Another Busy School Year at the Arboretum!

by Candace Lutzow-Felling, Director of Education, and Emily Ford, Lead Environmental Educator

June 2024 marks the end of another school year busy with young minds exploring the natural world through the education programs at the State Arboretum of Virginia. This year nearly 6000 preschool through grade 12 students took part in our environmental science programs. School buses packed with young, curious minds unloaded students to learn about animal interactions, bird adaptations, plant-insect interactions, water quality and ecology, rock and mineral characteristics, soil science, tree identification, and wetland, meadow, and forest ecosystems. The Arboretum frequently was filled with the excited voices of students exploring our grounds and gardens.

Our Blandy Education department functions as an outdoor school. We collaborate with public, private, and homeschool educators to extend instruction outside the classroom walls.  All our programs immerse students in age-appropriate authentic learning experiences that mirror the professional techniques an expert would use in their field. Students become young scientists while observing, exploring, inquiring, gathering data, and problem-solving as they use professional tools to investigate the natural world at Blandy.  Our goal is to stimulate a desire in all students to explore and increase their understanding of natural phenomenon and deepen their concern for the natural world.

This year we taught students from 10 school divisions and several private and homeschools.  Most of our students came from neighboring Frederick, Loudoun, and Clarke counties.  We also welcomed students from two West Virginia school divisions: Jefferson and Berkeley counties. The large majority (more than 90%) were preschool or elementary students.  Teachers said they select our programs to: review a topic they have taught in their classroom and extend and deepen students’ understanding by applying their learning in a natural context; to provide them with authentic science investigation experiences using scientific tools; and to give them insight into different scientific careers.   

Highlights of our school year include:

• Collaborating with Frederick County Public School Elementary Curriculum Specialists and the 4th grade teaching team to further develop two watershed-focused units. Nearly 1000 Frederick County 4th grade students came to Blandy twice during the school year (once in the fall and once in the spring) to learn about our local watershed and how human activities can harm or help our watershed system. Plans are to transfer many of the field investigations to the twelve elementary schools for the next school year.
• We welcomed students, teachers, and chaperones from two new Loudoun County schools: Hovatter Elementary and Seneca Ridge Middle School.
• Stefany Feldbusch, one of our Environmental Educators, created a program for our youngest learners that focuses on the fascinating creatures and amazing plants that live in our Arboretum meadow habitat. This spring, in partnership with a preschool teacher from Frederick County Public Schools, we piloted our new meadow program with her two preschool classes. We are excited to add this program to our catalog for the next school year.
• Three new environmental educators joined our education team! Klio Stroubakis filled a vacant full-time position; she was hired at the beginning of our busy spring season.  Last fall Matthew Brown and Sara Dydak were hired into our new Seasonal Environmental Educator positions. Matthew and Sara help teach our large student groups and step in to teach when another of our Environmental Educators must take a day off. 

Some things students have said this year as they were learning at Blandy:

“I think trees are important because they are the umbrellas of the world.” Kindergarten student

“Wow! Microscopes really help to see things I didn’t see before! Did you know that bees have HAIR on their bodies?!!”  2nd grade student

“She said she knew she wanted to do "something" with science when she grows up but didn't know she could be outside having fun and still be doing science. So now she knows WHAT environmental science can look like.”  8th grade student’s comments recorded by her teacher

What do teachers think about our education programs?  Here is some of the comments they shared on our post-program survey:

The programs at Blandy are TOP NOTCH and encourage critical thinking as well as collaboration. We love that they are open-ended and involve the scientific method as well as working together as a team to complete activities and challenges.  Our scholars have made memories and learned so much and your instructors were very knowledgeable about what they were teaching!  We especially loved the PLANT song as well as the SMELL investigation in K/2 Mammals.  The 5th graders were THRILLED to use the microscopes!

Very thoughtful and interactive activities were presented with the students’ age and grade level in mind. [Blandy educators were] supportive of [student] questions and answers were provided. Appreciated the attention to details and attention to all the students.