May 28, 2026

 

Dear Friends,

 

The season of commencements is upon us: a chance to look back, celebrate successes, and set sights on what’s next. This month’s NewsLeaf honors all kinds of Boxerwoodian completions and culminations. Thank you for taking a moment to honor some joyful achievements, both great and small.

 

Yours for a thriving Earth,

The Boxerwood Team

This month, Boxerwood received an unexpected honor. Out of all the environmental education initiatives in the state, the Virginia Department of Education selected Boxerwood and its school partners as the Commonwealth’s featured “Bright Spot” during a high-level education summit held in Richmond. A biannual conference of the regional Chesapeake Bay Program, the Education Summit sets goals and strategies for promoting environmental literacy and related workforce development across public schools in the five-state region. The May 5th summit brought together 150 officials, including state cabinet secretaries and other agency leaders, as well as a small handful of invited guests like Boxerwood.

At last: a new truck. While the 1995 Ford had its charms, it was no longer reliable support in our ever-evolving endeavors: hauling supplies for stream-based programs, transporting trees for our reforestation projects, and making weekly rounds to composting schools. Thank you to BEA Board member David Bryer for securing the original pick-up in our hour of need, and thank you to former Lexington Bryan Balazs for the transformative gift of this upgrade. Bryan’s far-sighted generosity all the way from California enabled us to purchase the low-mileage, 2023 Ford 150 earlier this month. "When I talked with Bryan about our need, the words were hardly out of my mouth when he said, 'Yeah, I’ll buy you a truck!'" marveled Ben Eland, Boxerwood’s Executive Director. "It’s been really energizing to have a donor believe in us the way Bryan does," he said. "We can’t wait for all the good things that will come from this new work truck."

We finally did it. Earlier this year, Boxerwood Education Association (BEA) paid off its mortgage. A common misperception is that BEA received the woodland garden as a gift when it formed as a non-profit in 2000, but the reality is that BEA took out a 30-year bank loan. During our 25th year, an anonymous donor unexpectedly stepped forth to help settle that debt. This welcome relief means that Boxerwood can now direct an additional $10,000 into its programs each year – hooray!

 

Image: A self-portrait of a Buena Vista elementary school student jumping for joy, which he decorated using colorful pens and stickers in Boxerwood's after-school Earth Art club.

After two years of research, the results of Boxerwood’s school composting program have been shared in a national publication by the World Wildlife Fund. The collaboration began when the Fund inquired whether Boxerwood and our partner school division – Rockbridge County – would be interested in participating in a national study on school food waste. That partnership enabled us to expand our composting program, Waste Busters, to additional Rockbridge schools while also hosting data-gathering visits from a Johns Hopkins research team. The study’s conclusion: although composting did not decrease the amount of uneaten food, the program kept almost all that food waste out of the landfill, an extremely eco-positive outcome. The World Wildlife Fund has now published the case study about our project as inspiration for other schools.

Speaking of compost, congratulations to the 85 households who successfully completed the 2026 Backyard Compost Challenge this month! Over 10 weeks, our slop superstars tackled the question: How many pounds of food waste would Rockbridge County households keep out of the landfill if given the chance? Well, we’ve got our answer. This year’s households collectively diverted 4,073 pounds of food waste, which is equivalent to preventing the release of more than 10 tons of carbon emissions. Our households reported that they transformed their daily routines, expanding their habits to become exceptional Earth stewards. Want to know how?

Thank you to the 80 donors who have already put their paddles into the water by supporting Boxerwood's 2026 Spring Appeal. Whether it’s five dollars, five hundred, or five thousand, all of your contributions work together to keep Boxerwood rowing along.

 

Haven’t yet donated? Now’s your chance.

Kicking off our 2026 season this Friday, May 29th, is Dennis and Steve. Dennis Thorne is a Virginia native with a lifelong career in music, beginning in church and expanding to clubs, venues, and stages across the country. Joining him is acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Steve Hoke, known for his soulful, virtuosic playing. A former member of Ironhorse, Loco Pony, Walker’s Run and more, Hoke’s style blends country, rock, and bluegrass with technical precision and taste. The outdoor concert runs 6:30-8:00 pm. Admission is free for kids and current Boxerwood Garden members, and $5 per adult for non-members. Honest Labor, known for their bluesy tone, follows on Friday, June 12.

As a capstone to our 25th year, Boxerwood recently received a grant to plant eighteen beautiful trees and shrubs along our streams and ponds – rhododendron, azaleas, and more. The support comes from the Virginia Trees for Clean Water Grant (Virginia Department of Forestry). As part of our grant match, Boxerwood seeks volunteers to help us with the planting on Saturday, May 30th, 10:00am to noon. Families, friends, and Boxerwood members are all welcome – please register so we know who’s coming. We’ll supply all gear needed & a snack.

Tapestries woven with laptop keys. Sculptures swirling with buttons and bottle tops. Artmaking as a critique of throw-away culture – and as a healing reintegration of objects, people, and places. A convivial group of Boxerwoodians learned about Zimbabwean artist Moffat Takadiwa and his visionary eco-work during a special trek to his exhibit at Washington & Lee’s Watson Gallery last week. Hosted by W&L curator Jessica Wager (photo left), the event was the most recent endeavor in an occasional series of volunteer enrichment opportunities offered by Boxerwood. Gatherings like this one let us enjoy each other’s company, learn, dream, and grow. Thinking about volunteering with us? We’ve got options, from seated and shady to sweaty and seismic.

This month, we bid farewell and godspeed to Catarina Contreras, hailing from Texas. For the past four years, Cat has served Boxerwood as a dedicated, off-campus paid work study student from Washington & Lee. Ever cheerful and willing, our talented Cat has created spreadsheets, sharpened thousands of pencils, restored paint kits, picked up piles of sticks, cleaned hundreds of test tubes, tidied and re-tidied the PlayTrail, stapled worksheets, carved pumpkins, and so, so much more. Today, Catarina graduates from W&L with degrees in Biology and Art, and she has plans for graduate work in genetic counseling. Thank you, Cat: your friendship and all that you have done for Boxerwood means the world to us. Best wishes in your future endeavors. We’ll miss you!

“What I enjoy from Nature Photography Club is being able to freely express so many things in one photo . . . and the overall freedom of being able to express myself . . .When taking photos I like to convey macro shots, or close-ups in other words. As well I enjoy capturing the raw weather, like reflection on water, or light-to-shadow contrast.”

– Artist statement, Maury River 6th grader

Each year, Boxerwood educator – and professional photographer – Brittany Klinger teaches middle schoolers how to connect with both their inner and outer worlds with the help of a camera. Youth enroll in the club as part of YAS (Youth Achieving Success), a federally-funded after-school program at Maury River Middle School. These photos are from the youth’s spring show. Enjoy.

Throughout our 25th year, we’ve shared stories of young people whose Boxerwood experiences shaped their passions and vocations. This is the last in our series for now, and how fitting that it ends with a graduate for this month's theme of culminations.

 

This time last year, 2026 Parry McCluer High School graduate Nikki Carroll expected she’d be preparing for cosmetology school. As a self-described “girly girl” – and recently crowned prom queen – cosmetology always made sense to Nikki. It wasn’t until her internship with the Tree Team – a Boxerwood-led initiative for Buena Vista teens – that she started imagining herself going down an entirely different path.

 

“When I tell people that I’m going to Mountain Gateway to take forestry classes, they kind of look at me, and they’re like, ‘Really?’” Nikki said, laughing.

Congratulations to our friends, the Green Hills Garden Club, for all the district and state blue ribbons arising from a flourishing Boxerwood partnership. Hailing from northern Rockbridge and southern Augusta, these Club members provided essential on-the-ground support for three different Boxerwood-led endeavors in 2025: helping middle schoolers complete a large riparian tree planting project at a local farm; planting 3,000 crocus bulbs with 180 youth at Jordan’s Point; and, as part of our annual Growing Native Program, teaching hundreds of local 4th graders how to pot tree seedlings for Boxerwood’s nurseries and future remediation projects. In addition to this joyful service, the Club also supports Boxerwood financially. Thank you, Green Hills Garden Club, for all the ways you help Boxerwood bloom.

Boxerwood Education Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Federal Tax ID: 54-1937944

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