Environmental Education

Dr. Montessori viewed humans as an integral part of nature, here to appreciate with awe and wonder all of God’s creations and to be stewards of the global community. In The Absorbent Mind she stated, “Only through freedom and environmental experience is it practically possible for human development to occur." From the Infant Community through High School, St. Catherine’s students learn to see how their actions impact those around them, understand the interdependency of the web of life, and recognize their responsibility to preserve and enhance the earth. Students of all ages maintain outdoor classroom gardens and harvest what they grow as part of snack and lunch. They care for classroom pets, studying their lifecycles and behavior.

Japhet Creek Campus

St. Catherine’s owns three acres and additional property in the Japhet Community, a pastoral enclave in Houston’s Greater East End District. Just five minutes from downtown Houston, the land is next to Japhet Creek, a mile-long tributary that feeds into Buffalo Bayou. The Japhet campus provides the opportunity for students at all levels to experience land-based learning as envisioned by Dr. Montessori – delving into nature-related subjects and studying the relationship between nature and the human society around it. Care of the environment flows naturally from students’ interest in participating in their community, and from their curiosity about how their farm experience fits into the bigger picture of living in society.

One example of how Adolescent Community students use Japhet is when they plan crops, start seedlings in the greenhouse, transplant them into their garden, tend them until harvest, and then prepare them for sale in their market, The Hive. They deposit market revenue into their classroom bank account to invest in future needs of the Adolescent Community. Other projects include beekeeping, raising chickens, soap-making, and researching renewable energy sources. In this way, adolescents begin their roles as adults in society.

Dr. Montessori placed significant value on the power nature has on a child. In The Secret to Childhood she advises, “There must be provision for the child to have contact with nature, to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature…so that the child may better understand and participate in the marvellous things which civilisation creates.”

Our Japhet Educational Programming Committee is a newly created committee tasked with developing the vision and mission for our Japhet Creek campus, determining the educational needs Japhet can provide for all St. Catherine’s students, and planning the educational spaces to support those needs. We look forward to sharing more about this committee and upcoming plans for Japhet soon.