OUR PARTNERS

At Carver Elementary, we believe that meaningful environmental change happens through collaboration. Our EcoSchools journey is built on strong, sustained partnerships that bring real-world expertise, mentorship, and shared stewardship into our school community. Guided by the EcoSchools U.S. Framework and in pursuit of the Green Flag Certification, our Action Team works alongside local, regional, and statewide partners to co-lead habitat restoration, citizen science investigations, and sustainability education rooted in the unique ecosystems of the Ogeechee River Basin.

These partnerships are not symbolic—they are deeply integrated into our curriculum and culture. Scientists from Georgia Southern University, experts from the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Sea Grant, biologists from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and leaders from the Richmond Hill Garden Club, and Ogeechee Riverkeeper work directly with our students through workshops, field investigations, training sessions, and long-term data collection efforts. These collaborators help students understand how their local actions—such as restoring wetlands, eradicating invasive species, and monitoring water quality—connect to broader environmental movements and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Through these relationships, students experience community as classroom, a core pillar of the EcoSchools Framework. Our partners are not guests—they are year long co-educators who help us build a future of informed, empowered, and ecologically responsible citizens. Together, we are creating a schoolyard where learning is authentic, action is student-led, and stewardship is shared.

Georgia Southern Freshwater Ecology Lab

Dr. Checo Colon-Gaud's Freshwater Ecology Lab at Georgia Southern's Graduate research students support our Outdoor Education program year round. Graduate crayfish researcher Reginald Turner guides our crayfish research, has collected our crayfish DNA to share species identification with our students, and represented Carver's crayfish at a tri-state crayfish research meeting. Mr. Turner also supports our students with crayfish research mentorship in providing guidance on methodology, identification, and research areas of interest and focus. Our partnership with GSU will continue into 25-26 as we extend our crayfish research projects to amphiumas and other species of interest.

Richmond Hill Garden Club

The Garden Club volunteers every Wednesday during Camp Wildcat. They also financially support our projects and have donated $1000 to our Outdoor Education program and Green Flag Certification Action Projects. They provide advisement on our habitat projects and future rain garden. Volunteers also donate time for habitat maintenance, campus stewardship, and mentoring students. Members donate plants and tools to our program.

GSU GRADUATE STUDENT

Mr. Hemmings has donated lots of time and advisement to our students! He has spent time with Outdoor Education students to teach them about his microfish research, conducted two surveys, taught us field methods, and fish photography. Mr. Hemmings is a former Carver Wildcat and he will continue to volunteer for our Action Projects next year.

DONATIONS

Richmond Hill Garden Club donated $1,000 for habitat development

DNR Fish Hatchery donated a class set of fishing rods and loaned us fish otoliths.

Ogeechee River Keeper donated a D-Net and Water Quality Test Kit

Families donated 5 minnow traps, 2 wagons, 4 tents, 4 chairs, and 6 field guides

VOLUNTEER STATEMENTS

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

I was pleasantly surprised to see how excited your students were about crayfish, and I was happy to be able to share what I know with them as well. They were very inquisitive not just with crayfish, but also with the insects, amphibians, and, in a broader sense, the outdoors in general. I hope we were able to convey to them the importance of protecting the outdoors and that scientists don't all wear lab coats or only work in a lab. That by doing the very same monitoring and sampling that they are doing in your class, they are doing science as well! I'm very excited and proud of what they have accomplished in your class and what you've done with the program, and we at the Checo lab look forward to working with you and your classes again soon. Thank you again for inviting us to talk and share our knowledge and experiences with your classes!

Submitted by Reginald Tuner, Georgia Southern Freshwater Ecology Lab ("Checo Lab")

CONSULTATION AND SUPPORT