Painted Rock Project in Giles County

GILES COUNTY, VA- The past two weeks in Giles County have been a flurry of fun, creative activity. The Giles Early Education Project (GEEP), Giles County School Board, and faculty and students have engaged in a massive and ambitious public art project. Lynn Hill of GEEP shared in an email that their plans are to have every child ages 4 through the 7th grade participate in the “Rock-Paper-Wizards” initiative.

Since November 2 GEEP has delivered buckets of rocks to all three elementary/middle schools in Giles as well as the early learning centers. The students and teachers, along with family and supporters have been creatively painting the rocks. The task from GEEP was to “paint a rock that in some way represents who they are.” The collective creative energy has inspired the School Board, staff, volunteers and others to join in the painting.

The GEEP members will collect all rocks on November 10 and shellac them for longevity. The group, made up of a cross section of the Giles community who hope to improve and provide avenues for positive development for young children in Giles will then install the rocks in a massive public art project sometime in the near future.

Those involved anticipate 2,000 students being involved from all parts of Giles County. The Superintendent of Schools along with the librarians and art teachers were supportive and influential in helping to spread the collective approach to the Rock-Paper-Wizards project. In the larger picture GEEP wanted to encourage positive habits through this project and they’ve added a literary component and have shared a list of books that will encourage creativity as youth paint their rocks about them. They’ve also encouraged youth to write something that shares their ‘uniqueness’ but also “how they might share their talents with others in their community.”

All partners hope that the project will meet an outcome of not only celebrating ‘me’ but also ‘us’ as a community. The Giles County community and educational providers continue to inspire learning and creative solutions for educating our youth. For more information on this project please feel free to reach out to Lynn Hill at 540-921-0001. You are also welcome to reach out to the Giles County Tourism Office at 540-921-2079.

Giles County, Virginia is located in Southwest Virginia approximately 40 minutes south of Roanoke and just west of Blacksburg and Virginia Tech. With easy access to the New River, world class dining and lodging properties, and historical attractions for the entire family, Giles offers adventure in Virginia’s Mountain Playground™. Come find your playground at our Visitors Center located at 203 N Main Street, Pearisburg, VA 24134 or find us online at gilescounty.org or by calling 540-921-2079.

Virginia’s New River Valley: For those searching for a beautiful place to live and do business, Virginia’s New River Valley provides both an eclectic small town atmosphere and an innovative, collaborative business community with a loyal, highly skilled, and educated workforce. Offering the best of both worlds – magnificent mountains, cutting-edge research, arts, entertainment, and education – it’s A NATURAL FIT.

Onward NRV: Onward NRV is a public/private, regional economic development organization whose mission is to attract and retain world class jobs, investment and talent in Virginia’s New River Valley. It’s also a movement where leaders from business, government, and higher education work together to promote the economic vitality of the region.