Sustainability
Sustainability at Villa di Maria
“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.”
Inherent in Montessori is the deep consideration of the interconnectedness and interdependence of all living organisms. The scientifically developed, hands-on curriculum encourages children to explore interdisciplinary concepts related to the environment and analyze including human impact and responsibility. Since the founding of our school in 1967, VdM has proudly carried forward Dr. Maria Montessori’s original mission of cultivating a sense of stewardship for the natural world and to promote justice and peace. This mindful journey and whole-school approach to long-term sustainability has earned us state-wide recognition as a “Missouri Green School”.
The VdM community fosters an eco-conscious approach to reducing the school’s carbon footprint from daily practices to school-wide events. Children and staff routinely minimize waste by bringing in re-usable containers for lunches, composting organic scraps from meals to feed chickens and nourish the gardens, re-using and recycling materials, turning off lights and opening windows to save energy, and using non-toxic, minimal waste cleaning products. Before hosting events, children and staff collaborate on best “green” practices and are continually educating the community about ways to improve.
Nurturing Nature
“Let the children be free; encourage them; let them run outside when it’s raining; let them remove their shoes when they find a puddle of water.”
We believe that love and respect for the environment begins by developing a meaningful and inspiring connection with nature early on. Every day, VdM children connect with nature as they explore our wooded six -acre campus, climb trees, tend to the chickens and gardens, build trails and forts, and imaginatively create using natural materials on our thoughtful nature playscape. Children are encouraged to run in the rain, splash in the mud, and engage all their senses through nature-based exploration.
To learn more about our “green” school community, visit our blog: http://www.villadimaria.org/blog
Current Green Projects
In the 2023-2024 school year, we embarked on a Green School Quest project-based challenge. Children and staff, together with a project mentor, chose the topic: Waste Diversion: Recycling More, Recycling Better. Throughout the year, our school analyzed our recycling and composting efforts and started planning for the program to evolve. Some of our current projects include:
Waste audits and systematic collection plans led by student volunteers
TerraCycle Wrapper Recycling Program
School-wide electronic recycling event
Earth Day family celebration
Candy wrapper collection after Halloween
Publishing weekly “Eco-Tips” in the community newsletter
Educational presentations provided by St. Louis County Department of Public Health
As a school community, we are committed to maintaining our current recycling programs and setting goals for the future. In the coming years, we will focus on biodiversity by rethinking and optimizing our natural spaces and saving energy by exploring grants for solar panels with the goal of becoming a National Green Ribbon School.
