In the 2024–2025 school year, Carver Elementary implemented the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge as a whole-school, student-led action that exemplified the EcoSchools Framework in practice. This initiative aligned with the Curriculum, Community and Leadership, Wildlife and Biodiversity, and School Grounds pathways by connecting student learning to meaningful civic engagement, local biodiversity restoration, and collaborative conservation planning.

The action was initiated by Carver’s Eco-Action Team—The Guardians of the Triangle—who led their peers in researching monarch butterfly migration, habitat loss, and the critical role of native milkweed and nectar plants. After conducting classroom investigations and learning about local pollinator declines, all 4th and 5th grade students participated in a persuasive writing campaign. Each student wrote a letter to Mayor Russ Carpenter, urging the City of Richmond Hill to join the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge through the National Wildlife Federation. This campaign introduced students to civic processes and empowered them to advocate for environmental change in their own community.

The impact of the students’ work was immediate and visible. Mayor Carpenter formally responded to the letters and was invited to Carver’s Earth and Arts Night, where he publicly signed the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge in front of families, teachers, and students. Student Charlotte delivered a public reading of her letter, and a large-format poster listing the city's conservation commitments was signed ceremonially by the Mayor. During the event, the Mayor also read aloud an official proclamation declaring Richmond Hill’s participation in the pledge and presented it to the Carver student body, reinforcing the significance of student voice in shaping environmental policy.

The project extended far beyond symbolic action. The Mayor’s Monarch Pledge galvanized long-term, hands-on conservation projects across the school and community. With support from the Richmond Hill Garden Club and experts from the University of Georgia, students and staff began planning future pollinator gardens on school grounds. In classrooms, monarch conservation was embedded into science, social studies, and literacy lessons, creating interdisciplinary links between biodiversity, environmental responsibility, and civic participation. The pledge also sparked discussions between the city and school about future collaboration on greenspace development and native planting.

Student involvement was deep and sustained throughout the project. The Eco-Action Team not only led research and peer education but also worked directly with administrators and community partners to plan the event and shape the school’s ongoing pollinator efforts. All students had the opportunity to participate meaningfully—through writing, public speaking, poster design, habitat planning, and community celebration.

Socially and emotionally, this project created a powerful moment of youth leadership, belonging, and pride. Students experienced firsthand that their voices can influence elected officials, protect endangered species, and catalyze real-world action. The public signing of the pledge validated their advocacy and elevated student agency in schoolwide sustainability efforts. Teachers and families reported increased student confidence and enthusiasm around environmental leadership, and the project left a lasting impression of what authentic, student-led civic stewardship can achieve.

Student Letters to the Mayor

During Outdoor Education classes and Camp Wildcat, students wrote letters to the Mayor asking him to sign the Mayors Monarch Pledge. 

Mayor Carpenter officially signed the Mayor Monarch Pledge on April 7, 2025!

Mayor Carpenter Presented at our Earth and Arts Night

The Mayor’s Monarch Pledge project flourished thanks to a coalition of dedicated partners working alongside Carver students. Mayor Russ Carpenter and the City of Richmond Hill provided official recognition and logistical support for our campus signing ceremony, signaling municipal commitment to pollinator habitat. The Richmond Hill Garden Club offered expert guidance on native milkweed cultivation, supplying plants and hosting hands-on planting workshops with students. The Garden Club donated native milkweed. Carver parents volunteered to prepare our pollinator beds and assist with Earth Day events. Together, these collaborators ensured that our students’ voices were heard, our gardens thrived, and our pledge translated into meaningful, community-wide action for monarch conservation.

The City of Richmond Hill shared the moment on Facebook:

Volunteer Impact Statement

The Richmond Hill Garden Club aims to promote education and conservation in the community, focusing on teaching about native plants, sustainability, and environmental stewardship. Founded in 1955, it also supports local schools and provides scholarships for students pursuing gardening-related studies.

As a retired teacher, I have found great joy in volunteering with the Outdoor Education classes at Dr. George Washington Carver Elementary, under the guidance of classroom teacher Kari Wilcher. This rewarding experience began through a partnership between the Richmond Hill Garden Club and Carver Elementary, aimed at providing both financial and volunteer support for the school’s eco and environmental initiatives.

Through this collaboration, I’ve had the privilege of working hands-on with students on a variety of engaging activities, including:

• Identifying native plants

• Conducting percolation tests to determine soil types

• Leading environmental clean-up efforts

• Releasing ladybugs as part of a natural pest management initiative

• Participating in the planning of a rain garden (to be planted in August)

• Consulting with a native plant expert to evaluate the garden site

• Assisting students in identifying and cataloging species using the iNaturalist app

One of the most exciting aspects of our work is the development of a native plant rain garden—an effort that is particularly meaningful to me as a member of the Richmond Hill Garden Club. Our club is contributing $1,000 toward this impactful project, which not only supports local pollinators and improves environmental health, but also serves as a powerful educational tool for students and their families.

The rain garden will help teach valuable lessons about water conservation, the importance of native plants, and environmental stewardship. Once established, it will also serve as a source for propagating native species and creating additional gardens in the future.

The partnership between the Richmond Hill Garden Club and Dr. George Washington Carver Elementary School has been truly invaluable, and I’m proud to be a part of this meaningful work.

Submitted by Marti Fults, Retired teacher, volunteer and Richmond Hill Garden Club Member

May 13, 2025

By securing the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge, Carver Elementary has turned its schoolyard and the broader Richmond Hill community into a model of Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), establishing inclusive, pollinator-friendly green spaces that enrich urban life and bolster ecological resilience. This commitment also advances Climate Action (SDG 13) by enhancing local biodiversity—our pollinator gardens sequester carbon, regulate microclimates, and strengthen the natural systems that buffer climate impacts. Through the restoration of native milkweed and nectar sources, we directly support Life on Land (SDG 15) by creating critical habitat for monarch butterflies and other terrestrial species, combating habitat loss and biodiversity decline. Underpinning all of this is Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17): our students, the Richmond Hill mayor, Georgia DNR, the Richmond Hill Garden Club, and other community partners work hand-in-hand, demonstrating how cross-sector collaboration can harness youth voice, scientific expertise, and civic leadership to achieve lasting environmental stewardship.

The Mayor’s Monarch Pledge exemplifies the EcoSchools Framework by putting place-based learning into action—students observed monarch habitat on our own campus before inviting Richmond Hill’s mayor to commit to its protection. It demonstrates systems thinking as learners connect milkweed planting and pollinator garden maintenance to broader issues of food webs, climate resilience, and urban biodiversity. Through drafting persuasive letters and hosting the signing ceremony, students developed action competency, gaining real experience in civic advocacy and environmental leadership. And by partnering with municipal leaders, the Richmond Hill Garden Club, and Georgia DNR, they turned the entire town into a “community as classroom”, extending stewardship far beyond our school grounds. This work also reflects the National Wildlife Federation’s core values: it educates and empowers youth to become changemakers, engages and connects diverse community stakeholders, and supports nature and science by creating vital habitat for monarchs and other pollinators.

As part of our Mayor’s Monarch Pledge curriculum, Carver students wove math, social studies, and language arts into a single, impactful unit that connects classroom learning with real‐world stewardship. In math, learners explored the perfect bilateral symmetry of monarch wings—measuring left and right wing spans, plotting their data, and even charting local population trends using iNaturalist observations to create line graphs of monarch counts in Richmond Hill. In social studies, students investigated the monarch’s migratory journey, examined the role of municipal policy in habitat protection, and studied how civic leaders—like our mayor—can enact change for both people and pollinators. Finally, in language arts, students drafted persuasive letters and informational brochures, using strong evidence and descriptive language to invite the mayor to sign the pledge and to educate classmates about monarch conservation. Together, these integrated lessons empowered students to apply academic skills, exercise civic voice, and translate data into action for a healthier, more pollinator-friendly community.

Resources we used: 

Monarch Conservation in Georgia - Fish & Wildlife

Monarch Butterfly Migration - U.S. Forest Service

Monarch Butterflies & Georgia Gardeners - University of Georgia 

Monarchs Across Georgia - Environmental Education Alliance

Field Guide to Georgia Milkweeds - Environmental Education Alliance

Resources - Environmental Education Alliance

Mapping Milkweeds in Georgia - Environmental Education Alliance