Chesapeake Environmental Improvement Council - CEIC

06/11/2021

Photos from Virginia Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts (VASWCD)'s post

06/11/2021

We are now accepting nominations for the 2021 Notable Yards Contest. We're looking for yards that Look Good and Are Good for Nature. Nominations are being accepted thru June 30 with judging in July, winners.

What are we looking for? Yards that incorporate various best practices such as
- Visual Appeal and Garden Design
- Healthy Lawn Practices
- Native Trees, Shrubs, and Flowers
- Food Gardens and/or Wildlife Habitat
- Bonus Points: Gardeners who are involved in Community wide improvement efforts, for example, Bay Star or River Star Homes.

A winner will be selected in each of Chesapeake's high school districts and each will receive a gift card from White's Nursery, and a sign placed in the winning yards for one month. Professionally maintained yards are ineligible. You can nominate your own yard, your neighbor's or friend's, or even one you see driving down the street at https://www.cityofchesapeake.net/government/Boards-Commissions/full-listing/ceic/award-programs-contest/Chesapeake-s-Notable-Yards-Contest/nomination-form.htm

We are now accepting nominations for the 2021 Notable Yards Contest. We're looking for yards that Look Good and Are Good for Nature. Nominations are being accepted thru June 30 with judging in July, winners.

What are we looking for? Yards that incorporate various best practices such as
- Visual Appeal and Garden Design
- Healthy Lawn Practices
- Native Trees, Shrubs, and Flowers
- Food Gardens and/or Wildlife Habitat
- Bonus Points: Gardeners who are involved in Community wide improvement efforts, for example, Bay Star or River Star Homes.

A winner will be selected in each of Chesapeake's high school districts and each will receive a gift card from White's Nursery, and a sign placed in the winning yards for one month. Professionally maintained yards are ineligible. You can nominate your own yard, your neighbor's or friend's, or even one you see driving down the street at https://www.cityofchesapeake.net/government/Boards-Commissions/full-listing/ceic/award-programs-contest/Chesapeake-s-Notable-Yards-Contest/nomination-form.htm

06/10/2021

Useful information if you find a baby bird out of the nest.

06/09/2021

Did You Plant a Tree? If you’ve planted a tree (or several), thank you! We and the Virginia Department of Forestry would love to know about your tree planting via the link below. When you plant a tree in your neighborhood or town, you are helping keep our community clean and healthy in a multitude of ways - cleaning the air, filtering water, reducing heat, adding beauty.

By reporting your tree planting, you're giving the Virginia Department of Forestry valuable data that can be used to help inform evaluate water quality improvement efforts in Virginia. The
survey is easy to complete, and your tree could end up being
featured on VDOF’s tree map and/or social media. Goto the link below and chose the tab "Add Your Trees!"

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=f41f85765879480cab068547645d9d8e

Did You Plant a Tree? If you’ve planted a tree (or several), thank you! We and the Virginia Department of Forestry would love to know about your tree planting via the link below. When you plant a tree in your neighborhood or town, you are helping keep our community clean and healthy in a multitude of ways - cleaning the air, filtering water, reducing heat, adding beauty.

By reporting your tree planting, you're giving the Virginia Department of Forestry valuable data that can be used to help inform evaluate water quality improvement efforts in Virginia. The
survey is easy to complete, and your tree could end up being
featured on VDOF’s tree map and/or social media. Goto the link below and chose the tab "Add Your Trees!"

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=f41f85765879480cab068547645d9d8e

06/08/2021

Read the latest edition of the Heron Chronicle, the CEIC newsletter. Inside this edition we have updates on the Fix-It-Fair, Trees for Churches, the New Urban Forester Position, the Future of Curbside Recycling, Events, Contests and more. Read it all athttps://www.cityofchesapeake.net/Assets/documents/departments/parks_rec/Boards+and+Commissions/CEIC/Heron+Chronicle+Newsletter+Summer+2021.pdf

Read the latest edition of the Heron Chronicle, the CEIC newsletter. Inside this edition we have updates on the Fix-It-Fair, Trees for Churches, the New Urban Forester Position, the Future of Curbside Recycling, Events, Contests and more. Read it all athttps://www.cityofchesapeake.net/Assets/documents/departments/parks_rec/Boards+and+Commissions/CEIC/Heron+Chronicle+Newsletter+Summer+2021.pdf

06/07/2021

Pollinator gardens need to be designed for the pollinators, not the humans.

06/05/2021

Thank you Friends of Indian River for today's work on #cleanthebayday

06/03/2021

Doug's Five Easy Steps for Beginners — HOMEGROWN NATIONAL PARK

Five Easy Steps to creating your own backyard habitat and becoming part of a Homegrown National Park!

Let’s start with plants. The most important job that plants have is to capture energy from the sun and turn it into food. When an insect eats a little bit of a plant’s leaves, it captures the energy stored in the leaf and that insect becomes a source of food and energy for what eats it, say a bi...

06/03/2021

We are now accepting nominations for the 2021 Notable Yards Contest. We're looking for yards that Look Good and Are Good for Nature. Nominations are being accepted thru June 30 with judging in July, winners. A winner will be selected in each of Chesapeake's high school districts and each will receive a gift card from White's Nursery, and a sign placed in the winning yards for one month. Professionally maintained yards are ineligible. You can nominate your own yard, your neighbor's or friend's, or even one you see driving down the street at https://www.cityofchesapeake.net/government/Boards-Commissions/full-listing/ceic/award-programs-contest/Chesapeake-s-Notable-Yards-Contest/nomination-form.htm

We are now accepting nominations for the 2021 Notable Yards Contest. We're looking for yards that Look Good and Are Good for Nature. Nominations are being accepted thru June 30 with judging in July, winners. A winner will be selected in each of Chesapeake's high school districts and each will receive a gift card from White's Nursery, and a sign placed in the winning yards for one month. Professionally maintained yards are ineligible. You can nominate your own yard, your neighbor's or friend's, or even one you see driving down the street at https://www.cityofchesapeake.net/government/Boards-Commissions/full-listing/ceic/award-programs-contest/Chesapeake-s-Notable-Yards-Contest/nomination-form.htm

05/30/2021

How Trees Can Retain Stormwater Runoff | Arbor Day Blog

How Trees Can Retain Stormwater Runoff | Arbor Day Blog

Trees in our communities provide many services beyond the inherent beauty they lend to streets and properties. One of the most overlooked and underappreciated is their ability to reduce the volume of water rushing through gutters and pipes following a storm. This means less investment in expensive i...

05/29/2021

Read my latest post on Green Gardening Matters: "Our Freedom Lawn." Since June 2004, our lawn has not had any pesticides or synthetic fertilzer applications, yet it's just as green as the highly maitained lawns most of the time. Also it's about half the size.

"The time has come for Freedom Lawns!
There are sooo many reasons:
- Save time and money
- Provide a healthier environment for you, your family, and your pets
- Save water to help relieve the stress on our aquifers
- Reduce pollution in nearby waterways
- Reduce your climate footprint on our only planet
- Create good habitat for pollinators and birds

Won't you join us and liberate your lawn? Mother Nature will thank you in so many ways."

https://greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2021/05/our-freedom-lawn.html

05/29/2021

May 29th is Learn about Composting Day.

Check out The Complete Compost Gardening Guide by Barbara Pleasant

https://chesapeakelibrary.org/wise-apps/catalog/2000/detail/wise/84638?offset=7&qs=composting&search_in=iets&state=search&wf_medium_srt=BOO&wf_publiek=NJ

05/27/2021

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2021 Clean and Green Photo Contest!

05/26/2021

We are now accepting nominations for the 2021 Notable Yards Contest. We're looking for yards that Look Good and Are Good for Nature. Nominations are being accepted thru June 30 with judging in July, winners. A winner will be selected in each of Chesapeake's high school districts and each will receive a gift card from White's Nursery, and a sign placed in the winning yards for one month. Professionally maintained yards are ineligible. You can nominate your own yard, your neighbor's or friend's, or even one you see driving down the street at https://www.cityofchesapeake.net/government/Boards-Commissions/full-listing/ceic/award-programs-contest/Chesapeake-s-Notable-Yards-Contest/nomination-form.htm

We are now accepting nominations for the 2021 Notable Yards Contest. We're looking for yards that Look Good and Are Good for Nature. Nominations are being accepted thru June 30 with judging in July, winners. A winner will be selected in each of Chesapeake's high school districts and each will receive a gift card from White's Nursery, and a sign placed in the winning yards for one month. Professionally maintained yards are ineligible. You can nominate your own yard, your neighbor's or friend's, or even one you see driving down the street at https://www.cityofchesapeake.net/government/Boards-Commissions/full-listing/ceic/award-programs-contest/Chesapeake-s-Notable-Yards-Contest/nomination-form.htm

05/25/2021

Clover in the Lawn: From Friend to Weed to Friend Again!

Clover in lawns is a good thing!

How did such a wonderful plant as clover come to be considered a weed? Photo: life.shared.com Here’s a quick overview of the incredible story of a simple little plant, white clover (Trifolium repen…

05/24/2021

In our area, Native plants can host more caterpillars than any other non-native plant. #vnpsshrc #serviceberry

05/23/2021

05/21/2021

Good morning! What a beautiful start for Bike to Work Day! Shake off some stress, let the wind and sun kiss your face, save some gas, and ref up your heartbeat on wheels. You can even do it working from home. And drivers - SHARE THAT ROAD!

05/20/2021

Your Weather Forecast Update: Warmer Climate Will Be The New 'Normal'

Your Weather Forecast Update: Warmer Climate Will Be The New 'Normal'

In May, NOAA will release its once-a-decade update for the 30-year weather averages that local meteorologists use. In many places, it will mean far fewer days that are 'above normal.'

05/19/2021

Consistent with what we see on all our cleanups, most litter we see is plastics. We need to kick the habit of single-use plastics. If even a fraction of what we buy ends up as litter - carelessly tossed away, blown away, fallen out of trash cans, lost from trucks - we have a huge problem.

05/17/2021

Chesapeake tree canopy coverage has been on the decline. The city wants to improve.

Story about Chesapeake getting a new Urban Forester in the coming year.

Tree cover has been on the decline in part due to development, trees getting old and dying and homeowners cutting them down over fears of falling on the house.

05/17/2021

We are now accepting nominations for the 2021 Notable Yards Contest. We're looking for yards that Look Good and Are Good for Nature. Nominations are being accepted thru June 30 with judging in July, winners. A winner will be selected in each of Chesapeake's high school districts and each will receive a gift card from White's Nursery, and a sign placed in the winning yards for one month. Professionally maintained yards are ineligible. You can nominate your own yard, your neighbor's or friend's, or even one you see driving down the street at https://www.cityofchesapeake.net/government/Boards-Commissions/full-listing/ceic/award-programs-contest/Chesapeake-s-Notable-Yards-Contest/nomination-form.htm

We are now accepting nominations for the 2021 Notable Yards Contest. We're looking for yards that Look Good and Are Good for Nature. Nominations are being accepted thru June 30 with judging in July, winners. A winner will be selected in each of Chesapeake's high school districts and each will receive a gift card from White's Nursery, and a sign placed in the winning yards for one month. Professionally maintained yards are ineligible. You can nominate your own yard, your neighbor's or friend's, or even one you see driving down the street at https://www.cityofchesapeake.net/government/Boards-Commissions/full-listing/ceic/award-programs-contest/Chesapeake-s-Notable-Yards-Contest/nomination-form.htm

05/14/2021

Wednesday Farmers' Market behind the Chesapeake Regional Healthcare Center!

WOOHOO! This Wednesday we are back on the market! Thrilled to have our Weekly Wednesday Farmers Market returning for the season. Fresh fruits and veggies, james, jellies, eggs, and more. 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. here in our parking lot. We're located right behind Chesapeake Regional Healthcare off Battlefield Blvd. All forms of payment accepted. Tell a friend! #virginiagrown #WIC #farmersmarket Chesapeake WIC

05/13/2021

We're pleased to report that City Budget approved this week sets funding for developing and adopting an Urban Forest Management Plan and filling a new Urban Forester position on staff, with an expected start date in January. These have been key priorities for the Tree Board and the CEIC over the past several years.

The benefits of trees are documented in countless studies: trees reduce flooding, moderate temperature, absorb pollutants, provide wildlife habitat, improve mental health, increase property values, and even reduce crime. The 2035 Comprehensive Plan estimated the value of the city's urban forest at $900 million, not even including the value of the Great Dismal Swamp.

Trees form a critical infrastructure for the City, distributed across our city's right of ways, parks, open space, public and private property. But in our dynamic, growing urban environment, our tree infrastructure is not self-sustaining; it is fragile and fragmented. Construction, storms, neglect, and misinformation all result in the persistent loss and destruction of our trees. We estimate that the city is losing 2% to 3% of its trees each year.

We're looking forward to seeing the City develop a plan, similar to those in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, to preserve, nurture, and, quite literally, grow our urban tree infrastructure. Proper investment in our urban forest will pay itself back with reduced flooding, healthier air, higher property values, more recreational space, greater biodiversity, and generally happier citizens.

We thank the Mayor, City Council, City Manager, PRT Director, and all the staff involved in working out the details for establishing this program. The CEIC and Tree Board stands ready to support and work with the new Urban Forester in making Chesapeake a greener, cleaner and healthier city in which to live, learn, work, farm, and play.

We're pleased to report that City Budget approved this week sets funding for developing and adopting an Urban Forest Management Plan and filling a new Urban Forester position on staff, with an expected start date in January. These have been key priorities for the Tree Board and the CEIC over the past several years.

The benefits of trees are documented in countless studies: trees reduce flooding, moderate temperature, absorb pollutants, provide wildlife habitat, improve mental health, increase property values, and even reduce crime. The 2035 Comprehensive Plan estimated the value of the city's urban forest at $900 million, not even including the value of the Great Dismal Swamp.

Trees form a critical infrastructure for the City, distributed across our city's right of ways, parks, open space, public and private property. But in our dynamic, growing urban environment, our tree infrastructure is not self-sustaining; it is fragile and fragmented. Construction, storms, neglect, and misinformation all result in the persistent loss and destruction of our trees. We estimate that the city is losing 2% to 3% of its trees each year.

We're looking forward to seeing the City develop a plan, similar to those in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, to preserve, nurture, and, quite literally, grow our urban tree infrastructure. Proper investment in our urban forest will pay itself back with reduced flooding, healthier air, higher property values, more recreational space, greater biodiversity, and generally happier citizens.

We thank the Mayor, City Council, City Manager, PRT Director, and all the staff involved in working out the details for establishing this program. The CEIC and Tree Board stands ready to support and work with the new Urban Forester in making Chesapeake a greener, cleaner and healthier city in which to live, learn, work, farm, and play.