Spring showers are just around the corner and to help homeowners reduce the amount of stormwater and pollution leaving their property, the James River Association has launched a new certification program called River Hero Homes! Read More

The never ending war against graffiti in the James River Park continues this weekend. On Saturday, the Friends of the James River Park are organizing a graffiti paint-over session at the south base of the Manchester Bridge. You’ll find the information to participate below. A personal plea: Unless your name is Banksy (or even Hansky), save your spray paint for your own property.

Now that's art.

Call for volunteers. A few of Richmond’s creative types are taking liberty with the surroundings and spray painting graffiti onto the piers of the Manchester Bridge. Come and join us this Saturday, March 10 at 9:30am as we return these areas to a more natural appearance. After we finish painting, we’ll have a free tour of the Slave Trail, which starts at 2 p.m. This clean-up will involve a hike, picking up and carrying trash, and painting, as well as offering great views of the river and city. You know the drill, wear appropriate clothes, shoes and gloves.

If interested, please contact ElaineMarolla@yahoo.com to register.

The James River Outdoor Coalition is a non-profit river group committed to recreation and preservation of the James River Park in Richmond. Read this membership drive from the JROC: 

Dear James River Park System Users,

This letter is to all James River Outdoor Coalition (JROC) members and those people who have expressed an interest in improving our parks along the river. We are currently having our annual membership drive. If you are not a member already, we invite you to join this active volunteer organization. Please know that joining does not commit you to anything other than being a part of an organization that loves the James River Park System and aims to improve it.

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Just over a week ago I went down to Virginia Beach to go whale watching with Tom McCann of The Nature Conservancy. It’s interesting how many Richmonders I told about it that couldn’t believe you can see humpback, fin, sei and right whales (and others) all within sight of the beach highrises. Not only can you, but a few of the people I talked to down there say this might the best year ever for whale watching. The warm winter has led to warmer water temperatures and baitfish coming much closer to shore than usual. Not surprisingly, the predators, like whales, follow the baitfish.

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Go Ape! is coming to Williamsburg, reports Richmond.com. Some of you may remember that this ropes and zipline course through the hardwood canopy was supposed to be built in Richmond’s Byrd Park in the forest behind the Carillon. It was felled, however, by politics, as the Richmond.com piece explains:

In late 2010, Richmond missed out on a chance to bring a proposed ropes course at Byrd Park. The proposal generated opposition from nearby residents, citing potential damage to the course site in a wooded area behind the Carillon, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. A plan for a public meeting was canceled after J.R. Pope resigned as director of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities over an unrelated matter. He was pinpointed by 5th district city councilman Marty Jewell as the person behind the Go Ape project.

At least we won’t have to go far to check out what it would have been like. Freedom Park — a cool place in its own right — is maybe an hour’s drive from Richmond. Should be interesting to see what kind of crowds it draws.

Tom Silvestri of the Richmond Times-Dispatch had a commentary in today’s Sunday edition about the Richmond Riverfront Plan. There is a meeting Tuesday at City Hall to go over the plan, and I will be there to cover it for Richmond.com.Read More

The Friends of the James River Park will be cleaning trash and painting over graffiti in North Bank Park and along Texas Beach on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Read More

The Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k topped the 30,000-mark in total entries received today. The Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k set for Saturday, March 31, will accept 42,500 entries, making it one of the top 10 biggest road races of any distance in the U.S. Last year the race was capped at 40,000, but 41,346 were allowed to sign up.Read More

Last year the Friends of the James River Park and The Boathouse Restaurant at Rockett’s Landing started a new award to honor people and groups who work to make the James River clean, fun, accessible, etc. for all of us in the Richmond area. In 2011, the “River Heroes” were Mike Ostrander, Passages Adventure Camps and the Seven Hills Middle School for Boys, which I featured in a Times-Dispatch column last May.

The nominating process opens on Feb. 14 for the 2012 River Heroes and runs through March 14. Anyone can nominate a River Hero. As the FOJRP website says, the idea is to showcase “those who support, enhance and champion the James River.”

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Less than two months ago, the Sports Backers announced that Dominion Riverrock would grow to three days, add events and have an expanded footprint that would include the parking lot of the American Civil War Center. Since then, they’ve released the events to be added as well as the lineup of bands that will play on all three days.

Riverrock doesn’t start until May 18, but preparations are well underway for what the group hopes will grow into the largest festival of its kind, one “that celebrates Richmond’s vibrant and active river life with a series of sporting events with highly anticipated musical performances from national and regional acts, food vendors, exhibits and much more.”

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