Building & Play - a 'greenprint' approach

We pledge to live the ‘campus is our classroom’ concept, blending structures, nature-based play spaces, wildness, and productive gardens in harmonious balance. We protect our wild spaces and use local, sustainable and innovative materials to create structures for learning. 

Our 'greenprint' approach means we protect green spaces and biodiversity as we grow and develop our campus. We deeply understand the environmental impact of buildings and works and make choices that balance functional needs with ecological impacts. We minimise our footprint by maximising the use of existing structures and spaces for learning. Natural materials are integrated into play spaces, to enhance imagination play.  Places for community connections, wildness, productive gardens, play and shelter work in harmony, aesthetically and environmentally.

Our Pledge in Action

Campus development decisions are not made lightly. We put student learning first while creatively exploring all options and ideas through the lens of our founding philosophy and the following principles.

Designing

• We prioritize multi-purposing or repurposing existing structures. 

• New structures should avoid high biodiversity areas and not involve unnecessary cutting of trees or reduction of mature bamboo groves. 

• All new constructions must use eco-friendly design principles, including local, renewable, or repurposed materials, and incorporate energy-efficient lighting and airflow.

Playing

• Open ended, self-directed play is best for wellbeing and development. Fun, adventure, and appropriate risk-taking are encouraged by materials that can be moved, redesigned, and changed to create new games.

• Inventiveness, creativity, and potential for discovery grow with the number and variety of variables present. Play spaces should use natural materials like bamboo, wood, stone, sticks, water, sand, ropes, mud, fabrics and plantings to boost imaginative play, physical development, and a connection with nature (over fixed and standard playground structures). 

• Simple and natural materials can be added to support games and activities that encourage balancing, arm hanging and flexible climbing.

Balancing

• Green zones and gardens are preserved with the built spaces for learning and work taking no more than a 30% footprint on the campus. 

• Wild spaces and productive gardens comprise the remaining 70%. 

• No more than 40% of this should be used for productive gardens with the remainder being protected green zones for rewilding and regeneration. 

• All that is introduced and grown on the campus must be native to the area.  

Learning and Solutions Priorities: Establish specific protection zones and continue rewilding through green-fill projects with high carbon sequestering plantings and measure the impact. Enrich nature-based play spaces for Primary.