Environmental Stewardship: Montessori Cosmic Education
School Level Activities
Recycling
Composting
No-trash lunches
Alternative energy
Rain barrels
Sustainable gardens
Ponds/stream/river/lake clean up
Habitat preservation
Going-Out Activities
Farms – both agri-businesses and organic
Botanical gardens
Nature centers
Nature Hikes
Wetlands
Riparian land
Coastlines
Water treatment facilities
Recycling centers
Garbage dumps
Community Level Activities
Sunrise/Sunset weekend hikes
Family camping weekends
Stargazing
Community gardening/farming
Orienteering
Adopt-a-Highway program
I had lunch at my son’s public middle school yesterday. Why am I here? It doesn’t take a lot of effort to raise awareness, just a good model and commitment. I told the story how, three years ago, my family and I made the commitment to not using plastic sandwich bags or other consumables to wrap our food in an effort to reduce the amount of trash we throw out. Earth education is the process of helping people live more harmoniously and joyously with the natural world. If for the physical life it is necessary to have the child exposed to the vivifying forces of nature, it is also necessary for his psychical life to place the soul of the child in contact with creation… – Maria Montessori, The Montessori Method: The Origins of an Educational Innovation
North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/ This was the basis of her “cosmic education” - to teach them that Planet Earth is a gift to each and every one of us. They are interested in many things and have a great capacity for imagining. Where am I going? Montessori believed it was crucial at this age to present the universe to children in an effort to help them find the answers to their questions. What am I? By learning to connect with nature, Montessori students learn to respect, protect, understand, and enjoy the natural world. They are seeking the answers to their questions: Who am I? Several at the table thought that was a good idea and even started thinking about how they might accomplish something similar. Earth education is about more than just talking about saving the planet. 1995. - Steve Van Matre, The Institute for Earth Education
There are many things you can do within your Montessori environment to promote and encourage stewardship of our planet. 15
Very few of us live in an environment that is not man-made. In an effort to educate the child so as to promote responsible environmental stewardship, educators and parents play an important role in helping children to understand, love and respect nature. It is about learning about human’s place on the earth and the role we play in both the preservation and desecration of the planet. It is the child who makes the man, and no man exists who was not made by the child he once was. As I took my lunch out of my bag, someone remarked that I must have taken all the leftovers out of my refrigerator because I had so many little containers. It is about going outside and exploring the beauty of the earth. In fact, many children do not know where the food they eat or the fibers of the clothes they wear truly comes from. I told them, actually, I had just made all of my lunch fresh. Some can be done at the classroom level and some involve the greater Montessori community. It is about learning to work together to protect the earth and the living things that inhabit it. – Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind. Children between the ages of 6 and 12 are characterized by having both physical and intellectual energy. pg. The more you model and practice ecological respect and responsibility, the more people you will touch who may follow your example.
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