Children of present and future generations will bear the cost of climate change, and must be involved in decision making through scientific literacy and enquiry. Raising Rarity is a school outreach program which fosters conservation education using a hands-on approach. Students grow and care for a threatened species that occurs (or did so historically) within proximity to their school. This Raising Rarity-school partnership begins with students attending a Discovery Day. Here the students are introduced to the taxonomy and ecology of the species they will care for. Students then plant out their threatened species at their school, with the help of the Raising Rarity team. The monitoring phase begins - recording phenological stages, soil pH and moisture levels. These actions are informative for plant health and how species may behave under cultivation. The students harvest seeds and ensure their safe passage to the Victorian Conservation Seedbank. Each year we celebrate student achievements with a Celebration Day, held at a botanic garden. The program is unique in its adaptability to different school learning contexts and needs (e.g. rural /urban, early years to young adults, school-based formal/extracurricular initiatives and connections to diverse community partnerships). We work with social science educators to assess student engagement and awareness, and to develop tools in climate literacy education. Through authentic participatory learning coupled with a commitment to conservation outcomes, Raising Rarity aims to increase student botanical knowledge, develop skills to grow and monitor plant health, and contribute to our understanding in caring for plants at risk.