Give the Gift of a Healthy River this Holiday Season

Thinking of the perfect gift can be a tough task during the holiday season. Here are a few gift ideas that also benefit the James River Association. By giving these gifts, you are helping us continue to reach toward our goal of a healthy James River.

• James River Association Membership  - Members also receive discounts of up to 20% at outfitters throughout the watershed.
• James River Blend Coffee from Blanchard’s Coffee – Clean water makes great coffee. The James River Blend is a perfect coffee to complement cool, crisp mornings on the river.
• Great Return from Hardywood Park Craft Brewery – This West Coast style IPA is a great gift for beer lovers.
• Tycoon Tackle fishing rod – Custom built fly fishing and spinning rods specifically designed for fishing the mighty James from a world renowned outfitter.
• James River art series – These posters, fine art prints, t-shirts and notecards are perfect for Richmonders who love the James.
• Amazon Smile – Use Amazon Smile when making your Amazon purchases. Make sure to designate the James River Association as your charity of choice.

For more gift ideas, visit our online Gift Shop. We hope you have a happy holiday!

Volunteering for the James

We are so thankful for our volunteers. People just like you give their precious time to help us create a cleaner, healthier watershed.

Meet Jose Espinoza a 24 year old IT professional originally from Stafford, VA. His love for the James led him to clean up trash in the Richmond region, as well as translating river information to Spanish to bring awareness to the Latino population.  Here’s what Jose had to say about his experience volunteering:

I moved to Richmond about 6 years ago to attend Virginia Commonwealth University and graduated in 2013. Like many VCU students, I had my first encounter with the James River by hanging out at Belle Isle. Every time I went to the river, it gifted me and my friends with new experiences and great quality time. Belle Isle brings so many people together but people also take it for granted. 

 After seeing so many people at Belle Isle throw trash on the ground and sometimes in the river, I decided to do something about it. I initially reached out to James River Association to volunteer in their self-directed trash cleanup program and have picked up trash along the Pipeline Trail. The James River Association also tapped into my cultural background to help them bring river awareness to the growing Latino population in the Richmond area. I helped them in translating pamphlets and newsletter that will educate Spanish speakers about the conservation of natural resources, good habits for the river and even volunteering opportunities. I really enjoyed this aspect of my volunteering experience because it helped the organization reach a different audience they wouldn’t have reached without my help 

I would highly encourage Richmond residents to volunteer with the James River Association because it feels good to give back to the river that has given so much to you in one way or another.

If you are interested in volunteering, contact Ben Hawkins, Volunteer Coordinator, at bhawkins@jrava.org. 

Thank You

On this Thanksgiving, the James River Association wants to express our gratitude to all of our members and supporters. We couldn’t carry out our mission to protect and restore the health of the James River without…

• Our volunteers throughout Virginia who generously donate their time to help better the watershed. This past year you have helped plant over 1,700 trees and collect over 15,000 pounds of trash.
• RiverRats who patrol over 800 miles of the James and its tributaries. These dedicated volunteers keep watch over the river and complete action projects that better their communities and the health of their waterways.
• The members of our Action Network who make their opinions heard and strengthen our voice, the voice for the river. And the River Hero Homes who proudly take action to reduce pollution at home.
  
• Our members who help provide education programs for students at the James River Ecology School, who support our events celebrating the river, and who helped us reach a score of B- in the 2015 State of the James report. 

Your dedication to the James has strengthened this organization. We couldn’t do the work we do without people like you.

As we look back on 2015, we are proud of the accomplishments and the progress we have made over the past year. The James River Association thanks you. And more importantly, the river thanks you.

Volunteering for the James

We love our RiverRat volunteers! They act as the James River’s first line of citizen defense by assisting our Riverkeepers as the eyes and ears of the river and its tributaries. RiverRats come from all over the watershed, are all ages and have many different backgrounds. You don’t need to be a scientist or skilled paddler to become a RiverRat.

Meet Fred Kelly and Will Maddox, Lower James RiverRats. Fred is a retired mental health professional who currently lives in Dinwiddie County. His family has owned a cabin on the James River for five generations. This is where his father taught him to paddle and introduced him to the joys of being on the river. However, it was at that time a river in trouble. In those days the James was a dumping ground and it was not uncommon to find the shore lined with dead fish due to this pollution. There were fewer ducks, geese, osprey and virtually no eagles.

Thanks to the Clean Water Act and the efforts of local organizations like the James River Association, the river and its wildlife have bounced back. It is once again a place for recreation and creating memories. Fred shares his experiences on the James with his grandson Will. Fred says “Becoming a River Rat has greatly enhanced my enjoyment of being on the river by allowing me to become a protector of it as well. I only wish that I could have been doing this since I began paddling in the mid 1950s. I am especially pleased that my 15 year old grandson, Will, who took the River Rat training with me, will be in place to continue monitoring the river that he has grown to love long after I am no longer able to do so. I strongly encourage anyone who enjoys being on the river to get the training for becoming a River Rat. This is an opportunity that has been a long time coming. Don't miss it. Your river needs you.”

Here is what Fred had to say about his first RiverRat patrol with his grandson this past October:

Will and I have been paddling the James all of our lives and feel a need to preserve and protect this beautiful river. So when we heard about the River Rat program we were excited to get involved.

On October 23^rd, we went on our first official River Rat patrol with the mission of shore clean-up. Hurricane Joaquin had produced flooding which carried lots of plastic, glass and other debris onto the shoreline. Our goal was to begin dealing with this problem by cleaning the shore on Tar Bay, part of our designated patrol area. After gathering and bagging trash from about 100 yards of shoreline, we headed out in our boat to collect a very large piece of debris that a previous storm had deposited on a tree nearby. It had been an eye-sore for months and we had talked about removing it all summer. This was the day. How good it was to see that pink, plastic car in our boat rather than on that tree! 

Next, we decided to make a run around Coggins Point and up Powells Creek to check out its status after the hurricane. Powells Creek is beautiful any time of year with its mixture of hardwoods and marsh but this day was exceptional. We motored up about a mile or more into an area where few people venture and stopped to take pictures. The first thing Will spotted as he stepped out of the boat was a very lively crayfish. He had learned earlier this year while on a James River Expedition that crayfish are a good indicator of pollution-free water. So we are happy to report the good water conditions in that part of the creek. We also found no trash to clean up. How lucky we are to have such a pristine area to enjoy, and now, to help watch over.

Assisting the RiverKeepers on the James makes a recreational outing on the river very gratifying. It lets us give back to the river that has always given us so much pleasure.

Need another excuse to get out on the water? Want to make a difference while enjoying your time outdoors? Email Ben Hawkins at bhawkins@jrava.org to learn more about the RiverRats program or other volunteer opportunities. 

Clean water means good fishing in the James

Tim O’Brien, president of Tycoon Tackle, Inc., has a passion for the waters he fishes. And he fishes a lot. After all, he came by his passion as honestly as a fisherman could- through his father. In 1935, Frank O’Brien founded Tycoon Tackle in Miami, gear for the era’s renowned sportsmen; sportsmen like Zane Grey and Ernest Hemingway.

“My dad just happened to come on the scene about that time and he developed these fishing rods that…were not breaking, and they started catching these giant fish,” Tim O’Brien said.

Frank O’Brien’s passion was startlingly interrupted in World War II, forcing the company to retool production to stay in business. Making fishing gear took a backseat to making aircraft landing gear. The company resumed making fishing gear after the war with a steady decline over the years due to the advent of mass produced fishing rods.

 All that changed close to a decade ago when Tim O’Brien led the rebirth of a once legendary tackle company producing bamboo, glass and graphite fly rods, and spinning and trolling rods. Armed with a sincere love of the sport and a doctoral degree in fisheries policy from Virginia Commonwealth University, O’Brien is poised to bring history to life. And his goal is to support organizations as passionate as he is about clean water.

In 2014 Tim O’Brien and Pat Calvert, the Upper James RiverKeeper for the James River Association decided to collaborate on a series of James River rods that would benefit the mission of preserving and protecting the health of America’s Founding River.

“Any business that relies on healthy, clean water is a good business in our opinion,” Calvert said.

This October we are proud to see the release of four rods, two spinning rods and two fly rods, specifically designed for use in the historic James River. Proceeds from each sale benefit our mission to preserve and protect the river for future generations. The rods will be custom, built-to-order, co-branded and appropriate for fishing sections of the James River. They will be available online at Tycoon Tackle and in finer outfitters throughout the watershed.

James RiverRats Raft-Up

During the weekend of October 17^th thirty of our most dedicated volunteers, our River Rats, met for the 5th annual RiverRats Raft-Up. This year’s Raft-Up was held in Scottsville, VA at the James River Inn on a 300-foot bluff overlooking the James and the vast watershed that RiverRats have been patrolling and protecting since 2011.

Our keynote speaker, Dr. Sarah Milov professor of History at the University of Virginia, kicked off the day with an inspiring talk about the power of grassroots activism, specifically drawing parallels between the non-smoker campaign for clean public air and our fight for a pristine natural resource and clean drinking water. Next, during a two-hour workshop on Patrols and Action Project planning, James River Association staff and RiverRats worked to calibrate our efforts and define strategies which will be implemented over the next year.

Two major strategies, and several minor adjustments, will be immediately undertaken. First, data from patrols, of which there are approximately 20 per month, will be more consistently reported, publicly and to other RiverRats, via monthly email updates and an interactive GoogleMap. Secondly, we will work to leverage existing technologies to streamline reporting and to expand patrols. We are working to utilize a GPS-enabled smartphone app called WaterReporter and we are considering the development of online RiverRat trainings to accommodate conservationists who may not be able to attend one of our four trainings held throughout the watershed each year.

After the strategy session, it was time to enjoy our world-class natural resource by paddling the Mighty James, award our outstanding RiverRats of the year, and finally to relax to the soothing, mountain sounds of the Rockfish Gap Band.

If you are interested in becoming a River Rat to keep watch over the James, the Raft-Up is one of many perks. You also have an opportunity to spend time paddling and protecting the river you love. Consider attending one of our upcoming trainings. If you are already a River Rat, we sincerely thank you for your commitment to protecting the James River now and for future generations. 

Volunteering for the James

James River Association volunteers come in all shapes and sizes. They live all over the watershed, have many different skills and can be any age.

Meet our October Volunteer of the Month, Kiersten Hines. She’s a 13 year old Richmonder who has a passion for learning new things, playing the saxophone, volunteering and of course spending time on the James. She likes to hike the trails along the river with her dogs and go swimming with her family. Kiersten took on a research project related to the Our River at Risk advocacy campaign. Here’s what she had to say about her experience:

My task was to research and inventory all of the Surface Water Discharges in the James River from 1988 to 2003 using data from the Environmental Protection Agency. I chose to volunteer because I think that the environment has provided us with so much – like food, shelter and peace – so it is only fair to give back. Saving the James is a cause I believe in, and I’m not surprised that so many other people do too.

I would encourage other people to volunteer because there is nothing more rewarding than putting time and effort into a cause you care deeply for. You could climb the highest mountain or swim the deepest sea and still not feel the happiness that you could experience working with your community to make this giant mass of dirt, water, minerals and organisms a more enjoyable place to live.

Everyone should give volunteering a chance!

Are you interested in volunteering for the James? There are all sorts of opportunities for you to get involved from planting trees, to research projects, to event volunteers and more. Sign up here to get involved today!