Our kids have been accepted to the Green School, Bali, and will start in the beginning of August. And I am ecstatic! The school without walls, as they call it, is located in the middle of the jungle by the Ayung River, just outside of Ubud.
“Green School educates for sustainability through community-integrated, entrepreneurial learning in a wall-less, natural environment. Our holistic, student-guided approach inspires us to be green leaders. Our guiding values are Integrity, Responsibility, Empathy, Sustainability, Peace, Equity, Community and Trust.”
Last year we spent a couple of months in Bali, and a tour of the Green School was on the top of my list. A couple of years earlier, I had seen the TED talk by the founder of the school, John Hardy, and I was very impressed by his thoughts on education, sustainability and creativity.
When I saw the bamboo constructions of the Green School, I was stunned by the aesthetic qualities of the architecture, and the way the buildings naturally blends in with the lush surroundings. The school is a prime example of aesthetic sustainability – of solid, well crafted, aesthetically nourishing, and enduring design.
John Hardy’s daughter Elora Hardy is the main architect behind the astonishing buildings of the Green School. She too has done an inspiring TED talk on her approach to architecture, bamboo and aesthetics. She is the founder and creative director IBUKU and has, among many other beautiful projects, created the amazing homes of the Green Village.
After visiting the Green School last winter, we couldn’t get the idea of our kids engaging in their holistic, green education out of our heads. We imagined them being outside all day, playing with kids from all over the world, and learning about sustainable living and creative processes. Our decision to move to Bali is actually predominantly because of the Green School. And we look so much forward to this new chapter in our kids’ education!