2022 Hollin Meadows Earth Day Celebration Kicks Off New Phase in School’s Already Robust Outdoor Education Program

Alexandria, VA, April 18, 2022 – Hollin Meadows Elementary School (HMES), with support from the HMES PTA and the Hollin Meadows Partnership for Outdoor Education, will host an Earth Day Celebration and Community Work Day on Saturday, April 23, 2022, from 10:00am to 1:00pm. Typically an annual tradition, this event is resuming after a two-year hiatus due to the covid-19 pandemic. This year, the event will focus on re-connecting with community members—and building excitement around the new outdoor education opportunities that the school will offer this calendar year.

HMES is a Title I school situated in a community that is rich in history, diversity, and talent. With 55% of its K-6th grade students qualifying as economically disadvantaged, HMES actively aims to close the achievement gap for a historically underserved population. HMES embodies the belief that environmental education is vital in that it creates a personal connection with the earth and a commitment to the well-being of all life. The school has had a thriving Outdoor Education Program since 2005 and now offers its students over 20,000 square feet of courtyard garden space, which serves to reinforce core curriculum through experiential and project-based learning modules.

In addition to the school’s Learning Production Garden, which features 21 raised garden beds to grow produce for the school’s cafeteria, HMES will soon install a 24’ x 30’ greenhouse that will allow for year-round outdoor education and expanded production capacity. The greenhouse, once installed later this summer, will increase STEM opportunities and facilitate student interest in sustainable agricultural career paths and topics such as biodiversity, soil and water health, and carbon sequestration.  

One of the activities for this year’s Earth Day celebration will be marking off the area for the greenhouse and engaging parents on what they can expect from the new structure. But the Hollin Meadows community and its neighbors will come together to also refresh elements of the Learning Production Garden, Sensory Garden, and Outdoor Classroom. Along with volunteer opportunities for all ages and abilities, there will be food, children’s activities, and a student-led plant sale. Ultimately, the event will be an opportunity for the community to get an inside look at the exciting hands-on learning environment at HMES—and to join in the fun!

To learn more about the HMES Outdoor Education Program, view an overview fact sheet here. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Mary-Ellen Kwong; hmespartnership@gmail.com; 321-750-9977

Community Engineering Corps and Engineers Without Borders Complete Irrigation Feasibility Study for the Partnership

Community Engineering Corps (CECorps) is an organization that brings underserved communities and volunteer engineers together to advance local infrastructure solutions in the United States. In November 2019, they selected the Partnership’s proposal to conduct a feasibility study to determine the technical and logistical requirements for irrigating a large garden space on the back field of Hollin Meadows (HM) Elementary School’s campus. The Partnership requested this study as part of an ongoing effort to examine the possibility of turning one acre of the field into a community garden or farm that could produce fruits and vegetables for the HM cafeteria, as well as the cafeterias of other local elementary schools. The Northern Virginia Chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) conducted the study on behalf of CECorps and focused on the following:

• Evaluating irrigation requirements and alternatives for water sources

• Identifying regulatory requirements for construction related to a potential community garden/farm

• Assessing stormwater considerations

• Providing preliminary costs and logistical considerations for installation and operation

• Identifying irrigation components and other infrastructure required

EWB’s final report, available to read here, provides irrigation recommendations based on the study’s findings. Should the Partnership and HM decide to proceed with the farm, the report will be used to assist with project development.

HMES 2019 Earth Day – A successful day of celebrating, volunteering, and learning!

On April 27, 2019, Hollin Meadows Elementary School (HMES) hosted its students and alumni, their families, and members of the community for the school’s first Earth Day celebration since embarking on a major renovation project in 2016. During construction, HMES’ 14,000 sq. ft. gardens, enjoyed by students and community members alike, were forced to go fallow, so this year’s Earth Day celebration was especially poignant, marking not just the end of construction but also the beginning of a new chapter in the school’s Outdoor Education Program.

Photograph by Laura Marshall - Principal Jon Gates welcomes everyone to Earth Day 2019

HMES’ annual Earth Day celebration has always been an opportunity for community service, and this year’s celebration was no exception. Volunteers mobilized around several key projects: building a sensory path that leads to a bamboo tepee and painting a mural in the Outdoor Classroom; and laying mulch and completing the new compost system in the Learning Production Garden. Over the course of the day, all projects were completed! Clearly, the gardens of HMES are still a source of community pride, as they were in 2009 when First Lady Michelle Obama visited the school to recognize its efforts around nutrition, fitness, and Outdoor Education.

HMES’ gardens are also a source of great fun and present unique learning opportunities for all. This year’s Earth Day celebration included several exhibits and activities—one on worm composting, where students explained the vital role that red worms play in breaking down household waste; another focused on bat habitats and led students on a scavenger hunt in search of five bat houses located on the HMES campus. And as part of the student-led seedling sale, curious consumers quizzed students about their inventory and asked for planting tips. Students contextualized the sale by explaining how they planted the seedlings and nurtured their maturation over the previous weeks.

Photography by Jin - The Fourth Grade Plant Sale raised money for the HMES Outdoor Program and provided an exciting opportunity for Project Based Learning.

Photography by Jin - Parents and Students worked all day to complete the Sensory Pathway in the Outdoor Classroom.

Indeed, growth and transformation were prominent themes at this year’s Earth Day celebration. Past partnerships previously in repose reemerged and new partnerships were showcased: Mount Vernon District Supervisor Daniel Storck, a former HMES board member, was present as was leadership from Index Analytics, LLC, a data analytics and program management consulting firm, which awarded the Hollin Meadows Partnership for Outdoor Education a $5,000 grant for installing a solar-powered drip irrigation system in the Learning Production Garden. Also present were representatives from Arcadia, a nonprofit dedicated to creating a more equitable and sustainable local food system in the Washington, DC area, who have provided expertise and support to Ms. Buchanan and the Partnership as they’ve worked to reestablish the Outdoor Education Program.

HMES 2019 Earth Day may have been three years in the making, but it was clear to all who participated that the passion and focus that initiated the school’s gardens and Outdoor Education Program so long ago remain present and stronger than ever—and will no doubt carry the Program through the Spring 2019 growing cycle and beyond!

Photography by Jin - All hands on deck painting a 3D mural in the Outdoor Classroom