DATE: Friday, September 12, 1997            TAG: 9709110206

SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER      PAGE: 14   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   83 lines

AWARENESS OF WATERSHED AREA PLANNED FOR WORKSHOP, FESTIVAL

Two events to raise awareness of the Southern Watershed Area (SWA), which encompasses the southern half of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, will take place Saturday and in October.

A watershed stakeholder workshop will be held Saturday at Salem Middle School in Virginia Beach, and to celebrate the joint interest in the SWA, a Green Sea Festival is being planned for Oct. 18 at the Northwest River Park in Chesapeake.

The SWA includes the watersheds of Back Bay, the Northwest River and North Landing River. It contains a wealth of natural and cultural resources unique to South Hampton Roads that will be celebrated at the newly planned festival. The area also contains an array of agricultural operations, a state park, two natural wildlife refuges, the drinking water supply for Chesapeake and rural residential and preservation areas overseen by the state and the Nature Conservancy.

Both of the upcoming events are a result of a joint initiative between Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, working in tandem with the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission and the Virginia Coastal Resources Management Program.

Before both cities celebrate their joint resources and the culture indigenous to the SWA at the October Green Sea Festival, a stakeholders workshop open to the public will take place Saturday.

``The workshop has been planned mainly to establish dialogue between the two cities,'' said Eric Walberg, who is with the planning district commission. ``It will be divided into two parts: the first will present an overview of the Southern Watershed Area, along with a look at some of the management initiatives that exists in both cities. It will include a view of the collaborative efforts between the cities. During the second part of the workshop, participants will break down into various groups to ask questions and conduct discussions.

``We're hoping the meeting will be attended by a broad spectrum of citizens who live in the watershed area in both cities. We're looking at participation from those involved in agriculture, from those in the development and conservation communities and from people involved with various resource-management agencies.''

Then on Oct. 18, the two cities will hold a festival in celebration of the watershed area, its resources and its culture. The first Green Sea Festival, which will take place at Northwest River Park, will combine education and entertainment in a family oriented way, said festival organizer Cindy Butler.

Over the past few months, Butler and other organizers have sought input from area individuals, agencies and groups as to who should participate and what types of activities should be planned for the outdoor fete.

When the suggestions came back, the names included the Virginia Marine Science Museum, the Virginia Canal & Navigation Society, the Back Bay Wildlife Refuge, the state Department of Environmental Quality, Chesapeake Master Gardeners, experts from the Dismal Swamp, the Tidewater Weaver's Guild and even Barnes & Noble booksellers.

Butler said entertainment will include cloggers, folk musicians, bluegrass performers, a dulcimer maker and a new puppet show produced by the Virginia Marine Science Museum. There also will be a ``Turtle Hurdle'' game to show the life cycle and habitat of sea turtles and the Barnes & Noble-sponsored appearance by the Berenstain Bears, who will present the entertaining educational children's program ``Don't Pollute.''

``We have many creative displays and exhibits planned,'' Butler said. ``And we can still accommodate additional displays at the event.''

Butler said organizers are hoping to make the event an annual one, which will alternate between Northwest River Park and Virginia Beach's Munden Point. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

WANT TO GO?

What: Watershed Stakeholder Workshop and Green Sea Festival.

Who: Sponsored by the cities of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach,

the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, the Virginia Coastal

Resources Management Program and the Virginia Department of

Environmental Quality.

When: Stakeholder Workshop takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Saturday. The Green Sea Festival will be held 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on

Oct. 18.

Where: The workshop will be at Salem Middle School, 2380

Lynnhaven Parkway, Virginia Beach. The Green Sea Festival will be at

the Northwest River Park, 1733 Indian Creek Road, off Route 168.