At Mundo Verde, sustainability is integrated into all aspects of the school’s curriculum and operations. Our students are equipped with the understanding that natural, social and economic systems are linked and interdependent, and are provided with the resources and skills to be global stewards now and in the future.
Students learn lifetime concepts, values and behaviors, by studying plants, animals, and habitats, and building a foundation for understanding and treasuring ecological systems and places. By learning about family and relationships, they begin to understand intergenerational responsibility and act with this mindset. We encourage children’s natural sense of adventure through outdoor exploration, physical activity, healthy food, and engagement with the local community.
Sustainability integration into our classrooms
Bringing the classroom outdoors whenever possible to establish a connection with nature.
Basing our expeditions on concepts important to sustainability, such as natural cycles.
Designing, planting, maintaining and harvesting an organic garden at each Mundo Verde campus.
Visiting local farms to explore food production and sustainable practices.
Investigating natural resources and alternative energy sources, such as solar and wind power.
Separating all waste into compost, recycling and trash in conjunction with educating the community on the implication of our use and disposal of resources.
Standards
Our sustainability curriculum is founded on the nine Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education standards (English) (Español) that were developed by prominent sustainability experts. Each expedition fits into a school-wide plan for logically implementing our sustainability curriculum across the grade levels.
By its nature, sustainability education is interdisciplinary and therefore intended to be integrated into core content teaching and all academic disciplines. Mundo Verde ensures that the Education for Sustainability framework is integrated with the core content areas and that our expeditions support students’ growing sustainability understanding over the years.
Assessment
Sustainability is not a static state. To ensure that we are constantly improving and to encourage discussion within the community, we conduct a yearly assessment using the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative of South Australia guide to becoming a sustainable school. At the end of each school year we collect an assessment from a diverse selection of teachers, students, parents, and staff, as well as from external partners and sustainability experts. Our final assessment is then used to inform our goal setting for future improvements in sustainability.
Sustainable Spaces
Mundo Verde’s J.F. Cook campus has many sustainable building and wellness features, including LEED certification, solar panels, water features like rain barrels and an underground cistern, daylight harvesting sensors that help us save energy, and more.
Reducing our energy demands we lessen the amount of fossil fuels we are responsible for burning, thus our impact on climate change and air quality.
Teachers and staff can use our buildings as learning tools to teach students that this environment was carefully designed to lessen our impact on the Earth. Additionally, we can use the features at J.F. Cook campus as inspiration as we prepare to renovate Calle Ocho campus in the near future.
Green Schools National Network
Mundo Verde is a Green Schools National Network Partner. Mundo Verde is intentional about where, what, and how students learn to create a sustainable future:
A healthy environment, a place for students and staff to grow with clean air and water in an energy-efficient building, as well as nurturing food and plenty of exercise
Equitable access to resources and opportunities for all students through a curriculum that builds students’ cultural competence, compassion, and leadership skills
A school-wide, interdisciplinary focus on sustainability that empowers students with the knowledge, skills, and mindsets to preserve and steward their school, communities, and planet
Garden Market at J.F. Cook Campus
Garden Market is back at J.F. Cook campus every Tuesday from 3:30-4:30pm! Join us to support our 5th grade Garden Market Interns and to support local growers. We always have tasty free samples featuring fresh, local produce. We hope to see you there!
Mundo Verde in WUSA9
DC school offers community garden education for students, neighbors
