July 31, 2025 Dear ::subscriber.first_name::,
Summer rains get us thinking about transformations, about what happens when we nourish the things we care about. As with your garden, so too with Boxerwood – and thanks to the ever-replenishing support of our donors, we’ve got a bumper crop of successes to share! Check out our annual report plus stories of how together we’re transforming Rockbridge, one well-designed community project at a time. Yours for a thriving Earth, The Boxerwood Team
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Boxerwood Education Association (BEA) continues to punch above its weight. Aided by more than 80 volunteers, a small and mostly part-time staff, a growing number of donors and supporters, and an always inspiring garden, BEA & its mission have completed another fine orbit around the sun. |
What would it look like if all children took part in nature-based learning throughout their public school years? In this respect, the Rockbridge area is already lightyears ahead of many communities thanks to Boxerwood’s 25-year partnership with local schools. Our signature program, Project NEST (Nurturing Environmental Stewardship Together) ensures hands-on, outdoor learning for more than 2,400 children each year. There’s always room for improvement, though, and this year Boxerwood and our school partners received an environmental literacy planning grant to more deeply integrate – and expand – those opportunities across the curriculum. |
BV Teens: Tending Trees & Talents |
When Eli Nelson began interning as a member of Buena Vista’s high school Tree Team in 2024, he didn’t have high expectations. “I didn’t think I was gonna learn anything from it or gain anything,” he explained. But after that first year, Nelson said, he learned “how trees can provide so much for Buena Vista and for the people living here.” He came back for a second year, he explained, not just for the stipend, “but because I want to see this town growing for future generations and families to enjoy.” |
During the most recent iteration of the Backyard Compost Challenge (our 5th!), 90 households from Buena Vista, Lexington, and Rockbridge County each received grant-funded supplies to jumpstart new composting habits: a backyard Earth Machine, pail, scale, and weekly online coaching from Boxerwood. By the end of May, 95% of those households had successfully completed the 10-week project, diverting a total of 4,198 pounds of food waste from the Rockbridge landfill. |
Thanks to data from our volunteer Garden Greeters, we’ve got a pulse on who visits Boxerwood on weekends. Even Bulgaria made the report! We’re also actively recruiting more folks for occasional 2-hour shifts as the welcoming faces of Boxerwood. There are options at both the shady kiosk and/or during Music in the Garden – and a friend may tag along too. Training and support provided. Contact Operations Director Hannah West. |
How do you transform a worldwide challenge into something meaningful? Back in 2023, Boxerwood educator Jess Sullivan forged a partnership with local choreographer and visionary Stephanie Hodde to create A Wild Notion – an outdoor performance combining music, theater, and dance that featured 20-foot puppets, homegrown music, and more. This summer, the pair shared the story of this memorable undertaking at an international conference in Toronto. |
Convert Your Travel Into Trees (Or Compost) |
Back from vacation? Consider leaving a trail of Earth care in your wake by securing a COREworks offset. Each offset is generated from verified carbon-reduction projects happening right here in Rockbridge County. Plus, 100% of all proceeds help bring the next Earth care project to life. Community-verified and tax-deductible: it’s a win for us all. |
BOXERWOOD RISING:
Hillary Beristain, 3rd Grade Teacher |
Throughout our 25th year, we’ll be sharing stories of young people whose Boxerwood experiences shaped their passions and vocations. Have a young friend to recommend? Contact Catherine Epstein, creator of this series: catherine@boxerwood.org
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When Hillary Beristain was about 10 years old, she traveled with her Central Elementary class to participate in one of Boxerwood’s first educational offerings. “Being outside the classroom, when I was growing up, was not common,” she said. “So going to Boxerwood was such a luxury.”
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PARTNER IN THE PICTURE:
Government Grants
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This month’s NewsLeaf featured three stories of how Boxerwood is carrying out its mission through community-based initiatives. These are part of a long-term strategy for helping communities become more environmentally responsible and sustainable. Where does the funding originate for this kind of transformative, multi-year work? 100% comes from state and federal grants. As a lean organization, Boxerwood functions like a community catalyst, securing large, external awards and then using our expertise to advance local good work on behalf of our grantors. This process is how federal and state monies trickle down and effect change at the grassroots level, impacting real people and places. When that funding flow stops, so does large-scale transformative work. At this juncture, BEA’s multi-year awards are still actionable, yet the future is uncertain. In tenuous times, we want to extend a special thank-you to the agencies who are continuing to find a way to make difference in Rockbridge through these investments: US NOAA-BWET (school environmental literacy planning), VA Dept of Forestry/Urban Forestry, with federal IRA funds (BV Cool Trees), and the VA Dept of Environmental Quality (Backyard Compost Challenge). And thank you, everyone: these are your tax dollars back at work for Rockbridge.
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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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