from the bay that elevates these oysters above all others, he opines, adding, “If that development had gone in, my business would not exist.” Soon Ludford will be farming oysters within sight of
the new environmental education center. As proposed by CBF, it will be one of the country’s greenest buildings, with a goal of making its own energy, capturing its own water, emitting no waste, and using only sustainable local materials. Virginia Beach’s school system plans to build on CBF’s work to make the city a national leader in envi- ronmental education; already the first school groups are visiting Pleasure House Point with CBF educators. As for the rest of the land, details of its use are being worked out by a 30-member steering committee appointed by the city, says Brian Solis, planning director for its depart- ment of parks and recreation. But basically the point
Now open to the public, Pleasure House Point will be set aside for nature, environmental education, and recreation—capping a 2001 goal to double Virginia Beach’s community open space.
will be set aside for nature and low-impact recreation. Its protection caps a goal set in 2001 to double the city’s community open space. The conservation of Pleasure House Point comes a
decade after Tim Solanic first wandered onto the land and assumed its protection as a personal quest. To him, the success of the effort suggests that even in this most urban corner of the Chesapeake Bay region, people will go out of the way to preserve its signal natural resource. “It reflects how people here want to live,” he says, “their love of water, seafood, and fishing—of watching ospreys raise their young and sunsets over the marshes.”
Tom Horton teaches writing and environmental studies at Salisbury University, Maryland, and contributes regularly to Chesapeake Bay magazine and the Bay Journal News Service. Formerly an environmental reporter for the Baltimore Sun and an educator for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, he is the author of several books about the bay. His writing also has appeared in National Geographic, Rolling Stone, the New York Times, and the Boston Globe.
Turning the Tide at Pleasure House Point Feature Title
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JOHN HENLEY
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