Carpenter Elementary's Outdoor Science Center recently saw a huge boost in enthusiasm and funds. The school's March 11 fun run - the culmination of two weeks of fitness and character education - is expected to net the school more than $23,000.

As early as fall 2008, Carpenter's PTA suggested a butterfly garden for the large space behind the school. But a Wake County Public Schools facilities planner decided the field could hold a project larger in scope. And the opportunity was made possible thanks to parent Yvonne Maher and her employers, McNeely Associates, who provided landscape architectural services pro bono for the past two and half years.

But there were still plenty of material and planning costs and a large amount of fundraising before the Outdoor Science Center could get off the ground. By spring 2010, the PTA had raised enough to start the first phase, which includes rain barrels, a weather station and a rock garden

The PTA continued to search for innovative ways to fund the remaining portion of the project and settled on a 5K fun run for the community.

About that time, Ashley Takalo, the group's vice president for fundraising, discovered Boosterthon, a school fundraising non-profit based in Atlanta. The organization selects specific schools across the country and provides a turn-key pep rally, fundraising support, character education classes and fun run for the students. Students collect pledges from friends and family members via computer based on how many laps they plan to run, with a 35-lap limit.

Carpenter excelled at the process, winning the February School Spirit Award, a national honor.

"Boosterthon put the power in the hands of the kids," said Takalo, "whereas other fundraisers often rely on parents to handle it."

Rex Little, the Boosterthon Raleigh area leader, said the organization's goal was for teachers and parents to be "refreshed and encouraged" after the two-week fundraiser, instead of overwhelmed and exhausted, as with many similar events.

Carpenter is still counting the funds raised after the event, but already Maher and Takalo are moving forward. The money will pay for not only interactive white boards for the classrooms but the rest of the first phase and all of the second phase of the science center.

"The Outdoor Learning Pavilion for Phase I and plans for Phase II's butterfly garden are going to bid, and we hope to have the construction done by the end of April," said Maher. "We would love to have a ribbon cutting sometime around Earth Day."

The current plans include Solar/Polar Plaza, which Carpenter's art teacher will help students decorate, and a caterpillar nursery.

"Caterpillars are host-specific, and we will plant raised beds with dill and carrots for swallowtails and milkweed for monarchs," said Maher. "Planting and designing is a great opportunity to talk about nature and nurture and how what we do affects other things."

What Maher and the PTA have done will affect not only their own children, but children who will attend the school in years to come. Already, other schools are contacting Carpenter to find out how they can create their own outdoor learning environment.