Blandy Experimental Farm

The University of Virginia College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences seeks applications for a Finance and Administration Manager position at Blandy Experimental Farm in Boyce, VA. The Finance and Administration Manager supports operations at Blandy Experimental Farm including budget & finance, human resources, research program support, procurement and administration. Don’t wait, learn more and apply today. https://lnkd.in/eRf_N--3

T’ai Roulston, Blandy’s Curator & Research Associate Professor was reminded of the far-reaching impact of Blandy’s educational and research program last week. Two former high school students from Winchester, that he mentored in bee related projects at Blandy are now both PhD students in bee-related projects and the group reconnected at the Entomological Society of America annual conference in Phoenix last week. Courtney Walls (on the left) is a PhD student in entomology at Virginia Tech, where T’ai serves on her graduate committee and Willow Lovecky (on the right) is one of T’ai’s PhD students in environmental sciences at UVA.

Blandy Experimental Farm is hiring a full-time Environmental Educator to work with our preK-12 education programs. Imagine the rewards of teaching environmental education in Blandy's expansive outdoor classroom of 700 acres, including 5,500 trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants in a diversity of habitats including woodlands, meadows, wetlands, and open fields. Check out the full job description and qualifications online and apply today! https://lnkd.in/eRf_N--3

Help us welcome Anne Marie Chirieleison as the new Director of the Foundation of the State Arboretum. Anne Marie promises many exciting initiatives ahead as she leads the FOSA team in supporting Blandy Experimental Farm and the State Arboretum's varied collections and public education programs.

Learn more and apply! https://lnkd.in/eRf_N--3

Last week, Blandy’s Assistant Curator of Herbaceous Gardens, Carrie Whitacre, Director of Education, @Candace Lutzow-Felling and Lead Environmental Educator, Emily Ford, united with others from around the country at the National Children’s and Youth Gardens Symposium, hosted by the American Horticultural Society at the Chicago Botanic Garden. We shared how our gardens and educational programming grow students’ understanding of the natural world and how we can connect to the natural world through gardens and authentic science learning outdoors. Two 90-minute workshops showcased Blandy’s collaborative garden design and innovative learning opportunities. During the “Theme-based Garden Design and Education in a Pollination Garden” session, the team shared how we collaborated to identify themes and strategies for redesigning and renovating our Pollination Garden. The garden provides multiple opportunities for formal, hands-on education programs for K-12 and informal, interpretive-driven educational experiences for youth visitors. With “Science & Literacy Outside and In: Infusing Literacy into Garden-based Learning”, Blandy’s environmental educators collaborated with public school educators to develop outdoor-based activities and lessons that link science and literacy using non-fiction and fiction books. These activities connected the indoor and outdoor classroom lessons to the arboretum’s gardens, tree collections, and schoolyards.

The University of Virginia seeks a full-time director of the Foundation of the State Arboretum (FOSA). The FOSA Director develops and implements fundraising strategies to support the mission of Blandy Experimental Farm and the State Arboretum of Virginia, while ensuring the proper administration and financial oversight of FOSA. Interested? Learn more and apply today! https://lnkd.in/eRf_N--3

Jack Monsted, assistant curator Virginia Native Plant Trail at Blandy Experimental Farm, weighs in on what to do to see more butterflies in your yard in this (2 minute) NPR story this morning!

Listen in on all that is going out at Garden Fair this weekend! Hope to see you here! https://lnkd.in/etXy_xj6

What a great community partnership with Handley Regional Library System that brings the internationally acclaimed StoryWalk? to Blandy. Come check out the new (bilingual!) StoryWalk?—Bugs for Lunch/Insectos Para El Almuerzo by Margery Facklam! Find out about animals that snack on insects as you read Bugs for Lunch/Insectos Para El Almuerzo a page at a time while exploring Blandy’s Native Plant Trail.