John Hardy
Meet John Hardy, Jewellery Designer as well as also Co-Founder of the “Greenest School on Earth”, the Green School in Bali. coming from bamboo swimming pools to home grown lunches, every aspect of John Hardy’s Green School can be a design of sustainability. His efforts have a ripple effect amongst the Balinese as they adopt the mentality of liveable sustainability.
The Green School combines academic learning at Cambridge levels with environmentally sustainable practices. The school’s beautiful bamboo structures rise out of the jungle surrounded by organic gardens bisected by the Ayung River. The student population can be made up of 270 coming from 40 countries in pre-school through to grade 12. The Green School will have its first graduating class This particular year. Local Balinese students are sponsored to attend the school. The curriculum can be focused on the students, nurturing all aspects of each student’s capabilities.
Besides the traditional subjects Green School offers experimental, environmental as well as also creative arts which has a strong focus on entrepreneurial skills. The goal can be to teach students to be effective as well as also competitive in a changing world as well as also to inspire them to be environmentally responsible citizens by exposing them to positive ways to develop as well as also sustain our planet Earth. The Green School grows much of its own food such as organic rice, fruits as well as also vegetables. Solar panels provide energy. They even have their own solar powered ATM to minimize unnecessary transportation. The students are a part of innovative environmental projects such as breeding endangered bird species in beautiful aviaries as well as also programs to work with local farmers to bring back traditional organic rice. Green School offers tours of the campus every weekday afternoon which has a suggested donation going towards scholarships for local kids.
Well, the island of Bali has been very Great to us, as well as also we wanted to give something back in which reflected some of our values. I gave a TED talk a few years ago in which attracted a lot of attention. I opened in which which has a joke: “Al Gore ruined my life. I just sold a big business as well as also should be living in a nice house within the suburbs playing golf every day. nevertheless a few years ago I saw his movie An Inconvenient Truth”. Actually for many years at the jewellery company we were employing sustainable practices. I’ve lived here since the mid seventies as well as also Bali can be still an incredible place with these highly intact traditions of artisanship as well as also spirituality as well as also culture, nevertheless in which’s easy to look around as well as also see a place in which can be environmentally stressed. Green School was our way to become part of the solution as well as also help return Bali to the sustainable way of living in which marked most of its history.
What can be the fundamental philosophy of Green School?
The main idea can be in which, although we don’t look like most people’s idea of a school (remember, in most of the planet the same people who design schools, design prisons), our students here learn all of the traditional academic subjects. We try to live every aspect of our lives here as environmentally sustainable as possible. We try to inspire students which has a sense of different possibilities with how we live within the planet as well as also how we interact with the planet.
Tell us how the Cathedral to Green or the Heart of the School inspired a completely new view of building.
The heart of the school can be our main building as well as also yes, some refer to in which as the bamboo cathedral. This particular huge structure uses six kilometres of bamboo poles as well as also consists of three intersecting towers of three stories each. in which has no walls or windows as well as also relies on natural light as well as also ventilation. We try to minimize our carbon footprint. The shape of all our structures can be curving as well as also organic. We are literally an ‘out of the box’ school.
What can be the Green School effect?
Our goal can be in which when students go off into the planet as well as also begin to make decisions, their experience at Green School will affect a consideration in which their impact on the planet plays a role in their choices. In general, we have few discipline problems. Students definitely care as well as also look out for each various other. The kids are happy. Green School students are never bored!
Today we get a percentage of our electric through solar power as well as also within a few months we should be producing the rest of our renewable energy using a micro-hydro project. All This particular has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of AKUO, a French renewable energy company.
What do you have planned for Earth Day?
We will celebrate Earth Day here which has a lot of activities as well as also programs. On Friday, April 19th after school the high school kids are putting on a Greenstock (Green Woodstock) fair which has a lot of music as well as also various other performances. in which can be open to the public as well as also should be a lot of fun!
You have a global scholarship competition for the Greenest Student on Earth. How did in which come about?
Last year on Earth Day we were honoured to be named the Greenest School on Earth by the Centre for Green Schools at the US Green Building Council, the group in which started out LEED certification for environmentally friendly buildings. We think This particular can be a great way to showcase all the kids around the planet who are doing all sorts of green projects. We are giving three one-year scholarships as well as also look forward to getting those kids here to collaborate as well as also learn with us. The wish can be we can all learn coming from as well as also inspire each various other to become better stewards of the earth.
PULLOUT QUOTE: The land can be where food comes coming from as well as also the Earth can be where we live.
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John Hardy
John Hardy