger venues. BridgePark is first and foremost a park for the community by the community. To date, we have involved a wide array of Richmonders with intention, favored stewardship over speed, responsiveness over rigidity, and thoughtfulness over ease.

Similarly, this series seeks to inform the public and create a dialogue that improves the project. We ask
you to read and respond, and, in so doing, continue to help us elevate RVA. Write us at info@bridgeparkrva.com.

I had to share this incredible short documentary piece by local filmmaker Melissa Lesh. You might have seen some of Lesh’s work focused Richmond and the James River Park System. In this award-winning video, a Vimeo staff pick on Earth Day, Lesh and co-director Tim Laman shine a light on orangutans in Indonesia. As she writes in a recent Facebook post:

Orangutans have taught me a lot about our connection to the earth. Sharing 97% of our DNA and having culture similar to our own, it is easy to see just how of-this-earth we really are, one family. In fact we are so similar that pharmacy pregnancy tests can be used to detect a pregnant female orangutan. Despite our similarities, orangutans are in particular need of our attention right now, their populations are in peril. A recent study suggests that with current trends continuing, orangutans will be extinct in the wild by 2030. Their future literally rests in our hands, with palm oil (contained in many of our everyday products) being the leading cause of their habitat decline. I hope you can take a moment to watch, share, and appreciate one of our closest relatives. The research featured in the film is part of a larger conservation effort and is one piece of the solution.

Which city on Earth has the most nature and the most engaged residents? City Nature Challenge 2018 aims to find out. Join The Nature Conservancy and partners as they explore metro Richmond, discovering and documenting the biodiversity of our urban spaces.

It’s easy to participate in this friendly competition. Kicking off April 27 at 12:01 am in each time zone, the Challenge runs through April 30, 11:59 pm. Join an event or make observations on your own using the iNaturalist app. Just download the app, then take a picture of a plant or animal in the app, and the iNaturalist community will help you identify them. Any observation made in the metro Richmond area — including the Cities of Richmond and Petersburg and Charles City, Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, and New Kent Counties — during the preset time period (April 27-30) will count during the four day challenge.

Building on the success of the first City Nature Challenge in 2016 between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and the 2017 City Nature Challenge across 16 US cities, the event is going global in 2018. More than 60 cities on five continents are taking part in the City Nature Challenge – and Richmond is one of them! Click here for the full list of cities. Results will be announced Friday, May 4, so be sure to upload your observations by then!

Last year over 126,000 observations were logged in 5 days by over 4,000 citizen scientists, representing more than 8,500 species in the United States. The City Nature Challenge is organized by Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and California Academy of Sciences.

Yesterday we released our newest Views from the Treehouse podcast episode — an interview with James River Park Superintendent Nathan Burrell. It’s a bit longer than some of our previous episodes because, well, it’s the James River Park, far and away the most visited attraction in the Richmond area, and we had a lot to discuss.

We asked Burrell about the future of the park, specifically the upcoming master plan (the last park master plan was completed in 1968) and why it will be crucial in guiding the future of this treasured resource. But the conversation also ranged widely, from crime and policing to trails and connectivity to equality of park access to his relationship with Levar Stoney and what the new administration will mean for the JRP. If you’re a park user, you don’t want to miss this interview!

Click here to listen.

Our friends at the VCU Outdoor Adventure Program just reminded us that the Wild and Scenic Film Festival tour is coming through Richmond this week, and your $11.42 ticket will support the VCU River Management Society’s “River Studies and Leadership Certificate Program.”

This Wednesday at Vasen Brewing in Scott’s Addition, settle in for 10 short films, covering topics like worldwide frog extinction, mapping unexplored places, adventures in the Pacific Northwest, invasive species eradication by an obsessed park ranger, and much more. If you’re outdoorsy at all, this film fest is sure to have something for you.

Click here to check out the lineup. And click here to buy tickets.