“You are the ones who can make a difference on this campus,” Mark Biedron ’70 urged Pingry students during an assembly on May 12. Biedron is the co-founder of The Willow School in Gladstone; a school that prides itself on creating a sustainable environment in order to have minimal impact on its natural setting.

Biedron’s message was one of sustainability. With his visual presentation, he illustrated that there are several definitions of sustainability, but they all have a common theme: to continue to develop while working within the natural cycles so as not to compromise the future. The Willow School is based on the concept that there is a connection between the school building, the people in the school, and the environment. Biedron spoke of including sustainability in class lessons with the idea that if children learn to love the environment, they are more prone to protect it.

The curriculum incorporates several “green” concepts such as, a sense of place, biophilia, a connection between nature with education, biomimicry, and ecological design. The sense of place offers an understanding of one’s place in the natural cycle which leads to respect of that cycle. Biophilia is defined as one’s need to affiliate with each other and with nature, such as our desire to visit the beach or hike in the mountains. The idea of connecting nature to education is a matter of finding nature in all things, whether it is music, math, or social studies. Biomimicry involves using the natural cycles as models, measures, and mentors. Ecological design is creating an environment, in this case a learning environment, which responds to and works with nature. As a result of these curricular factors, children at the Willow School learn to appreciate and protect their natural surroundings.

Biedron gave students a visual tour of the construction of the Willow School, noting that most of the school was initially constructed from recycled materials that would have normally ended up in a garbage dump. The wood beams, the framing materials, the light posts, and the walkways were all made from materials from demolition sites. “We received materials from within a 500 mile radius to keep down transportation costs, and there was still plenty to chose from,” he noted to the students. One of the more interesting features of the Willow School is the closed septic system that uses a natural method of filtration to create clean water.

The Pingry alumnus challenged the students to rethink how they use the earth’s natural resources. When it was time for questions, both students and faculty posed tough questions about commercialism and the quest to preserve the environment. While Biedron admitted that he did not have all the answers, the audience felt that he had given them much to ponder.

Biedron is offering the Willow School as a model of ecological design to the public school sector. To learn more about the Willow School, visit www.willowschool.org.



© 2006 The Pingry School