Happy #NationalRiversMonth! Recently, we geared up and headed for the river as our partners from the Capital Region Land Conservancy, Chesterfield County Parks & Recreation, and the Crater District Planning Commission met to discuss current stream conditions.

This collective of partners work on a variety of projects together, including annual surveys of the land and water, as they are crucial to understanding our progress towards preserving our vital resource: the river. Naturally, any time that we get to spend on the river is time well-spent; what started out as data-collecting turned into some great paddling and bonding with our community stakeholders.

Shawna Shade, a part of Chesterfield County Parks & Recreation’s Outdoor Adventure Seasonal Staff led the paddle alongside Greg Velzy, Adventure Programmer with Chesterfield County Parks & Recreation, who gave the group more information regarding the river’s conditions. Also in the water with us was Kit Friedman, the Crater Planning District Commission’s Environment and Resilience Planner who is currently designing a regional river signage system for the blueway that will offer consistency and safety precautions. Ashley Moulton, Capital Region Land Conservancy’s Land Stewardship Manager, was also there leading the charge because CRLC owns several islands in the area they were navigating; they want to make sure that these islands are being preserved properly. Last but not least, Heather Barrar, FOLAR’s Regional Trails Program Director was there to bring all these amazing partners together and also serves as a board member for the Capital Region Land Conservancy.

A big thank you to our community partners for their help conserving and protecting the Appomattox River and special thanks to Sidd Kumar with PlanRVA for his support photographing and documenting the work!