His Vision: Allowing the vision to continually evolve alongside his own passions and interests.

When we approached Chayton to share his Green School journey, he hesitated. “I’m still figuring out what I want to do with my life,” he told us. Perfect. These are exactly the stories we need to share. 

It’s an all too common misconception among graduates that they must have their life’s purpose figured out before they walk on stage to receive their diplomas. At Green School, we love when our students, like Chayton, graduate with an open mind. When they continue to follow their curiosities and interests. Those interests become the seeds that grow into a life of meaning and purpose and – in Chayton’s case – even an actual forest. 

Chayton recently co-founded Junglo, a company focused on reforestation and recovering native ecosystems in Indonesia, with his friend and former teacher at Green School, Pak Mo. “Planting a tree is so rewarding,” he says. “I really appreciate nature and trees and it’s cool to build forests knowing that in 20 years there will be giant trees there for someone else to enjoy, and that I had a hand in bringing back a little bit of biodiversity somewhere.”

While he enjoys his work with Junglo, he continues to keep his options open in terms of what career path he might explore next. “For me, it’s not like I woke up one day and knew my life purpose was to restore all the forests in the world. Working on Junglo came from a random opportunity that sounded interesting and fun, so I said yes.” 

“I’ve now known Chayton for close to a decade. Ever since he was a kid, all the way until today,” explains his co-founder.  “He is one of the most curiosity-driven persons I’ve ever met. It seems like he never lost that sense of wonder that is so present in all young children – he is still that kid that’s constantly asking, ‘Why?’ It’s his super power.”

At Green School, our extraordinary teachers, like Pak Mo, lead by example when instilling a life-long love of learning in their students. “So many of our teachers weren’t always educators, but did a lot of different jobs before coming to Green School,” explains Chayton. “They have all of this cool experience to share, so you can learn a lot from just talking with them about life.” 

This philosophy of seeing every new experience and challenge as an opportunity to learn something new – about yourself as much as about the subject at hand – is something Chayton really took to heart. During his 12 years at school, he took every opportunity to get his hands dirty and try something new. His school projects included building an artificial coral reef, learning to refine used cooking oil into biofuel, experimenting with insects as a sustainable food source, exploring soil microbiology and regenerative farming practices, and deep-diving into the uses and benefits of fermentation, which was the focus of his senior year Greenstone presentation.

Chayton working on his fermentation – or “FermenChaytion” – project in the Green School iHub

One of the most impactful memories from his time at Green School took place during a student service trip to Raja Ampat. Chayton remembers sitting around with his teachers at night and talking about life, asking the big questions and sharing each other’s perspectives. 

“That moment really left an impression on me,” he says, reflecting on how his teachers – during the trip and in day-to-day interactions at school – always spoke with students as equals. It’s a dynamic that intentionally empowers students to take responsibility for their learning – one of Green School’s iRespect values. It also creates an environment where deep discussions about life, goals and purpose take place more naturally. 

Today, Chayton is excited to be working with Mo on Junglo, which has already planted four native forests in Indonesia using the Miyawaki Method. Eventually, he hopes the project can help restore more natural beauty and biodiversity to the country he’s called home for most of his life.

Pak Mo and Chayton present to Green School students about the Miyawaki Method of reforestation

His advice to students everywhere is to do the same. “It might sound cliche, but you should really just do whatever you enjoy, or even just think you would enjoy. Try it out – even when it might be more tempting to go to the beach. You might do it, and it really sucks, but you will learn something in the process, and that alone is so valuable.” 

“Being open to learn and experience just about anything, has opened up countless opportunities for Chayton,” emphasizes Mo. “It’s been such a privilege to see his growth and I can’t wait to see where else his curiosity will take him in the years to come.”

The post Alumni Stories: Sowing the seeds of curiosity at Green School appeared first on Green School Bali.

This year’s theme for Earth Day was Investing in the Planet, and we demonstrated the many ways – big and small – in which we want to leave this world a better place. Whether that’s planting trees to invest in a future of forests, biking to work or school to invest in a future of carbon free transportation (not to mention, investing in our own physical wellbeing!), or enjoying food from local farms to invest in more sustainable and community-oriented agriculture – every small step we take can add up to real change, a healthier planet and a better future for our children.

Green School Middle Students planting rice on our campus rice fields

Earth Week started with a community planting day. Students from every Learning Neighborhood put seeds into the soil, which will one day become machines for soaking CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it in the Earth to regenerate the land. High School students planted 18 seedlings – one for each graduating student! Parents, faculty and staff got in on the action, too, taking plants home to keep into their gardens. 

On Wednesday, we observed a power down day, where the community was encouraged to put away technology, and build human connection. Students instead took notes by hand, engaged in face-to-face communication and reduced their overall screen-time. We all reflected on the ubiquity of devices in our daily lives and the power-consumption those devices demand.

Students, staff and parents participate in a community bike-to-school ride on Thursday during Earth Week

Thursday was a day to focus on transportation. A few weeks ago, our Middle School students conducted a vehicle audit of all the vehicles that showed up at Green School Bali. The result? They estimated our community’s total carbon footprint for one day of travel to be about 1000kg! To counter this, students and faculty were encouraged to carpool to school, or hop on our school’s Bio Buses, which are powered by used cooking oil collected from restaurants across the island. Our High School student, Fynn, and Green School parent, Wayan, also led a “Bike Bus” cycling group from Canggu and Ubud all the way to the school, with 36 people – including students, faculty, parents & staff – joining from both locations.

“It’s lovely seeing Green School’s unmatched liveliness and vibrancy back during Earth Week,” says Grade 10 student, Dipta. “We’ve learned many things throughout the past two years and witnessing our values and resilience strengthen, it was very fitting especially during our Spirit Friday reunion.” 

The week culminated with an extra special, Earth Day rendition of our Green School Bali Spirit Friday, a day full of food, music, games, and markets here on our bamboo campus. That morning, our Early Years students joined their parents on a trash walk in our campus neighborhood, while later in the day, several of our Local Scholar parents helped initiate an incredible art installation, which our entire community collaborated on. 

Green School Early Years Students and parents cleaning up waste on a morning trash walk

“My Earth week experience was very exciting and meaningful!” shares Grade 8 student, Lalita. “I enjoyed planting paddy rice and getting the chance to connect with nature. I enjoyed No Screen Day because I had time to connect with my friends and teachers by walking around our beautiful campus with them. And Spirit Friday was really fun! It was the first time that the whole school came together in so long.”

The final work was a giant globe, displayed during Spirit Friday, made entirely of compostable materials, representing both our global community and our love for this incredible planet.

We all, as a community of learners making our world sustainable, have a responsibility to always be aware of our impact on the environment, and continue to take meaningful action to regenerate our ecosystems. What action will you take today for our planet?

Green school parents performed Balinese dance accompanied by a traditional instrument, Gamelan, during our Spirit Friday event.

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Imagine spending two years in a research facility meant to replicate our Earth’s biomes. A wave-machine powered ocean, savannah grasslands, and a 20,000 square foot rainforest, and thousands of animal and plant species bundled into a three hectare space, and your job is to attend to them everyday. This was the reality for eight individuals who led the Biosphere 2 mission thirty years ago. 

Present day, three of the Biospherians have come together to create the Biosphere Foundation here in Bali, which us Middle School students had the chance to visit as part of our Integrated Study Unit (ISU): Finding the Balance, Becoming Better Biosphere Stewards. This ISU course offered by our teachers, Ibu Laura and Ibu Angie, centered around researching and learning about our Earth’s interconnecting natural systems.

One of the original Biospherians, Abigail (Gaie) hosting a Q&A session with our class.

Situated in the Northwest of Bali, the Biosphere Foundation is a property built in proximity to tons of different ecosystems. As soon as we arrived it was clear just how attentive to detail they were, as every environmental consideration had been thought about. There was a wastewater garden that used the roots of plants to clean all of the Foundation’s dirty water. Their electricity was made through solar and, due to having more than enough for themselves, they are able to give some of that electricity back to the community! Even the pavements we walked on were spaced out, so grass could continue growing around them. 

During these three days, our class, the Biosphere Stewards in training, had the opportunity to trek through mangroves, snorkel to observe coral, and hike up the mountains. We got to see first-hand how the ‘Ridge to Reef’ concept took place, observing how soil from the top of hills would bring sedimentation into mangroves, which then filtered everything out to reach the ocean.

Students collecting trash during our mangrove walk near the Biosphere Foundation.

Time and time again, it would be clear to us just how much trash there was. Our group found all forms of plastic attached to the roots of the many mangroves we encountered. In the sea, we weren’t even able to swim a couple meters before seeing (or bumping into) wrappers and bags. So our group participated in trashwalks and managed to collect copious amounts of the trash! 

From meeting Gaie (one of the eight Biospherians), to having the chance to meet local pioneers dedicated to this sustainability cause, we’re all so grateful to have had the opportunity to create memories and officially become Biosphere Stewards. Thank you to Ibu Laura and Ibu Angie who organized this ISU and Rosarmy, Sequoia, Ezequiel, Regia and the rest of the amazing team at the foundation that we got to meet during our stay there. 

If you’re interested in visiting the Biosphere Foundation and participating in any of their programs visit: https://biospherefoundation.org/

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“We wanted to have a deeper discussion of ‘who are we’ and ‘how are we really living into these ideas of diversity, equity, and inclusion?” – Robin, High School teacher

At Green School, we talk often about our mission as an education institution – to nurture a community of changemakers who will make our world sustainable. It’s always exciting to talk about change-making, about going out and doing things, having impact and maybe even starting a revolution! 

But what about the other part of that mission statement? 

In order to “make our world sustainable,” we need to go beyond simply inspiring change and make sure the change we inspire is indeed sustainable. To do that requires a quieter, less flashy but equally important part of change-making – reflection and introspection. This is the goal of the High School unit, “Talking About a Revolution – Social Action in our Communities.” 

One of the many things we love about our High Schoolers is their deep commitment to our school values, and to exploring important concepts like Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. We see them get fired up when we talk about these values. We understand their eagerness to take action on them. First, however, we need them to undergo a process of deeper inquiry. In this unit, we guide them through that process by first looking at ourselves as a School community – discussing the assumptions we make about ourselves when it comes to these values, discussing the assumptions others might make who view Green School from the outside. Finally, we examine how we do or do not live up to these assumptions, especially whether we’re truly walking the talk when it comes to inclusion and belonging.

Our High School students hosting an International Women’s Day panel on diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Our students have been super engaged and willing to be reflective about who we are,” says Robin, one of our High School faculty who teaches this unit alongside our Head of High School, Harriett. “One of the main aims of this class was for our students to really think about ourselves as a community before we start asking others to take action with us,” says Harriett. “How do we create belonging and inclusion for different identities within our community? And when we look at gender identity and equality, how are we considering things beyond just boy vs girl, for example? What about other aspects of identity like race, religion, family size, socio-economic background, etc?”

The Talking About a Revolution unit was designed to stop students before they take action. To create space and time for them to dig deep and really understand the intention behind an action. They may have an idea for a desired outcome, but to get to where they want to go, students first need to know from where you’re starting out.

As part of the unit, students worked with Shiza Malik, campaigning expert, journalist and Regional Media and Communications Lead for Oxfam in Asia, to learn how to run a social action campaign that is intentional and thoughtfully executed in order to have the greatest impact possible. 

“Teaching the students about campaigning was an incredibly rewarding experience,” Shiza shared. “Their passion for social justice causes is inspirational. I hope they’re able to take their learnings from our time together to develop campaigns and lead real change.”

The students indeed took lessons from their workshop with Shiza and applied them to Green School’s annual V-Day movement to decide which actions would make the most sense for V-Day 2022.

“Having a conversation about what V Day is about, and reaching a consensus on that was actually really challenging,” says Robin. “We did an exercise where students wrote down responses to the question, “What do you RISE for?” – it was an exercise in taking part in a revolution that already exists, the One Billion Rising movement,” she explains.

Students across our campus collaborated on a RISE mural comprised of notes stating what our students rise for.

So what do our students rise for? Here were some of their responses to the “I Rise For…” prompt:

• • • Women
    • My Community
    • Racial Injustice
    • My Mom
    • Gender Equality
    • Food
    • Peace
    • Representation

These commitments and many others were shared as part of a campus-wide, collaborative collage that spelled the word RISE and was showcased at the school for the duration of our VOICES season, which began on V Day and culminated on International Women’s Day last month.

“What came out of that exercise and our conversations with Shiza and the other activists we spoke to was this feeling of empowerment, ” says Robin. “Students began to realize all the ways they could still take part in larger movements, even when they’re not the person who is comfortable speaking to a crowd with a microphone in hand.” 

With a greater understanding of the intention behind their actions, students feel newly empowered to channel other skills and passions into these movements – be it through art, music, poetry, dance, even cooking! Through this unit, we show our High School students that their voices matter, that there is power in their voice and that they need to take that power seriously and be intentional about the ways they use it.

The post You Say You Want a Revolution? appeared first on Green School Bali.

In recent decades, the world has made so much progress toward elevating the voices of women in business, in politics and in activist movements. While we are moving toward a world where women and female-identifying peoples are valued and supported, there is still much progress to be made. 

Here in Bali, Indonesia, women have played a crucial role in society for generations – raising children, working jobs and acting as glue for their family and their community. They nurture balance and harmony across our beautiful island. While their value is understood and appreciated, why are their voices so often not being heard?

As a Balinese-American woman, I am fortunate to see the world through two different cultural lenses. I see how important a Balinese woman’s role is in their home and community. At the same time, I have appreciated seeing more and more Balinese women become successful business owners and leaders in their fields. They are an inspiration to me and to so many women on my island. Part of the reason why I am so devoted to my role and the work that I do for the Green School Bali Foundation is that I get to witness the evolution of Balinese girls to empowered young women who are able to redefine their role in communities. 

Two examples that come to mind immediately, of the many I have seen are of Tirta and Ni Luh.

Tirta advocating for climate justice during Green School’s Sustainable Solutions event

Tirta, High School student in Grade 11, has been at Green School for more than 8 years. She recently wrote and illustrated a children’s book – What is a Safe Touch? – to teach young people about how to protect themselves from sexual abuse. Explaining her motivation for this project, Tirta explained how she realised that most young kids don’t yet know what their boundaries are when it comes to their space and privacy, let alone how to communicate those boundaries. For Tirta, education is an extremely important tool for children, giving them crucial knowledge to identify and avoid sexual violence. Her book will be available in both Bahasa and in English so it can help as many young people as possible.

Ni Luh, a recent Green School Alumni, did her final capstone – or “Greenstone” – project about her healing journey as a victim of sexual assault. A perfect example of what our Green School Voices movement is all about, Ni Luh shared “In Grade 10 I was finally able to remember what happened. I was drowning in anger, the only option I could think of was to talk to my friends. I knew they would be there for me no matter what, but there were Voices in my head that were saying that maybe they would not believe me or take me seriously. I felt the shame like many women feel when they are harassed. But I did not want those Voices to hold me back any longer, because I was tired. My friends showed me so much support and validation, and from that I felt brave enough to embark on my healing journey. 

There have been many steps in my healing journey. One of my first experience of coming to terms of being objectified was my Voices performance when I was in Grade 8.”

The Voices movement created a safe environment where she started feeling more comfortable sharing her feelings and, gradually, experience. She spoke about the rising cases of violence against women in Indonesia, and the importance of protecting women, girls and female-identifying peoples under the country’s legal system. Through this platform, and by allowing her voice and story to be heard, Ni Luh was able to provide support and inspiration to others who have experienced similar trauma, creating a positive ripple effect of support out into her community. She was further encouraged by the recent #MeToo movement to realise she’s not alone.

Ni Luh presenting her Greenstone, Let Me Hold Your Hands, speaking out against gender-based violence

When I see Tirta and Ni Luh, and how much they have grown to become such wise and confident young women, I also see the gift they are giving to Bali and to the world, one that will count for generations to come. They have opened a path, and have given space for other girls to feel they are supported and heard. 

Tirta and Ni Luh are proof that individual voices and impact can lead to cumulative change. The Green School Local Scholarship Program nurtures young Indonesian children like Tirta and Ni Luh to become the future changemakers for their community and beyond. Each child at Green School receives an education that allows them to see the world not only as it is, but as it can be, and to rise in action for that future world. Our community supports each child in pursuing their own pathway to become powerful, remarkable, and confident young women. And, most importantly, for their voices to be heard.

“Being a part of the V-Day event and activism on campus has empowered me to speak up about my journey. It has allowed my voice to go further and further.”
– Ni Luh, Green School graduate

Kania mentoring session with Local Scholarship students

Written by Kania, Executive Director of the Green School Bali Foundation

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Saving a life doesn’t seem easy. And in some cases, it’s not. But imagine saving a life using nothing but the simple power of a pen. Believe it or not, it’s possible. I am proud to say that I have saved several lives this way through Write For Rights [Amnesty International]. This is my third year participating in the program], and my first year of leading it with the rest of my Grade 8 classmates. 

Every year, Amnesty International runs Write For Rights, a campaign that takes place during November and December,  encouraging millions of people to write letters to protect the rights of others who have suffered injustice, and show people how to support their campaigns for human rights. Participating in Write for Rights has become a Middle School tradition here at Green School. Realizing the impact that students can make with just a piece of paper and a pen is empowering. Being a part of this campaign shows all the students how, even at such a young age, we can still create change for a better world.

Grade 8 students set up a ‘Write for Rights’ booth in the Peace Garden, a gathering space for our campus community

Amnesty International Indonesia selected specific cases for us to work on. These were the cases that we invested ourselves in. Ciham in Eritrea was taken at 15 years old and never seen again. Janna in Palestine/Israel, was harassed for exposing Israeli violence. Rung in Thailand is facing a life sentence for peaceful protests. Zhang in China is in prison for reporting on COVID-19. 

We showed our support, as Grade 8, by writing appeal letters to the authorities and writing messages of solidarity to Ciham, Janna, Rung, and Zhang as part of our Thematics class. Then we opened up a booth for the rest of the school to write letters. In addition to that, we got the chance to talk to a representative of Amnesty International Indonesia, to get a deeper explanation. They helped us answer our questions and form our letters, whether it was for the individuals or the authorities. We used our Green School “persuasive communication skills” to help individuals whose rights are under threat. We put our learning into action. In the midst of the bamboo forest that surrounds the Heart of School (HOS), Middle School students wrote for rights! We gathered more than 140 Write for Rights letters from students, teachers, and parents in our community, for all of these four cases.

Eva and her friends proudly display their Write for Rights letters, advocating on behalf of mistreated women and girls around the world

We as Grade 8 are so grateful that we had the opportunity to take action to uphold human rights. Getting help directly from Amnesty made us feel like what we were doing would have an actual impact. We shared the campaign with the rest of the community as much as possible by organizing a letter writing booth in our Peace Garden, while still following the COVID-19 protocols. We can’t wait for next year, to learn about the new cases and the progress that has been made on past cases. 

– Eva, Grade 8 student.

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“Are you proud to be a woman? What makes you proud to be a woman, Ibu?” asked one of the students in the first meeting. A simple question, and a deep one.

 “Women are great at multi-tasking!” I answered spontaneously. 

And then I thought, a better question might be, what DOESN’T make me proud to be a woman? 

Women have played a significant role in the development of our country of Indonesia, whether they get credit for it or not. And although today we have women represented in many different roles in society, they are still often neglected in country-wide development and planning. This despite the fact that, at the household level, they hold equal decision-making status and are often described as the silent head of the home or “informal” power. 

Why do these roles persist? And how can we change them?

Students and teacher collaborating on  “I AM RISING” painting in celebration of V-day

In the “Women Rise for System Change” unit, I’m helping my high schoolers dig deeper into the current roles of women in social spheres, economic development and social justice, and discussing with them how women can rise for the betterment of ALL. The unit begins with a brainstorm and discussion about the book “How Women Rise” by Sally Helgesen & Marshall Goldsmith. This book outlines a basic template for change:

• Start with one thing – Making sustainable and lasting change requires focus. Not just momentary “let’s do it” enthusiasm, but the willingness to make a sustained and consistent effort over time. We accomplish this by taking one step at a time, not trying to change everything all at once and burning out.
• Don’t do it alone – It’s difficult to change a habit, but it’s almost impossible to change it alone. Why? Because, as humans, we all have built-in operating systems that can be hard to overcome. For instance, when we find ourselves in a familiar or triggering situation, we tend to default to our habitual response. Having a supportive partner in the work can get us back on track when we falter.

With this template in place, we work together to start identifying our “next best step” – making connections with our community and local organizations who are working towards the same goals and creating social action.

Ibu Sari, the founder of PKP Community Center in a panel discussion with our high schoolers for  V-day last year.

For instance, we are collaborating with PKP Community Center, a local organization founded to facilitate the empowerment of Balinese women and girls and advocate for gender equality in the local area of Payangan, north of Ubud. PKP empowers women by providing valuable job skills through education and programs that teach women cooking and catering skills or making and selling clothes and accessories. Their center also provides a critical safe haven for divorced women who are often highly stigmatized and ostracized in their communities. 

In the last unit we ran with PKP, our students worked alongside Ibu Sari, its founder, whose boundless energy and desire to improve the lives of local women, men, and children proved to be an inspiration and left a lasting impression on our learners. 

The high schoolers were self-directed in their efforts to support the center in whatever way they could. They thought long and hard about how they could be genuinely useful for the long-term. In the end, they decided to help PKP sell some of its products, as the organization’s market had shrunk dramatically during the pandemic. In the process of helping them, our students learned about taking stock of inventory, assessing the accounts, marketing the products, and selling products to a consumer. In a broader sense, they learned how smaller, local actions like this can really ladder up to make a difference, and eventually help create system change.

The “Women Rise for System Change” unit is a perfect example of how Green School focuses on REAL learning:

• Relationship-oriented – In exploring topics around social justice, students often have their own worldviews challenged by diverse perspectives. Their relationships to one another shift through class dialogues that encourage tactful disagreement and respectful conversation. 
• Experiential & Evolving – We don’t just learn about social justice theory and best practices, we take action on it by partnering with local organizations like PKP. Through these collaborations students experience what social action looks like in practice and how it evolves depending on global contexts – be it shifts in government policy or the impacts of a global pandemic.
• Authentic & Interconnected – Students start by connecting with, and more deeply understanding, social movements/questions and historical occurrences within a local context of Indonesia. Identifying the role of women in social, economic and development processes here gives them a framework for identifying those roles in other contexts.
• Local – At the end of the unit, our students can feel that they’ve made a real difference in their local community. Our continued collaboration with the PKP Community Center allows students a real opportunity to facilitate the empowerment and lasting financial independence of women and girls here in Bali.

At Green School, we believe when learning is REAL it is internalized, it plants a seed in the soul that is nurtured into a deeply held and life-long belief in the power of individual action to affect system change.

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His Vision: To design a more sustainable and inspiring world through architecture.

When Harry first enrolled in high school at Green School, he didn’t know that saying “yes” would take him on a journey that involved learning in its nature-immersed classrooms to presenting at the International Monetary Fund’s annual conference in Europe, to carrying bamboo across the campus for building a roof, and today, to living in the United Kingdom, studying architecture and environmental engineering at the University of West England. How he got there was a pathway all his own, unique to his interests and passions, as is the case with all our high school students. What he knew – with the encouragement of his teachers – was to nurture his passions and curiosity and allow this to guide his learning journey. 

 “At Green School, I learned to say yes to every opportunity that came my way, because those are the opportunities that show you what lights you up, and it’s that light that continues to light my own personal path to the future,” Harry reflects. “I think if I hadn’t attended Green School Bali I would have been very set on a well-trod path to the future – go to University, get a Bachelor’s degree, then a Master’s, and then work for the rest of my life. Green School definitely opened a wider range of opportunities for me in terms of potential careers. I always knew I wanted to go to University, but now I’m considering opportunities I wouldn’t have seen before, and understanding how the best opportunities are those that feel meaningful to me.”

Harry and his fellow students work on building the roof of the OROS dome, made from sustainable materials including bamboo

One of these opportunities included joining the student team at Operation Rain or Shine, or OROS, halfway through his freshman year in high school. Like its name implies OROS is a project to provide renewable energy for the school in both the rainy and sunny seasons in Bali, using a combination of hydro power and solar power. During his time with OROS, Harry learned all about renewable energy, the energy grid, how different energy systems can work together, and how to design and construct buildings that support these systems – all while growing close friendships with the other students involved.

“We built the OROS dome on the Green School campus – also known as “The Igloo” – and almost every single student and teacher on campus played a role in its construction. Whether it was ferrying wheel barrows across the field or filling rice bags with dirt. By the time it was built, the field was destroyed! But this became a whole school project, one that most students will remember for a long time to come.”

Being a part of the construction had a massive effect on Harry. The project encompassed everything from earthbag construction to designing and building the bamboo roof. By Grade 10, Harry had gained fundamental construction and design skills as well as a basic knowledge of electricity and renewable energy.

That same year, Harry and his fellow students traveled to Abu Dhabi to represent Green School at the Zayed Sustainability Prize, interacting with other schools and sustainable companies that were taking place in Abu Dhabi for Sustainability Week that year. The experience showed him how powerful even young students can be when it comes to enacting change. 

A year later, in grade 11, Harry again said “yes” to representing Green School on an international stage, this time at the Annual International Monetary Fund (IMF) Conference. While there, he was offered an internship at a bank in Amsterdam. He said yes again, and spent a month interning there. But he quickly realized that banking and finance wasn’t where he wanted to be. When he got back to Bali, he was even more clear that architecture and design was what he wanted to do. 

“The main reason I wanted to become an architect was to make the world a more sustainable place, to put it simply. Architecture is one of those art forms that – unlike a painting that sits in a museum – is out in the real world for maybe hundreds of years, interacting with and inspiring people across generations. I’d love to design carbon-neutral buildings or buildings that have a positive impact on our environment.”

Harry explained Green School’s own award-winning architecture played into his decision. “Walking around campus, you’re constantly being inspired by all the unique buildings and the innovative, bamboo design.”

The Arc, Green School’s space that supports wellbeing, sport, the arts, community gatherings, and more

Now at University, Harry appreciates how saying yes to so many amazing opportunities at school helped to nurture his confidence when it comes to having more mature and meaningful conversations with peers. “Green School does a really good job educating students about things that should really be common topics among students the world over – things like women’s equality, periods, mental health, mindfulness and wellbeing – I think having a basic knowledge on all of these topics has made me more empathetic, given me a better understanding of the world around me, and allowed me to more easily find people at University who share similar values and worldviews.” 

A bright, curious and values-driven young person, Harry represents everything we hope for in our change makers. We have no doubt that he will play an active role in helping to design and construct for a more sustainable world. 

“Climate action does not need to start big, anyone can start their own initiative or project that can have a positive impact on the world. The small act of me joining a Green Building class so many years ago has since given my voice and my message the opportunity to be heard by thousands of people around the world. So remember – one small action really can make all the difference. Thank you.”

Harry co-presents a project to the Green Project Hub Team to get funding from the school “bank”

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