To Margaret!
Keeping Virginia Beautiful in Honor of Margaret O’Bryan who lost her fight with kidney and brain cancer Jan. 29, 2016.
KVB
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What a Shiver in the River!
Wow! That’s really all we can say – Wow! Shiver in the River!
When we held our inaugural Shiver in the River last year, we were overwhelmed with the support and enthusiasm you showed. We made our stretch of the James River that much cleaner, appreciated Virginia’s beauty, and over 150 took the James River Jump into the frigid waters.
This year far exceeded our expectations. Over 400 took part in our Cleanup, over 200 made the pledge to take the James River Jump, and well over 350 participated in our new 5K Walk/Run! These numbers include over 80 amazing teams. And that’s not counting the many who simply came to enjoy our Winter Festival. There were young people and old, children, and dogs reveling in the beauty of the James River Park System and Historic Tredegar. While it was a bit warmer this year than last, the James was actually four degrees colder than last year – a brisk 36 – but that didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. Remember – if you were a participant you can still earn incentive gifts by adding to your fundraising page!
In addition these numbers, there were over 100 high school students, college students, sororities, soldiers from Fort Lee, and more who came to act as volunteers to help us run the event.
Our 5K coordinators were the Richmond Road Runners, and you can see the full race results on their site. Click to top link for “First Day 5K” and then scroll down to Shiver in the River. Our overall winner, Dalton Randall, was there as a volunteer working the registration tables at 8:30 am! We saw him back at the tables after the race, and asked him how it went. He smiled sheepishly and said, “17:31. I won.”
Congratulations Dalton and thanks for all of your help!
Here are some other highlights:
Our top 3 overall finishers were:
Dalton Randall at 17:31
Robert Agaba at 19:05
Jason Lippy at 19:40
The top 3 women were:
Danielle Murray at 23:03
Kate Kulbok at 23:16
Cierra Gillard at 23:31
At 9 – Under the winners were Kyle Tyson (22:24) and Deni Peters (29:57).
10 – 14 went to Josh Decker (28:44) and Payton O’Brien (28:35).
65 – 69 went to Dick Fisher (36:44) and Jesse Wright (49:56).
Our top fund raising team was Margaret’s Plunging Twinkle Toes who gathered $4,600 to honor Margaret O’Bryan for her conservation efforts and her battle against cancer.
We’ll update this post as we gather more details about your amazing efforts.
The video below is courtesy of Daryl Watkins of Creative Dog Media. The gallery below that comes from Lowrey and Beth Holthaus, Kim Hynes, and Dave Parrish Photography.
Shiver in the River 2016 – #RVA – Creative Dog Media from Creative Dog Media™ on Vimeo.
Almost Time to Shiver in the River!
A few days ago it was 65 degrees in Richmond. The following morning it was in the teens. This means two things: It’s Winter in Central Virginia, and it’s that much closer to Shiver in the River!
There was an amazing turnout for last year’s inaugural event. Over 400 showed up to Give 60 and perform cleanups on and around the James River. Over 150 raised the minimum of $75 to brave the cold and take a chilly James River Jump. And bravery it was! While the temperature last year was in the low 40’s, the James River was around 39 degrees. Bracing, to say the least!
(Just for reference – As we write this the James is 40.5 degrees.)
Things are looking great for this year’s Shiver in the River! We’ve found great partners in businesses and groups like Comcast, Richmond Family Magazine, Dominion, Collared Greens (who is selling a special Keep Virginia Beautiful shirt to benefit our mission!), HandsOn Greater Richmond, and soon-to-open Stone Brewing. They all share our love for Virginia and the desire to keep it beautiful. Contact Mike Baum if you want your name on that list.
This is also a Virginia Green Certified event! We’ll have multiple sites along the James and around Richmond for you to perform a cleanup. We’re going to have some great food trucks, tasty beverages, and live music! Truly Richmond’s Coolest Winter Festival!
We’ve also firmed up our route for the brand new 5K Walk/Run. You’ll start at Tredegar, loop around Brown’s Island, run along the James, cross to Belle Isle, and after seeing a sizable chunk of that, return to Tredegar for our finish line and Winter Festival site. If you’re unfamiliar with Richmond, this route gives you great views of our historic city, a fantastic slice of the James River Park System, and a bucket-load of Virginia’s best nature. Take a look at the route below.
What we need now are teams! As of today there are 46 teams signed up. We have almost 230 supporters who are raising money, and a ton of folks are donating, but the teams are the fun part. They have such names as “Norfolk Brrmaids,” “Shivers and Giggles,” and “Shrinkage and Drinkage.” And if last year is any indication, they will come with a theme, complete with costumes. There’s warmth in numbers and that sense of community, so heat your team up by registering now.
We would also love to see some more of you volunteer. There are opportunities pre-Shiver, during the event, and of course our own cleanup after the Shivering is done! We’ll take all the help we can get.
As of today we’re 17 days away from Shiver in the River! Register for the 5K Walk/Run. Do your cleanup. Take the James River Jump. Or do all three! At the very least come for the best Winter Festival in Richmond. It was a blast last year and is sure to be super cool this year.
See what we did there?
Virginia Tourism is Cash Money
We’d like to start with a bit of housekeeping:
We have a winner for our Shiver in the River VIP package, and it’s a cool story! Samantha Silberman of Baltimore, Maryland likes to do some sort of race each and every month somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic. She and a friend heard about Shiver in the River, and despite having no real ties to Virginia or Richmond, decided to sign up. Not only that, they’ve signed up for the 5K Walk/Run, the James River Jump, AND the Cleanup! Even though she’s from Baltimore, she wants to do her part to help us make Virginia a more beautiful place and Give 60 to make our planet cleaner! Congratulations, and thank you Samantha!
Also, we’re horrible at taking pictures. We’re good at smudging a lens or putting our thumb over one, but it is what it is. We do, however, have an Instagram account. Some lovely interns who are no doubt more tech-savvy than us are going to help us get it more current. Check it out!
Lastly, we decided to take a road trip last weekend. We left Richmond Friday afternoon and followed the sun west. By early evening, we reached Cana, Virginia and checked into a lovely bed & breakfast. It was a fantastic farmhouse owned by an amazing couple who worked 65+ acres of various fruit trees. The kitchen table was covered in various heritage apples, pears, cherries, and more – most of it grown right there. Walks through the groves were accompanied by a small pack of agreeable farm dogs who lead us up and down the hillsides, and then back to the house.
Late Saturday, we spent some time tooling along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Connecting to Skyline Drive, this National Park runs 469 miles through 29 counties in Virginia and North Carolina. It’s also America’s longest linear park. We were afforded sweeping views of Appalachia, saw an owl, several hawks, and scores of deer. We ate meals in side-of-the-road Mom & Pop joints, feasting on home-cooked regional favorites.
Best Fried Chicken Ever in Fancy Gap.
Sunday, we altered our route, and took every two-lane road east that we could find. The mountains gave way to rolling hills as we casually sailed through Meadows of Dan, Stuart, Martinsville, Danville, Alton, and more. We made pit stops at Fairy Stone, Staunton River, and Occoneechee, just three of our wonderful Virginia State Parks. As the afternoon began to turn Virginia brilliant orange, we found ourselves passing the red clay hillsides of Southeastern Virginia that leads toward Tidewater. Time to head north to return to Richmond.
The point is, we went because it was beautiful. It reminded us of why we work hard to keep Virginia beautiful. We bought apples, supported small businesses, visited restaurants and parks, and dropped some green into the coffers of Virginia’s economy. While we’re sort of locals, that weekend was about being a tourist.
A clean and green Virginia, when displayed in all her glory to outsiders, is worth cash money.
Shiver, Recycling, and Other News
First things first: This past Monday we had another great planning session for our 2016 Shiver in the River. Just a reminder that we will have our Community Cleanup, the invigorating James River Jump, and an expanded Winter Festival. We’ve also added a great 5K Walk/Run. Part of our planning was plotting our course for this new Shiver in the River event. You’ll love it, as it meanders along the James, providing great river views, and will loop around Belle Isle. If you’re unfamiliar with the spot, it’s in the middle of the river, has a colorful history, and has become one of the best wildlife spots in Central Virginia. You’ll appreciate why it’s so important to keep Virginia beautiful.
Secondly, we’ve got our VIP package for those who register early to Shiver in the River. If you do it by December 1st, you’ll qualify for a chance at an overnight stay at the Hilton Richmond Downtown on either January 29th or 30th, valet parking, a $50 gift card for the Thirst & Fifth, and a $50 gift card for Penny Lane Pub. Penny Lane is a Richmond institution, so you’ll want that. We’ve also added a weekend at a cabin in one of Virginia’s State Parks! The total package is valued at over $600, so get busy. Many folks have already started their fundraising and team building.
We also had a great response for America Recycles Day. We started ours on Friday the 13th, and it was far from ominous. At the Retail Merchants Association in Richmond, 178 people took advantage of our drive-through recycling services. We helped to shred 4,670 pounds of paper for 81 people, and 250 boxes, Goodwill took 12,000 pounds of electronics and other materials to be recycled and reused, TFC Recycling gathered 1 ton of recycling materials, and we hauled away 5 large containers of plastic bags.
But we weren’t the only ones getting into the spirit of America Recycles Day as dozens hosted events all over the Commonwealth. Folks in Manassas hosted a Landfill Day with education, events, and more. Virginia Commonwealth University began promoting their Single Stream Recycling Program for all residence halls. In Abington, they not only had a huge recycling event, they took donations for their local animal shelter and food for the local food bank. In Ashburn they took in a ton of electronics for recycling. It’s safe to say that on and around America Recycles Day Virginians kept a lot of stuff out of our landfills and made a sizable dent in litter prevention.
America Recycles Day, however, is just one day. Our mission, and your responsibility, is to do it every day.
Aquia Harbour Creek Cleanout
Green Aquia, a group of environmentally conscious neighbors in Aquia Harbour in Stafford County, clean up litter and debris that washes down streams through their community before it reaches the Potomac. Volunteers have been out twice so far in 2015.
The April cleanup netted over 1200 lbs of trash, 13 tires, a fire extinguisher, several sports balls, and lawn chairs. They separated 20 garbage bags of recyclable cans and bottles. In all 25 volunteers gave about 3 hours of time cleaning up junk. In addition, one gentleman spent about 8 hours in a canoe floating Austin Run and pulling trash out of the water.
The picture is from the July cleanup. It was a smaller event, but still incredibly successful! 8 volunteers collected about 600 lbs of trash and recyclables, as well as a shopping cart, traffic cones, a bicycle and 5 ties from Austin Run.
Shiver in the River is Back!
Last year we had a crazy idea. What if we gathered a group of friends, had a community cleanup, shared some food and drink, and then jumped into the James River to celebrate? What if we did it in January?
We did, and around 400 of our friends joined us to clean up at various points along the river. We had beverages, food trucks, and music. The day was sunny, a balmy 41 degrees, and the James a refreshing 37.8. 150 people, in Speedos and crazy costumes, leapt into the water. We had a great time, left Richmond a bit more beautiful, and raised some important funds for our mission to keep Virginia beautiful. We called it the Shiver in the River.
So we’re doing it again.
This year’s Shiver in the River will be on January 30th, 2016, at the historic Tredegar Iron Works. It’s now the Coolest Winter Festival in Richmond. We’ll once again Give 60 by collecting trash around the area, there will be food and drink, music and fun. We’ll again brave the James River Jump – regardless of the temperature.
A new addition this year is our 5K Walk/Run. Those who want to can challenge themselves to an energetic run along the James and through Richmond. If you’re not the running type, you can still help support us and take in the beauty of the area by walking the course. Either way, it’s a perfect way to raise funds, pitch in, and appreciate the beauty of the James River corridor.
Follow this link or hit the Shiver in the River link under Events in the navigation above. You’ll discover more details and a link to register. You can register as a single, organize a team, or get your whole office involved. The water will be cold and there’s safety in numbers.
Oyster Shell Recycling!
Update: Due to anticipated weather, this event has been moved to the 18th.
One of our 2015 30 in 30 winners was the Virginia Oyster Shell Recycling Program (VOSRP). They collect used oyster shells from Virginia businesses and use them to restore oyster beds on our waters. They planned to use their grant to buy materials to do more of that, including buckets emblazoned with “Don’t Chuck That Shuck!” Clever. We like it.
We got a note the other day from Todd Janeski, Director of VOSRP, VCU Center for Environmental Studies, Department of Life Sciences and Rice Rivers Center. A mouthful, we know, but OYSTERS!
Here’s what he said, and it sounds darned tasty:
“Folks–I am sending an update on the Oct 4 Slow Food RVA benefit for the VA Oyster Shell Recycling Program (VOSRP). Lots of news to share…
This event is of critical importance. To continue the collection of oyster shell we are trying all means to generate funding. If we are unable to continue funding, we will be scaling back operations, significantly.
In 2014, with your help, we collected more than 50,000lbs of shell from the Richmond market and when returned to the Bay, seeded with baby oysters, we are returning more than 11 million oysters to the VA portion of the Chesapeake. We recently hauled almost 6,000lbs from Charlottesville.
We hope you will agree that encouraging attendance to this benefit is in the best interest of all of us.
We are keeping our Web updated with all the menu details on our six fantastic Chefs, Seven Oyster Companies (representing the Seven VA Oyster Regions).
We will have VA Wine from First Colony and King Family, VA Beer from Ardent Craft Ales and Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery and VA Cider from Foggy Ridge Cider! We are updating by the minute!
We have SOLD OUT of one of our two oyster tasting events. Get your tickets before they are gone!
Those chefs include:
-Brittanny Anderson, Metzger Bar and Butchery (Richmond)
-Walter Bundy, Lemaire at the Historic Jefferson Hotel (Richmond)
-Donnie Glass, Public Fish and Oyster (Charlottesville)
-Ed Gross, Virginia’s Executive Mansion (Richmond)
-Mike Ledesma, Richmond Restaurant Group (Richmond)
-Joe Sparatta, Heritage and Southbound (Richmond)
Also a whole, roasted heritage Hog Island Lamb, raised at Seven Spring Farm.
This event will feature all seven of Virginia’s oyster regions
-Region 1: Shooting Point Oyster Company
-Region 2: Grand Pearl Oysters of Shore Seafood
-Region 3: Ruby Salts Oyster Company
-Region 4: Windmill Point Oyster Company
-Region 5: W.E. Kellum Oyster Company
-Region 6: Big Island Aquaculture/ Vogt Oyster Company
-Region 7: Joyner Brothers Oyster Company
We will be joined by Five Time World Champion Oyster Shucker Deborah Pratt and Virginia State Champion Clementine Macon-Boyd.
Follow our updates, including menus, please follow our web.”
Amazing Raise, Community Blitz, and More News
So much to catch up on! Where to start?
This morning at 6 a.m. the Amazing Raise began. This is an opportunity for folks like you to lend some support for nonprofits like us. Are you sick of wading through cigarette butts? Tired of watching litter blowing down the street? Feel as if your ‘burg could use a community garden? Playground need a fresh coat of paint? The funds you donate through the Amazing Raise will go far towards helping us to continue that mission. It will close tomorrow, September 17th at 6 p.m. Thanks in advance for your support. Follow this link to go to our Amazing Raise page.
Speaking of our mission, we’re starting to hear back from some of our 30 in 30 winners. If you’re new to the show, 30 Grants in Thirty Days is an annual program in which we do just that – award 30 grants over the course of a month, usually coinciding with Earth Day. Our winners are schools, community groups, municipalities, and even our Virginia State Parks. They use these grants for recycling programs, beautification projects, environmental education, and a host of other awesome things that meet the goals of our mission. We can’t do that alone at Keep Virginia Beautiful, and this past year we had some amazing partners in Altria and MeadWestvaco, who stepped up with funding to make 30 in 30 happen.
A few days ago, we heard from a nice lady named Carrie. She’s the Board Chair for the Greater Richmond Green Building Council, and also with one of our 30 in 30 winners, Clover Hill Elementary School. She writes:
“I’m with Clover Hill Elementary School, and we have our plans well underway! There are a couple of potential synergies for grant awardees that you might be interested in sharing.
Green Apple Day of Service – This is a USGBC initiative that will be held officially Saturday, September 26th, but schools aren’t necessarily bound by that date and can do it anytime this fall. Schools from around the nation and the world will come together and complete a project that not only supports their own school’s sustainability goals, but also supports the global movement of healthy “green” schools. Last year over 3800 schools participated. 30 in 30 schools might use this platform to organize/advertise a volunteer service event to kick off their project. Projects are registered on the website http://mygreenapple.org/ and this can help recruit community volunteers.
Connect the Dots Challenge – 30 in 30 schools could also consider registering under this GVGBC program, which is open to all Virginia schools implementing a green project or program. Entries are due November 6th, and typically consist of a description and photographs of their project, which are things they’ll need to have for the grant reporting anyway. Participants are eligible to win cash prizes. They can take their grant money and potentially turn it into a cash prize! Winners will be announced in December. You can see more about that at https://gvgbc.wildapricot.org/Connect-the-Dots.”
Great ideas, and we look forward to hearing about your success at Clover Hill!
Lastly, we just had our second RVA Community Improvement Blitz, and it was a great success! This was in advance of the 2015 UCI World Cycling Championships, as we wanted Virginia to shine a global spotlight. We had hundreds of volunteers across dozens of sites working on litter, recycling, beautification, and more. We did this in partnership with the City of Richmond’s Mayor’s Participation, Action, and Communication Team; Neighbor to Neighbor, the Clean City Commission; and corporate partners Altria and Lowes. Thank you to everyone who joined a Blitz team, and especially those who pitched in with self-directed cleanups in their neighborhoods and places of work!
Our Second Community Blitz
A couple of weeks ago, we helped coordinate an RVA Community Improvement Blitz. Folks picked up litter, some planted flowers, and we had a great group from Fort Lee who traded their soldiering tools for paint brushes to launch an attack on some graffiti. Well, get ready for Round Two.
Working with the City of Richmond’s Mayor’s Participation, Action, and Communication Team, Neighbor-To-Neighbor, and the Clean City Commission, we’ll gather volunteers on September 11th and 12th. By volunteers, we mean you. This will help clean the city and region ahead of the 2015 UCI Road World Championships, one of bicycling’s biggest events. In addition to our scheduled events, we encourage you to create your own self-directed cleanups. Our friends at the James River Advisory Council are also leading a river cleanup.
Volunteers can register by going to the JRAC site, Hand On Greater Richmond, or Richmond Neighbor to Neighbor. You can reach the Clean City Commission at 804-646-8325, or us at 804-665-2908. Financial support for grabbers, gloves, tools, paint, and plants can be made on our Membership page. A special thanks to our sponsors, Altria and Lowes.
Here are our Scheduled Cleanups:
Friday – September 11 (11 am to 3 pm)
Bryan Park (meet at Princeton Creek)
Downtown (Monroe Park, 620 Monroe Park)
Shockoe Bottom (1500 E. Main St. – parking lot across the street)
Boulevard exit of 95 (Arthur Ashe Center, 2001 N. Boulevard)
Saturday – September 12 (9 am to 1 pm)
Jefferson Park (1921 Princess Anne Ave. – Jefferson Park)
Jackson Ward (Corner of Brook Road and Clay Street)
Church Hill (Corner of N. 25th and Fairmount Ave.)
Museum District (William Fox Elementary School, 2300 Hanover Ave.)
