MUSE School is the first vegan school in America, precisely located in Calabasas, California, US. This school is for children up to 12 years old and carries the concept of sustainability. MUSE School has been opened since 2006 by Suzy Amis Cameron, the wife of a famous film director and producer named James Cameron.
The story of the establishment of this school actually started in 2005. As a dedicated environmental activist and mother of five children, Suzy Amis Cameron is eager for giving an education for young people who can sharpen their passion and make them as environmentally conscious individuals. She envisioned this in the form of a sustainable campus.
To make her dream come true, Suzy worked with her sister, Rebecca Amis. After setting up a children’s center school in the Midwest, Suzy feels that Rebecca is the perfect partner because she has an educational background in child development and psychology.
In addition, Rebecca also has experience teaching at the college level. The two then set up the MUSE School-a school designed to focus attention on its students, society, and the earth.
At first, MUSE started with just 11 kindergartens and elementary school students . The children’s center environment is located in a one-room schoolhouse, located in Las Flores Canyon. Despite its small size, MUSE is rapidly making its school known nationally and worldwide for its innovative approach to education.
Within a decade after its establishment, MUSE grew into two campuses in Malibu Canyon. MUSE’s mission is increasingly widespread to reach higher school students (children up to 18 years). The school is still continuing its mission to rekindle the unique spirit of children and nurture those who will become world leaders around them.
Most importantly, MUSE always teaches its students to love the environment. The school is described as a “utopia”, where children learn to appreciate nature and enjoy differences. Students are allowed to decide what they will learn based on their preferences. This school now has 165 students in June 2015 ago, including the three children of Suzy.
In this school, the children and the staff grow their own fruits and vegetables which are the basic ingredients of food provided there. The program is called Seed-to-Table, a program that teaches students to understand how to grow and pick fruit and vegetables and prepare food from the ingredients. There are about 200 kinds of plants cultivated in this program.
Students at MUSE are accustomed to eating plant-based foods for nothing but environmental reasons. They must understand how much land and water it takes to produce a pound of beef commonly used as foodstuffs.
The school believes that one can not call himself sustainable if he still consumes food in that way. In line with that, Suzy also assumes that one can not call himself an environmentalist if still eat animals.
According to a report published by the Worldwatch Institute, surprisingly 51% or more of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by animal farming. The UN also said that global changes to the vegan diet are necessary to counter the worst effects of climate change. Therefore, the habit of eating plant-based foods should start early.
Not only the food program is sustainable, the school building is also designed to be environmentally friendly. Campus in Malibu Canyon stands on 22 hectares of land. Before being used as a MUSE School, the building was once used by a school founded by Will Smith-an American actor, producer, rapper, comedian, and songwriter.
In May 2015, five solar-shaped solar panel towers designed by James Cameron were installed on MUSE. Each panel is capable of generating electricity as much as 300 kWh. The panels will meet 75% to 100% of the school’s electrical needs, depending on the availability of radiation and the required radiation requirements.
Ecologically sustainable building construction and provision of a vegan diet proves that the Suzy family is serious about making better changes, especially in the environmental sector. The more people who like that program, the longer earth will last. If you are confused about how to getting started, the vegan diet can be the first movement that already recommended by MUSE School.
