Supported by Georgia Tech for Georgia's Tomorrow, Seeds of Stewardship is a student-led, place-based habitat restoration and biodiversity initiative at Dr. G.W. Carver Upper Elementary School (grades 4-5) and Richmond Hill Elementary (grades 2-3) in Richmond Hill, Georgia that supports the school’s National Wildlife Federation Eco-Schools Certification and engages students in real conservation work across Carver’s 50-acre campus in the Ogeechee River Basin. Guided by the driving question “What lives at Carver and how can we care for it?," student captains and co-captains lead school-wide efforts in which more than 1400 second through fifth-grade students participate weekly through the Outdoor Education program. Our work centers on two core goals: connecting children to nature and increasing biodiversity on campus. Seeds of Stewardship ensures that every student, regardless of background, participates in authentic environmental science and stewardship by embedding conservation work into the regular school day. Students identify and document native plants, collect and classify seed for a student-managed Seed Library, conduct soil testing using GLOBE protocols, map priority areas for restoration, remove invasive species, restore degraded habitats, and conserve endangered plants. Working alongside the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and local conservation partners, students contribute authentic field data to state and regional efforts, including the GADNR State Wildlife Action Plan Tracked Species Project. Aligned with the Georgia Standards of Excellence, NGSS three-dimensional science practices, the AFWA Field Investigations Guide, and the Georgia State Wildlife Action Plan, Seeds of Stewardship builds scientific habits of mind while strengthening biodiversity, ecological resilience, and student leadership through sustained, meaningful environmental action. For the 26-27 schoolyear, we are growing Spartina alterniflora for Sapelo Island.

The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), in partnership with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, is supporting our schools to take meaningful action for nature. By becoming a #GenerationRestoration School, RHES+Carver will join a global effort to stop and reverse ecosystem degradation, while gaining access to inspiring learning materials, hands-on activities and other opportunities for students and educators.

Our project, Seeds of Stewardship, is our action project for #GenerationRestoration and is representing the United States in #GenerationRestoration.