Belle Island Habitat Restoration Work On Saturday

The Richmond Tree Stewards have a volunteer event planned for this Saturday:

We will remove invasive species, mostly privet and Japanese honeysuckle. Tree stewards, trained in invasives removal, will demonstrate proper techniques. We will mulch disturbed soil and begin to replant native trees. This will be an on-going project to restore native habitat. We hope to educate about the benefits of bio-diversity and recruit more advocates to care for Belle Isle and other James River Parks.
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Rain date is Sunday, January 18.

For more information and volunteer sign-up, please click here for their FaceBook event page.

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St. Andrew’s Epiphany Service On Sunday

From Rev. Bailey’s email, mentioning a St. Andrew’s Church event:

This Sunday, January 11 at 5:00 pm, St. Andrew’s Church (240 S. Laurel) will be offering an Epiphany Lessons and Carols Service. The service includes stunning music by the choir and musicians from around Richmond, including a piece commissioned especially for this service. Reception to follow in St. Andrew’s House (236 S. Laurel). Childcare available.

VCU Arts Cinematheque Releases Spring 2015 Schedule

Not in Oregon Hill, but nearby-

from RVA Magazine article:

VCU’s Grace Street Theater is a great venue to catch unique and touring movies, and VCU’s Cinematheque program has a wealth of great flicks coming in the next few months.

A brand new state-of-the-art 35mm projector with lenses to project in many different aspect ratios, HD digital projectors, a new screen, and Dolby Surround Digital Audio make the spot great for a good screening–not to mention all the screenings are free and open to the public!

Click here for link to program schedule.

Also, on Feb. 5, the films A River Runs Through It and Gringo Trails will be playing at the VCU Grace Street Theater as part of the RVA Environmental Film Festival.

Byrd House RENEGADE Market This Afternoon

From email announcement:
Renegade Market Banner

And Happy Happy New Year! Bonne année! Feliz Año Nuevo! nEEma Kura San!
Any good New Year’s resolution deserves great back up! And we’ve got it. The freshest, locally grown #healthyfoods are here!
This Week’s Renegade Vendors are …
Agriberry
The Byrd Farm
Deer Run Farm
Faith Farm Foods
Mugsy’s Dogtown Lounge

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And what will they have???
Broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, kale, sweet potatoes, spinach.
Eggs, honey, butter – salted and un, goat cheese in many flavors
Apples, cider, preserves, grass-fed beef – ground, roasts, liver
Chicken – whole, boneless breasts, thighs
Mizuna, arugula, mixed salad greens, mushrooms

ASK OUR GROWERS ABOUT THEIR CSAs!!
Learn more about our food producers on Facebook! Like them on Facebook! Start here!

Tuesday, January 6, 2015: Mostly cloudy early, then afternoon sunshine.
High 47F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Almost fall-like… :-)

What’s next for Byrd House Market in 2015?

What’s next for Oregon Hill, you might ask. A long-awaited major change to the roadways of the neighborhood will begin this year. The Idlewood Avenue/Grayland Avenue/I-195 Roundabout will be constructed and include improvements to the sidewalks from S. Cherry St. to Harrison St. The roundabout also facilitates Idlewood Avenue becoming a 2-way street. This will alter traffic dramatically, acknowledges that Idlewood Avenue is a major throughfare for people traveling from the near West End to Downtown businesses, and should make it easier for everyone to find Byrd House Market by car, bike and foot. If you want to see what city officials are working with, click here. We don’t have a start date yet, but it could be this spring, which means we will be working closely with the contractor and city liaisons to ensure as little encumbrance on market days as possible. It would help if the city were to hear from you about this. Parker Agelasto is our representative council member on the project, so don’t hesitate to write him: parker.agelasto@richmondgov.com!

Visit byrdhousemarket.blogspot.com for directions and more.

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Renegade Holiday Market This Afternoon

Excerpts from email announcement:

Renegade Market Banner

Eat, Drink, Be Merry….
because with all your great support, good wishes and ideas we are moving forward with planning for the 9th season of Byrd House Market. Have a wonderful holiday season!
Such good things to eat, to gift, to share, to make, to aspire to taste and taste again… What are YOU making this week?
Renegade Vendors and their Shoppers:
Agriberry
Mugsy’s Dogtown Lounge
Deer Run Farm
Faith Farm Foods
Tomten Farm

Visit byrdhousemarket.blogspot.com for directions and more.

Don’t Forget: Additional Street Cleaning Scheduled For Wednesday

Due to pleas from neighbors, there is is street cleaning scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 24 for the sides of Laurel and Holly that didn’t get leaf pickup. Don’t forget to look for signs and move cars before they get towed. Special thanks to neighbors Jimmy and Fred for helping clear sidewalks and rake leafs into gutters this past Sunday in preparation.

Neighbor Bryan C. Green

The Times Dispatch has a profile of Pine Street neighbor, Bryan C. Green, currently the Director of historic preservation for Richmond-based Commonwealth Architects.

What is the biggest challenge/opportunity in the next two to five years: “Richmond benefits from a strong urban core, and one of the great success stories over the last two decades has been the steady increase in population downtown. As the economy continues to recover from the recession, we see an increase in the number of new, infill buildings. One of the great challenges is shaping this growth, and making sure that the new buildings filling out our urban neighborhoods are quality buildings, appropriate in design for their settings.”

“The Case of the Purloined Bulbs”

This nice story begins with this FaceBook message on the the I could go on and on blog:

Hi Karen – I’m Todd and I live in Oregon Hill. A friend of mine found a box ripped open and discarded by a trash can in a Jackson Ward alley that was filled with hyacinth and tulip bulbs. Assuming it was discarded, he gave it to me, knowing I’m a gardener. I saw your name on the box and looked it up on Facebook. I just wanted to make sure that they weren’t stolen and discarded. If these are yours, I want to make sure to get them back to you. If not, I’ll be happy to plant them. I will wait to hear from you before I do. Please let me know and best wishes! Todd