ECF faculty remain creative, curious, flexible and teachable, remembering that when we elevate ourselves, we inspire those around us to do the same. We communicate in the positive, inventing what we want the world to be. Our days expand experiences and minds beyond the heights of the usual expectations of childhood capacities, as we play and study, placing paramount importance upon happiness. The joy found in discovery at Ecole Claire Fontaine is opening hearts and minds, and parting the curtains to an extraordinary life.
Ecole Claire Fontaine is a Certified Wildlife Habitat and California Green Business.
Our curriculum morphs with the seasons and the interests of children as the two remain in harmony throughout our school days based in Art, Language & Nature. As a school, our actions support global sustainability, including zero waste, creating a positive impact on our children, climate, earth and collective future.
Cleaning
All of our cleaning supplies are natural, such as hypochlorous water, white vinegar and pure soap. We keep the campuses clean to promote good health, reducing our environmental impact. During hand washing we collect excess water in a basin to later use to hydrate plants, which increases health and well being. Poor indoor air quality can adversely affect developmental health, so doors and windows are kept open and most days are spent outside.
Connection
We are a Wildlife Habitat Certified school with gardens and trees across the campuses, which offers both pollinator protection and pollution prevention. Bees, birds and butterflies dance alongside the children basking in fresh air, cleaned from the trees.
The curriculum links to the seasons, resulting in further connection of the children to the environment. The intersection of art with nature is a core part of the school. Climate Change and Climate Science, Cosmology, Gardening and Oceanography have been part of the curriculum, with awareness of nature an intrinsic ingredient in the lives of the children.
Energy
We request that our families walk, ride or scoot to school, and carpool whenever possible, reducing carbon emissions. In the temperate climate of coastal Southern California, and with most of the school days spent outdoors, heating and air conditioning are not necessary, reducing the energy load on power plants and dependence on non-sustainable sources. We use natural shade from trees during the warm months and bundle up during cooler. By allowing students to be outdoors, their exposure to daylight positively affects the production of important hormones.
Food
All food is organic and locally sourced as much as possible, reducing truck carbon emissions and keeping pesticides out of the soil and body. Produce is purchased weekly from local farms and farmers markets.
Nearly a zero-waste school, uneaten food from plates is down to just one cup per day as ecology is part of our daily lessons, with the motto: take what you will eat and eat what you take. Most meals are eaten family style, outside and connected. Any leftover peels or cores from organic produce is composted or donated to our neighborhood pigs. In our gardens we grow vegetables and berries in the gardens, and fruit on the trees.
Recycle
ECF recycles and reuses paper, with the children involved in the basics of sustainability. Single use plastic is not allowed, reducing our environmental impact. Both sides of art and writing paper are used. Art projects make use of found materials. ECF students play with natural fabrics, shells and wooden toys.Nurturing the innate wisdom of children is the Ecole Claire Fontaine ethos. Students discover the natural world, and their place in it, from the oceans and cosmos, taking cues from the remarkable connectivity that vibrates through all things.