October 2021
Dear Friends of Boxerwood,
While in Arizona last week, I received this text from a Boxerwood colleague, “Had a lovely hour staff lunch today under the pavilion…and you were missed…and, I looked around at what a strong team!” My heart welled up in that moment, wishing I had been sitting at the picnic tables under the Virginia fall sunshine, in the physical presence of that strong Boxerwood team. How far we have travelled together and grown over the last several years!
This October NewsLeaf features a snapshot of Boxerwood programs over the course of a week. But I have personally also been looking back at the broad span of the last 4+ years. Sometimes we do not see the strength and growth of a tree on a daily basis, but today our Boxerwood roots go deeper and farther, our programmatic branches have multiplied, and the stewardship of the land upon which we depend is healthier still.
Taking the long view also reminds me how our team has strengthened Boxerwood’s financial stability by nearly doubling our membership base and contributions received, and tripling our grants. It shows our ability--with community support-- to tackle long-deferred maintenance as the Lodge now has a new roof, new windows, and new HVAC system. In the last few years we also finished the process of securing a historical and conservation easement for our special Boxerwood property, protecting it in perpetuity. Behind the scenes we’ve made dozens of updates in the last few years - website, communications, electronics, IT.
Tending the garden, we designed and are implementing a Master Sustainability Plan, which includes a variety of projects. We built an effective system of swales and catchment ponds to steward stormwater and soil, and installed a solar array to meet all our energy needs. We grew new programs and got more kids outside, built more local partnerships, and facilitated a myriad of new earth care action projects around Rockbridge County. We’ve laid solid foundations for several powerful new ventures for stewardship and environmental education to come in 2022.
All these accomplishments came from a team I have been privileged to work with over the past four years. Since late 2019, that collaboration has been mostly remote, when family circumstances necessitated my unexpected relocation to Arizona. The plan amidst this upheaval was to maintain the position of executive director with the intention of commuting to Virginia on a quarterly basis. Then the pandemic and other trials hit. We pivoted to zoom meetings; I would longingly listen to Virginia bird song whenever my colleagues logged on outside. Regrettably, the time has come to take my hands off the reins as family commitments will keep me in Arizona for the foreseeable future.
The Boxerwood Tree is blossoming and though I will be stepping down as executive director at the end of this year, I am filled with great confidence and enthusiasm for Boxerwood’s future. Our team is stellar, serving Rockbridge with great creativity, energy, passion, and skill. I am grateful to have been a part of it all.
For a thriving Earth,
Catrien van Assendelft
Executive Director
