Lynnhaven River Now – Get Involved

GETTING INVOLVED

Here are ways to get involved in helping Lynnhaven River NOW keep the river clean as well as helping out the environment in general. Scroll through the tabs to explore our committees.

Stewardship and Access Committee

Executive Program Committee

Committee Mission:

Osprey Nest To provide oversight and guidance to all aspects of the work of Lynnhaven River NOW and promote partnerships with other community organizations.

Primary Goals:

Identify and reduce sources of pollution in our Virginia Beach waterways.
Protect and restore habitat vital to the health of our waterways.
Engage partner organizations, the City of Virginia Beach and the community in the restoration and protection of our natural resources.
Build membership and outreach.

Membership:
The Executive Program Committee is composed of the Directors of Lynnhaven River NOW, the Chairs of each of the other committees, LRNow Staff, a representative from LRNext and representatives from our many partner organizations.
Participation on the Executive Committee is by invitation, though interest can be expressed to Karen Forget or 757-962-5398.

Partner Organizations include:

Bayfront Advisory Commission

Resort Advisory Commission

Central Business District Association

Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Back Bay Restoration Foundation

Council of Civic Organizations

Friends of Live Oaks

Virginia Beach Restaurant Association

Virginia Beach Hotel Association

Bay Island Community

Virginia Beach Public Schools

Ocean Park Community

Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation

Virginia Beach Landscape Management

Audubon Society

HRPDC Go Green

Virginia Beach City Arborist

Virginia Beach Marinas

Aquaculture Community

Virginia Beach Public Works

Virginia Beach Public Utilities

Coastal Resilience Research Project, ODU

Meeting Schedule:

Meetings are held four times per year, March, May, September, and November on the 3rd Monday from 4-6 PM, at the Brock Environmental Center.

Contact:
If you have a question about the Executive Committee, please contact Karen Forget or 757-962-5398.

Oyster Restoration Committee

Committee Mission:

oystershellrelease To bring together scientists, agencies, non-profit organizations, the public, and industry to generate ideas, execute programs and develop synergy to restore the native oyster population in the Lynnhaven River.

Primary Goals:

Increase the number of reproductive native oysters in the Lynnhaven River
Restore oyster reef habitat in the Lynnhaven River
Protect the native oyster population in the Lynnhaven River
Coordinate within committee to support and enhance all native oyster restoration projects in the Lynnhaven River

List of Projects:

Oyster Castle Shorelines
Community Oyster Gardening (citizen workshops)
“Save Oyster Shell” Program
Living Shorelines
Oyster Reef Construction

Meeting Schedule:

Contact:
Please contact Brent James Brent@lrnow.org or 757-962-5398 if you wish for more information or are interested in serving on the Oyster Restoration Committee.

Public Relations and Marketing Committee

Committee Mission:

Cypress Passage To help fulfill Lynnhaven River Now’s Goal of improving water quality in the river through community awareness.

Primary Goals:

To encourage community involvement
To help bring back the Lynnhaven oyster and restore the river primarily through the media
To educate and raise awareness in the community

List of Projects:

Discuss and help with printed materials, such as newsletter, oyster roast invitations
Discuss and approve TV ads and other media efforts
Spread the word about the river through Lynnhaven River Now merchandise such as tee shirts and hats, and our book, The Lynnhaven, Restoring A Legend

Meeting Schedule:
We meet quarterly (March, June, September, December) at 9:30 a.m. on the first Friday of the month at the Runnymede Corp Conference Room, 600 22nd Street, Suite 400, Virginia Beach.

Contact:
Please contact Terri@lrnow.org or 757-962-539, if you wish more information or are interested in serving on the Public Relations and Marketing Committee.

Education Committee

Committee Mission:

Baby Osprey To develop educational programs, materials and opportunities concerning the Lynnhaven River’s history, environmental issues, and efforts to improve the health and cleanliness of the river.

Primary Goals:

Involve public and private schools in efforts to learn about and clean up the Lynnhaven River.
Provide public programs to increase awareness about the Lynnhaven River.
Recognize outstanding environmental and marine education programs in our locality

List of Projects:

Summer teacher workshops are offered on a variety of Lynnhaven River related topics. Some workshops are offered through the Virginia Beach City Schools Professional Development Program.
Information programs and watershed activities are conducted at local schools.
A recognition program, the Pearl School Program, was implemented to spotlight the schools making an extra effort to infuse aquatic education into their school programs.
Many school groups participate in oyster and wetland grass restoration efforts in the Lynnhaven River.
LRNow staff and volunteers conduct workshops at local, state, and regional educational conferences.

Meeting Schedule:
No meeting is scheduled at this time.

Contact:
Please call 757-962-5398 if you wish for more information or are interested in serving on the Education Committee.

Public Policy Committee

Committee Mission:

Sailing Lynnhaven River To promote dialogue between Lynnhaven River NOW and our elected and appointed officials.

Primary Goals:

Develop a rapport with individual officials by maintaining frequent contact with them.
Educate elected and appointed officials on all public policy issues affecting the restoration and protection of Lynnhaven River.
Promote LRNow events, activities and initiatives to elected and appointed officials.
Inform and educate the watershed community on public policy initiatives

Recent Projects:

The committee conducts a candidate forum in the fall whenever there is an election for city council or for state legislators. Candidates are invited to discuss issues related to the health and restoration of the watershed.
Committee members are active with the Virginia Choose Clean Water Coalition, Virginia Conservation Network, Virginia Forever, and local and state initiatives to address Sea Level Rise and Climate Change.
Committee members stay up to date with environmental legislative issues by attending workshops provided by Virginia Conservation Network, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, ODU Sea Level Rise program, W&M Law School Coastal Clinic Programs and others. Our goal is to be effective spokespeople on the issues that affect our Virginia Beach waterways.
The committee works with other local environmental groups such as Back Bay Restoration Foundation, Keep the Ban, the Garden Clubs, civic organizations, etc. in order to promote our shared goals of returning the watershed to its most productive, enjoyable, and sustainable condition.
LRNow is a member of the Virginia Conservation Network, Choose Clean Water Coalition, and Virginia Forever.

Meeting Schedule:
Our meeting schedule varies. We meet as a committee but also attend educational activities in our region and the state. Contact Karen@LRNow.org for meeting information.

Contact:

Please contact Karen Forget or 757-962-5398, if you wish for more information or are interested in serving on the Public Policy Committee.

Shorelines Committee

Committee Mission:

Angel Tree Our Lynnhaven River NOW Shorelines Committee mission is to conserve, restore and create open water marsh, small marsh parcels along the shoreline, living shoreline marshes, and upland buffers in the Lynnhaven River. Education is one of our major strategies to encourage wetland and shoreline conservation, restoration and creation, thus we will plan and conduct broad and targeted education. We also aim to work with the agencies have jurisdiction over tidal wetlands to facilitate and encourage wetland preservation, restoration and creation.

Projects:

Tidal Wetland Restoration Publication [page 1] [page2]
First Landing Living Shoreline Project
Living Shorelines Creation
Wetland Restoration on City and State Property

Contact:

Please contact one of the Co-chairs, Office@lrnow.org, or call 757-962-5398 if you wish for more information or are interested in serving on the Shorelines Committee.

Stewardship and Access Committee

Mission:

Organize and encourage participation in the well-being of Virginia Beach’s waterways

Goals:

Schedule, organize and lead cleanups on or along Virginia Beach waterways
Encourage civic and community engagement
Provide hands-on education through activities and waterway cleanups
Protect and maintain access to local waterways

Involvement:

Waterway cleanups
Citizen Science Water Quality Monitoring Program
Adopt-a-spot Program
Access waterways by visiting:
- City of Virginia Beach Kayak & Canoe Launches
- Southeast Coast Saltwater Paddling Trail
- Captain John Smith Water Trail
- Reese Lukei Raptor Trail

Support:

Become a member of Lynnhaven River NOW
Shop AmazonSmile to support Lynnhaven River NOW
Link your Kroger Rewards Card to Lynnhaven River NOW

Meeting Schedule :

This committee meets at 6 pm on the third Wednesday of each month. Meetings are held at Hot Tuna at 2817 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach, VA 23451. November and December meeting schedules may be adjusted to accommodate winter holidays. Call 757-962-5398 or email office@lrnow.org for more information about participating in this committee.