waterways

People wading in a creek tp pick up litter

June 14 2025

Rivanna Conservation Alliance Awarded $1,000 Green Grant

Beckey Watson Uncategorized $1000, Charlottesville, Fluvanna County, Green Grants, Litter Prevention, tires, waterways

Rivanna Conservation Alliance in Charlottesville is awarded a $1,000 Green Grant in the Litter Prevention category as part of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 15th Annual Green Grants program.

Every year, government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address environmental concerns in their community. Grants must focus on one of the following priorities: Litter Prevention, Recycling & Waste Reduction, Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling, or Community Beautification.

The Rivanna Conservation Alliance is an environmental nonprofit based in Charlottesville, serving the Rivanna River watershed. With a small but dedicated staff, the nonprofit creates substantial impact through community engagement. They involve volunteers in monitoring and improving waterways, promoting environmental stewardship, and increasing appreciation of their watershed through cleanups, education events, tree plantings, invasive species removal, and more.

The Rivanna River Round-Up is a volunteer-led cleanup event focused on combating litter in and around the Rivanna River watershed. The event offers various cleanup types that volunteers can choose from, including land-based sites, in-stream locations, and sections of the Rivanna River. Walking cleanups focus on trails and riverbanks, while wading cleanups require volunteers to enter streams to collect trash.

The funds provided by the Green Grant award will be used for renting boats and a shuttle to use during the Round-Up, tire disposal fees, dumpster rental, trash bags, new gloves, and first aid supplies.

The grant will specifically address the critical need of funding tire disposal. There is a significant tire pollution problem in parts of the watershed, particularly in Fluvanna County, that has been growing over the years. This will be the sixth year of the Rivanna River Round-Up and the funding will allow them to replenish and grow their inventory of cleanup supplies, as well as enhance the event’s impact. Partnering with local river outfitters to get more volunteers in canoes to the affected areas, will enable them to remove and properly dispose of more tires, and make a tangible difference in the health of our waterways.

Group of people with litter grabbers and trash bags after doing a litter cleanup

June 18 2023

Lynnhaven River NOW Awarded $1,000 Green Grant

Beckey Watson Uncategorized $1000, award, Green Grants, Litter cleanup, litter grabbers, Lynnhaven River NOW, Virginia Beach, waterways

Lynnhaven River NOW is awarded a $1,000 Green Grant in the Litter Prevention category as part of our 13th Annual Green Grants Program.

Every year, government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address an environmental concern in their community. Grants must focus on one of the following priorities: Litter Prevention, Recycling, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Community Beautification.

Lynnhaven River NOW, headquartered in Virginia Beach, was established in 2002 with the mission of restoring and protecting their waterways and natural areas. Their programs focus on community awareness and engagement, as well as restoration and advocacy. They have 12,000 members, including families, businesses, faith communities and over 100 schools. Their goal is clean and healthy Virginia Beach waterways and their objectives are to identify and reduce sources of contamination in the waterways; reduce nutrients, sediments and chemicals running off of lawns, parking lots, roadways, farmland and out of our septic systems; to educate and engage the community and partner organizations in restoring and protecting our waterways and natural areas; and to restore lost habitats such as oyster reefs, salt marshes, native plants, forests and other buffers that help to filter polluted runoff and protect our waterways and their marine life.

Volunteers and members of Lynnhaven River NOW regularly conduct cleanups throughout the city. In 2022, volunteers collected 10,000 pounds of debris from waterways, wetlands, and natural areas. They typically do between 30 and 40 cleanup events each year!

Funds provided by the Green Grants program will be used to purchase cleanup tool, such as wheelbarrows, litter grabbers, children’s litter grabbers, and safety vests to replace broken equipment and provide the additional equipment. Volunteers need the equipment to do the work safely and efficiently.

Our judges agreed, and their proposal was funded for a 2023 Green Grant! Thank you, Lynnhaven River NOW, for the work you’re doing!

June 18 2022

$500 Green Grant Award Goes to Keep Suffolk Beautiful

Beckey Watson Uncategorized $500, award, Green Grants, Keep Suffolk Beautiful, litter, Litter Prevention, Suffolk, waterways

Congratulations to Keep Suffolk Beautiful for their Litter Prevention Award of $500!

Litter that is left in the landscape often washes into storm drains and waterways, causing clogged waterways and potential harm to aquatic wildlife and waterfowl. In an effort to combat the problem, Keep Suffolk Beautiful will pilot a marine litter collection program that targets creeks in the City of Suffolk. The creeks feed the Nansemond River, which subsequently flows into the James River, and then the Chesapeake Bay.

With the help of City Stormwater Specialists, the pilot program involves installing litter collecting booms across several sections of the Shingle Creek and Cedar Hill Creek. The creeks are both in the densely populated Downtown Suffolk, and installations will be located at sites that are on public land and placed close to urban drainage areas.

Waterway Boom Litter Collectors will skim the water and trap litter to one side while allowing the creek to flow naturally. Public Works employees will remove the litter on a regular schedule and record the data. A digital record will be kept of the installation of the booms and the amount of litter collected.

Green Grant funds will be used to purchase 100 feet of boom, signage for each location, and other supplies needed for installation of the Waterway Boom Litter Collectors.

After the trial period, Keep Suffolk Beautiful plans to expand the program to more locations and partner with community organizations to help monitor and remove the trash.

Litter will be retrieved from the Boom Litter Collectors on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, depending on the flow and amounts of litter gathered by the collectors. Measurements will be made, and the contents examined to determine the categories and possible sources of the litter that is collected. This will provide vital information that can be used to disperse resources and plan future projects.

Thank you Keep Suffolk Beautiful, for the work you’re doing to improve our natural and scenic environment!

June 18 2021

16 Frogs Awarded Green Grant!

Beckey Watson 30 in 30 Green Grants, Uncategorized award, ghost streams, Grant, green, Green Grants, plastic bags, recycle, reduce, reuse, waterways

It’s easy being green, says the 16 Frogs Citizens Panel, in Blacksburg, who will receive a grant award of $1000 for its Recycling program!

The 16 Frogs Citizen Panel is a public arts project with an environmental conscience. Sixteen bronze frog statues are placed strategically through the Town of Blacksburg to call attention to the freshwater under and around the streets and buildings. Most are resting above “ghost streams,” and each has a story to tell.

Reusing, reducing and recycling are at the heart of the 16 Frogs message because every single person, group or business can take part in protecting shared water resources. The Panel will use grant funds for design work, screen printing, and packaging of branded, reusable flatware packs, and reusable produce bags to promote environmentally healthy habits by reducing the use of disposable products.

Every year, government, non-profit, civic and service organizations in Virginia were invited to apply for grants for $500 to $1,000 describing how they plan to tackle an environmental concern in their community regarding Litter Prevention, Recycling, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Community Beautification. Since 2011, Keep Virginia Beautiful has provided $254,500 for 320 different environmental programs and projects all across the Commonwealth, due to the generosity of their partnership with Altria, as well as additional support from Coca-Cola, WestRock and Keep America Beautiful.