Studying the relationship between plants and insects, learning about meteorology and being able to identify different species of trees make up a typical day at the school. Students have constructed a butterfly garden and tagged Monarch butterflies migrating to Mexico.

A shipment of ladybugs is on the way for yet another project, said Claire Sorensen, who teaches first and second grade at the school.

But it's the older children at the school who have embarked on an ambitious plan to transform their schoolyard into a paradise for birds.

Students are working to create a bird habitat that will include a small forest of silver maples and sycamores stretching in front of the school. The habitat, which has been under development all year, will contain everything birds need to survive: food, water, shelter and nesting grounds.

The project, said science teacher Matt Gilford, is entirely run by students.

Students first began identifying the types of birds they want to attract, such as redtail hawks, redwing blackbirds, redbellied woodpeckers, bluebirds and goldfinches. Next, they found out what kind of vegetation would be ideal, such as trees that include Norwegian spruce, American elm, red mulberry, black cherry, blue pine and mountain ash, all of which are still needed at the school to further development.

The students have walked the school grounds assessing the property and mapped a plan to lay out the features of the habitat, Gilford said.

The habitat will not only be used to study wildlife, but will also improve the school's appearance, said seventh-grader Stephanie Kasprzak.

The private school, which has slightly more than 100 students, received support from the National Wildlife Federation thanks to Kristen Whitbread, a parent volunteer who's been submitting applications for assistance, said administrator Charlotte Letourneau. The National Wildlife Federation, which supports conservation education, has certified Friends Meeting School as "a model of ecological stewardship and common sense conservation for the community," according to a press release. The school has also been designated as an official member of the organization's Schoolyard Habitats Program.

Friends Meeting School "has put out the welcome mat for wildlife while providing students and educators with an outdoor classroom," said National Wildlife Federation spokeswoman Mary Burnette.

Although a grant for additional projects is in the works, the school primarily relies on donations from the public to make its conservation initiative work.

The school, located on 54 acres off Green Valley Road in Ijamsville, is home to deer, foxes, groundhogs, dragonflies and just about every other species of wildlife native to Maryland.

Eighth-grader Blair Barnhard said studying wildlife conservation just makes sense. Humans build all over their natural habitat, he said, so it's only right to give back a bit in exchange.