School Programs
Also see Community Programs

We feel that children can best learn about nature by actually being in nature. Our programs provide enriching experiential education in an incredible natural classroom.

Our school programs are divided into early education (preschool - grade 2), elementary (grades 3-5), and middle school. You can also link to specific programs from the drop-down menu above.

Fourth grades learn about water quality by testing our waters, visiting NEWTS (our Nature Emulating Waste Treatment System), and participating in a watershed simulation.  Watch a video produced by one student -- you can see it best on Boxerwood's Facebook page. (You don't have to sign in to see it.)

Our teaching staff members are in the process of being trained as "Master Naturalists." Volunteers from the local community and universities join in on a regular basis.

We extend the school-time programs to an after-school reading program and a joint program with the YMCA for students in after-school day care at Waddell and Central.

High praise for Boxerwood's education program: "Noting the high Science scores [State SOLs] throughout the division, Crance [Cindy Crance, the division's director of instruction] credited our relationship with Boxerwood which helps us support science. For the past several years, county middle-school and elementary students have traveled to the educational garden for hands on encounters with nature, all carefully calibrated to the requirements of the state SOLs." Lexington News Gazette, July 15, 2009.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Valley Regional Office (DEQ-VRO) recognized Boxerwood for… “an amazing job planning educational field days consistent with the Virginia Standards of Learning, that are incredibly well organized and coordinated... DEQ-VRO is excited to continue our support of Boxerwood’s commitment to educating the next generation about Virginia’s streams and rivers”