Nansemond River High School invited the chapter to attend their Earth Day festivities this year. On Monday, April 24th Tim and Elaine Doxey set up an information table in the school’s gymnasium to share information with students and faculty members about the Izaak Walton League of America as well as chapter specific activities and community involvement. Several other groups such as the Nansemond River Preservation Alliance, Suffolk City Public Works and TFC Recycling also participated in the event.
Students were encouraged to participate in the event as well. Many students set up displays along the perimeter of the gym depicting various environmental topics. The displays were designed to be interactive in order to draw attention to them as well as keep the students interested in what they had to say.
One of the things we learned at the event was that Virginia no longer has student volunteer hours as a requirement for high school graduation. The requirement was apparently removed as a result of Covid-19 restrictions and has not been reinstated. That may explain why students have not participated in recent river clean ups or other activities to the extent they did prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The event was fun and informative, and we look forward to being invited back next year.