The Portland Montessori Collaborative was created in response to the overwhelming evidence that the people of the world must learn to live in better harmony with the natural world. The over consumption of our resources and continued removal of children from nature has created a lack of knowledge about how we can be in balance with our world. Not only has there been a break in the cultural transmission of knowledge, but we are intentionally removed from the consequences of our consumption and many products are designed, to our own detriment, to be disposable.
Our idea was to create a special space for the youngest children in our community, and integrate ideas of sustainability into the curriculum. We hope to create a space and time where children might become ecologically intelligent by living in and absorbing such an environment. The most important component to developing ecological intelligence is through meaningful connection and cooperation with other people.
