Virginia’s Culpeper Soil and Water Conservation District presented Blue Ridge School with the 2022 Wildlife Habitat Development Award. BRS Director for Environmental Resources Cory Woods was present at the November 17 ceremony to accept the award on behalf of the School.
In recent years Blue Ridge School has invested significant resources to improve the habitats on campus, including the development of wildflower meadows along Bacon Hollow Road, building and installing bat boxes and bird houses, planting native trees, and spawning trout to replenish local waterways. The School also supports the American Chestnut Foundation’s effort to develop a blight-resistant strain by planting and monitoring developmental seedlings on campus. All of these initiatives are incorporated into Blue Ridge School’s outdoor education curriculum and serve the overall educational mission of the School.
Woods says he hopes this award, and others like it, will help Blue Ridge School partner with other agencies and organizations. “This recognition shows the School’s commitment to wildlife habitat education and development and introduces us to potential partners for new projects, both on and off campus. We are blessed to be in a beautiful and inspirational part of the world with many people dedicated to protecting and improving our natural resources. We at Blue Ridge School – especially our students – have so much to learn and to offer, and entities like the Soil and Water Conservation District facilitate much of that.”
The Conservation District awards ceremony was hosted by Board of Directors Chair Lynn Graves, Blue Ridge School Class of 1989.
Blue Ridge School is an all boys, all boarding college preparatory school with 170 students from 20 U.S. states and 25 different countries. The 750-acre campus is an accredited arboretum and open to the public and features more than 20 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. The Interpretive Trail along Chesley Creek is perfect for tree lovers as it has signage pointing out many different species in a relatively short walk.
