Looking for fun outdoor learning adventure for your middle-schooler? VCU Rice Center presents GO FISH!!! A Week of Fishing and Exploration for rising 6th to rising 9th grade students.Read More

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) invites Chesterfield County residents to a Clean Water Brunch on Tuesday, May 22, from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Chester Public Library, 11800 Centre Street, in Chester, Va.Read More

If you’re a runner and you’ve been meaning to check out the newly-opened “High Bridge” at High Bridge Trail State Park, here’s your chance to kill two birds with one stone. It’s less than an hour’s drive from Richmond, and the view from the bridge alone is worth it. The below is from a Virginia State Parks press release:

The old railroad bridge before upgrades

The race is sponsored by Central Southside Community Hospital, Southside Virginia Family YMCA and Friends of High Bridge Trail State Park. Timing and scoring of the race will be done by Riverside Runners of Lynchburg, Va. Race proceeds benefit the Friends of High Bridge Trail. For more information, contact the park office at 434-315-0457 or highbridge@dcr.virginia.gov.

For those who live in or visit parts of Central Virginia where deer are common (and considering my dogs caught the scent of a deer in the James River Park this morning, that’s most of us), this information from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is good to know:

It’s that time of year again when white-tailed deer fawns are showing up in yards and hayfields and concerned citizens want to know how to help. In almost all cases, the best way to help is to simply give the fawn space and leave it alone. Concerned people sometimes pick up animals that they think are orphaned. Most such “orphans” that good-intentioned citizens “rescue” every spring should have been left alone. Most wild animals will not abandon their young, but they do leave them alone for long periods of time while looking for food.

Fawns, born from April through July, are purposely left alone by their mothers. Female deer, called does, stay away from the fawns to avoid leading predators such as dogs or coyotes to their location. The white-spotted coat camouflages a fawn as it lies motionless in vegetation. By giving it a wide berth, you also reduce the risk of inadvertently leading predators to the hidden fawn. Does will return several times each day to move and/or feed their young. You probably will not see the doe at all since she only stays to feed the fawn for just a very few minutes before leaving it alone again. 

If a fawn or a rabbit has been “rescued” when it shouldn’t have been, it can often be released at the same location. Parents tend to remain in the area for at least a day, looking for the lost youngster. If a wild animal has been injured or truly orphaned, do not take matters into your own hands.  You may locate a licensed wildlife rehabilitator by calling the DGIF dispatch at 804-367-1258 (24 hours, 7 days a week).

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The wait is over. If you ordered a James River Park System license plate, you either got yours in the mail yesterday (or the day before) or will be getting it shortly. I just got mine (pictured) yesterday. Considering I ordered it in February of 2010, when I wrote a column about the plates, I’d say the DMV has not exactly been on their “A” game the past two years. The again, I’m not sure what the DMV’s “A” game would look like. No matter. The plates are in and look great. If you haven’t ordered one, or never knew you could, now’s a good time to look into it. The cool thing about owning a set is that after 1,000 are sold, $10 of the $25 cost goes to the JRPS. It’s a great way to give back to the park. Click here to learn more.

Keep Virginia Beautiful is awarding “30 Grants In 30 Days” in April and May 2012, and the Friends of Pocahontas State Park have been awarded a $500 grant in the Beautification and Community Greening Category.  The KVB grant program focuses greater resources and attention on organizations and individual localities throughout the Commonwealth and how they are addressing the issues of litter prevention, recycling, waste reduction, beautification and education.

KVB provided the opportunity for government, non-profit and/or service organizations in Virginia to apply for one of (30) grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 in three different categories:  Beautification, Litter Prevention, and Recycling.  These grants are made possible by KVB partners – Capital One, Waste Management and Lowe’s.

Dam at Pocahontas State Park

Friends of Pocahontas State Park will use Keep Virginia Beautiful grant funds to plant native milkweed and butterfly weed at multiple high traffic public locations at the park including the park sign at the park entrance, the nature center and the pool area.  These areas already have established garden beds, but require cleaning and greening up with new plants.  This project will beautify public park areas, educate visitors about native plants and the importance of native pollinators, establish butterfly and pollinator habitat, and increase educational program offerings at the park.  The park interpretive staff will then have an opportunity to use signage purchased by the grant funds, and programs to teach people about using native plants in their landscape plans and yards.  Furthermore, they will be able to offer public programs on Monarch butterflies and Monarch butterfly tagging as well as other programs based on much needed pollinator species.  Milkweed is not only beautiful, but is also an important host plant for Monarch caterpillars and butterflies.  The park entrance, nature center and pool area are located in high traffic areas that saw 300,000+ visitors in 2011.

The Friends of the James River Park is one of the few local volunteer groups without which the river would be a different place. Same goes for groups like James River Outdoor Coalition and Richmond MORE. The river, trails and wilderness areas Richmonders know and love would be fundamentally different places without their efforts. And each group could always use more members, more donations and more volunteers.

With that in mind, the below is a newsletter from the Friends reminding people about upcoming chances to make the park a better place. If you’re not a member, take a look at their site and consider becoming one. Or just get out there and volunteer.

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Sunday’s Times-Dispatch featured a number of columns on the James River and its future in Richmond. The mayor’s piece is particularly exciting because it doesn’t just dwell on broad concepts and generalities. He cites “transformative” specific projects that could be tackled in the near term: the Brown’s Island Dam Walk, the Missing Link Trail, Brown’s Island terraces, the acquisition of Mayo Island, and Chapel Island development.

After all this talk of riverfront development and improvement over the past few years, the time for action is here. It was refreshing to read that the mayor agrees and is willing to put city money toward starting the process. “But we have to begin,” he writes,” and to that end I have included $5 million in the 2013 and 2-14 capital budget to begin [the riverfront development plan’s] implementation.”

It’s a good start. We’ll see what happens when the administration officially unveils the riverfront plan in the coming weeks. But river lovers should be heartened that the powers that be seem to finally recognize what many of us long known about the James and what it means to the city.

The Sports Backers are starting to receive word from a number of pro athletes as to their plans for Dominion Riverrock, and, especially in the climbing world, the news is good. Bouldering stalwarts Angie Payne, Sasha DiGiulian, Paul Robinson, Alex Johnson, Alexandra Johnson and Daniel Woods will all be in attendance, according to Jackie Holt, the Sports Backers’ PR manager. For mountain bike enthusiasts, Harrisonburg-based star Jeremiah Bishop will not be attendance, as he tries to qualify for the London Olympics. But Ryan Fawley, one of Trek’s regional riders, will be there. Last year Eric Jackson, founder of Jackson kayaks, was in attendance, winning the kayak freestyle race. He’ll be back again this year, along with Jackson Kayaks team member Courtney Kerin.

In other Riverrock news, the event was named the “Outstanding Locally Created Event/Program” by the National Association of Sports Commissions. The NASC made the announcement during its annual Sports Event Symposium in Hartford, Conn. on April 19. 

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