LYNCHBURG, Va. – About 700 students at E.C. Glass were doing some hands-on learning on Wednesday and Thursday as they planted a forest garden by the high school.
Not only will the trees and shrubs planted produce fruit, but they will also add shade close by when they’re fully grown. Project leaders said they’re trying to lessen the urban heat island effect in Lynchburg.
“We’re planting the curriculum,” Dr. Laura Henry-Stone, a University of Lynchburg professor said. “That’s one of my long-term goals is helping students in the next generation develop some of these skills, you know, regarding how to design and manage spaces like this.”
The Virginia Department of Forestry provided $20,000 of funding for the project.
This is the second effort of its kind. Another forest garden was planted at R.S. Payne Elementary School last year.