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Located in Lorton, Virginia, BLM Eastern States' Meadowood Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) offers 800 acres of forest and meadows, 2 fishing ponds, 13.4 miles of hiking trails, 7 miles of horseback riding trails and 6.6 miles of mountain biking trails. Additionally, Meadowood provides year-round environmental education programs for homeschoolers, public and private schools, local 4-H groups and community youth agencies. A growing amount of the Environmental Education programming is based at the on-site Pollinator Garden and Edible Learning Garden.Both of these garden environments aim to foster science literacy and social skills, while enhancing an awareness of the link between plants in the landscape and our environment, food security, health and well-being. Gardening projects provide adults and children with the carefree exploration of the natural world; it can also give young people the chance to develop a wide range of skills. Noted benefits of garden-based learning programs among youth include increased nutrition awareness, environmental literacy/stewardship, higher learning achievements, and increased life skills.Pollinator species such as bees, butterflies, and bats provide a variety of benefits to native, non-native and agricultural plant species through pollination. This has a trickle-down effect, benefiting native plant communities as a whole and the wildlife that depend upon them. In the northern Virginia area, pollinator species are under pressure from urban development, loss of habitat, insecticide use, invasive species, and a variety of other causes. The decrease in numbers of pollinators results in less abundant plant communities and diminished wildlife habitat.In 2010, BLM ES staff and local volunteers designed and planted a community pollinator garden at the Mustang Trailhead on the SRMA. The garden provides a unique visual and educational opportunity to highlight the benefits of pollinators for the public. Meadowood's Pollinator Garden project is part of a larger collaboration known as the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC). Through NAPPC, more than 100 private, government, university and non-profit organizations are working together to encourage the health of resident and migratory pollinating animals in North America.Now in its fifth year, Meadowood's Pollinator Garden continues to grow an abundance of flowering plants to effectively attract attendant pollinators. In addition to native plants such as butterfly weed and indigo bush, the common ornamental zinnia, grown annually from seed, has been found to be extremely hardy and colorful, flowering all summer and always popular with a wide variety of bees, flies, moths and butterflies. Even flocks of gold finches have been observed swooping down into the garden to eat seeds towards the end of summer.This past spring Meadowood significantly expanded its garden-based learning program with the cultivation of a new Edible Learning Garden. Located directly behind the primary visitor center, this living classroom contains a growing number of edible native plant species and crops. The new garden was constructed by ES staff and volunteers as part of this year's Earth Day event.In just its first season, the Meadowood Edible Learning Garden has hosted over a dozen volunteer days and local school groups with hands-on Environmental Education activities on a variety of topics, including Three Sisters Companion Planting Techniques, Vermicomposting, and Soil Microbes. An additional workshop series, led by ES staff, local teachers, and master gardeners, will focus on Native Species and Plant Identification. Future plans also include increased engagement with BLM's national Seeds of Success program, Healthy Eating & Nutrition workshops, and connecting Science,Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) K-12 curriculum with both gardens.