A $2,500 Dominion Foundation grant to Belvedere Elementary School has helped the local school in its goal to go green.

The grant supported the development of outdoor classrooms for hands-on math and science learning. It also supported the clean-up and marking of the “Bulldog Paw Way,” a trail linking the school to the adjacent county park at the corner of Sleepy Hollow Road and Columbia Pike. Each grade-level team planted, maintained and harvested crops in one of eight raised beds, shared some of the bounty with the Arlington Food Assistance Center, enjoyed a “taste test” and participated in a composting program, recycling leftover food scraps in the cafeteria.

Additional funding from a Fairfax County Public Schools enabled the Belvedere community to transform the library courtyard into another outdoor classroom, complete with wildlife habitat gardens, a decomposition garden and a soon-to-be completed rock identification wall. Belvedere families will continue to water and maintain the gardens over the summer.