From our beautiful ocean and bay beaches and the Lynnhaven River to Back Bay and the North Landing River, our waterways define our lives in Virginia Beach. They are a huge part of why we chose Virginia Beach as our home. We love to kayak, fish, swim and simply enjoy a sunset over our favorite body of water while savoring some delicious local seafood.

All of our rivers, bays and estuaries, drain into the two most productive estuaries in our country, the Chesapeake Bay to the north and the Albemarle and Pamlico Sound to the south,  adding to the importance of restoring and protecting our local waterways. Virginia Beach is home to eight diverse watersheds. From pocosins and forested swamps to oyster habitat and sea grasses, each of these watersheds are different from one another and unique in their own way.  Areas draining into the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed tend to be more rural whereas watersheds, like the Lynnhaven are more urbanized.

As we continue to grow and encompass all of Virginia Beach, we hope to better understand, restore and protect each of these watersheds while moving forward with restoration efforts in the Lynnhaven.

Background

We began our work in 2002, focused on the Lynnhaven watershed. At the time, it was the most degraded watershed in the city and densely populated. We set out to reverse some of the destructive practices of the past and return the Lynnhaven watershed to its previous glory. We have had a great amount of success in that pursuit. The Lynnhaven system is much healthier and more productive than it was 18 years ago. Our native oyster population has rebounded beautifully and we all better understand how our actions affect the health of our waterways.

Many of our existing core programs are city wide and have been for years. We feel that people should have more opportunities to better understand, explore and appreciate the many different ecosystems and their diverse sets of flora and fauna that exist in all of Virginia Beach. In 2018 we launched the “Discover Virginia Beach” Program. Once a month throughout the year, we invite the community to venture out with us and explore different areas of the city. For more info visit the Discover Virginia Beach program page on our website.