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VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL

This event continues to expand to meet industry needs. What started a few years ago as a two-day conference with a vision to uniquely serve the industry has expanded to four full days of classes and service. Virginia Beach remained our host city. Day one was devoted to the Service Project at Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Center and the adjacent Pleasure House Point. Days two and three were dedicated to classes at the Oceanfront Sheraton hotel with a series of seminars on Natives and Invasive Plants in the landscape. Participants learned about great business opportunities in these two emerging areas of landscaping. Pesticide and fertilizer certification and recertification classes consumed day two. Nearly 200 persons attended to obtain or renew state mandated certifications.

A new enterprise happened on days three and four: a condensed Lawn/Landscape Short Course. Basically, that two-day event focused on topics a student learns in the first semester of Horticulture 101. A special treat on the second day was moving the class to the Hampton Roads AREC. Participants were given hands-on training by Virginia Tech experts and toured the insect lab.

The Oceanfront Sheraton was prepared for our education and social time!

Next year’s Come to the Bay is moving! It will be held at the Hampton Roads AREC ! Mark your calendars for the week of January 22, 2024 for it.

Another Successful Service Project

“What an incredible day. I don’t know how many times I can say “thank you” as it doesn’t seem like enough. We can’t wait to watch everything grow. Thank you again for everything – it was a perfect day.”

Chris Gorri, Chesapeake Bay Foundation

The Service Project gets better each year!

In 2021, our inaugural year, we provided and planted 6,000 American Beachgrass plants at the Virginia Beach oceanfront. In the past two years, they have taken root, meshed together, and have protected valuable beaches from the ravages of many storms. Last year, we provided and planted 15,000 of those same plants at a City of Virginia Beach boat ramp off Shore Drive; dramatically located beneath Lesner Bridge. While a winter storm took about a fifth of those plants out to sea – landscaping the Chesapeake Bay, no doubt – the remaining plants took root and are doing their job of protecting the Lynnhaven River where it meets open water.

The 2023 Service Project was the most ambitious of them all. On Monday, January 23 we restored a 1,700 square foot bioswale at the entrance of Pleasure House Point and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Center. In addition to clearing the bioswale of invasive plants and planting appropriate perennials and self-seeding annuals, once again we provided and planted American Beachgrass plants. The bioswale project restored a failed engineering feature to its original purpose. Grass plants will prevent erosion and reduce foot traffic in areas designated for turtles and other wildlife.

As in 2022, the 2023 Service Project concluded with presentations by City of Virginia Beach Public School Environmental Studies students. These high school juniors and seniors researched an ecological topic (bioswales), expertly presented the topic, and fielded questions from the audience.