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The Green School
community is
passionate about the
environment and
believes that
sustainability is
our only future.
Responsible Building
Every aspect of the site and buildings are living examples of
sustainability: the School’s many buildings will be cooled and powered by
sustainable energy solutions including micro-hydro power, solar power,
bio-diesel and predominantly natural air-conditioning. Indonesian bamboo,
local alang-alang grass, traditional mud walls, and mud brick are used to
construct classrooms, athletic facilities and other school buildings to
minimize our use of non-sustainable materials such as concretes and
plastics. Our standard is to use 99 percent natural materials in our
construction projects, to recycle as many materials as possible, and to
manage our waste responsibly.
Generating Our Future
We
strive to be as
energy independent
as we can. To that
end, we are
implementing an
experiment in
micro-hydro power
generation, the
nine-meter vortex
generator. In
addition, we are
also producing
methane from cow
manure for fuelling
stoves, installing
solar panels to
supply permaculture
projects, and
developing a
gasification unit
that will use rice
husks and other
organic materials to
produce electricity.
Sustaining Our Needs and Appetites
 Our
campus is blanketed
by an organic
permaculture system
designed by
international and
local experts.
Students engage in
farming, which
connects them to the
land and what it
offers, but also
provides
experiential
learning applicable
in the real world.
The School’s gardens
grow rice, fruits
and vegetables that
help to nourish the
school community.
Our agricultural
land also produces
fruits, vegetables,
palm sugar and even
chocolate from our
own cocoa trees -
which are sold at
our Green Warung
that students at the
School help to
manage.
As another part of the experiential learning component at
the School, our students are involved in growing and maintaining an edible
maze; producing coconut oil from the trees flourishing across our campus;
harvesting honey; and breeding fish in our aquaculture ponds, all with an
aim to celebrate and take care of our campus’s remarkable natural abundance.
Our composting systems are already in place and will continue to develop as
more and more students, teachers, and staff move to the land.
Leg Work
Green School
promotes alternative
transportation both
to and within the
Kul-Kul Campus. One
transportation
initiative is a
campus-wide
co-operative bicycle
program and trail
network for school
staff and
students. The
project revolves
around refurbishing
discarded bicycles
from the colonial
era - rather than
manufacturing new
products - and
converting them to
hauling bikes
equipped with bamboo
trailers.
A network of bicycle paths will connect all campus
facilities and link up to an extended network of existing and new trails in
surrounding communities. Students and professional engineers will also
design a bamboo bicycle while classroom assignments will help teach students
how to build their own bikes using lessons that stem from math and science
curricula. We are also in the process of designing and implementing a
bio-gas-fueled buggy that will allow us to transport materials and people
around campus.
Bridging Communities
The
first structure
completed on our
campus was the
elegant Da Vinci
Bridge suspended
across the Ayung
River. It soon
became clear that
not only would our
students and staff
use this bridge to
move through campus
but that our
neighbours would,
too. Every day,
hundreds of Balinese
cross the bridge to
attend temple,
travel to a rice
field, and head to
work or school. Thus
this beautiful span
serves as an apt
metaphor for what we
believe to be true
about
sustainability: no
program will make a
real impact unless
it is able to bridge
cultures and embrace
the weave of
communities that
surround and are
integral to our
campus. Our Balinese
neighbours continue
to be involved in
our school not only
as students,
teachers, and
parents, but as
friends who are also
committed to
promoting and living
within a framework
of environmental
responsibility.
To that end, we are educating local children about waste
management and local schools are taking on projects to grow and maintain
bamboo. We will soon be teaching English to community members and we are
planning to sponsor a medical clinic, cultural centre and other initiatives
that show our respect and care for our neighbours. We are dedicated to
providing a significant amount of scholarships to students from the local community so that our School
fosters a diverse and vibrant mix of students from all nationalities.
Green Lab We believe that if we are going
to serve as a model
of responsibility,
Green School must be
a nursery for
ecologically
friendly
technologies and
ideas. Every day,
our students will be
able to live within
and think about
environmental
concerns in
disciplines ranging
from mathematics to
current events. We
will also sponsor
pilot projects, such
as testing plastic
bags as materials
with which to pave
roads as well as
other new recycling
technologies. In
addition, we are
experimenting with
ways to assess CO2
sequestration and to
measure what we
produce. Our
intention is to
share our research
with companies,
schools, and
organizations
interested in
reducing and
eliminating CO2
production.
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