Awards

In 2001, the arduous task of saving the 1918 Southern Railway Depot in Chatham was begun, and for the past nine years Pittsylvania Historical Society has proceeded with restoration of this historic icon located on the main North/South rail line of Norfolk Southern Corporation.
Renovations to the interior of the depot are expected to be completed in July 2010 and will provide multi-faceted historical, education, and community benefits.
In answer to our search for a worthwhile project that will impact our entire area, Chatham Garden Club has committed to fund the initial grading and site preparation for the implementation of a professional landscape entrance design. Further, because we feel confident that once renovations are complete, opportunities to add plant material will present themselves, CGC is researching rare horticultural specimens unique to the period that the train station was a bustling, thriving part of Virginia life. In light of reduced school funding, this incredible resource is expected to host local school trips, which has inspired CGC to explore the additional of a teaching garden.
The coveted Common Wealth Award would allow us to aid in the completion of this beautiful entrance design and further our contribution to hoticulture, preservation, and education.

The Common Wealth Award will enable us to complete our plans for woodland walking trails at the Gloucester-Mathews Humane Society. These trails would include benches, tables, birdhouses, shaded areas and a variety of native plantings with education signage. This project will provide shelter and sanctuary for not only a vast array of wildlife, but also for the approximately 10,000 yearly community members who visit, volunteer and adopt at the shelter.
The Gloucester-Mathews Humane Society is the only animal shelter serving the 751 square mile area of Gloucester, Mathews and Middlesex counties. This facility opened in 2009 with virtually no government funding. Hundreds of community members were instrumental in the planning, funding and building of the new shelter.
Under the leadership of The Garden Club of Gloucester, community volunteers joined members in the initial landscaping of the shelter. The club raised more than $8,000 over 3 years for this initial work. Together we planted more than 100 mostly native trees, shrubs and thousands of bulbs. The Community Woodland Walk continues our landscaping work at the shelter and would offer a natural retreat to the larger community. We are committed to this project for our community and respectfully seek your support.

St. Mary's Home for Disabled Children in Norflok has a garden designed to enrich the lives of children residing in this unique facility - Virginia's only pediatric long-term residential care facility exclusively for children, newborn to 21, with severe mental and physical disabilities. This state-of-the-art facility for 92 residents, one of a few nationwide designed exclusively for providing care in a home-like residential environment, opened in 2005.
Two large courtyards with floor-to-ceiling windows enable over 6,000 residents, family, visitors and staff to interact with nature or enjoy gardens from inside. In 2008, Harborfront Garden Club began
working with staff and Girl Scout Troop 5067 on a new Butterfly and Sensory Garden in the courtyard near the main entrance. We planted plants from our own gardens, donated plants and $500 in plants we won in a national website contest. We funded the installation of a fishpond - especially popular with the children. Now more plants are needed as well as irrigation, paved walkways to accomodate the wheelchair-bound children and low-voltage lighting to view the garden at night.
The physical and emotional demands on the children, families and dedicated staff are significant. Full access to the garden will allow children to experience nature's wonders while providing respite for all who visit, work and reside at this outstanding facility serving all of Virginia.

Huntley Meadows Park - a 1,500 acre protected natural area in Alexandria, Virginia - is currently working on an Outdoor Classroom project. This project is based on a self-guided trail around the park's visitor center that would run through several stations that include the following:
* Native plantings of species from the Chesapeake Bay watershed that atract songbirds and pollinating insects, and are tolerant of shade, drought, flooding and deer browse
* Amphibian ponds
* Bird feeding stations
* Nesting boxes for bees, birds and bats
* Wildlife brush shelters
* Teaching shelter

Primary goals of the project:
1) increase the park's teaching space
2) encourage visitors to interact with the natural environment
3) educate visitors about native plants and local wildlife, especially songbirds, amphibians and beneficial insects such as pollinators
The proposed teacher shelter would function as the center of the outdoor classroom, facilitating outdoor workshops and programs. This aspect of the Outdoor Classoom requires the most funding - park staff asks for financial help from the community to make the teaching shelter possible.