Green Spring Gardens

CONTACT INFORMATION: Gate locked at 5 p.m.
703-642-5173 TTY 711
4603 Green Spring Road
Alexandria, Virginia
Judy Zatsick
Manager

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Green Spring Gardens Field Trips

Experience one of the most beautiful public gardens in the region! Green Spring programs deliver interactive learning and curricula that address Virginia SOLs.

Registering for a Field Trip

Times

  • Programs run Tuesday-Friday.
  • Pre-K and Kindergarten programs run from 10:15 a.m.-11:45 a.m.
  • 1st- to 4th-grade programs run 10:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m.

Fees

  • $10/person for Fairfax County schools
  • $11/person for out-of-County schools
  • Fees apply to students and chaperones
  • Fees will be subsidized by 50% for Title I schools and Head Start programs
  • Maximum number of students per day: 75
Bring lunch and enjoy an outdoor picnic at the park after the program, weather permitting. Indoor spaces are not available for students to eat lunch. Dress for the weather.
Please review bus directions and field trip etiquette before arriving.

Self-Guided Groups

Please call ahead (703-642-5173) to schedule a visit so staff is better able to manage visitor traffic.

Group admission fee (12 to 60 people): $30 for the group

Each additional person over 60 people: $1

Optimal months: September, October, March, April, May, and June from 10:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

  • Discover the world of Green Spring Gardens.
  • Explore our seed library and learn how plants grow.
  • Dig in the dirt and investigate the living and nonliving things that make up soil.
  • Experience nature through your five senses on a guided walk.

(Science SOL: K.1, K.3, K.5, K.6, K.7)

Optimal months: September, October, March, April, May, and June from 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

  • Explore flora and fauna at Green Spring Gardens.
  • Examine our seed library and learn how plants grow.
  • Get to know pollinators and discover how plants attract them.
  • Investigate on a nature hike how our plants and animals support each other.

(Science SOL: 1.1, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7)

Optimal months: September, October, April, May, and June from 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

  • Investigate metamorphosis and processes of change at Green Spring Gardens.
  • Compare butterflies and moths and study their differing attributes.
  • Examine the life cycle of plants and dissect a flower in a botany lab.
  • Explore trees and their seasonal changes along a woodland trail.

(Science SOL: 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 2.7, 2.8)

Year-round 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

  • Explore the secrets of soil at Green Spring Gardens.
  • Get the scoop on clay, silt, sand, and humus in a soil lab.
  • On a hike around the grounds, examine how erosion and weathering have shaped the land.
  • Journey through the Chesapeake Bay water cycle and discover the connections between soil and water using an immersive 3D watershed model.

(Science SOL: 3.1, 3.3, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8)

 

Year-round 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

  • Discover how the wildlife of Green Spring Gardens survives and thrives.
  • Investigate how bird beaks are adapted for eating different foods.
  • Create a living food web and test your resiliency against environmental disruptions.
  • Explore the evidence of the animal presence on our trails.

(Science SOL: 3.1, 3.4, 3.5, 3.8)

Year-round 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. 

  • Explore Virginia's rich flora and fauna here at Green Spring Gardens.
  • Investigate the impact of humans on the Chesapeake Bay watershed using an immersive 3D model.
  • Create a living food web and test your resiliency against environmental disruptions.
  • Learn about the fascinating adaptations plants and animals have developed to survive.  
  • Walk our woodland trails and discover some plants that are native to VA and how they adapt to survive.

(Science SOL: 3.1, 3.4, 3.5, 3.7, 3.8, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.8)

Field Trip Etiquette

Download a printable copy of this information.

Please keep the following in mind to help make your trip a success.

  • Arrange for enough chaperones so that the adult-to-student ratio is at least 1:8. Maximum of 15 chaperones per field trip. Chaperones pay the same price as students.  
  • Please be on time.  Late arrival may mean programs are shortened or canceled because of other park programming and operational needs.
  • Payment in full is due on the day of your visit. Make check payable to “Fairfax County Park Authority” or pay with Visa or MasterCard.
  • All field trips include a walk outside.  Dress for the weather, including sturdy shoes, coats during cold weather, and raincoats during rainy weather. Please consider having students bring water bottles during hot weather.
  • Nametags are helpful so the naturalists can use students’ names during the program.
  • Green Spring Gardens remains open to the public during scheduled events, so please be considerate of visitors and staff.  Chaperones and teachers are asked to monitor students’ behavior during the entire program. Adult participation during activities is greatly encouraged! 
  • Respect the plants, animals and parkland.  Stay on marked trails. Do not pick plants or remove anything, living or otherwise, from the park.
  • Pack a picnic lunch to eat at the park. There are plenty of areas for an outdoor picnic. We recommend bringing blankets for children to sit on in the grass. 
  • Because of limited trash pickup and wildlife scavenging, please bring your own trash bags and take your trash with you. 
  • We value your input so we can make our programs the best they can be. Please complete and return the program evaluations given to you at the end of the program, or send an email to bailey.price@fairfaxcounty.gov or teegan.burkholder@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Bus Directions

Fairfax Virtual Assistant