Objective 3: Community Partnerships, Awards & Special Recognition
1) Community Partnerships
The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers & cities; but to know someone who thinks & feels with us, & who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden. -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
WSB cherishes the community partnerships we have made and nurtured over the past 43 years. Over the last 4 years WSB maintained and began new community partnerships. However, due to the closing our of Upper School in June 2012, some of our partnerships that were more appropriate for Upper School students have disbanded. Below is a list of the partnerships whose theme centers around ecoliteracy & sustainability.
The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers & cities; but to know someone who thinks & feels with us, & who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden. -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
WSB cherishes the community partnerships we have made and nurtured over the past 43 years. Over the last 4 years WSB maintained and began new community partnerships. However, due to the closing our of Upper School in June 2012, some of our partnerships that were more appropriate for Upper School students have disbanded. Below is a list of the partnerships whose theme centers around ecoliteracy & sustainability.
The Community Active in WSB
Hawthorne Valley Farm: WSB's most longstanding partnership is with Hawthorne Valley Farm and their Visiting Students Program -- we have been sending our 3rd grade classes there for a week-long, overnight farm experience for the last 37 years. While there our students move through a robust farm education program that has them experience many facets of farm life -- including milking cows, making butter, mucking the barn, riding horses, chopping firewood, harvesting root vegetables, wildcrafting, herding cows, and many other activities.
Supporting Documentation:
- Various blog posts regarding our partnership with Hawthorne Valley Farm can be found in Objective 1 under the 3rd Grade section.
- Photos: 10 photos highlighting our students visit to the farm. Taken in April 2011.
Supporting Documentation:
- Various blog posts regarding our partnership with Hawthorne Valley Farm can be found in Objective 1 under the 3rd Grade section.
- Photos: 10 photos highlighting our students visit to the farm. Taken in April 2011.
Waste Neutral & Whole Foods: Our partnerships with Waste Neutral and the Mt. Washington Whole Foods has aided us in making all of our events (big & small) waste-free. Over the last 4 years the Whole Foods of Mt. Washington has agreed to take the compostable waste from our large events that would otherwise overwhelm our composting system. Waste Neutral kindly took the compostable excess from our 2012 and 2013 Waldorf Fair free of charge and has offered to do so on other occasions.
Supporting Documentation:
- Our partnership with Waste Neutral is documented on Green Dragon Bytes:
November 27, 2012: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2012/11/27/subscribe/
November 26, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/11/26/our-waldorf-fair-was-zero-waste/
- Photo: Waste Station at our 2013 Waldorf Fair acknowledging Waste Neutral in signage above:
Supporting Documentation:
- Our partnership with Waste Neutral is documented on Green Dragon Bytes:
November 27, 2012: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2012/11/27/subscribe/
November 26, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/11/26/our-waldorf-fair-was-zero-waste/
- Photo: Waste Station at our 2013 Waldorf Fair acknowledging Waste Neutral in signage above:
Baltimore Honey: Our partnership with Baltimore Honey started in May 2010. WSB hosted one of their honeybee colonies on our property until July 2013 -- in exchange, Baltimore Honey offered educational bee-related demonstrations for our students on a number of occasions. In the winter of 2013, our Ecoliteracy & Sustainability Coordinator, Michel Anderson, took an All-Natural Methods & Practices of Honeybee Stewardship Workshop, which prepared WSB to take ownership of its own colony. WSB purchased and installed a Top-Bar Beehive from Baltimore Honey in August 2013. Meme Thomas, owner of Baltimore Honey, continues to be of assistance with our hive's management and visits our school regularly.
Supporting Documentation:
- Various blog entries show our involvement with Baltimore Honey:
January 11, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/01/11/baltimore-let-it-bee/
August 3, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/08/03/the-honeybees-are-back/
September 3, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/09/03/wsb-bee-guardians/
- File: Scan of "Baltimore Honey: Honeybee Apiary Agreement May 2010"
Supporting Documentation:
- Various blog entries show our involvement with Baltimore Honey:
January 11, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/01/11/baltimore-let-it-bee/
August 3, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/08/03/the-honeybees-are-back/
September 3, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/09/03/wsb-bee-guardians/
- File: Scan of "Baltimore Honey: Honeybee Apiary Agreement May 2010"
baltimore_honey_agreement.pdf | |
File Size: | 3025 kb |
File Type: |
WSB Active in the Community
Educational Film Screenings & Talks: Throughout the years, WSB hosts various eco-oriented events for young adults and parents. For example, on Friday, March 30th 2012, WSB hosted a free film screening of "Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us." The screening was attended by WSB faculty, parents, and the greater community. On January 25, 2011, WSB hosted a talk about the Kevin Rohan Memorial Eco Foundation.
Supporting Documentation:
- File: Scan of Film Screening Poster
- File: Weekly Article - Feb 2011 - farm education talk (page 6)
- File: Weekly Article - Feb 2011 - water talk (page 3)
- File: Weekly Article - March 2012 - Info about upcoming Bee Events held at WSB (page 1 & 6)
- File: Weekly Article - April 2012 - Info about Screen-Free Week and 101 Ideas to help you stay off the screen (page 4-5).
Supporting Documentation:
- File: Scan of Film Screening Poster
- File: Weekly Article - Feb 2011 - farm education talk (page 6)
- File: Weekly Article - Feb 2011 - water talk (page 3)
- File: Weekly Article - March 2012 - Info about upcoming Bee Events held at WSB (page 1 & 6)
- File: Weekly Article - April 2012 - Info about Screen-Free Week and 101 Ideas to help you stay off the screen (page 4-5).
film_screening_poster.pdf | |
File Size: | 174 kb |
File Type: |
weekly_2.14.11_p6.pdf | |
File Size: | 1836 kb |
File Type: |
weekly_2.28.11_p3.pdf | |
File Size: | 596 kb |
File Type: |
weekly_03.26.12_p1.6.pdf | |
File Size: | 891 kb |
File Type: |
weekly_04.23.12_p4.5.pdf | |
File Size: | 1172 kb |
File Type: |
Kiva: In November 2012, WSB started a Kiva Lending Team, Waldorf International Community (http://www.kiva.org/team/waldorf_international_community), with $50. Our goal was to inspire our community to take part in micro-finance opportunities around the globe and explore ways we could use KIVA in our Middle School curriculum. The experiment has proven successful, and our investment of $50 inspired our community to invest over $1200 in over 20 developing countries. We are now in the process of handing control of the team over to our Student Council so they will be able to couple this program with their efforts with TerraCycle.
Supporting Documentation:
- Various Blog posts regarding WSB's community partnership with Kiva
Dec 17, 2012: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2012/12/17/wsb-joins-kiva/
Jan 31, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/01/31/kiva-loan-update/
Sept 10, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/09/10/kiva-update-sept-2013/
Dec 9, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/12/09/kiva-update-dec-2013/
Supporting Documentation:
- Various Blog posts regarding WSB's community partnership with Kiva
Dec 17, 2012: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2012/12/17/wsb-joins-kiva/
Jan 31, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/01/31/kiva-loan-update/
Sept 10, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/09/10/kiva-update-sept-2013/
Dec 9, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/12/09/kiva-update-dec-2013/
TerraCycle: Our Student Council has initiated a TerraCycle recycling program at our school in December of 2013. Thus far they have collected and sent to TerraCycle over 30 pounds of ink & toner cartridges as well as numerous cell phones, mp3 players, cereal bags, and cheese wrappers. To date, they have helped preserve an acre of wildlife habitat and helped provide 13 people with filtered, clean drinking water in Africa. Over a short amount of time, the program has become very successful and we foresee it to be a staple initiative of the Student Councils efforts well into the future.
Supporting Documentation:
- Various blog posts regarding the TerraCycle Campaign
Dec 16, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/12/16/terracycle/
Feb 20, 2014: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2014/02/20/wsb-student-council-presents-another-zero-waste-initiative/
- Photo of the TerraCycle Station
Supporting Documentation:
- Various blog posts regarding the TerraCycle Campaign
Dec 16, 2013: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2013/12/16/terracycle/
Feb 20, 2014: http://sustainablewaldorf.com/2014/02/20/wsb-student-council-presents-another-zero-waste-initiative/
- Photo of the TerraCycle Station
2) Awards & Special Recognition
Baltimore City Master Gardeners School Garden Award: In August of 2013 WSB received an award for "Outstanding School Garden" by Baltimore City Master Gardeners. Along with a certificate we were given a $50 gift certificate to Meyer Seed Company of Baltimore. We will be using the certificate this spring to help us outfit our new pop-up greenhouse which the 7th Grade will be setting up in late March. Four Baltimore City Master Gardeners came in May of 2012 to assess our gardening efforts -- and below are photographs the 4th grade (2012-13's 3rd grade) receiving the award in September of the same year. This story was publish on our green blog, Green Dragon Bytes, under the title "WBS's School Garden Receives an Award" on September 17, 2012.
Supporting Documentation:
- Photos: Presentation of the MG Award to the 4th Grade
Supporting Documentation:
- Photos: Presentation of the MG Award to the 4th Grade
Baltimore City Master Gardeners Bay-Wise Certification: In honor of World Water Day in 2013, members of Bay-Wise offered a program to all of our students. Along with our Middle School students, they did a sight analysis and deemed our grounds "healthy for the Chesapeake Bay."