Land Commitment
Indigenous Land Acknowledgment & Environmental Commitment
Every human being shall see in each and all of his fellow-men a hidden divinity... that every human being is made in the likeness of the Godhead. When that time comes there will be no need for any religious coercion; for then every meeting between one man and another will of itself be in the nature of a religious rite, a sacrament.” — Rudolf Steiner
The Summerfield community honors the sacred earth upon which our school and farm lies, and we acknowledge that our campus is located on the traditional lands of the Southern Pomo People. We pay our respects to Pomo elders both past and present and recognize that this land was not given freely, but rather, it is stolen land from which the Pomo People were removed by force. We recognize that it is upon this legacy that we build our community today.
Our Relationship to the Land
In the spirit of truth and reconciliation, may we, the Summerfield Community, keep in our hearts and minds the complex truths of our country’s history. And may we continue to work towards a healthy culture and society that warmly welcomes all People, cares for our Mother Earth, and encourages the flourishing of our inner spiritual life.
The Summerfield community wishes to enter into a true relationship with the land it has purchased. We feel that this land is a living part of the whole earth, which should not be bought or sold as a commodity. Rather, we wish to free it from this bondage and place it under our careful stewardship, entering into a loving relationship with its needs and potentials. We will endeavor to discover, practice, and teach the principles of genuine stewardship of the earth– by cultivating our connection with the Spirit and grounding it in this soil. We nurture our school and farm daily to bring about the greatest living potential of the land and all those who set foot, hoof, root or otherwise on it.
Environmental Land Policy
Adopted by the Board of Trustee in 2011, the finalized Land Trust Agreement, called the Deed of Conservation Easement, preserves farmland and wildlife areas in perpetuity upon the school property.
Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm is committed to responsible stewardship of our environment. We appreciate and respect the interdependence of complex human and ecological systems and are committed to maintaining and improving their health, wholeness, balance and diversity while advancing sustainability on the Summerfield campus in several areas of operation: resource use and recycling, energy consumption and generation, land use, farming and landscape, education and student involvement, built environment, transportation, water, and food.
In the course of our activities, we shall; Reduce our use of natural resources; Support the sustainable production of the resources we must use by purchasing renewable, reusable, recyclable, and recycled materials; Seek locally sourced materials and goods; Minimize our use of toxic substances, seek safe alternatives, and ensure that unavoidable use is in full compliance with environmental regulations; Reduce the waste we generate and promote strategies to reuse and recycled those wastes that cannot be avoided; Maintain the biodynamic practices of our farm; Protect, maintain, restore and experience the natural wildlife areas of our school; Protect the neighboring Laguna de Santa Rosa: an internationally recognized Ramsar Convention wetland; Reduce greenhouse gas emissions; Reduce the impacts of transportation to and from school by promoting activities like carpooling and bicycling. Integrate knowledge of and stewardship of our environment into the curriculum at SWSF.
Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm is committed to sharing information about sustainability practices, especially those that are replicable, within our school and with other school communities; and when appropriate, to share with local, region, national and global organizations in order to foster widespread environmental stewardship and sustainability. We are committed to learning the best practices from other schools and organizations as we work to continually improve our own sustainability efforts.