At the Bella Mente Montessori Academy in Vista, the students take care of the living chickens, tend a vegetable garden and unearthed strains to make room for an orchard. They fertilize the beds with chicken manure and have installed compost.
Their projects are all led by students. And it means that sometimes things go wrong – but it’s okay.
Once, when the students did not maintain the chicken coops properly, the chickens came out and ate all the vegetables they cultivated, said the Superintendent of the Charter School, Erin Feeley. Children were devastated.
“This is what is happening in life,” she said. “In life, you don’t have the perfect garden every day.”
However, these projects and other sustainability projects helped Bella lying to recognize last week by the leaders of education as one of the five institutions from kindergarten to the 12th year at the level of the State given the honor of the price of the green ribbon of California, recognizing its conservation of resources, its health promotion and its environmental literacy.
These five were deemed green, the highest distinction. Two other dozen winners – including schools, districts and the county education offices, two in the County of San Diego, have obtained less honors.
“Our Californian green ribbon schools illustrate the values of innovation, resilience and creativity that stimulate our efforts to make each school community a healthy and sustainable learning environment for our students,” said the superintendent of the state Tony Thurmond in a press release.
Bella Mente’s energy action plan promotes energy efficiency with students led by students and infrastructure upgrades, which have included improved HVAC systems, solar panels and LED lighting.
The school has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions, its energy costs and its water consumption, thanks to conservation efforts such as xériscage, low speed devices and rainwater management.
The school also promotes more environmentally friendly transport with its bike holders and carpooling incentives, emphasizes environmental literacy and encourages physical and mental health thanks to wellness initiatives, farm programs at the table and Friday.
Feeley said that the nature led by the student of projects was part of the Montessori philosophy of the school. But it recommends that other traditional schools consider partnerships and more modest orientations.
For example, students can start by working on a garden bed. “Because if you start in a manageable way, you can start to see who is interested,” she said.
Bella Mente was not the only school or local district honored by the State last week with a green ribbon price for its efforts on environmental sustainability. The national school district received a golden prize and the Montessori community in Escondido has won a bronze prize.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
