November 22, 2023
Dear ::subscriber.first_name::,
Think globally, act locally goes the saying – but in our experience, that energy flows both ways.
These days we find Boxerwood moving deeper into rhythms of mutuality: rooting locally, yet sharing the fruits of our work more broadly… from Richmond to Mexico and even the great (Arctic) beyond.
We’re your home-grown organization, yet alive in an ever-evolving interdependence with the world. Read on for stories of this leadership in motion – and so glad, as always, you are part of it all.
With thanksgiving,
The Boxerwood Team
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We’re all familiar with the world wide web, but what about the wood wide web? Turns out that trees exchange information and nutrients throughout a forest via vast fungal webs. Is not such interconnection also true for Boxerwood? We too are locally rooted yet also thrive as a nexus of exchange. In any case, all of us at Boxerwood were charmed this fall when two colleagues created a new outdoor program that embodied this concept of interconnectivity with help from almost 200 6th grade yogis.
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We’re proud as punch to showcase an example of Boxerwood’s outdoor programming. When a former grantor learned Boxerwood and RCPS were able to sustain a summer camp partnership even after grant funds ended, they sent a professional videographer to document our work. The video is one of three afterschool case studies featured on the website of the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), the nation’s go-to resource for all things EE.
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‘Tis the season for our annual Gifts of Nature workshop. Create take-home art to feed birds and literally spruce up your yard. The workshop is at Boxerwood on Sat, Dec 9, 1 - 5 pm (rain date Dec 10).
$5 per family for members, $10 per family for non-members. No RSVP required - cash and check payments will be collected on site.
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“We need more Boxerwoods!” That was the message Elise Sheffield shared when environmental education leaders gathered in Richmond this month. The educators were invited by state agencies to help tackle a vexing question: how can Virginia youth gain the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to become environmentally-literate citizens? Virginia is behind other states in creating a state-wide environmental literacy plan, but fresh wind is blowing. During the 2-day session, Elise encouraged the discouraged with the successes of our grassroots model. “Frankly Boxerwood’s lightyears ahead,” she reflected, “schools need a long-term community ally. That’s what we have achieved. It’s replicable!!”
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Sustainability Without Borders
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The cross-cultural exchange included hands-on introduction to regenerative agriculture on a floating farm island called a “chinampa” (above) and working directly with urban dwellers on harvesting rainwater. More than just promoting sustainable actions, Mexican organizations advancing this work use these projects as tools for community engagement and education, much as Boxerwood does back home.
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What do a Belgian filmmaker, a Greek podcaster and British poet have in common? They all learned about Boxerwood’s mission of community-based environmental stewardship, while aboard a 3-masted schooner plying the icy coast of the very far North last spring.
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“I don’t fly often,” said Elise, but participating in that Arctic Residency was a unique opportunity “and the only way to get to Svalbard, realistically, was by plane.” That’s why Elise secured a COREworks carbon offset. “It balanced out the carbon emissions,” she said, “plus I knew exactly how that was going to happen and where. That’s a big advantage of our local marketplace.”
With holidays upon us, how about a one-ton carbon offset certificate in your loved one’s stocking? All proceeds are tax-deductible and help fund additional climate-friendly projects in Rockbridge.
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PARTNER IN THE PICTURE: JAKES
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JAKES stands for Juniors Acquiring Skills and Ethics and for many local hunting families, it’s a well-known and much beloved annual tradition. An initiative of the National Wild Turkey Federation, JAKES/Rockbridge is a big, all-volunteer event that brings more than 200 children and parents together each fall for a weekend of outdoor learning. Based along Buffalo Creek, JAKES is a 2-day program that teaches local youth how to safely and ethically hunt, fish, and preserve our wild heritage.
Each year, JAKES organizers invite Boxerwood educators to share stream ecology activities with scores of youth and their parents. Connecting with JAKES helps Boxerwood forge friendships with many folks who might not otherwise frequent our nature center. As the JAKES t-shirts always say, “Life is Good!”
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