Happy Earth Day!

On Sunday, I tabled an Earth Week event on the downtown mall in Charlottesville.  It was called the Charlottesville Eco Fair!  There were a lot of other environmental groups tabling as well, so it made for a fun and informative day.

showing off the cool Rivanna River maps - waterproof and tearproof!

We got a number of visitors at our table, most of which had heard of the Rivanna River... though we also had a few who did not even know that a river ran through the middle of Charlottesville!  That always amazes me.  But, we did our job and informed them.

 It was a bit cloudy, but warmed up by noon!  The other funny thing was how many politicians were there to schmooze the non-profits.  They were all about saying hello, handing out those cards, and being friends with the environmentalists.  It's always surprising how many offices and positions there are even in local government.  Some of the positions these folks were running for I had never even heard of!

We also got a fair number of high school students from Charlottesville H.S. who were getting extra credit in their science class to visit tables at the Eco Fair!  They were on their cell phones the whole time, but good for those kids, getting out to learn a little something!  All in all, it was a nice event and a great Earth Week in C-ville.  I got to talk to people and practice my awesome merch skills on the table again...

interactions with teens

Rivanna Sojourn!

I'm a little slow getting these posts out, but it's been a busy week and weekend with RCS!  It's Earth week, so there was a lot going on in Charlottesville.
On Saturday morning was the Rivanna River Sojourn, sponsered by RCS.  We had about 20 people come out for the sojourn, even though the weather was a bit iffy!  It was cold and overcast the whole morning, with some sprinkles and then rain in the afternoon.  Not the perfect day to be out on the water, but it sounds like every weekend has been rainy down here lately, so it was about as good as it gets!

some of the boats RCS provided!

Marcy enjoying a donut as people arrive

some sojourn participants filling out waivers!

Robbi led an intro about RCS and the sponsors of the sojourn and included a little shout-out to Patagonia for lending me out to help for 6 weeks this year!  We had a lot of beginners (including me) on kayaks and canoes, and a few very experienced paddlers.  Ethan, from Blue Ridge Mountain Sports gave us a little safety clinic, but we spent the morning on the Rivanna Reservoir, so there were no rapids or difficulties to deal with.  Very good pace for beginners!

After the UVA crew team had cleared out of the reservoir, we were ready to go!

view from the river as everyone boards their boats!

on the Rivanna!

We all brought a trash bag and gloves, to keep an eye out for any trash we spotted along the way.  RCS joined 1% for the Planet in the fall after I shared the website with them, and now they have a new partner through the program, Plow and Hearth!  Plow and Hearth came out on Friday and did a big river clean up, so we didn't find too much on our trip up the river.  NBC 29 News came out and took a little video of us, you can see the back of me on a canoe for a second!!!  29 News short on RCS  They seemed to think that our event was a clean up rather than a paddle trip, but it was good advertisement! 

I shared a canoe with Marcy, the Deputy Director of RCS.  We had so much fun trying to stay in a straight line as we rowed up the river!  My arms were sore the next day!  On our trip, we saw a heron, another weird bird that we didn't know the name of, and then a cute little beaver swimming along next to us with some long grass!  It was so quick, I didn't get a picture, but he was a cute little guy.  Why don't people go for canoe trips on the Rivanna all the time?  It was wonderful.  

check out my official hat!  

Blue Ridge Mountains

The drive from Boston to Charlottesville takes me 11 hours almost to the minute!  With the rain and storms this week, I was expecting a long drive, but when I got into PA, things cleared up.  Everytime I enter Virginia, I feel like the mountains and clouds welcome me home in all their glory.  It could be a perfectly clear, blue bird day or, as it was this trip... there could be storm clouds to my left in Shenandoah with half rainbows appearing over the mountains and then beautiful blue skies, marshmallow clouds, and sunshine to my right.  Virginia is the most beautiful hometown state there could be.

view of crazy clouds from I-81 South

I love driving through Virginia, and especially as you cut over into Charlottesville and get to cross over the Blue Ridge Mountains.  I had to stop at one scenic view to take pictures... 

It smelled of fresh rain and though you can't see it well in this picture, everything down here is vibrant green.  It's almost like a highlighter green, it's so bright!  Maybe it's also seeing spring growth after being in Boston where the snow has finally melted and we can finally see the brown, soggy grass.  Spring is in full bloom here, leaves on the trees, grass, bloomed and flowering trees.  Ok, well here's a quick view from the front yard!

on the left you will note a rubber snake hanging from the tree branch, c/o Mr. Johnny Mayo

I'm right back to work with RCS, which is fun.  This is an exciting week for the staff, as 2 of the part timers are in finals week, and RCS is hosting it's Rivanna Sojourn on Saturday morning.  This is a paddle on the river, led by RCS staff with kayaks, paddles, and lunch provided.  I missed the Fall Sojourn, so I'm excited to see what the turn out is like.  

On Tuesday, I got the chance to table for RCS at an event at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports (BRMS).

I think my time as Merch point person really paid off here

This corner of the store usually holds Kayaks, but doubles as an event space!

The event was a "Lunch and Learn" hosted by the Rivanna River Basin Commission.  The RRBC invited two speakers for the talk, one from Scenic Virginia and a representative from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).  There were a lot of representatives from local organizations focused on preserving natural resources, as well as some folks from Senator Warner's office and other local branches of government.  It was an interesting turn out and there was a lot of mingling and networking that happened...

folks start trickling in

I got a whole page of additions to the RCS email list!  *Patagonians may recognize a fjord flannel behind me

Though the speakers acknowledged that they were "preaching to the choir" at this presentation, it seemed like everyone got energized by the event.  For my first tabling ever, I thought it went well, and I learned that I can use my customer service skills in many different settings!  I may not know the answer to everyone's questions about RCS and the Rivanna, but I know how to redirect and satisfy them enough to be interested in what the group is doing, and maybe even get them on the email list!  It was a lot of fun!
Now it's back to the office for me today.  We're expecting another storm this afternoon, which will likely cancel my plans to paddle down the river with one of the RCS River Guardians today.  We were planning to kayak through town a little, but the water levels are pretty high from the rain over the past few days already.  So, I may have to delay my first paddle experience on a river until Saturday's event.  That's all for now!

Well, I am gearing up to head south again!  The weather is warming up, which means the river is coming alive again after the long winter.  RCS will be hosting it's annual Spring Sojourn next Saturday, April 25, where the community will join together to paddle the Rivanna Reservoir.  I'm excited to get back to the river and be able to help RCS with this major event of the year for them.  I'm also nervously(?) excited for my first time kayaking on a river!! I've been in plenty of boats/kayaks/canoes before on lakes, even on a sailboat on the Charles River in Boston, but never like this: in a single person kayak, on a moving river.  Luckily the Rivanna doesn't seem to be a terribly rough river to navigate, as it's a bit smaller than it's larger tributaries, such as the James River.  I should make it through the experience safe and sound... but I'll keep you posted and take pictures!  My baggies and quick-drying fabrics will definitely come in handy this trip. :)

See you in beautiful, blooming Charlottesville, Virginia in just a couple of days!