BOXERWOOD RISING:

Meet Hillary Beristain, 3rd Grade Teacher (RCPS)

Throughout our 25th year, we’ll be sharing stories of young people whose Boxerwood experiences shaped their passions and vocations. Have a young friend to recommend? Contact Catherine Epstein, creator of this series: catherine@boxerwood.org

Click here to read the entire series.

When Hillary Beristain was about 10 years old, she traveled with her Central Elementary class to participate in one of Boxerwood’s first educational offerings. “Being outside the classroom, when I was growing up, was not common,” she said. “So going to Boxerwood was such a luxury.”  She remembers many parts of the program – including nature songs and exploring the Lodge – but one moment especially stands out. “I remember we were talking about birds and birdwatching,” she recalled, “and getting the binoculars out. For some reason that memory really stuck with me. Having a tool like that at that age – that was something really special.”

Hillary connects this idea – of using tangible, functional objects – to what made Boxerwood such a unique place for her as a child. “It was just a really magical experience,” she said. “I think everyone looked forward to it. I feel like that was one of the first experiences going outside of the classroom when we were in elementary school.” 

Even beyond that field trip, Hillary was always an outdoorsy kid. “I feel like the mountains have always called me,” she said. “If I felt stressed, I would go out and walk in the forest. I grew up on House Mountain, so I feel like I was just always outdoors, and that was my safe space to be.” She also says that Boxerwood further cultivated her natural love of the environment. “I have to think that somewhere, just because I still have those memories, that it’s inspired me to want to be outdoors, and to be environmentally concerned. Boxerwood must have inspired or nurtured this love of the outdoors for me.” 

Today, Hillary teaches 3rd grade at Fairfield Elementary School, and she just completed her eighth year in a public school classroom.  She began her professional life in the non-profit sector, but shifted to teaching after realizing that she wasn’t finding joy in her work: “I wasn’t able to reach people to the extent that I wanted to,” she explained. Switching to the classroom changed that entirely. “With teaching, you’re directly there – you’re directly impacting lives,” she said. “And as an elementary school teacher, I feel like I really have the power to make a difference in their lives – to change their mentality and to give them opportunities that maybe they don’t have outside of the classroom.”  

Since moving back to Rockbridge County from Virginia Beach, Hillary is one of more than 120 local teachers whose students connect with Boxerwood at least twice a year. When considering what makes those nature-based programs so meaningful, Hillary returns to her love of hands-on, concrete learning. “I feel like it just gives that authentic learning experience for them,” she said. “It makes everything tangible. Everything becomes real.” She explained that this can be especially powerful for students who encounter obstacles with traditional learning. “Students who normally aren’t as engaged indoors, or have some learning difficulties, when they’re outside they really get to shine. They really get to be hands-on and there aren’t as many restrictions or restraints. There’s something so powerful about the tangible. They need that. Kinesthetic learning is so important, especially for third graders.”

Her teaching expertise also enables Hillary to professionally assess the ability of Boxerwood programs to support public school curricula. “You guys do an absolutely fabulous job of connecting our learning,” she said. “I’m always in awe of how you do that. It just blends so perfectly. Even in Virginia Beach, which is a big district, we didn’t have a nature center like Boxerwood.” As one of 18 teachers participating in the Environmental Literacy Planning grant, Hillary is excited about the ways Boxerwood and Rockbridge County Public Schools are furthering and deepening these opportunities with funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Bay Watershed and Education Training (NOAA-BWET).

Among Boxerwoodians, Hillary is in the unique position of having interacted with Boxerwood not only as a student and teacher, but also as a parent. This past spring, she and her family participated in Boxerwood’s 2025 Backyard Compost Challenge. “Oh my gosh,” she recalled of her sons’ experience with the 10-week citizen science project, “They loved it. And it continues!” She went on to connect the success of her sons’ participation back to tangible learning. “Again, there’s something about having the tools,” she said. “They already had experience composting at school to some degree [with Boxerwood’s Waste Busters program], but to be able to do it at home was really awesome. They’re producing their own soil now for our garden.” 

In all of these experiences – as a child, a teacher, and a parent – Hillary has observed that Boxerwood connections create lasting and meaningful impacts. “At the end of the year, always, one of their favorite memories is being at Boxerwood,” she said, referring to her students. “Just sharing those experiences together is so powerful. It really is such a privilege that we have that opportunity.”

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