October 5, 2021

Leesburg Garden Club Awards final 2019 Grant in 2021

 Leesburg, Va. -- The Leesburg Garden Club (LGC), a 501(c)3 organization proudly announces the award of grant funding to Lucketts Elementary School through the LGC Community Outreach Grant Program. The LGC established the grant program in 2017 when the Club saw a distinct need to provide project funding to Loudoun County non-profit 501(c)3 organizations who share in the expressed Mission of the LGC. That Mission states “The object of the Club shall be to promote active interest in gardening and to assist in the protection and development of the natural beauties of the State”.  It was the intent of the Club to select projects within Loudoun County either urban or rural which best reflects the furtherance of the Mission of the Club. Due to Covid 19 restrictions and school closures the awarding of funding was delayed in some cases.

On September 23, 2021, Lucketts Elementary School was finally awarded a grant of $1125. for an Outdoor Classroom and Learning Lab. The grant will fund the installation of a milkweed habitat, Monarch Waystation, weather station and a vegetable garden. Students will use the outdoor classroom to learn about native plants and the wildlife they support, collecting rainwater and composting for sustainability, as well as predicting and understanding weather patterns.

Two additional recipients of the 2019 Grant Funding (and awarded in 2020) were Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy to complete the installation of a pollinator meadow and purchase interpretive signs, and Tuscarora High School to improve an existing courtyard with native plant installation, tree and shrub plantings and installment of a Monarch Waystation. (Due to Covid-19 restrictions Tuscarora HS has not yet been handed the grant funding, but will when restrictions are lifted.)

The 2019 Grant Program was supported by a fundraiser at Selma Plantation and hosted by Sharon Virts and Scott Miller of Leesburg, VA. The Loudoun County Children’s Educational Fund Grant is an active participant with the LGC Grant Program.  

Recipients of grant funding since the 2017 establishment of the program are Oatlands Plantation and the Leesburg Elementary School.  Oatlands required additional funding to complete the irrigation system within the 5-acre walled garden. Leesburg Elementary School was also awarded a grant to support its outdoor garden classroom.

Prior to the establishment of the grant program, the Club had, for 104 years, shouldered many projects in Leesburg and Loudoun County. The projects are cited as examples for their benefit to the community and conformance to the Mission.  In 2015, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the LGC, “The Native Tree Walk” was inaugurated. It is situated at the southwestern side of Ida Lee Park, accessible by foot, bicycle and wheel chair alike, and is a well-planned planting of native tree species. Each tree has an ID placard which gives an interactive description and the benefit of each tree. Planning the project and funding to purchase the signage and trees was provided by the LGC.

Other recent project include tree plantings and purchase of a bench at the Douglass School and Community Center; planting of an embankment garden along Edwards Ferry Road outside of the George C. Marshall home; member-assisted gardening effort at Oatlands Plantation; and the purchase of daffodil bulbs for planting at entrances to the Town of Leesburg.

The above are examples but are not limited in nature to the types of future projects the LGC hopes to fund through its grant program. The Club will promote the availability of grants to local 501(c)3 non-profit organizations. To learn more about the Leesburg Garden Club please visit the website leesburggardenclub.org .