Two Amazing Videos

Bay Daily has two videos to recommend, one about the dedication and perseverance of Chesapeake Bay conservation volunteers, the other about the dedication and perseverance of…bald eagles.

The first video spotlights a shoreline restoration project spearheaded by a Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) volunteer in CBF’s VoiCeS program. VoiCeS – Volunteers as Chesapeake Stewards – is an eight-week course of evening classes for adult volunteers who want to learn more about Chesapeake Bay issues and go the extra mile to help save the Bay.

As a part of the class, participants agree to donate 40 hours to a conservation project of their choice or own creation. The projects typically are diverse, creative, and useful --  leading community workshops to construct rain barrels and plant rain gardens, organizing local steam cleanups, leading a “Cyclists for the Bay” trip, helping build oyster reefs, and creating conservation and restoration exhibits at local museums, to name a few.

Ann Jurczyk, a 2009 VoiCeS volunteer, decided to try to do something about a severe shoreline erosion problem at the Jamestown 4-H Center on the James River, not far from her home in James City County, Va. She researched “living shorelines,” applied for and received grant money, contacted and then roped in experts and other volunteers, and…well, watch the 5-minute video here to see how it all turned out.

And if you’re inspired and want to learn more about VoiCeS classes, contact Jess Barton in Richmond (804-780-1392) or Tanner Council in Hampton Roads (757-622-1964).

The second video is a real-time, 24-7 webcam documenting the adventures of “James” and “Virginia,” two bald eagles currently nesting on the James River in Richmond, Va.

The remote camera above the nest captures it all, from the eagle pair sprucing up the nest, to laying eggs, to carefully turning and incubating the eggs hour after hour – even as the eagles fend off dangerous predators and endure heavy winds, rain, and snow.

As the Richmond Times-Dispatch, co-sponsor of the webcam with the Center for Conservation Biology, has observed, you can’t help but be impressed with our national bird’s dedication and perseverance.

If all goes well – never a sure thing in nature – the pair’s two eggs should be hatching later this month, and the world will be able to witness the care and feeding of the young eaglets through their first attempts at flight, likely sometime in June.

The “Richmond Eagle Cam” is attracting viewers from all around the world, and thousands of fans log on daily to check on James and Virginia and their nest high above the James River. You can, too, as well as view highlights from the past several weeks, here.

Isn’t technology – and nature – amazing!

Chuck Epes
Chesapeake Bay Foundation 

Photos: Top three, Ann Jurczyk/CBF; bottom three, Center for Conservation Biology and Richmond Times-Dispatch.

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