Earth Day Festival

On April 18, Justin and I ventured off to the Richmond Earth Day and Fish Festival in the Manchester Warehouse District.

We started off with the Fish Festival and joined a large group fishing in the James River. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality was teaching groups on how to test the quality of water, clean the river, and introduced us to the wildlife that resided in the James, such as shads. Not too far away were a few cormorants diving into the river. Many of them were skilled enough to catch a few fish themselves. Maybe they were showing the people fishing how it’s done.

We walked over to the Richmond Railroad Museum to learn about the Old Dominion Chapter. We also looked over several before-and-after photos of trains that have been restored. For many pieces, they couldn’t just order the part in a catalog to restore the train, they were custom made by hand to fit perfectly.

Later, we joined the Earth Day Festival. Several bands and artists performed on multiple stages. And there were tons of vendors that had plentiful information!! We were fascinated with what companies are doing now to be more earth friendly. For example, Atlantic Solar, a Richmond-based company, can change your individual slate roof tiles to small solar panels—and you couldn’t even tell the difference from afar. Green Duck, another Richmond company, offered biodegradable trash bags, plates, cups, utensils, and even doggie bags all either made from corn or sugarcane.

Tricycle Gardens, another locally based company, plants gardens throughout the city. The gardens are open to the public and encourage communities to work together to make Richmond a greener city. Justin and I had been talking about starting our own garden, but we weren’t sure we wanted to invest in the large community garden just yet. So instead, we picked up a few seed packets that Southern States donated, and decided to start our own small garden in the backyard.

The next day we planted our own garden. Carrots, cumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, collards, basil, and oregano…oh my! So hopefully, with a little rain, sun, and love, our seeds will produce some yummy produce. I haven’t done this before, so I’m crossing my fingers…(I’ve heard of a rain dance, is there a such thing as a garden dance?)...