At the very beginning of school we teach what it means to be peacemakers with each other and caretakers of the earth. The forest is not our home but it is home to many living things and each living being has a right to life. We focus on introducing how a log might just seem like a log but with a closer look it is teeming with life that is crucial to the health of the forest. Beetles and mushrooms inhabit the log and work to decompose it back into the forest floor. This decomposed log in turn becomes a part of the soil that allow worms to eat and make the forest floor full of nutrients. A tree isn't merely a tree but home to birds, squirrels and other creatures that work to spread seeds so that more trees are planted.

Along with learning how to respect all living things in the forest we also spend time learning how to take care each other. Valuable lessons are taught about how to communicate our feelings and wants without unnecessary conflict with each other. Our goal is to create problem solvers who value others needs before our own. The teachers place the burden of communication upon the students and the teacher is the facilitator. In building and fostering a community among the students they intricately learn how to respect humanity and to grow by working through problems together in a peaceful way. They learn to trust and depend on each other to make their community thrive.