Community Strength: Change is Good By: Jordan Benderoth and Ellezabeth Palmer

A community lake:

How he lake benefits the community now: The lakes in Sherwood lakes are very good for the community, mainly because of their use for entertainment, and their beauty. During the Spring and summer, a lot of people like to swim, fish, and boat in the lakes. A lot of people have their own kayaks and canoes to go in the lakes with. It is great exercise, and its fun too. People can fish in the lakes too, but they’re man-made lakes, so you wouldn't keep the fish. You have to throw them back. It’s nice for the neighborhood to have something to do together, rather than sit at home. The lakes are not only fun, but beautiful. During the summer, you can sit on a bench by the lakes and watch people swimming, and see the turtles and ducks. Its very tranquil by the lakes. During the winter, especially if it snows, the lakes are so pretty. People in the neighborhood love to play in the snow, and a lot of kids try to find frozen pieces of the lakes. The lakes in this neighborhood help bring the community and families together to have fun.

This is one of the neighborhood parks in Lago Mar(left) and Sherwood Lakes (right):

Neighborhood parks: Neighborhood parks are a big plus to the community for all ages. The park can be used to have neighborhood events. In Lago Mar during the holidays we come to the park and watch movies, eat different foods, and bring toys to donate to kids in need. This is advertised for the whole neighborhood. Also, local sports teams sometimes hold practices at the parks. Also, It can be used to just bring your children or grandchildren to and have a good time. At neighborhood parks, you can get to know your neighbors better or even meet new ones. The stronger the neighborhood is the stronger the community is. This facility is a great contribution to our communities and many more across Virginia Beach.

This is the Nimmo Park way bike path : Shopping center Bike path

Nimmo Parkway Bike path: Bike paths benefit the community in many ways. They surve as a “rode” to people who choose to walk, ride their bikes, etc. Without the bike path it would be illegal and un safe to walk or ride on Nimmo Parkway from the neighborhoods to the shopping centers. The bike path now limits how many car accidents with pedestrians there might have been if there was no bike path there. I see many people that range from as young as an infant (with a parent) to as old as around 75 walking or using the bike path in some way everyday. The community uses it because its good exercise, it’s a good place to ride around on, and its cheaper than using your cars gas to go places.

#1: How adding a water fountain will benefit the lake: Water aeration is often needed in waters that suffer from anoxic conditions, usually caused by nearby human activities such as sewage leaks, farming run-off, or over-baiting a fishing lake. Aeration can be accomplished through the infusion of air into the bottom of the lake or by surface agitation from a fountain to allow for oxygen exchange at the surface and the release of noxious gasses. Fountains aerate by pulling water from the surface of the water and spraying it into the air. A fountain consists of a motor that powers a rotating impeller. The impeller pumps water from the first few feet of the water and sprays it into the air. As the water is propelled into the air, it breaks into small droplets. Collectively, these small droplets have a large surface area through which oxygen can be transferred. Upon return, these droplets mix with the rest of the water and thus transfer their oxygen back to the ecosystem. Fountains are a popular method of surface aerators because of their beautiful appearance. However, most fountains are unable to produce a large area of oxygenated water. The bad thing about this is that we could only put a fountain in one lake (probably the smaller lake) because running electricity through the water to the fountain can be a safety hazard, and we want to still be able to swim and boat in it. However you can still fish in it when you have a fountain. The fish will be healthier with the water fountain because the water would be in better condition. So, the fishermen and the recreation will be separated into two different lakes. So, it may not work in the huge lake, but it would be perfect in the smaller lake.. "Diffused Aeriation Systems." Herrman's Fish Farm. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sep

Water fountain:

#2 Drinking Fountains on bike path Key Where the water fountains are going to be Park Lago Mar houses Dirt bike trail continued

Why will this help? This will help the community. This is because I know that the Nimmo Parkway bike path/ running path has many people using it as a road to transportation. A water fountain will hydrate the people using the path. It will make people want to use the path more often. This will create less pollution because people will run or use their bikes more to get to the shopping center instead of driving. The bad part is water fountain cost over a thousand dollars per fountain. This might not be worth it for the cost at this time because of the economy. Global Industrial." Haws Drinking Fountains. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sep

Why add a dog park? Dog parks benefit not only the dogs but their owners too! I know that many people have dogs and walk there dogs on the Nimmo Parkway bike path. Many people do this but there dog is leashed and sometimes people don’t pick up after their dogs. So, the people will benefit by having a do park because it gives the dogs their own place to run around and play in and not distract the people at the regular parks. Also, since the park will be fenced in, its easier to manage the amount of feces and picking the feces up so it doesn’t get into our water system. The dogs won’t have to be leashed because it’s a fenced in park. The open “unleashed” space gives the dog more room for exercise, play, and social time with other dogs and their owners. People would be more willing to bring there dogs to go to the dog park instead of just walking them for exercise. People will also meet new dog owners and neighbors and interact with one another. Overall, people will be much happier and have more interaction with their dogs and community members.

Action Plan: We would have to get the consent from the Virginia Beach local government that relay to animal laws. The new VBSPCA had to undergo certain checks and regulations by the local government before getting funding and putting up the new one on Birdneck Road. So we would work with the Virginia Beach government and the SPCA to get the OK on the project and maybe the SPCA could help sponsor the local dog park. This will help with getting it up and running. Since it would be Virginia Beach property there would have to be a special number to call so the people can communicate to the government about the dog park and report incidents. All in all, we would need the Virginia Beach government, the SPCA, and certain people from the government or volunteers to help out with the phone calls and the park in general. See: Once everything was clear will the government, volunteers and government workers would come and set up the dog park. This would be based on the plans already cleared by the government. To make it easier I know that on Nimmo Parkway they may be building aparments coming off of the road. So, the parking for the dog park can be accessible by the Nimmo bike path and the parking lot. We would need to be cleared by the government: A fence with double-gated entry and exit Nearby parking Handicap accessible Water fountains for both dogs and owners Seating Shaded areas Poop bag dispensers Trash cans Checked by: " Start a Dog Park." Animal Planet. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sep

Action plan (continued): Getting cleared by the government takes a while but by getting the community involved first makes it easier to get your voice heard as a whole. We would have to make sure the government knows we are serious about making a dog park and that the people want it too. After we get the “ok”, it will take a while to clear the space. We would have to clear trees if not already cleared because of the upcoming apartment plan in the last slide. After we clear space volunteers would set up all the government needs, listed on the last slide, to build the dog park. The whole operation plus planning will take about a year if not more. This would cost the government the same amount as the new SPCA did maybe even less and it would accept donations as the SPCA does (extra donations from the community around the dog park in Lago Mar)

How the SPCA says to start a local dog park: rg/resource/build.html

Conclusion: We see by our research about the topics that it takes a lot to make community facilities for public use. We now see that the community really does benefit from all the things the local government supplies for us. We also see that the people really have a lot of say in what they need and need to speak up to tell the government what they need. Also, the people have a responsibility as citizens to help the community advance by helping out with community activities.