Chattahoochee High School's Green School Environmental Club recognized a serious pollution problem on their school grounds. They became concerned about the condition of a large retention pond situated between their high school and the Taylor Road Middle School. Recently, the pond had become polluted with debris and petroleum fuel run-off from nearby roads and parking lots. The students became alarmed because they knew that the retention pond was geographically in and around the headwaters of John's Creek, a major tributary of the Chattahoochee River. This river system was also the main source of Alpharetta's drinking water.

As a result, the students worked to create the ARCH Education Network. The acronym is short for "Active Riparian Commensal Habitats". The idea was to convert their water detention pond into a water retention pond. Instead of just slowing the water down, they wanted to design the pond is such a way that would filter out the majority of the non-point source pollutants that were entering the watershed. The students worked to raise money for the project and sought the help of government officials and local business leaders. They were able to secure a $240,000 grant from the Community Development Fund with the help of Johnny Isakson, a member of the U.S. Congress.

With the help of a professional engineering company, the students worked to design a wetland habitat and outdoor amphitheater to be used for educational purposes. The new wetland will serve as a natural filter, removing pollutants before the water reaches John's Creek. ARCH has worked to enhance the school curriculum by utilizing the environment as an integrative context for learning. The Green School Environmental Club was able to raise another $50,000 in donations and secured an additional $25,000 grant from General Electric. The G.E. grant was utilized to train teachers to use the ARCH as an educational tool. The students even produced a virtual-reality tour of the ARCH site. Future plans include the installation of interactive "talking trees" and lighting for nighttime use. The Green School Environmental Club hopes to build a greenhouse to facilitate the propagation of milkweed plants. Eventually, they would like to research the migratory habits of the Monarch butterfly. The greenhouse will also serve to provide students with training in horticultural techniques.

According to the National Geographic Society, "The ARCH Educational Network, envisioned and created by the Green School Environmental Club and the AP Environmental Science Club of Chattahoochee High School, is a model environmental program that could be replicated in other communities. They have taken a "real estate eye sore" retention pond and transformed it into an instrument to energize the curriculum, from art to zoology. This is a fine example of a project that engages students in higher order thinking and geographic analysis with positive results affecting their entire community."