The sky was blue, the water sparkly, the surprise eel in the seine net particularly slimy. In other words, another perfect 3-day, 2-night student expedition to Smith Island. During their Sept. 14-16 stay, 25 seventh graders from PMMS and MRMS and their five teachers immersed themselves in wonder. Working together, they lived by tides, set crab pots, explored ecology, and discovered what makes the Chesapeake Bay an ecological, cultural, and economic treasure. For more than twe

The memorable, yet localized, September 4 storm swept through Boxerwood with powerful winds, bringing down more than a dozen trees across the Garden. Several towering white pines fell in The Meadow Natural Burial Ground, while others came down in the wetland and across walking paths. With school groups returning and visitors enjoying the Garden every day, our first priority was making the grounds safe again. As chainsaws echoed throughout Lexington, the Boxerwood team worked

With help from the capital campaign, Boxerwood will soon replace our well-worn stage with a new and improved covered roof structure. This timber-built stage and open air classroom will be called The Meadowlark. We are dedicating this handmade wonder to Hunter Mohring and KB (Karen) Bailey, two founders of Boxerwood Education Association, whose heart-felt vision and work have helped make Boxerwood what it is today. Built the old-fashioned way, the Meadowlark will rise from ha

For A Thriving Future: New Land We’re almost there! The help of many donors has now carried us to $470,000 of our $500,000 capital campaign goal. Campaign contributions are already making on-the-ground impacts: The Lodge is sound again. Donations enabled us to hire contractors to replace the original roof section and make much-needed structural repairs beneath it. After decades of rainy-day classes and muddy boots, the building is ready for the next generation. A new truck i

Ever the Builder – A Tribute by Ben Eland, executive director Last month, we bid a mournful goodbye to longtime Boxerwood board member and dear friend Jim Kvach. Jim joined the Boxerwood board in 2013 – the same year I joined the Boxerwood staff. From the beginning, I was fortunate to work alongside Jim on a range of garden and facilities projects. There are many Boxerwood icons that he built or helped maintain, often with a volunteer group he started and led, dubbed "The Box

This is an exciting moment in the life of Boxerwood. Our organization turned 25 last year, and I keep encountering more and more evidence of what those 25 years have built. In my first year as executive director, I've met young adults who came up through Boxerwood programs and have gone on to careers in environmental work; they name their Boxerwood experience as the inspiration to pursue that work. Not only that: former Boxerwood students are now sending their own children t

Hooray! We’ve just concluded our third BV Tree Team internship program with nine Buena Vista high schoolers. For the last three weeks, the interns worked in downtown BV on projects that strengthen the City’s tree canopy. They assessed downtown tree species and health for the BV Tree Board, weeded and enhanced the BV Tree Nursery, designed an informational trifold about trees for the public, and planted several trees to shade city playgrounds. “This experience has been one of

Amidst canoeing and hiking at Lake Robertson this month, 90+ middle schoolers from Maury River Middle School also took a moment to pause, look, and create. The result: a wonderful array of cyanotypes – one of the earliest forms of photography that requires no camera, only specially treated cloth that is sensitive to sunlight. We shared this technique with the youth on June 4th and 11th as part of YAS (Youth Experiencing Success), a grant-funded camp run by MRMS. “The activit

Led by Caroline Coons and Liz Kuehner, Boxerwood’s signature camps hosted fifty children earlier this month for two weeks of play and learning. Our theme this year was making friends with the other creatures who call Boxerwood home. With help from junior counselors, seasoned staff, and special guests, kids aged 4 to 7 investigated the unique intelligences of five kinds of animal friends: jumping spiders, roly-polies, opossums, Eastern screech owls, and Eastern black rat snake

As Boxerwood celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, we’re marking the occasion by growing an even healthier and more resilient landscape for our community. Thanks to support from the Virginia Trees for Clean Water Grant through the Virginia Department of Forestry, eighteen new native trees and shrubs will soon take root along Boxerwood’s streams and ponds. To help make this project possible, Boxerwood is seeking volunteers to assist with planting as part of our grant matc

Originally published in the May 6, 2026 issue of the News Gazette. Recently several members of the Green Hills Garden Club attended the Virginia Federation of Garden Club’s Shenandoah District spring meeting at Culpepper. They came home with five first place awards that the club earned for activities in 2025. Four of these awards went on to win blue ribbons at the state level. The district awards were for Youth Environmental Education, a joint project with Boxerwood helping f

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 recent 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

“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

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. Honest

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 acr

Eight weeks into this year's Backyard Compost Challenge, many of our participating households are gaining confidence with the composting process. How do we know? They've already diverted almost 3,000 pounds of food waste from our landfill. This made us curious about an upstream question: What can we do to prevent food waste to begin with? This past week, we asked the 2026 Slop Superstars for their advice, and they delivered: Laudable Leftovers Many participants noted that wh

In 2024, when Zola Brookman first joined the Tree Team internship – a Boxerwood-led initiative for Buena Vista high schoolers – she doubted she’d enjoy it. “I thought we were gonna get really dirty and really sweaty and muddy, and that wasn’t my thing,” she said. “At the beginning, you would not catch me outside, I did not like bugs, and I could not care less about plastic,” Zola explained. While that first summer was more fun than she expected – “It was so much more amazing

After months of swimming around in a glass-enclosed home, 100 native brook trout rode a school bus to Collier’s Creek earlier this month, and discovered a whole new world. Raised from eggs in a Rockbridge County High School Agriculture classroom, the fish entered their new stream with considerable trepidation, but their student handlers encouraged them forth. Congratulations to all the students in Ms. Gwen Gosney’s Ag/Foresty program for a successful launch! This is the firs

Earlier this spring, a bounty of youthful volunteers got to know Boxerwood from the ground up—literally. In mid-March, nearly 80 middle schoolers from both the LDMS and MRMS National Junior Honor Societies joined forces to plant almost 100 pine trees along Boxerwood’s golf course boundary. In response to changes in that property, these new plantings help protect natural ecosystems. Once grown, this strengthened buffer will help slow stormwater runoff from the uphill landscape