Bat Boxes In Bryan Park

Bats scouting for warm nighttime shelters and dark daytime hideaways should detect with their sharp echolocation the three bat boxes Scout Sam Whipple recently placed in Joseph Bryan Park.

A member of Scout Troop 770, Sam, 15, is the son of Keith and Cabel Whipple of Henrico County and a freshman at Douglas Freeman High School.

By Kathy Butler Springston 11.2023

Copperheads Are Richmond Natives

While pulling weeds in Richmond's Byrd Park last August, Karl Huber felt a sharp pain in his right index finger.

"It felt like a pin went straight through my finger," said Huber, 70, who lives in the Fan District.

Huber, a longtime park volunteer, had been bitten by a copperhead. The venomous snake had been hiding in a bunch  of weeds Huber had grabbed. The snake pierced Huber's heavy leather glove with one fang.

By Rex Springston 07.2023

Small Battles for the Planet: Choosing Biodiversity Over Conformity

A couple years ago, I spoke with Catherine Farmer, who has been instrumental in the removal of invasive species and the reintroduction of native plants on Belle Isle. During the interview she handed me a book titled “Bringing Nature Home” which was written more than decade ago by Douglas Tallamy. “He’s the Rachel Carson for our generation,” Catherine said “We have so many acres of grasslands and the habitat is so fragmented now that we don’t have enough masses of uninterrupted habitat for species to exist, and we’re having a massive extinction.”

By Charles McGuigan 08.2022

Saving the Environment One Small Step at a Time

Small things can make a big difference. And a combination of these tiny actions can actually have a dramatic environmental impact, improving, among other things, water quality and increased biodiversity.

By Charles McGuigan 06.2022

Riverine: Help Preserve Virginia’s Natural

Resources as a Volunteer with Riverine

The Riverine Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program have opened applications for their 2022 training class for prospective volunteers.  Adults who are interested in conserving and managing Virginia’s natural resources can learn about training and volunteer service by visiting their website or emailing getmoreriverineinfo@riverinemn.org

11.2021

Purple Haze With Adolph White

Adolph White was a naturalist long before he knew what one was. He could step out into a wild world that was “like a friend I depended on,” says Adolph, who grew up in the Spring Grove community of Surry County, where his parents, Roosevelt and Ethel White, worked as sharecroppers. 

By Kathy Butler Springston 08.2020

Protests Work: Atlantic Coast Pipeline Dismantled

On July 5, 2020, Dominion Power and Duke Energy formally announced that they were canceling their efforts to build a 600 mile pipeline from West Virginia, through Virginia, to the North Carolina coast.

By Jack R. Johnson 07.2020