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Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation Awards Grant to Jefferson-Houston School
Grant supports environmental education and outdoor garden initiative
Jefferson-Houston School, a Pre-K through eighth-grade public school in Alexandria City Public Schools, received a $1,200 environmental stewardship grant from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation. Funds will be allocated to support the school’s outdoor garden initiative, including planting supplies and curriculum materials.
According to Sarah Mehaffey, garden project liaison and incoming PTA president for the 2017-2018 academic year, the school’s butterfly and pollinator garden offers many opportunities for hands-on agricultural, nutritional and environmental education for the students. “Our teachers create lesson plans about ecology, botany, plant identification and the synergies of pollinators and flowering plants, just to name a few of the topics covered in this outdoor garden classroom,” she said.
Mehaffey added that the elementary and middle school students are engaging with the environment in a very meaningful and memorable way that lines up with the school's International Baccalaureate curriculum as well as Virginia Standards of Learning targets in STEM subjects like math and science. “This generous grant from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation offers an enriching learning experience for the children, and that’s very exciting,” she said.
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In April 2017, the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation awarded $1.2 million through a competitive grant process to more than 100 schools, organizations and communities in 10 states served by Dominion Energy. The grants support environmental education and stewardship projects that preserve, enhance or make nature more accessible. Since 2003, Dominion Energy has donated nearly $30 million to a wide variety of environmental projects across its footprint. For more information, visit www.dominionenergy.com.
CAPTION:
Students Sonia Colindres and Makayla Alford prepare to spread some eco-friendly compost into the outdoor garden at Jefferson-Houston School with Scott Reamy, external affairs manager for Dominion Energy. The school received an environmental stewardship grant from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation to support the garden initiative.
