A $3,000 grant from Dominion Energy will support innovative environmental education at Stonehouse Elementary School in Toano, Va. The funds will be used to renovate and refurbish the school’s Learning Garden and Outdoor Classroom so that students can study the garden as a habitat for native plants, herbs and vegetables.
“We want to develop lesson plans that will make it very easy for teachers at all grade levels to use the garden for educational purposes,” said Dr. Ralph Charlton, the volunteer garden coordinator for the Stonehouse PTA. He noted that the school is partnering with the Colonial Soil and Water Conservation District, which provides technical and educational assistance throughout the year with a focus on conservation. CSWCD installed rain barrels in the garden along with other forms of support to connect students with the environment.
According to Dr. Charlton, the students enjoy planting, weeding and harvesting all types of fresh produce grown in the school’s 500-square-foot vegetable garden. “We’ve had collards, cabbage, kale, boy choy, tomatoes and squash and other veggies,” he, said. The native plant garden is even larger, boasting 2,500 square feet of plants that are indigenous to Virginia. “Thanks to this generous grant from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, all 700-plus students at Stonehouse Elementary will have the opportunity for a memorable hands-on experience in the garden during the 2018-2019 academic year,” he concluded.
As part of its ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability, Dominion Energy awarded $1 million in Environmental Education and Stewardship grants to a variety of initiatives across the company’s footprint. Donations were shared by nearly 130 nonprofit organizations and schools working to improve natural spaces or encourage environmental stewardship in 12 states. For more information, visit dominionenergy.com.
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