Happy first birthday, COREworks! February 2023 This month marks one year since the debut of COREworks. After two years of research and planning, Boxerwood launched COREworks and its earth care mission last February. The goal of COREworksis to help people reduce their carbon emissions in ways that also benefit the communities where we live. We’ve had all kinds of successes …
Help has Arrived
wetland restoration grant February 2023 This month, Boxerwood received a $63,000 planning grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). The NFWF award is for creating an evidence-based plan to restore the spring-fed wetland within Boxerwood’s 15-acre property. This funding will enable Boxerwood to hire an environmental engineering firm to develop a plan to better manage stormwater runoff and …
Early Blooms
The Garden Awakens February 2023 Right now you will find splashes of yellow blooms throughout Boxerwood: the flowers of Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), a member of the dogwood family native to Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Primarily grown as an ornamental in the U.S., its cherry-like fruits are edible, although extremely tart. In its native range, the fruit in its …
Mohawk, the Friend who Keeps on Giving
Quietly, over the years, Mohawk has also equipped us with the kind of things we need to get work done: a new pop-up tent for festivals, another box of water-monitoring supplies, t-shirts for our youth summit, fruit trees, composters – and just this fall, a whole passel of shovels and related gear for our tree planting initiatives.
Tree Planting Extravaganza
This past month Boxerwood helped facilitate two big tree-planting projects. As a result, an additional 663 native trees are now tucked in for years of beauty, being, and service.
The Gift of Good Rain
Yes, we’re crowing about it! We’d be hard pressed to find better gifts, or gifts more generously given, than those that come from the Earth. At Boxerwood we are always striving to be good stewards of these gifts.
Winter’s Windsong
It was our honor and delight to bring joy to so many people attending the Lexington Christmas parade with our entry, “Winter Windsong.” What’s the secret for building such an enchanting parade floats? A dash of creativity, a sprinkle of ingenuity, and a whole HEAP of help from our community.
Winter Gardening
Every meeting has been a joy. On the first day of our club, after we planted the winter peas, we stood in a circle around our freshly planted patch and gave the peas kind words of encouragement to start them on their growing journey.
Raw Learning
Children who attend local public school enjoy years of Boxerwood programming, but what about homeschoolers? This fall we’ve found a way to connect with these learners too, thanks to a new partnership with an area homeschooling cooperative, Raw Learning. The parent-led group, called Raw Learning, coordinates enrichment opportunities for homeschoolers in Rockbridge and adjacent counties. It is one of several …
Arizona Adventure
It’s not every day we get to send a Boxerwood educator to a national conference all expenses paid.Thanks to travel-specific funding from US NOAA/B-WET, our colleague Ginny Johnson attended the annual North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Conference in Tucson, Arizona last month. It was Ginny’s first immersion in the larger environmental education world, and as we expected it …