Lake Anne Elementary Awarded $1,200 Grant For Community Garden

RESTON, VA — An elementary school in Reston is doing its part to promote sustainable living. Lake Anne Elementary was recently awarded a $1,200 grant from EcoRise to create a community food garden.

"It is our goal to produce food we can share with a food bank or members from our school community," said Consuelo Bachelet, a second-grade teacher at the school. She is also the coordinator for the school's eco-activities, which is part of the National Wildlife Federation Eco-School program.

According to Bachelet, the goal of her school's garden is to not only allow a place for students to learn and play, but to help hungry families in need and teach others about plant-growing life cycles.

"It will help us improve our collaboration skills and sense of belonging to our community," she said.

To improve their garden's "eco-friendliness" and ability to grow quality vegetables, Bachelet said they invested in better-quality material for their raised beds.

"The product we invested in has food-safe composite boards, made from 38 percent HDPE Plastic and 62 percent Certified Sustainably Sourced Wood Fibers," she said.

Over the weekend, community volunteers, including local Boy Scouts, came out to the school to help add the finishing touches to the garden.

"We joined forces with Nathan Bahrami, from Boys Scout troop 1700, who was searching to implement his Eagle Scout project in Reston," Bachelet said. "The proposed project cost was about $3,600.He designed and organized the work needed and created a GoFundme account."

As the seeds begin to sprout and produce, the volunteers and Bachelet hope to reap the benefits of their hard work for all to enjoy.

"Bahrami received support from the community and Lake Anne PTA. The work was done in three sessions of hard work by volunteers from Troop 1700, Lake Anne students and parents," Bachelet said.