Category: Meeting

Hope this update finds everyone doing well, staying healthy and keeping active! AND it looks like spring is finally here and maybe the temperatures will stabilize so we know for sure it’s sticking around!  Our live oaks that were beat up pretty badly this past winter are starting to recover nicely.  Encourage folks you know to not prune yet as many trees or branches that look dead still may recover as well!

If you receive this email and haven’t yet been to one of our meetings, we welcome you to join us “regular attenders” as we pursue our mission to promote, protect, preserve and plant live oaks in our area.  We really need your ideas, energy and help!

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MEMBERSHIP

Please join us as a new member or renew your membership for 2026 (if you haven’t already done so)! Remember dues and donations are tax deductible – a receipt will be provided. Details on how to make payment are at our website: https://friendsofliveoaks.org/join-us/

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NEWS UPDATES 

On Tuesday, March 31st we had a great on-site meeting with folks from FOLO and Westminster Canterbury about a potential new pocket park full of liv oaks that could be developed on the unimproved portion of Urchin Road at Ocean Shore Avenue.  

We also sent a letter that had been approved at our March 16th meeting to Governor Spanberger requesting that she sign House Bill 549 which would increase opportunities for localities to establish tree canopy goals and to enable localities in Virginia to adopt tree preservation ordinances.  This bill becomes law on July 1st – now comes the hard work of having Virginia Beach adopt tree protection measures that this bill will allow as a local option. 

Work has also been underway by FOLO members to create a sign to accompany the commemorative tree planting undertaken in February at Pleasure House Point with Environmental Study Program students.

We have donated 70 of our live oak saplings form our AREC nursery to the VA Department of Forestry (VDOF) for planting by the Nansemond River tribe on some of their ancestral lands owned by the tribe in Suffolk to help restore a native plant forest.  We also donated another 12 saplings to VDOF for their new live oak nursery being established in Sussex County.

We have received a number of messages from folks who are interested in donating new seedlings and saplings that have been uncovered on their properties since last spring. that need to be transplanted.  We will make plans to schedule a work session to accomplish this at the May 19th meeting.

We gave a presentation to the Friends of First Landing State Park on May 5th about the Role and History of Maritime Forests in Virginia Beach.  We had good attendance and active participation from a number of the Friends group members as well as guests.

Our new seedlings being grown from the historic Willoughby Oak at Naval Station Norfolk and the Algernourne Oak at Fort Monroe are sprouting and growing well under the care of FOLO member Mark Warren at this home on the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River in Virginia Beach.  By fall we should be able to move them to our AREC nursery to allow them to mature more.  Fort Monroe is interested in establishing a live oak grove with some of them.  Thanks to VFOF for a grant to help fund this project.

We are making great progress on our LIve Oak Treasure Map project being coordinated by Vivian Clark.  Once completed, treasure hunters will be able to explore special live oak trees throughout Virginia Beach and learn their stories.

FOLO sends a big thank you out to the South Hampton Roads Chapter of the VA Native Plant Society for their generous donation to us to continue our work.  This along with our other partnerships with organizations in the Commonwealth and region are helping us make notable progress on or mission and goals!

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AGENDA and CALENDAR 

Attached is the draft agenda for our next meeting on Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at 4:15 PM (PLEASE NOTE THIS DATE CHANGE FOR THIS MEETING, OUR NEW REGULAR STARTING TIME and TRY TO NOT ARRIVE EARLY as students and teachers are working until 4:00 PM).  Also attached to the agenda is a calendar of coming events. Please email any suggested additions or changes for the agenda or calendar to me. 

At this month’s meeting we will be focusing on new business, and discussing how the events since our last meeting have been going (focusing on laws, ordinances and regulations at the City and State level related to tree preservation and replacement, upcoming spring events, reviewing our progress on meeting our adopted goals for 2026, and ideas on how to step up our public awareness efforts for FOLO and our mission).  We will also have a guest speaker to tell us about plans underway to reestablish live oaks at the new Lamberts int Park in Norfolk where they are hoping to establish a native tree buffer including live oaks.  

Come join us and get involved with us on these and other efforts! We welcome your ideas and input and hope you will join us in person or virtually.

This month we are meeting in person at our regular location – the Environmental Studies Program Classroom (the far east stairs at the Brock Environmental Center, 3663 Marlin Bay Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23455). 

You also have the option to participate in the meeting by signing in to Zoom.  You will need to download the app to your device if you have not previously done so. 

If you receive this email and haven’t yet been to one of our meetings, we welcome you to join us “regular attenders” as we pursue our mission to promote, protect, preserve and plant live oaks in our area.  We really need your ideas, energy and help!

Attached is the draft agenda for our next meeting on December 15, 2025 at 4:15 PM (PLEASE NOTE THE NEW TIME AS WE HAVE BEEN REQUESTED TO COME A LITTLE LATER SO THAT STUDENTS AND TEACHERS AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PROGRAM CAN COMPLETE THEIR WORK DAY).  Also attached to the agenda is a calendar of coming events. Please email any suggested additions or changes for the agenda or calendar to me. 

At this month’s meeting we will be discussing how the events since our last meeting have been going, upcoming January events, reviewing our adopted goals for 2026 and making plans on how to start accomplishing them, and how we can step up our efforts to increase public awareness of FOLO and our mission.  Come join us and get involved with us on these and other efforts! We welcome your ideas and input and hope you will join us in person or virtually.

If you haven’t done so already, please join us as a new member or renew your membership for 2026! Remember dues and donations are tax deductible – a receipt will be provided. Details on how to make payment are at our website: https://friendsofliveoaks.org/join-us/

This month we are meeting in person at our regular location – the Environmental Studies Program Classroom (the far east stairs at the Brock Environmental Center, 3663 Marlin Bay Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23455). 

If you receive this email and haven’t yet been to one of our meetings, we welcome you to join us “regular attenders” as we pursue our mission to promote, protect, preserve and plant live oaks in our area.  We really need your ideas, energy and help!

Attached is the draft agenda for our next meeting on November 17, 2025 at 4:00 PM – and attached calendar of coming events. Please email any suggested additions or changes for the agenda or calendar to me. 

At this month’s meeting we will be discussing how the events since our last meeting have been going, upcoming fall events, finalizing our goals for 2026, and how we can step up our efforts to increase public awareness of FOLO and our mission.  Come join us and get involved with us on these and other efforts! We welcome your ideas and input and hope you will join us in person or virtually.

If you haven’t done so already, please join us as a new member or renew your membership for 2026! Remember dues and donations are tax deductible – a receipt will be provided. Details on how to make payment are at our website: https://friendsofliveoaks.org/join-us/

PLEASE NOTE

This month we are meeting in person at our regular location – the Environmental Studies Program Classroom (the far east stairs at the Brock Environmental Center, 3663 Marlin Bay Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23455).