Official Presents At Chesapeake Bay Conference
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 in early May.
A biannual conference of the regional Chesapeake Bay Program, the Education Summit sets goals and strategies for promoting environmental literacy and related workforce development across public schools in a five-state region.
The overarching goal of the multi-jurisdictional program is to increase citizen support and action for protecting the land and waterways that drain to the Bay. The May 5 summit brought together 150 officials, including state cabinet secretaries and other agency leaders, as well as a small handful of invited guests like Boxerwood.
“It was quite a surprise to receive the invitation,” said Elise Sheffield, Boxerwood’s program director. “We didn’t even know the Department of Education was aware of Boxerwood and its long-time environmental education partnership with our three local school divisions.”
According to Sheffield, the one-day summit was conducted in a hybrid format with simultaneously broadcasted meetings in the state capitals of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, and in Washington, D.C. As part of the agenda, each jurisdiction was invited to highlight one “Bright Spot” related to its goals for advancing watershed education in K-12 schools.
What attracted state attention, said Sheffield, was the depth and breadth of the Rockbridge area outreach, considering the area’s limited economic resources.
“Basically, they invited us to share the story of how we’ve made something from nothing,” said Sheffield, explaining the goal of her talk was to highlight the power of long-term public/private partnerships. “In this model, Boxerwood the non-profit holds the environmental mission, and supports partner schools as an ally and community catalyst,” she said.
During her Richmond presentation, Sheffield likened the partnership model to “stone soup,” in which “all parties put in what they can so that everyone benefits.”
She noted state leaders were particularly impressed that all three local divisions provide transportation for fieldbased learning in addition to contributing what they can toward Project NEST, the name of the school partnership program.
Now in its third decade, Project NEST stands for Nurturing Environmental Stewardship Together, connecting 2,600 PreK – 12 students to high-quality, field-based learning each year.
As part of NEST in collaboration with classroom teachers and staff, half of these students also complete related service action projects such as tree planting, raising native trout, recycling and composting, all linked to school goals.
Accomplishing these outcomes at scale is a struggle for any division, said Sheffield, but it’s especially daunting for rural schools. Educational decrees come from the top, she said, with school divisions expected to carry out those mandates. In the case of directives for environmental literacy, rural and/or underresourced schools often lack the capacity to fulfill those expectations on their own.
“That’s why partnerships are so important,” said Sheffield, noting Boxerwood also functions as the NEST fundraiser, annually securing grants and donations that provide program fee subsidies for schools in need. “It’s a big effort,” she said, “but teaching youth how to take care of the Earth that sustains us all is one of the most important things a community can do.”
“Right now the Department of Ed goal is that all students participate in a field-based watershed learning at least once in their elementary, middle, and high school years – but in our Rockbridge model, that’s every year,” she said.
Reflecting on that accomplishment, Sheffield turned again to the “invaluable” commitment of school leaders within BVCPS, LCS, and RCPS, and to the power of community itself.
“The stone soup concept seemed to have really resonated with the assembled,” said Sheffield, quoting summit organizers who later noted one of the three “key themes that emerged” from the gathering was “the importance of partnerships and collaboration, especially between formal and nonformal educators, to achieve our goals.”
During the summit, Boxerwood was also invited to speak briefly about the impact of Project NEST on workforce development.
Sheffield reported the officials were inspired that all Rockbridge youth grow up with years of “watershed education experiences” as part of their education.
“We had a slide showing photos of young adults we know who since their NEST days have pursued conservation- related careers. Land surveyors, environmental engineers, research scientists, forest rangers, farmers, parents, teachers – it’s really amazing,” she added. “None of this would be possible without the trust and collaboration of our school partners, and of course, our community.”
Echoing that sentiment was Kathy Burant, chair of the Rockbridge County School Board, whose members learned about the “Bright Spot” presentation during their May board meeting.
“The beautiful story and success of the NEST program … is the quintessential example of how we, as a community, can work together to create and support such a meaningful program in which our students become the natural stewards of our land,” she said.
Reflecting on the opportunity, Sheffield concurred. “Truly, it was a Boxerwood honor to represent our schools, community, and partnership at the Education Summit,” said Sheffield, “and we look forward to more bright successes to come.”
More information about Project NEST and its impact can be found on the Boxerwood website, https://www. boxerwood.org/project-nest.
