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Check out the page to receive coupons from our sponsors and updates on the campaign!
 What is the P.U.P. Club? P.U.P. stands for Pick Up Poop. The P.U.P. Club was formed by the Richmond Regional Pet Waste Committee as a way to recognize pet owners that are doing their part by picking up after pets and properly disposing of the waste.
The goal of the Richmond Regional Pet Waste Committee is to educate the public about the environmental impacts of pet waste and the importance of picking up after pets. The committee also aims to create uniformity in the information on pet waste that is being spread by the localities in the Richmond area. Committee representatives include state and local government, non-profits and other constituent groups in the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan area. The committee was formed in response to many of the area's rivers and streams being impaired by bacteria, including bacteria from pet waste.
Watershed Educational Activity Sheets & MJRT Beverage Coasters are available!
The Roundtable has James River Watershed Educational Activity Sheets available at no charge. The activity sheets educate children and adults about watersheds and pollution prevention. They display a watershed illustration that can be colored by kids and a variety of puzzles and activities. We have distributed tens of thousands of sheets to organizations throughout the James River watershed. One of the main goals of this project is to reach a diverse audience. If you are interested in distributing the sheets in your community please consider a variety of venues! In order to obtain activity sheets please contact info@mjrt.org. To view the activity sheet, please click here.
The same Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund Grant used to design our activity sheets also supported to the reprinting of our popular beverage coasters. The beverage coasters contain 5 ways to help the James River. To view the beverage coaster and its contents, please click here.
More information about the James River Watershed Educational Activity Sheets and Beverage Coasters can be found on our featured projects page.
Watershed Announcements & Events
State and Local Webcasts on Communications for Climate and Clean Energy Programs
(December 4, 11 and 18, 2013)
On December 4, 11, and 18, 2013, EPA's State and Local Climate and Energy Program will host a three-part webcast series on communications. This series will provide information on communications strategies and methods that state and local governments can use to ensure the ongoing success of climate and clean energy programs. The structure of the three webcasts will parallel the general phases of program development and implementation: attracting stakeholder support and participation, sustaining change, and gaining momentum from program successes. Participants will learn how to design communications strategies to engage and empower stakeholders, use communications methods to instigate and sustain behavior change and foster individual and community solutions, and effectively communicate their programs' successes and resulting benefits to diverse audiences.
Webcast 1: Gaining Support & Attracting Participation through Communication - December 4, 2013, 1:00-2:30 PM (EST)
This webcast will explore how to gain support from partners and attract participation in climate and clean energy programs. It will address the importance of developing a communications plan and using it as a framework throughout the course of the initiative and cover tactics that engage, empower, and transform community-level participation into actionable results. The importance of understanding intended audiences and tailoring strategies to their needs will be emphasized. Click here to register.
Webcast 2: The Role of Communication in Ensuring Sustained Behavior Change - December 11, 2013, 1:00-2:30 PM (EST)
This webcast will address how communications tools can be used throughout the implementation of climate and clean energy programs to achieve behavior change and ensure sustained, lasting impacts. Key points that will be discussed include the role of behavior change in the success of a program; the value of communicating program results and successes in sustaining change; and how to assess behavior change. Click here to register.
Webcast 3: Using Effective Communication to Showcase Program Successes - December 18, 2013, 1:00-2:30 PM (EST)
This webcast will focus on how communities can effectively showcase the benefits and successes of a clean energy initiative to ensure additional funding opportunities, continued engagement, and sustained behavior change. How to encourage replication of successes will also be addressed. Click here to register.
21st Annual James River Parade of Lights
(December 14, 2013 - Chesterfield/Henrico/Richmond)
In 1989, Harvey Price, then the dock master at Kingsland Reach Marina in Henrico County, decided to decorate his boat and cruise the James. Many other boaters laughed at him, but when they saw how
much fun Mr. Price was having and how much people along the river appreciated his efforts, they decided to join him. In 1992, the James River Advisory Council (then called the James River Task Force)
approached the boaters with the idea that the parade could be a yearly holiday event, and the official James River Parade of Lights was born. Over the years, the parade has grown, and today features
official viewing sites in multiple localities. Thousands throughout the region now consider the parade a cherished holiday tradition.
This year's event is on Saturday, December 14. Viewing sites are available in Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield.
For more details about the event or to register your boat for the parade, check out the JRAC website for complete details.
25th Annual Environment Virginia Symposium
(April 8-10, 2014 at Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia)
The theme for the 2014 symposium is "Collective Impact: Working Together to Create a Positive Environmental Legacy". The program will include three plenary sessions and more than 40 breakout sessions on topics including groundwater supply and quality, energy and stormwater management and environmental policy.
Early registration ends November 30, 2013. To learn more or to register, visit http://www.vmi.edu/Content.aspx?id=10737419910.
For more information, contact Kathy Wirtanen at wirtanenki@vmi.edu.
Event hosted/sponsored by the VA Military Institute, VA DEQ, VA Environmental Endowment, VA Marine Resources Commission, and VA DCR.
Grant Opportunities
Urban Small Waters Grants Competition 2013/2014
(Applications Due: December 16, 2013)
The goal of this program is to fund research, investigations, experiments, training, surveys, studies, and demonstrations that will advance the restoration of urban waters by improving water quality through activities that also support community revitalization and other local priorities. Projects proposed for funding must take place entirely within and focus on one of 18 specific Eligible Geographic Areas.
To learn more or to apply, visit http://www2.epa.gov/urbanwaters/urban-waters-small-grants.
For more information, contact EPA Urban Waters: http://www2.epa.gov/urbanwaters/forms/contact-us. |
EPA Five STAR and Urban Waters Fund
(Applications Due: February 5, 2014)
The Five STAR and Urban Waters fund was created in FY2013 by joining EPA's long standing and very popular Five Star Program with Urban Waters Program funding into one RFP that represents a public-private partnership leveraging federal funding 2:1. The Five Star/Urban Waters Restoration Program seeks to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial assistance to diverse local partnerships for wetland, forest, riparian and coastal habitat restoration, stormwater management, outreach and stewardship with a particular focus on water quality, watersheds and the habitats they support especially those found in urban areas. The RFP can be found at:http://www.nfwf.org/fivestar/Pages/home.aspx |
Newsletters
The Roundtable Newsletter is distributed through Constant Contact. Please contact us at info@mjrt.org to be added to the Roundtable distribution list. |