You Rock!
We want to tell you about a Green Grant that we awarded in the past to Belvedere Elementary School in Northern Virginia. We were delighted to receive an update with pictures from one of the teachers who submitted the grant proposal and oversaw its completion.
Belvedere Elementary is a Title I and Primary Years Program International Baccalaureate World School. The school consists of grade levels from Pre-K to fifth grade, with a student enrollment of about 700 students. The school is in the suburbs of Washington D.C. within Fairfax County Public Schools in Falls Church.
The music teacher at the school asked for a garden in a secluded area outside her classroom. She stated that studies show that even a short exposure to nature can reduce stress. The garden would be replacing turf with a variety of herbs and native plants, which would attract pollinators and other wildlife. The garden was planned near a storm drain, which students will paint with a pretty design. The plants will filter litter and pollutants from runoff water that enters the drain.
A 4th grader included the garden in her Girl Scout Bronze Award project, making a wind chime and painting rocks with positive messages to include in the garden. She also built a bench with her dad , and she and her mom, with staff, planted the garden with fennel, strawberry mint, chocolate mint, spearmint, pineapple sage, purple sage, lavender, rosemary, dill, nasturtium, oregano, lime thyme and lemon thyme. 
The garden is especially welcome this Spring. It’s in a tucked-away corner away from the playground and field, but near the building and easily accessible. A teacher for a 5th Grade class said it’s her students’ favorite place to read in the afternoon and they’ve taken on the responsibility of watering it on hot days.
Staff members also report that they have enjoyed finding quiet in the garden. When the breeze blows through, the different scents are fantastic!
All we can say, Belvedere Elementary, is “You Rock!”