2014 Application Cover Sheet
wsb_maeoe_application_coversheet_2014.pdf | |
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Summary of the Waldorf School of Baltimore's Green Culture & Significant Changes
Since its inception in 1919, Waldorf Education has been inherently committed to developing the human being's capacity to stand in right relation to the Earth – its overarching goal is to nurture freethinking ethical beings with the confidence to meet modern society's challenges with depth and imagination. Today, Waldorf Education is a global movement with over 1,000 Waldorf schools in over 60 countries. Waldorf's unique humanistic approach to pedagogy is based on the work of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy and Biodynamic agriculture. Biodynamic agriculture is a farming practice that seeks to infuse a holistic and deeply-felt connection between human beings and the ecosystems which nourish them – so it is no coincidence that Waldorf Education methods are deeply tied to an eco-centric worldview.
The Waldorf School of Baltimore (WSB) has been offering a program heavily oriented on ecological principles since its 1971 founding. In 2010, WSB was granted official Maryland Green School status for its demonstrated efforts in sustainable practices and ecoliteracy principles in both curriculum and facility management. Since obtaining Maryland Green School status four years ago, WSB has continued to explore and expand its vision of what it means to be a green school and a socially-responsible community member.
In 2012, WSB furthered its commitment to a green future by creating a unique faculty position for an Ecoliteracy & Sustainability Coordinator. The sole responsibility of this position is to oversee and guide WSB's efforts in creating a greener facility and curriculum. The school hired MAEOE member, Michel Anderson, to the position in October 2012. WSB has undergone some significant changes since our first 2010 MAEOE application. We have expanded our outreach with a green blog, Green Dragon Bytes (www.SustainableWaldorf.com), to help educate and inspire our parent body and the wider community of all the new developments we have made. One of the most exciting developments is the addition of our three newest community members, Gumball, Richard, & Darwin (our school's hens). We have also enhanced and expanded our school garden, incorporated a new willow tunnel and timber-frame playhouse to our playground, and our Student Council has initiated a school-wide TerraCycle campaign. Our students, faculty, and staff, continue to compost and recycle their waste. We have succeeded in making all of our public and private events virtually waste-free through utilizing completely biodegradable dishware, making colorful and informative signage, and purchasing attractive composting and recycling stations – partnerships with our neighbors, Whole Foods and Waste Neutral, help us compost even our large events. Our school grounds have been certified by BayWise and the National Wildlife Federation, and we have received an award from the Maryland Master Gardener Association for our gardening efforts. We are proud to be using completely pesticide-free landscaping practices to ensure the optimum health of our students and our top-bar honeybee colony. Starting in the 2013-14 school year we have officially adopted an Environmental Science & Sustainability program into our curriculum – each Middle School grade will spend 2 hours every morning for 3 consecutive weeks with experiential ecoliteracy lessons that focus on transportation, water and plants. Over the years, our students continue to go on a plethora of eco-oriented field trips to national parks, state parks, organic farms, food pantries, fisheries, and waste facilities. We have remained committed to the professional development of our staff through expanding our Green Resource Library and offering support and financial assistance to attend workshops and conferences. And last but not least, beginning in March 2014, WSB committed to becoming one of the first 28 schools to join the Green Schools Purchasing Consortium (an initiative of the Green School Alliance) to offset our annual electricity usage with 100% renewable energy. This feat is accomplished through the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs). We are now in the process of incorporating the student body and community into this exciting new development. More information about that will be reserved for our 2nd Recertification in 2018.
We are pleased to have this opportunity to share with MAEOE our efforts and accomplishments in this 1st Re-certification application. Our hope is that our work will not only be an adequate example of what it means to be a Maryland Green School, but will also be an inspiration to the other hardworking green schools in our state, nation, and abroad. We are very proud of our green school status and will continue our steadfast commitment to the blossoming green education movement for the years to come.
The Waldorf School of Baltimore (WSB) has been offering a program heavily oriented on ecological principles since its 1971 founding. In 2010, WSB was granted official Maryland Green School status for its demonstrated efforts in sustainable practices and ecoliteracy principles in both curriculum and facility management. Since obtaining Maryland Green School status four years ago, WSB has continued to explore and expand its vision of what it means to be a green school and a socially-responsible community member.
In 2012, WSB furthered its commitment to a green future by creating a unique faculty position for an Ecoliteracy & Sustainability Coordinator. The sole responsibility of this position is to oversee and guide WSB's efforts in creating a greener facility and curriculum. The school hired MAEOE member, Michel Anderson, to the position in October 2012. WSB has undergone some significant changes since our first 2010 MAEOE application. We have expanded our outreach with a green blog, Green Dragon Bytes (www.SustainableWaldorf.com), to help educate and inspire our parent body and the wider community of all the new developments we have made. One of the most exciting developments is the addition of our three newest community members, Gumball, Richard, & Darwin (our school's hens). We have also enhanced and expanded our school garden, incorporated a new willow tunnel and timber-frame playhouse to our playground, and our Student Council has initiated a school-wide TerraCycle campaign. Our students, faculty, and staff, continue to compost and recycle their waste. We have succeeded in making all of our public and private events virtually waste-free through utilizing completely biodegradable dishware, making colorful and informative signage, and purchasing attractive composting and recycling stations – partnerships with our neighbors, Whole Foods and Waste Neutral, help us compost even our large events. Our school grounds have been certified by BayWise and the National Wildlife Federation, and we have received an award from the Maryland Master Gardener Association for our gardening efforts. We are proud to be using completely pesticide-free landscaping practices to ensure the optimum health of our students and our top-bar honeybee colony. Starting in the 2013-14 school year we have officially adopted an Environmental Science & Sustainability program into our curriculum – each Middle School grade will spend 2 hours every morning for 3 consecutive weeks with experiential ecoliteracy lessons that focus on transportation, water and plants. Over the years, our students continue to go on a plethora of eco-oriented field trips to national parks, state parks, organic farms, food pantries, fisheries, and waste facilities. We have remained committed to the professional development of our staff through expanding our Green Resource Library and offering support and financial assistance to attend workshops and conferences. And last but not least, beginning in March 2014, WSB committed to becoming one of the first 28 schools to join the Green Schools Purchasing Consortium (an initiative of the Green School Alliance) to offset our annual electricity usage with 100% renewable energy. This feat is accomplished through the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs). We are now in the process of incorporating the student body and community into this exciting new development. More information about that will be reserved for our 2nd Recertification in 2018.
We are pleased to have this opportunity to share with MAEOE our efforts and accomplishments in this 1st Re-certification application. Our hope is that our work will not only be an adequate example of what it means to be a Maryland Green School, but will also be an inspiration to the other hardworking green schools in our state, nation, and abroad. We are very proud of our green school status and will continue our steadfast commitment to the blossoming green education movement for the years to come.
Top Five Accomplishments
- In October 2012, WSB hired Michel Anderson to the newly-developed Ecoliteracy & Sustainability Coordinator position. The position was created to oversee the school's existing green program and implement new green initiatives in both curriculum and facility management. In connection with this the school started a green blog, Green Dragon Bytes (www.sustainablewaldorf.com), to keep the community informed and educated as to our new developments.
- In Spring of 2013, WSB adopted three school hens and developed a system that delegated their daily care and well-being to the entire student body.
- WSB expanded our organic garden space and enhanced our playground with two new, community-driven elements -- a willow tunnel and a timber framed playhouse that incorporates an earthship foundation.
- In November 2013, WSB's Student Council started a school-wide TerraCycle Program. Since it's inception we have collected a vast amount of solid waste, and with it helped save acres of wildlife habitat in the United States and provided clean drinking water to people throughout Africa.
- Since the beginning of the 2012 school year, WSB has been successful in making all of our events virtually waste-free. We have done this with the help of continued partnerships with Whole Foods and Waste Neutral. We also invested in new, portable composting and recycling waste equipment and signage.
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