Rooted in the soil and spirit of Rockbridge County, Virginia, Boxerwood Education Association has been a flourishing part of community life for 25 years.
The story of this place, though, goes back as far as you want it to go: to the inland sea covering the land before the mountains rose up, to the limestone-rich valleys that followed, to the first peoples, and to the Monacans, who have stewarded this region for at least 1,000 years, establishing agricultural communities, hunting, and trade.
Boxerwood’s particular roots begin in the 1950s, when local physician Dr. Robert E. Munger (1911-1988) built his family home on former farmland and then set about planting, as he put it, “nature’s slowest moving artform”: the woodland garden.
At the turn of the 21st century, the garden summoned the imagination of BEA’s founders: Karen Bailey, Hunter Mohring, and Mollie Messimer. With a mission and mortgage, BEA purchased Boxerwood in 1999 and opened to the public shortly thereafter. Then, as now, that mission is to educate and inspire people of all ages to become environmentally responsible stewards of the Earth.
And here we are. For more than two decades, we’ve watched our non-profit grow and prosper, nurtured by community support, affection, and a whole lot of serendipity.
Recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia as an Environmental Education Center of Excellence in 2015, Boxerwood Education Association continues to advance its Earth care mission for the benefit of all who call this place home.
Thank you for your interest in our ever-renewing, creative work: we’re glad you’re here.
Tucked between the Blue Ridge and the Allegheny Mountains, Boxerwood is located in rural Rockbridge County, Virginia. Our watershed address is Woods Creek, Maury River, James River, the Chesapeake Bay. Central to our stewardship mission is caring for local land and waterways.
The 20 hilly acres of land that now comprise Boxerwood support five distinct habitats accessible by pathways and trails. Many forms of life call Boxerwood home (and plenty of children would live here full time if they could). The gently tended grounds of Boxerwood include woodlands, small springs & ponds, an open forest, native plant areas, natural play areas, and a green burial preserve. Facilities include the original Munger family home, now BEA offices, and a couple of outbuildings and shelters. The grounds are open daily, dawn to dusk, for anyone inclined to meander and dream.