Stopping to smell the flower show

I tooled down to the Virginia Beach Convention Center a few weeks back for the Flower and Garden Expo. I oohed and aahed over the colors and fragrances at the flower market, admired the art work, and had my funny bone tickled with the watering can and wheelbarrow botanical art endeavors. I voted on my favorite signature landscape gardens, and made mental notes on the Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs judging categories, particularly the charming miniatures competition. One vendors booth stopped me in my tracks, Vertical Gardens. This could be the answer for my living room wall that needs something and it’s a Your Corner story to boot! Donna Hoover, Jessica Errickson and Dawn Bali are North Suffolk residents starting their own “green” company. See what living walls are all about at verticalgardensllc.com 

Unbridled enthusiasm was apparent at Oakland Elementary’s first Healthy Youth Day on Jan. 19. Thanks to physical education teacher Anne McCoy’s creative efforts in procuring a $500 grant from the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, 24 high-end pedometers are now part of the school’s equipment inventory. That was the first step in an avalanche of planning for the day. The artistic Anti-Tobacco Graffiti Wall had signatures from most students. My Plate designs featured the new USDA food guidelines. Energetic dance routines choreographed to Kung Fu Fighting were used throughout the day as a sort of “Flashdance” interlude. Calculating mass pedometer readings and developing graphs of fruit and vegetable taste-test results occupied the more math- and science-oriented students. Incorporating healthy lifestyles into daily curriculum isn’t so tough; it just takes a bit of creativity. The day’s grand finale was a gymnasium competition of staff against the kids. During a two-minute span, 18 staff members managed 6,000 individual steps on seven different exercise stations. But, Ms. Avery’s fourth-grade class was able to exceed 9,000 steps when they got their two-minute turn. Principal Chris Phillips was the lead cheerleader fort both teachers and students and instigator of spectator waves.

The combined efforts of the Nansemond River Preservation Alliance and the C.E.H. Foundation almost outgrew the C.E.H. Ruritan Club for the quarterly River Talks series. John Page Williams, voice of the Chesapeake Bay Buoy system (1-877-Buoy Bay), shared a wealth of information about the geology, history and culture of the watershed area. Surplus 2005 National Geographic maps designed for the 400th anniversary of Jamestown were used in lieu of a room-darkening Powerpoint presentation. The alliance is intent on educating residents about our local river, providing more access points and improving its overall health. Becoming a part of the John Smith Blue Water Trail is another step in that direction. While locally we are most concerned with the Nansemond River and its tributaries, are you aware the Chesapeake Bay watershed originates in Cooperstown, N.Y., and covers parts of six states? Thanks to a $1,000 grant from the Suffolk Education Foundation, students from Tracy Williams sixth-grade class at Forest Glen Middle are having their own hands-on experience on the Nansemond. They are planting oyster seeds and performing water-quality measurements at Bennett’s Creek Park. To learn more, contact Elizabeth Taraski at 745-7447 or etaraski@nrpaceh.org.

Driver’s Florence Bowser Elementary School recently had a science careers day program. Participants included Pam Payne and Eileen Nelson from NASA; Jeff Brittingham, EMT instructor from the Pruden Center; Beverly Larson, an organ donor transplant coordinator; Jason Alleyne Sr. a Navy officer; and Kathy Henderson, RN. Rather than cramming in every possible career path on one day, Florence Bowser is working on a broader timeline. Next up will be transportation careers. If you’d like to share your employment field during the Year of Careers Program, contact Robbin Riddick at 923-4164.

Do you have a story to share with Your Corner? Please let me know at k.billue@charter.net.

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