Springtime is here and the James River Association is offering FREE native plants and rain barrel workshops to City of Petersburg residents. These workshops are intended to educate residents and empower them to implement river-friendly conservation practices at home.
April is Native Plant Month in Virginia! Adding regionally native plants to gardens and landscapes in your yard is an easy river-friendly conservation practice that can be implemented at home. Regionally native plants incorporated into gardens and landscapes reduce stormwater runoff leaving your yard.
If you reside in the City of Petersburg and have an interest in learning about regionally native plants and how to incorporate them into your yard, join the James River Association for a native plants workshop at Petersburg Public Library.
Native Plants Workshop in Petersburg
Date & Time: Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 6:00 pm
Location: Petersburg Public Library, 201 W. Washington Street, Petersburg, Virginia
Fee: Free to residents of the City of Petersburg
Join the James River Association at Petersburg Public Library on Wednesday, April 23, at 6:00 pm for a workshop about native plants. Participants will learn about the benefits of native plants, how they support local wildlife, and where to source them. Registration for this workshop is free and each registration comes with a regionally native plant courtesy of Local Ecotype Richmond Natives (LERN). Click here for more information.
Conserve Water at Home Using a Rain Barrel
Rain barrels are an easy and economical way to water plants and reduce stormwater runoff at home. Did you know that a single rain barrel can harvest hundreds, even thousands of gallons of rainwater annually? That’s A LOT of water conserved!
If you reside in the City of Petersburg and have an interest in installing one at home, join the James River Association for a rain barrel workshop on Saturday, April 26.
Rain Barrel Workshop in Petersburg
Date & Time: Saturday, April 26, 2025 at 11:00 am
Location: City of Petersburg Public Works & Utilities, 1340 E. Washington Street, Petersburg, Virginia
Fee: Free to residents of the City of Petersburg
Join the James River Association for a rain barrel workshop at the City of Petersburg Public Works & Utilities on Saturday, April 26, at 11:00 am. Staff members will instruct workshop participants on how to assemble and install rain barrels at home. The registration fee for the workshop is free and each registration comes with a 55-gallon drum and RainRecycle Rain Barrel Kit from The Rain Barrel Depot. Click here for more information.
Join the James River Association’s River Hero Homes program!
River Hero Homes is a community of stewards that realize the first step to a cleaner James River starts at home. Residents of the James River’s 10,000 square-mile watershed take a pledge and commit to adopting a minimum of three of the five following river-friendly conservation actions that reduce stormwater runoff.
- Scoop the poop. Pick up pet waste to prevent bacteria pollution.
- Use native plants. Use regionally native plants and remove invasive plants in gardens and landscapes.
- Reduce herbicide and pesticide use. Reduce or eliminate herbicide and pesticide use to promote a healthy ecosystem.
- Reduce fertilizer use. Reduce or eliminate fertilizer use to reduce nutrient pollution entering our waterways and encourage healthy soil by using compost.
- Conserve water. Reduce household water use and install a rain barrel to harvest rainwater for watering needs if possible.
Click here for more information about River Hero Homes and become a hero for the river today!
River Hero Homes would not be possible without generous support from Altria and DuPont Clear into the Future. Their support allows the James River Association to promote conservation and stewardship practices that support a healthy James River.