Description

The school was founded by John and Cynthia Hardy. The Hardys reportedly conceived of Green School in 2006 after reading Alan Wagstaff’s Three Springs concept document for an educational village community. The school’s bamboo bridge, spanning 22 meters across the Ayung River, was completed in November 2006. Green School opened in September 2008 with 90 students and a tailor-made campus that emerged from the jungle and rice fields. Since then it has grown to approximately 400 students.Ecological designDespite early intentions to live off the grid, as of 2021 the school’s 70+ buildings are not off the grid, but use some renewable energy sources, including micro-hydro power from a “hydroelectric vortex”, and solar power.The campus is designed around the principles of an organic permaculture system, and the students cultivate an organic garden as part of their learning activities. Buildings are constructed primarily from renewable resources including bamboo, local grass and traditional mud walls. The campus has been reported as an example of the large-scale building potential of bamboo architecture, especially “The Heart of the School” – a 60-meter long, stilt-structure constructed with 2500 bamboo poles. The school also utilizes renewable building materials for some of its other needs, although senior students are required to use laptops.In January 2015, Green School high school students launched the Bio Bus, a student-led social enterprise to provide sustainable transport servic