The "Lucky Ducky" team made the decision to serve as the voice for the ducks in their community. Their main goal was to transform their neighborhood retention pond into a living classroom and a vital community resource. They wanted to preserve, enrich, and restore a small green space for wildlife habitat, water quality, and educational purposes.

The primary problem that the duck population faced at this drainage pond was the lack of appropriate cover and areas in which to feed. The lack of native, herbaceous plant species was forcing the ducks to feed on non-natural food sources. The sterile landscape was also ineffective at removing non-point source pollutants from the water, thus creating a water quality problem. The students learned about water quality analysis, natural aquatic buffers, and the specific habitat requirements of the ducks in question. With the help of a local technical college, they designed a landscape that utilized native herbaceous plants.

The Lucky Ducky team discovered that they would need official permission to implement their plan. They contacted the Sangaree Special Tax Office to have their project placed on the community agenda. They presented their concerns to the appropriate committee and the project was approved. Working in cooperation with the Sangaree Parks and Recreation Department, the Lucky Ducky team applied for a grant through the South Carolina Forestry Commission. The group was awarded with an Urban and Community Forestry grant in July of 2001. The 4-member Lucky Ducky team has also won the South Carolina state award entitled, "Champions for the Environment".

The students have already installed a buffer of native vegetation, planted trees, created educational brochures, and have plans to build an educational pavilion. The Lucky Ducky team is now in the process of creating identification labels for the various trees and the wildlife that utilizes the pond. They are also designing water quality and aquatic buffer education pamphlets, and special activities for wildlife habitat studies.

According to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation "The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is thrilled to align itself with the exemplary, community-based, conservation efforts of the students from Sangaree Intermediate School in Summerville, South Carolina. Their Lucky Ducky Pond Project is testimony to how a small band of students can work successfully together to address a local natural resource problem through creative partnerships. This project highlights and underscores the importance and contributions of student efforts in natural resource conservation and promotes the power of partnerships. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation applauds their efforts to engage local conservation partnerships on behalf of wildlife habitat and water quality improvement, and further utilize a community resource for providing conservation education opportunities, that promote environmental stewardship and the use of riparian buffers and native plants."