Earth Month Kickoff: Inviting Nature Home

Join the Elizabeth River Project for an Earth Month kickoff celebration: Inviting Nature Home!

Do you love monarchs, otters, osprey, and all the unique and amazing plants we have here in coastal VA? From 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM, step into your own backyard of Elizabeth River wildlife to explore with conservation partners from around Hampton Roads how you can invite your feathered, winged, four-legged, and photosynthesizing neighbors to your home, business, school, or community center.

You'll leave inspired to Do Something Beautiful as a steward of your local watershed.

Highlights of the Event:

• Guided Tours of the Ryan Resilience Lab: Explore the innovative solutions and research dedicated to preserving the Elizabeth River and its surrounding ecosystems. Tours leave at 11am, 12pm, and 1pm.

• Kayak Rentals: Explore the Lafayette River and Knitting Mill Creek with Norfolk Kayak Rentals. Reservations for single and tandem rentals are made through their website from 9am to 2pm, and are first-come first-served!

• Volunteer Conservation Landscaping: Join EcoGardens to care for the shoreline buffer planting along Knitting Mill Creek at the Ryan Resilience Lab from 11am-1pm. Learn more and sign up HERE.

• River Star Home Sign-Ups: Take a step toward becoming a champion for environmental stewardship by signing up to be a River Star Home. Plus, take home a free garden flag as a symbol of your commitment!

• Community Science Opportunities: Learn about oyster gardening with a Chesapeake Bay Foundation volunteer, Otter Spotters, and how to be a Seed Keeper.

• Volunteer Opportunities: Explore upcoming volunteer opportunities to build living shorelines and help us restore the Elizabeth River!

• Native Plant Sale: Shop through beautiful native plants from our friends at Southern Branch Nursery that support the biodiversity you love and take them home with you!

• Kids Activities: Meet some river critters, learn about your home river, take part in games, hands on-activities, and a story time at 11:30am!

• Learn about River Star Businesses: Discover how local businesses are adopting sustainable practices and contributing to the health of the Elizabeth River.

• Eat your way across the EcoDistrict: Learn how you can be part of the EcoDistrict's movement towards a greener, more resilient community in the Highland Park Neighborhood. 

Bring your family and friends to join in the fun and make a positive impact on your environment. Be sure to explore the local conservation partners who will be there to support your efforts to Do Something Beautiful by Inviting VA Wildlife Home:

• Southern Branch Nursery 

• Tidewater Master Naturalists

• Mermaid City Flowers

• Cape Henry Audubon Society

• Evelyn's Wildlife Refuge

• Monarch Watch

• Butterfly Society of VA

• VA Native Plant Society - South Hampton Roads Chapter

• Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center

Free Parking Options:

• Distinctly Real Estate, 4505 Colley Ave, Norfolk, VA 23508 

• Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience, 800 W 46th St, Norfolk, VA 23508

• Street parking is also available on Colley Ave and its side streets