Sustainability at
Arbor School Dubai
The Arbor School is an ecological school in Dubai founded on the three pillars of ecoliteracy, sustainability and environmental justice. The school aims to prepare students to be active contributors to a future where there is “enough, for all, forever.”
The Arbor School has developed its own ecoliteracy curriculum. The curriculum is based on 5 principles that emphasise the thinking and learning needed to better understand and take action to nurture the complex relationships that shape the future of humans as part of the natural world. The principles are developed in four developmental phases from early years to Year 13, via transdisciplinary concepts and performance indicators. The curriculum is grounded in the standards of the National Curriculum for England and the expectations of the UAE’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).
Our ‘living classrooms’ include six climate-controlled biodomes – three large geodesic domes that sit at the heart of the school’s Bio Park, two of which function as a full tropical ecosystem available for Ecoliteracy teaching for all years. The third dome is an Eco Exploratorium – a hub of specialist Ecoliteracy teaching and learning. A further three mini biodomes are used for everything from reading spaces to plant nurseries and growing produce.
We also operate an aspiring “farm-to-fork” canteen (the Farmhouse) which offers fresh, healthy, and delicious meals to students based on carefully-sourced organic and seasonal ingredients from local and sustainable suppliers complemented by school-grown produce.
With the help of The Alliance for Sustainable Schools we recently launched a trial of B20 biodiesel (a blend of 20% biodiesel and 80% fossil diesel) in one of the school buses with the support of our bus company, STS, and Neutral Fuels, a Dubai-based manufacturer of low biodiesel from waste. Our intention is that this pilot will be a first step towards reducing the carbon footprint of our school community’s daily commute.
See Arbor’s Charter signing ceremony here.
