For the next two school years, the Dan River Basin Association (DRBA) will work with every elementary school in Franklin County, VA to become certified as Virginia Naturally (VAN) Schools, thanks to a grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment (VEE).
VAN is the official environmental education school recognition program of the Commonwealth. It is administered by the Department of Wildlife Resources and is recognized as the official environmental education school recognition program by the state Board of Education.
Joseph H. Maroon, Executive Director of the Virginia Environmental Endowment (VEE) said, “VEE is pleased to provide funding to the Dan River Basin Association for this environmental education initiative. VEE has partnered with DRBA in the past and its work has been exceptional: creative, thorough, and outcome oriented. We are sure that “Green Leaves Inspire Clean Water” will make a difference in both the lives of Franklin County students and in the quality of life for Franklin County residents.”
The Dan River Basin Association was awarded the two-year grant to provide environmental literacy programming to the same students through their 4th grade year into 5th grade. The project, called “Green Leaves Inspire Clean Water” is in partnership with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Virginia Naturally program.
Krista Hodges, DRBA’s Education Manager, said, “DRBA is excited to be the community partner that helps to sustain and connect teachers with environmental education programming available to the schools. Programming provided by local community partners is often turn-key and provides direct insight into that partner’s field of work that cannot be provided by teachers alone.  Students often benefit by the expertise of the community partner and can envision their career paths better through in-person activities and presentations than what a textbook can provide in a classroom.”
The elementary students will focus on community conservation, environmental literacy, water quality protection and place-based investigations. The first year, students will participate in DRBA’s Streamside Trees in the Classroom (STIC) program that partners with the US Army Corps of Engineers at Philpott Lake. Students will root native black willow cuttings in the classroom and take a field trip to plant them around Philpott Lake.
Following the STIC program, students will participate in a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) through this project, in addition to aligning with 2018 VA Science Standards of Learning “Green Leaves” components. The green leaves components are found in the curriculum framework, stating that all students need to complete an investigation project. With the expertise of DRBA and other partners who will assist, the schools will receive in-depth knowledge and curriculum to support the SOL guidelines.
“FCPS is pleased to partner with Dan River Basin Association to provide hands-on exposure and experiences in community conservation, environmental literacy and water quality. These experiences will enable our students to have a better understanding of their community environment and to possibly seek careers in these areas,” said Brenda Muse, Director of Curriculum and Instruction with Franklin County Public Schools.
The second year of the grant dives deeper into understanding our natural resources through hands-on water quality testing. This will include an introduction to riparian buffers through a streamside trees or riparian buffer assessment, while also learning about the history of Philpott Lake and the effects of pollution on our precious water resources.
After students complete water quality testing, the place-based investigation of choice will be completed in the classrooms, along with environmental presentations for each school. The Virginia Master Naturalists will serve as a third partner on the project, providing classroom presentations for each school that chooses recycling initiatives and wildlife habitat friendly areas as their place-based investigations.
The culmination of the project will be for all schools to become Virginia Naturally certified at the end of the two years. Virginia Naturally (VAN) Schools is the official environmental education school recognition program of the Commonwealth. The Virginia Board of Education has recognized the Virginia Naturally School program as the official environmental education school recognition program for the state. This program recognizes the wonderful efforts of many Virginia schools to increase the environmental literacy of our youngest citizens.
Courtney Hallacher, Statewide Wildlife Education Coordinator for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources said “DWR is excited about the collaboration between DRBA, VMN, and Franklin Co. schools to provide hands-on learning in the local environment over the next two years. We can’t wait to read about how this initiative funded by the VEE helps enhance the learning of 4th into 5th grade students and add Franklin Co. Elementary Schools to the list of recognized Virginia Naturally Schools.”
To learn more about DRBA’s impact and programs that protect and conserve our natural resources, visit www.danriver.org.
