Over the last few years, the quiet little house and garden at Boxerwood that once served a family of five has changed into a full-fledged public garden and nature center, said Mohring. With an annual guest list of over 9,000, the visitor center, Munger Lodge, needed help dealing with wastewater.

"Unlike a septic system that discharges waste whether nature is prepared to deal with it or not, NEWTS copies nature at its most efficient" said Mohring. "NEWTS is an organized series of environments that clean the waste water before returning it to the earth."

"We've also designed our NEWTS to be beautiful and educational," Mohring continued. "We want people to see it. We even want them to touch and interact with it. This fall, we will be designing the signs and activities that will allow anyone to learn about this environmentally friendly waste treatment system. Some will simply tour and learn about the system."

"In addition, we designed and built NEWTS so variables can be manipulated and samples and measurements can be taken. Science projects from elementary school projects to professional health services [projects] can be designed and carried out. It's a real opportunity for learning."

"Clean water is becoming an issue all over the earth and there's lots of research indicating that we're making it impossible for earth to keep enough water clean enough for our use. We think NEWTS is a real opportunity to make a difference. Even though ours is designed to serve a commercial-size demand, single-home NEWTS can be done as well."

The majority of visitors to Boxerwood last year were local elementary and middle school students coming with their classes for activities aligned with the Virginia Standards of Learning.

This article originally appeared in the
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
issue of the News-Gazette.