Earth Day Staunton
Come join the fun with over 25 exhibitors--including Friends of the Middle River (FOMR)-- who will be offering hands-on, kid-friendly activities or demonstrations to celebrate Earth Day!
What: Staunton's annual Earth-lovin' Festival, Earth Day Staunton! When: Saturday, April 22, 11am-3pm Where: Gypsy Hill Park bandstand area, Staunton. (Rain location is in the park's gym) Cost: Free Food Trucks - 1Tribe Farm, Cheesesteak Scenarios, & Kona Ice 2023 Stage Schedule:11:00 AM -- Welcome and Thanks to our Sponsors        Â
11:45 AM -- Wildlife Center of Virginia Program with Native WildlifeÂ
​1:00PM --   Earth Hero Awards presented by Caroline Sheridan andÂ
          Georgi Tomisato, co-chairs
1:45 PM --Â Â Wildlife Center Program with Native Wildlife
On-Going -- Performances of The Lorax with audience participation
3:00 PM --  Close of event - ​Go Forth and Be Green!
Want to volunteer with FOMR at Earth Day Staunton? Sign up HERE!
| | | Photo provided by Riverfest. | Riverfest
What: Riverfest When: Saturday April 29, 10am-4pm Where: Constitution Park South, Waynesboro Cost: Free 2023 is the Year of the River Otter at Riverfest! Programs and activities start at 10am and continue throughout the day. This annual event takes place river-side at Constitution Park South. Activities include Reptile World shows, presentations by the Wildlife Center of Virginia, Stream Safari exploration, Fish and Fun Rodeo, canoe rides, kids arts & crafts, many interactive exhibits, and more. The day ends with the Great South River Duck Race!Rain or Shine – No Pets Allowed.
Want to volunteer with FOMR at Riverfest? Sign up HERE! | Volunteer Opportunity: Provide Canoe Rides at Riverfest
The South River Watershed Coalition is seeking adult volunteers to help give kids canoe rides at Riverfest between 10am to 4pm. Any help you can give – a few hours or the whole day – is appreciated.
On land, you can staff the canoe launch station (stairs near the Dominion Pavilion) or land station (just before the Railroad bridge).
Or on water, you can paddle the canoe (with riders) the 0.3-mile journey, hop out, walk back to the launch, and do it again. We provide canoes, personal flotation devices, and paddles, but paddlers are welcome to bring their own equipment.
For more information or to volunteer, email southriverwc@gmail.com to volunteer.
| | Volunteer Appreciation: Festival Helpers
One way that FOMR strives to educate the public about rivers is through our participation at various public festivals throughout the year such as Earth Day Staunton, Red Wing Roots and others. We set up tables, activities and exhibits and staff the event table to engage people in talking about rivers! We are always seeking volunteer folks to take a shift of a couple of hours to hang out and sell merchandise, run a small activity or talk about the work we do. For the environmental festivals, we often have a live insect demo. Many hands certainly makes for lighter work and we are grateful to have had 26 volunteers who made these festival events happen in the past year. Thank you! | | | Earth Month Event Calendar
Scan the above QR code to see a calendar of all the events associated with Earth Month events in Rockingham and Augusta counties. Brought to you by Sustainable Shenandoah Valley! | | Photo provided by Can'd Aid. | | Volunteer Opportunity: River Cleanup
When: Thursday, April 13, 2-3:30pm Where: Mill Race Rd., Verona
Show Mama Earth some love! Join Can'd Aid, Ball Corporation, and FOMR will meet at the corner of US Rt. 11 & Mill Race Road in an effort to clean up and help beautify the Middle River. Can'd Aid will provide all necessary supplies-- just come ready to do some good! We encourage you to bring your own gloves and reflective vest if you can. If not, Can’d Aid will provide you with a pair. Following the cleanup, volunteers are invited to gather for an after-party and a complimentary beer!
A HUGE thank you to Ball Corporation for making this cleanup possible!
Sign up HERE to help keep our waterways healthy! | | | Conference Virginia’s United Land Trusts is hosting the 2023 Virginia Land Conservation and Greenways Conference on April 25-27, 2023 at the Hotel Madison, Harrisonburg, VA.Conference registration is now open! The conference theme is Cultivate Connection! Conference content includes multiple sessions offered under each of the following headings: Trails, Greenways, and Blueways Conservation Challenges and Opportunities Community Partnerships Best Practices for Easement Holders Field Trips
Download the full schedule HERE. | | | New Paddle Group: Middle River PaddlersÂ
Forming now, a new social paddle network forming that centers on-- but is not limited to--Middle River and other Augusta County rivers! You can join this group at the following website:Â https://groups.io/g/MiddleRiverPaddlers
Essentially, this new paddle group is a list-serve tool for you to connect and build community with other paddlers and talk about whatever you want. Need a paddle partner? Ask! Want to sell your gear? Want to ask about conditions or sections of the river? Want advice? Want to offer a trip others can join? This forum will allow you to communicate with each other via the forum’s platform without having to share your email address publicly with folks you don’t know.
This group is not owned or moderated by Friends of the Middle River, but by private citizens who may or may not have personal links to our nonprofit.
For more instructions on how to get started, read more HERE. | | |
Southern Appalachian Brook Trout – A 50-Million-Year Journey to Extinction?
What: Lecture When: Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 7pm Where: Wayne Theatre, 521 W. Main Street, Waynesboro Who: Eric Hallerman, John E. Ross Cost: Pay as you will
Brook trout are Virginia’s State Freshwater Fish. The speakers will discuss their evolutionary journey from British Columbia to reach the Southern Appalachians, which spans more than 50 million years. Driven further and further upstream by climate change in search of clean cool water, how much further upstream can they go?
 Speakers: Prof. Eric Hallerman, PhD Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech Author/co-author of numerous papers on trout genetics  John E. Ross Author of Trout Unlimited’s Guide to America’s 100 Best Trout Streams and Through the Mountains: The French Broad River and Time Founding co-chair, Center for Coldwaters Restoration and former chair, Virginia Council of Trout Unlimited
Videos of the many past lectures on aquatic science topics are available HERE. | | | Left to Right: Kate Guenther, David Wallace, Marion Bittinger | Operation Roundup Grant
FOMR is grateful for the Operation Roundup grant we received from the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative last month. This money will pay for first aid kits and safety supplies for cleanups and for the fall cleanup's dumpster rental! Thank you! | | E. coli report for March
Another great month of testing results!  March tied with January of this year as the two months with the lowest E. coli levels since Todd Holt (our E.coli Committee Chair) started with the program almost four years ago. Let’s hope this is a trend and not a fluke, fingers crossed!
See the data results HERE! | Current RAP Booklet Version 3.16.23 | April
11 Lecture: Southern Appalachian Brook Trout 13 Cand'Aid Cleanup 22 Earth Day Staunton 25 FOMR Board Meeting 25-27 Virginia Land Conservation and Greenways Conference 29 Riverfest
| Friends of the Middle River Web: www.friendsofthemiddleriver.org Email: info@friendsofthemiddleriver.org | |
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