The first class of Beautiful RVA‘s Ginter Urban Gardeners gathers twice a week, for 12 weeks, to do the very important work of making a difference: learning new things, building relationships, getting their hands dirty and transforming themselves into a new crop of urban gardeners dedicated to building up the Richmond community. This very special group of […]
Read MoreBeautiful RVA — Setting the Stage for Growth One way the Richmond Region is approaching sustainable change is by working collaboratively for greater, collective impact. From food policy, to transportation, to healthy lifestyles, to workspaces, to poverty and to early childhood education, we can see collaboration isn’t a new thing for our region. We even have a regional collaborative created to bring nine […]
Read MoreWhen you join Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, it changes the way you experience this special place. You explore the Garden from a new perspective. You find a deeper connection in nature. You feel a sense of ownership. Now, you can make that experience yours with the exciting new membership options at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. Here are my […]
Read MoreNewton Ancarrow had a passion for his hometown river, the James. He’d always loved boating, and took up boat-building as an adult. With two 300-horsepower Cadillac engines and fins to match, his luxury crafts were designed for the world’s richest speed boating enthusiasts. Customers included King Paul of Greece, the sheik of Qatar, the […]
Read MoreAn Urban Forest Growing in Your City Urban forests are thriving in Richmond. For 25 consecutive years, RVA has been designated a “Tree City USA” by the Arbor Day Foundation. RVA’s urban forest is spreading its canopy. It comprises every tree in the city limits, whether planted in medians, or residential districts and parks. Each […]
Read MoreTomatoes are a favorite summer vegetable for many, and for good reason. There is nothing like a sweet juicy tomato fresh off the vine in the middle of July! Tomatoes are a perfect vegetable for beginner gardeners because they are so easy to grow, and there are so many types and varieties to choose from. […]
Read MoreCarMax Cares about our Garden What would you do with 295 hours? You could sleep for 16 days straight, or brush your teeth 8,850 times. Or you could help with community-improving projects by volunteering all of those hours with Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. That’s exactly what the CarMax Foundation is doing during the month of June. […]
Read MorePeace Essays: Seeing Nature’s Lessons about Peace Through the Eyes of a Child This week, maybe more than ever, nature’s lessons about living together in peace seem imperative. The Richmond Peace Education Center asked students to write about “Learning Peacemaking from Nature” for the theme of their annual peace essay contest this year. The essays distilled some powerful lessons from nature’s diversity. The […]
Read MoreWe may be thankful for many things in a garden, but not everything. Under the “thankful for” heading: the blazing color of spring bloom, the annual return of flirty butterflies and the shift of seasons from gentle spring to sultry summer. “Not thankful for”: boxwood blight and periodic drought. Benedictine monk and author David Steindl-Rast […]
Read MoreImagine you’re an inner city high school student offered a job working in your neighborhood, learning new skills that you’ll be able to turn into a career. That’s exactly what the Groundwork RVA Green Workforce team is all about — that and more. The objectives are multifaceted: urban youth holding a real job, walking to work […]
Read MoreInspiration: The vital life force that adds meaning to everything we do. It sneaks up on us sometimes in unexpected places. A few weeks ago, I found it in a total stranger. I got an email from a Garden visitor, Ashley Gordon, who was looking for race photos of her group. She explained she and her coworkers had […]
Read MoreUnless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not. ~”The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss Remember the Lorax? He’s the Dr. Seuss character who warned against letting our own greed lead us into exploiting the natural world. “Now is the time,” he urged, while “the grass is still […]
Read MoreOne of the fun things about my job is all the people — the people that visit the Garden and the people the help us in the Garden volunteering. Last Saturday, I was lucky to work with a group of teens from HandsOn Greater Richmond Youth Philanthropy Project (a partnership between HandsOn Greater Richmond and The Community Foundation). […]
Read MoreDo you know what a butterfly kiss is? Butterfly kisses are when you gently flutter your eyelids against another person’s check or arm. It tickles, and feels a bit like butterfly wings on your skin. As you can see, it’s not something you can explain easily to a child. You just have to show them. And […]
Read MoreZahra Khojastehpour has been volunteering at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden for over 4 years. This summer she spent time helping out in the Butterflies LIVE! exhibit. Her time here inspired her to write the following blog post. I asked Khojastehpour how she ended up as a Garden volunteer. She explained, “I am too small to be of a positive […]
Read MoreIf 1,200 pounds of fresh-picked summer squash appeared on your doorstep one summer day, what would you cook? Amory James knows. He is the Food Production Manager at FeedMore’s Community Kitchen, where we’ve delivered 5,297 pounds of fresh produce harvested from the Community Kitchen Garden so far this summer. James and his staff use the vegetables to prepare between […]
Read MoreOn his first day of work as an intern, Will Eichenberger helped water a honeybee hive — something many high-schoolers would find daunting. But Will, though visually impaired, went about the task with aplomb. Will, a rising junior from Charlottesville, Va., joined the Garden as an intern in a partnership with the Virginia Rehabilitation Center […]
Read MoreMia Washington is the Children’s Garden Mayor’s Youth Academy intern for the summer of 2015. She assists with daily operations, horticulture and helps support our various educational programs. Mia has participated in the Mayor’s Youth Academy for many years and we are thankful she shared her finishing year with us. Take it away Mia… My […]
Read MoreMeet Children’s Garden Summer Intern Kittie Storey. Kittie works with our Youth Volunteer Summer Program on Tuesdays and Thursdays, helping with supervision, horticulture knowledge, and by being a positive role model. She also leads our “Food Production” chat. Kittie holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from Virginia Commonwealth University and has interned at Tricycle Gardens as […]
Read MoreGrown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them. ― “The Little Prince,” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry I hope my friends of Henderson Middle School are not too exhausted from all the explaining. I surely tried to allow them to have some time in the Garden […]
Read MoreMy name is Lia Bazemore and I am interning here at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden through an organization called Partnership for the Future. Partnership for the Future is an organization that provides high schools students in Richmond with college prep courses, personal development workshops, and saving incentives. With the help of business partners, they also […]
Read MoreThis is turning out to be a very successful season in the the Community Kitchen Garden. It’s the second week of July, and this week we delivered 518 lbs. of fresh vegetables to Feedmore’s Community Kitchen. This brings our total for the season to just over 3,000 lbs. To put that into perspective, here are […]
Read MoreWalk through a doorway and something magical happens. You’re in a different place! Perhaps you return to a familiar world filled with memories and people you love. Or maybe you enter a new space, leaving an old life behind and taking your first steps into a bright new future. A doorway is about transition, no matter where it takes you. Maybe you […]
Read MoreOnce a year we open our gates to the public for a free admission day: CarMax Free Fourth of July. This is one of our favorite events because we get to see so many people enjoying our garden, many who haven’t visited us before. It’s safe to say that this is our busiest day of […]
Read MoreThank you RAIN (Richmond Autism Integration Network) for volunteering in the Children’s Garden. This group is not afraid to get dirty and help out in the Garden. Today they mulched and weeded. Amazing! Thank you for the 60+ service hours! If your youth group is interested in volunteering at the Garden, please contact Nicki Apostolow, […]
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