Our EcoStory

During the 2024–2025 school year, Carver Elementary shared its environmental journey through a vibrant, multi-platform storytelling campaign led by students and supported by our broader community. This action aligned with the EcoSchools Framework by emphasizing student-led learning, real-world engagement, community as classroom, and place-based storytelling. Our EcoStory was told through classroom presentations, student-created bulletin boards, and social media posts that celebrated our growth as a school committed to biodiversity, sustainability, and outdoor education.

The action began with the Guardians of the Triangle, Carver’s Eco-Action Team, who led their peers through the 7-Step EcoSchools process. To raise awareness across the school, students designed and installed bulletin boards that featured photos, data, journal entries, and environmental milestones—turning hallway spaces into learning galleries. Classrooms created their own presentations about biodiversity projects such as macroinvertebrate surveys, pollinator counts, composting, and rain garden design. These presentations were shared during special events and schoolwide assemblies, amplifying student voice and building school-wide ownership.

To reach the broader community, Carver regularly posted updates and student work on both the school’s official Facebook page and the Outdoor Education Instagram account (@carver_outdoor_ed). These posts documented student-led investigations, fieldwork, and action projects aligned with the Wildlife and Biodiversity pathway. Our EcoStory was also shared externally—Richmond Hill Garden Club featured Carver’s progress on their social media, and Mayor Russ Carpenter celebrated our Mayor’s Monarch Pledge ceremony online, bringing visibility to student-led civic action.

The reach of our EcoStory has been significant. Facebook posts regularly reached hundreds of community members, while Instagram stories and reels showcased student excitement and stewardship in action. Students experienced increased confidence and ownership as their work was shared publicly. Teachers reported that the act of preparing presentations, creating displays, and seeing their voices amplified fostered pride, purpose, and deeper learning connections.

Most importantly, this action made sustainability visible—not just as a subject of study, but as a core part of Carver’s identity. Students saw themselves as environmental leaders with the power to inform, inspire, and engage others. Through this project, our school turned storytelling into stewardship—where every post, presentation, and bulletin board helped grow a culture of care for the earth and each other.