The Georgia GOLD Grant supports Carver’s Outdoor Education program, a schoolwide, student-led learning experience that serves all 680 fourth- and fifth-grade students at G.W. Carver Upper Elementary School in Richmond Hill, Georgia. Embedded into the regular school day, Outdoor Education ensures that every student participates in weekly, hands-on field investigations across Carver’s 50-acre campus, which includes forests, wetlands, bioswales, pollinator gardens, and a dedicated Soil Lab within the Ogeechee River Basin.

Grant funding strengthens Carver’s outdoor learning infrastructure by equipping students with professional field kits and enhancing a new pole barn outdoor classroom. With these tools, students conduct authentic investigations in soil, water, and living systems, document campus biodiversity, monitor environmental conditions, and contribute real data to national citizen science projects. Students then apply their findings through meaningful stewardship work such as native planting, erosion repair, invasive species removal, and habitat restoration.

The GOLD Grant builds on Carver’s demonstrated impact. Outdoor Education has already contributed to higher science achievement, stronger science communication skills, and a deep sense of pride and responsibility for caring for the schoolyard. With continued support, students engage in long-term investigations that build confidence, teamwork, problem-solving skills, and a lasting connection to nature through real-world science.

At its heart, the Georgia GOLD Grant ensures equity and access. Every student, regardless of background, uses real scientific tools, conducts real investigations, and participates in conservation work as part of the school day. Through Outdoor Education and Seeds of Stewardship, students are not just learning about the environment, they are actively caring for their place and making a difference in their community.

Matching and InKind GOLD Grant Support

The Georgia GOLD Grant also supports professional learning that strengthens and sustains Carver’s Outdoor Education program. Grant funds are being used to build a shared professional library of high-quality environmental and science education resources focused on nature connection, inquiry-based science, soil and water investigations, biodiversity, macroinvertebrates, inclusive outdoor learning, and community science. These books support the design of phenomena-based, student-led field investigations aligned with Georgia Standards of Excellence and three-dimensional science. By investing in educator learning, the GOLD Grant ensures that Outdoor Education at Carver continues to grow as a rigorous, inclusive, and research-informed program that benefits every student year after year.

Georgia GOLD Grant funds are also being used to purchase student outdoor learning supplies that support species documentation and field-based scientific investigation. Equipment such as field kits, buckets, clipboards, binoculars, and iPhone-compatible microscopes allow students to observe, identify, measure, and document plants, animals, and microorganisms across Carver’s campus. With these tools, students collect evidence directly in the field, record observations in journals, photograph and identify species, create videos in the field, and contribute validated data to citizen science platforms. These supplies ensure that students are not simply learning about biodiversity, but actively practicing the work of field scientists by documenting life on their own schoolyard.

In-Kind and Additional Support Listed in the GOLD Grant

Pole barn outdoor classroom

• Bryan County Board of Education is constructing a permanent pole barn shade structure.

• Provides shade, shelter, and a central outdoor research hub that makes year-round field investigations possible.

• GOLD funds complement this by equipping the space with seating, storage, and learning materials.
  
  

Schoolwide scheduling and staffing support

• Outdoor Education is built into the master schedule on a 6-day rotation.

• All 675 fourth- and fifth-grade students receive weekly Outdoor Education during the school day.

• A full-time Outdoor Educator leads and sustains the program.
  
  

Existing campus assets

• 50+ acre campus with forest, swamp, wetland, bioswale, vernal pools, pollinator gardens, and a dedicated Soil Lab.

• Existing rain gardens, compost stations, bird habitat features, and a certified Schoolyard Habitat.
  
  

Existing equipment and infrastructure

• Previously purchased field kits, tools, and supplies that the GOLD Grant expands and upgrades.

• Secure storage systems and established procedures for equipment use and care.
  
  

Community and partner support (in-kind expertise and time)

• Georgia DNR, Georgia Native Plant Society, Garden Club of Richmond Hill, Ogeechee Riverkeeper, UGA Marine Extension and Sea Grant, Georgia Southern Freshwater Ecology Lab, Xerces Society, Coastal Wildscapes.

• Partners provide scientific expertise, field support, mentorship, data integration, plant material, and occasional equipment donations.
  
  

Volunteer and student leadership support

• Families, conservation volunteers, Girl Scouts, and Richmond Hill High School Science Honors Society assist with planting, restoration, mentoring, and data collection.

• Student leadership through stewardship projects and EcoSchools action teams.

Classes examine water from the bioswale one month after it had been mowed under the microscope.

The power of our field microscope is perfect for our students. The microscopes are portable and can go outside or we can connect it to a laptop and tv for group viewing. The microscopes are very easy to adjust the magnification and doesn't require any previous experience, or expertise, to use.

Carver uses the GLOBE Soil Characterization Protocol. The GLOBE Soil Color Protocol involves identifying the color of soil horizons by comparing moist soil samples to Munsell Soil Color Charts. Recorded in Hue, Value, and Chroma (e.g., 10YR 5/6), this determines soil composition like organic matter or iron oxides. Measurements are taken at each soil horizon to classify the soil. Soil analysis is an essential part of environmental science, providing key insights into land composition, hydrology, and ecological health and is a part of Carver's Pedosphere and Soil Lab Scope and Sequence. Visit's Carver's Soil Lab from last year. Rooted in GLOBE protocols and aligned to NGSS and Georgia Standards of Excellence, students engage in authentic fieldwork in the Soil Lab. 

Students go on a campus scavenger hunt with a spoon and sorting tray (ice cube tray or a paint pallet tray from the dollar store). The goal is to find six different colored soils and then use the Soil Color Book to identify its Hue, Value, and Chroma.