Have a Green Summer!

Over the winter, we held our first ever Shiver in the River. It was part cleanup, part January river plunge, and part festival. A good time was had, we were able to raise some needed funds, and we left the banks of the James River a bit cleaner than when we got there.

For the past few years we’ve helped recycling and litter prevention at the Richmond Folk Festival. We coordinate with the City of Richmond to place recycling bins throughout the event, get people to sign our pledge to keep Virginia beautiful, and organize some cleanup after the shows.

As we roll into summer, many of you will be visiting our parks and enjoying your own events. We recently concluded our 2015 30 in 30 Grants Program, and some of the winners will be making certain that your enjoyment of Virginia will be a bit nicer. Bear Creek Lake State Park got a grant for cigarette receptacles. The Clean Fairfax Council got one to distribute re-usable bags at their popular farmer’s market. The Virginia Aquarium will use theirs to improve recycling. Keep Portsmouth Beautiful will also improve recycling with their grant by putting new recycling bins at nTelos Pavilion. The Town of Purcellville is using a 30 in 30 Grant to create designated “green spots” at their community events to make recycling and litter prevention easy as pie.

We came across an article today about our friend Tom Griffin. Tom is the Director of the Virginia Green Travel Alliance. He also sits on our Board of Directors, and our Executive Director, Mike Baum, sits on his. Tom’s mission is to encourage green practices in Virginia’s tourism industry, and to help keep Virginia beautiful for all who live in and visit it. You could say that we’re kindred spirits. Tom & Mike also sit on the Richmond Green Events Committee and the Richmond 2015 Sustainability Committee. If you’re unaware, Richmond 2015 is the World Road Cycling Championships. In September, 1,000 riders from around the world will descend on our Capitol for 9 days of bicycle racing. And it’s a pretty big deal. Previous hosts have included Lisbon, Portugal, Madrid in Spain, Copenhagen, and Salzburg, Austria. That a city the size of Richmond would be chosen speaks highly of our Commonwealth. The races will also be broadcast worldwide, and are expected to bring over 450,000 fans into Virginia. So it’s important to put our best face forward.

Do your part to help.