Stewardship
Guided by adult mentors and high school leaders, Manzanita students work on the campus in small cross-grade-level teams. Together, the teams learn about and engage in “Regenerative Agriculture” - farming and grazing practices that, among other benefits, reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring soil biodiversity, resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle. Working in these mixed age groups allows students to approach and resolve conflicts nonviolently and effectively while learning how to endure physical and emotional challenges with focus, resilience, and commitment.
Manzanita School Curricula for Grades 3-8
Please click here for Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade Curricular Overview
+ Project Planning:
Students learn how to vision, brainstorm, design, and budget a project. They have the opportunity to implement and execute a project from the design phase to completion.
+ Composting:
At Manzanita we believe that composting is a regenerative action that helps us define our role within a healthy ecosystem. Students transform the leftover over scraps from our lunch program into rich soil. The work includes adding animal waste, hay, and coffee collected from the local coffee shop into the compost. By committing to taking responsibility for our food waste, students learn that carbon based materials are not trash and are part of nature's intelligent design to regenerate life. The Manzanita compost program extends to our families and our students have helped to establish compost programs in our local community.
+ Land Tending:
Students learn how to tend wild and developed areas on the campus. Safely using garden and farm tools is an important part of the program. Students engage in tree planting, removing and trimming non-native vegetation and plants, spreading compost tea and winrow among the farm and the plants, trimming arundo, clearing out trails, and covering bare ground.
+ Animal Tending:
Students work together to tend to the health and happiness of our animals and return their valuable nutrients into our larger regenerative systems. As animal stewards, students complete many important chores including: cleaning manure, grooming, changing water, deep cleaning pens, and observing their general health. Additionally, act as shepherds and herders of the farm animals during regular walks around campus to allow the animals to healthfully graze and get exercise.
Upper School 9-12
Stewardship: Leadership and Mentoring
Upper grade students participate in the project planning, composting, and the land and animal tending aspects of the stewardship program. Additionally, this course consists of hands-on leadership practice during class time with younger students and leadership development training. Skills presented include: role-modeling strategies, conceptual conversations about topics such as communication styles, teaching techniques and more. Students are then challenged to apply their newly learned skills by completing tasks or activities with their whole cross-grade level Stewardship group.