The garden at Lois Harrison-Jones Elementary School
In the spring of 2020, the field beside John B. Cary Elementary School lay fallow. That was before Principal Michael Powell and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay transformed the space.
Today, the school has been renamed Lois Harrison-Jones Elementary and is home to a flourishing community garden and meadow, a place for kids to learn and the neighborhood to enjoy. The garden features native plants such as elderberry, swamp rose and aster flowers, all blossoming in the shade of young oak trees.
“It used to just be an open space,” says Ryan Bennett, a special education teacher and compliance coordinator at the school. “Now it’s a learning space for kids.”
Bennett, who helps develop the school’s curriculum, has incorporated the garden into the classroom at every level. “In kindergarten through second grade, they learn about birds and plants, and they take what they see from the garden and apply it in English class,” he says. “In the older grades, they have the opportunities to get out there and use some hand tools, learning about different kinds of plants, about invasive and native species.”
“A healthy forest has more than just trees,” says Christina Bonini, senior green infrastructure project manager at the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, a regional nonprofit. “It has a lot of understory and grasses, too. At the front of our garden, we have our pollinators, and as you move further back, the height of the plants increases. It mimics the way an area will reforest after being cleared.”
The garden features native plants.
Keeping the garden free from invasive species including English ivy, broadleaf plantain and wiregrass requires regular maintenance. Volunteer events, including a recent gathering hosted by HandsOn Greater Richmond, are essential to the effort.
Bonini indicated one of the larger beds, full of invasive weeds. “On July 13, we’re going to solarize this whole area,” she said ahead of the event. “That means covering it in black plastic and cooking the soil for a few months until everything dies. Then we’ll come back, amend the soil and plant native plugs.”
It’s a technique that’s worked in the garden before. The most verdant area — the meadow — was solarized in 2020. Today, it’s thriving. “It’s a good place to give lessons about soil health,” says Neal Friedman, green infrastructure project coordinator for the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. “Now the soil is that rich, dark, chocolate-cake texture.”
The reforestation area is just one part of the eco-campus at Harrison-Jones. There are also spaces where kids can grow their own food and plants that attract butterflies. “The kids grow cucumbers, tomatoes and strawberries,” Bennett says. “It gives them a sense of what they can grow on their own and make for themselves.
“It’s another opportunity to extend learning,” he adds. “When we’re plugging in to teach about soil science and water cycles, there are endless opportunities to make connections.”
The project drew the attention of the Chesapeake Stormwater Network. In June, it awarded the school its top prize for best management practice, or BMP, for its response to treating runoff. Since 2014, the “BUBBAs” — Best Urban BMP in the Bay Awards — has been issued by CSN as part of its mission to promote sustainable stormwater management.
“A few years ago, the school was dealing with a lot of stormwater issues,” says Michele Berry, stormwater coordinator at CSN. “They had a very large empty turf space that wasn’t being used for anything, and it was right next to an asphalt lot. It took a multipart project to address the confluence of issues. There are different ways of dealing with stormwater, but the ideal solution engages and connects the community, creates and restores habitats, and creates green spaces and trickle-down effects.”
The reforestation garden is also a place for neighbors to walk their dogs and kids to play after school.
Volunteers from CarMax work with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay to improve the garden.
Bonini estimates that over 100 different volunteers have attended events over the past year. “It’s so fun to work with volunteers. It’s incredible that people give their time,” she says. “People that come are excited to be here, and they come because they want to help. Sometimes it’s people with expertise. Sometimes people just want to spend the morning in the sun.”
The coming year will be a crucial one, and there is plenty of work for both students and volunteers. “Usually, year three is when things really explode,” Bonini says. “Hopefully, the beds will be free of grasses and the plants will be taking over the space. But that requires constant management.”
In her opinion, that’s the perfect job for an elementary schooler. “Kids need to be outside,” she says. “They should get their hands dirty, get some clean air and experience nature.”
