Maple Village Waldorf School opened in 2008 with a philosophy and mission deeply aligned with the U.S Department of Education Green Ribbon School award. Having little to zero waste, low energy and water usage as a school, and farm to table education, heaps of outdoor time and physical activity (rain or shine) along with community volunteer work in our classes, creates a balance of heart, mind, body & spirit and a reverence for others and the environment among our faculty, students and parent community.
Zero Waste Meals
Each family is asked and educated in packing healthy, zero waste lunches in which we have 100% compliance. Daily cooked meals in all Early Childhood classes use organic grains and produce and are served in reusable ware. The children participate in the preparation of the meals and then help to hand wash the serving ware that are then set out to air dry. All servingware on campus is reusable and is compostable at larger events. Leftover vegetables and fruits are placed in our vermiposting and composting bins, which the children love to participate in! Paper and cardboard are repurposed into crafts or recycled. As a result, we are nearly a ZERO waste school (95% of waste is diverted). The amount of trash produced per person per month is less than 1 1/2 milk jugs!
Outdoor Play & Learning
Time spent outdoors is important to us. We are fortunate to have 4 parks within walking distance. In addition to 3 walk per week for Kindergarten, all grades walk to the park every Thursday to spend half of their day outdoors and average 9.5 hours a week of physical education. On campus, we created a Gardening program with a local urban farm and built a dedicated outdoor garden classroom. Students learn to be stewards for the environment by planting, watering, harvesting, composting, vermiposting, & only picking from the picking garden. 85% of our edible and 15% are California Native, and we have a National Wildlife Federation Wildlife Habitat. We water by hand and catch rain in barrels to use the gray water.
Since we are a technology-free school, we have very little electrical use in classrooms. There are no computers in the classrooms, our toys are battery-free and made of natural materials, and art supplies are plant & beeswax based. Most of our classrooms have wonderful natural lighting, so overhead lights are rarely turn on. We use hand sweepers more than vacuums and use green certified or homemade cleaning supplies derived from natural ingredients. The children love to help with these tasks and we feel comfortable allowing them to.