ESM 2009: Blackwater Creek

Details

This year's event will be held Monday, October 19 -- Thursday, October 22.

Volunteers can work either full day shifts (8:30 am - 4:30 pm, with a lunch break from 11:30 am - 1 pm) or half day shifts (8:30 - 11:30 am or 1 - 4:30 pm). There will be different activities scheduled for each day, including rain garden landscaping, rain barrel assembly and installation, trash removal, and environmental restoration, such as planting forest buffers along the creek to filter pollution.

Water and light snacks will be provided for volunteers. Lunch will be provided for volunteers that work the morning shift and volunteers that work all day. If you have special dietary restrictions or if you feel that you may want additional beverages or snacks, we suggest that you bring them with you.

Project Sites

Projects for the Extreme Stream Makeover are spread throughout the entire Blackwater Creek watershed, encompassing the City of Lynchburg, Campbell County and Bedford County.

City of Lynchburg

There are projects planned for several locations within the City, including Peaks View Park and the Wards Crossing Shopping Center.

There are currently 2 major projects planned for Peaks View Park. The largest project planned is the construction of a rain garden adjacent to the parking lot at the Ardmore entrance. This rain garden will capture and treat rainwater runoff before it enters the stream. The second project is an extensive streamside buffer planting.

There is a large retrofit project planned for the detention pond near the Barnes & Noble at the Wards Crossing Shopping Center. This project includes grading back the banks of the natural channel that has formed in order to create an emergent wetland area. This area will treat stormwater runoff from the parking lot.

There will also be a trash cleanup along Wards Road between Walmart and Barnes & Noble.

Bedford County

All of the projects in Bedford County will take place at Jefferson Forest High School. Projects planned for the school include constructing a BayScape and an educational garden.

Campbell County

The Campbell County project is located at the Wards Crossing West shopping center. We will be completing a streambank stabilization project. This project will involve grading the bank to create a gentle slope and replanting it with native species.

For more details on these projects and their locations, please view the Interactive Project Map.

Who is involved

The James River Association is a nonprofit organization that has been serving as the "voice of the James" for over 30 years. For ESM 2009 we have partnered with the City of Lynchburg, Bedford & Campbell Counties, Center for Watershed Protection, Lynchburg College, Greater Lynchburg Environmental Network (GLEN), Peaks of Otter and Robert E. Lee Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD), Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Jefferson Forest High School, Developers Diversified Reality and Compson Development, as well as other local businesses and organizations.

Funding for ESM: Blackwater Creek is being provided by Altria, Center for Watershed Protection (CWP), The Easley Foundation, Honeywell, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), Philip Morris USA and Waste Management, as well as by local businesses and organizations including Altria, Alcoa, Honeywell, Lynchburg Morning Rotary Club, and Philip Morris USA.

In-kind products and services are being provided by Compson Development, Counts & Dobyns Excavating, Inc., Developers Diversified Reality, RSG Landscaping & Lawn Care, Inc. and Southern Landscape Group.