About

Overview
The Center for Environmental Studies and Sustainability (VCESS) at Varina High School offers a dynamic and immersive educational experience for students interested in understanding and shaping the future of our natural world. Located in the rural eastern part of Henrico County, VCESS provides a unique setting for hands-on learning and deep exploration of human-environment relationships.

At its core, VCESS is rooted in student-driven, project-based learning. Students are not just passive learners but active investigators, designers, and change-makers. Through the lens of Environmental Studies—defined as the study of human interaction with the natural world—students examine how people steward, utilize, enjoy, and sometimes harm their environment. Our curriculum invites students to grapple with real-world issues such as conservation, agriculture, urban planning, energy use, water quality, and sustainability.

A defining feature of the VCESS experience is the weekly field experiences. Whether testing water in local streams, learning from regenerative farmers, monitoring biodiversity, or assisting with habitat restoration, students regularly step outside the classroom to apply theory to practice. These experiences are enriched by a diverse network of community partners, including scientists, farmers, land stewards, policy advocates, and sustainability professionals. These mentors share their time, passion, and expertise, providing authentic insight and opportunities for meaningful engagement.

By blending academic rigor with experiential learning, VCESS equips students with the critical thinking skills, collaborative mindset, and ecological literacy needed to navigate—and improve—the complex world they are inheriting. Whether students go on to pursue environmental science, public policy, engineering, education, or other fields, they leave VCESS prepared to lead with insight, empathy, and innovation.

Center Highlights

• Comprehensive, student-centered curriculum focusing on the scientific, social, political and historical elements of environmental studies and sustainability.
• Participation in cutting-edge aquatic, terrestrial and climate studies right outside your classroom.
• Community-based learning projects with environmental experts as mentors.
• Meaningful connections with highly-trained, passionate staff.
• Dual-enrollment credit opportunities available to all students.
• Experiential and place-based learning in the environmentally and historically rich Varina community.
• Hands-on, engaging daily learning experiences