The James River Park System

News and Events

Articles of Interest

The herons of Shockoe Slip are hard at work

Rex Springston | Richmond Times Dispatch | May 13, 2011

The great blue herons near Shockoe Slip have shifted from being lovers to laborers. In February, the statuesque birds were touching their daggerlike bills in sensual courtship rituals on a James River island. Read more

Turning the James into a classroom environment

Andy Thompson | Richmond Times Dispatch | May 8, 2011

For 10 years, a small private middle school has incorporated an unconventional element into its curriculum. One day a month, every month of the school year, students at the boys-only Seven Hills School make the James River and its environs their classroom. Read more

OUTDOORS: Patrol helps clean up James River Park

Andy Thompson | Richmond Times Dispatch | May 6, 2011

I wrote a column in July 2009 calling for a police unit or task force dedicated to the James River Park. At the very least, I argued, the park "needs patrols, bike patrols, preferably, by officers capable of riding the trails between the Nickel Bridge and Belle Isle." Read more

Region is home to two heron rookeries

Jerry Uhlman | Richmond Times Dispatch | April 16, 2011

The heron rookery near the Manchester Bridge in downtown Richmond has garnered a lot of attention among local birdwatchers and has become a popular destination to witness an annual rite of spring for nesting great blue herons. Read more

Slave Trail markers unveiled in Richmond

Karin Kapsidelis | Richmond Times Dispatch | April 11, 2011

The story of Richmond's slave trail, overgrown and largely forgotten until 18 years ago, is now told through 17 historical markers unveiled Sunday during an Emancipation Celebration that drew the governor, the mayor and more than 500 people to the site of a former slave jail. Read more

CreateAthon helps nonprofits

Louis Llovio | Richmond Times Dispatch | March 19, 2011

After more than 24 hours without sleep, a bleary-eyed Jessica Black presented her team's work to the Byrd Theatre Foundation on Friday morning. During the presentation, a foundation board member burst into tears. "Melissa started crying. I wasn't sure what was going on," the Virginia Commonwealth University mass communications senior said of board member Melissa Savenko. Read more

Salamanders come a-courting

Rex Springston | Richmond Times Dispatch | March 5, 2011

The South Side salamanders are on the march again. Secretive but popular, the spotted salamanders emerged from underground Monday night and crawled to pools along Riverside Drive to breed. “Pretty much a consistent stream of people came by” to see 20 to 40 swimming and cavorting salamanders, said Ralph White, manager of Richmond’s James River Park. Read more

Herons courting at rapids area in Richmond

Rex Springston | Richmond Times Dispatch | Feb. 19, 2011

Richmond's gawky, squawky herons have returned to tell us that spring is finally on the way. The great blue herons -- 4 feet tall, with 6-foot wingspans -- fly in from the swamps of southeastern Virginia to court and mate on an island in the James River just south of Shockoe Slip. Read more

Insiders' Richmond: Top 5 Things to Do and See

Jennifer Pullinger | Richmond.com | Jan. 5, 2011

So you think you’ve done and seen everything in Richmond, huh? Maymont? Check. Science Museum of Virginia? Been there. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts? Heck, yeah. But have you ever toured the James River by pontoon boat, walked the Richmond Slave Trail or gone back to the 15th century with a visit to Agecroft Hall? Read the article

Special license plate sought for James River Park

Michael Martz | Richmond Times Dispatch | Jan. 2, 2011

James River Park drew Maureen Egan to South Richmond and kept her there.

Now, Egan wants to drive the park system's reputation to a broader audience with a specialty license plate celebrating the splendors of a natural gem for the city and beyond. Read the article

Read archived articles