New Urban Farm School “Golden Bridges” will Teach Kids to Grow Food

Golden Bridges School has always actively linked learning with the earth. The founders are Waldorf School teachers, teaching youngsters with unhurried, sensory rich learning experiences. Learning to grow food to eat can be an enriching part of the process. So the school, which is recently founded, has its morning classes at a local church and then spends the afternoons in the outdoors. The students engage in many varied activities outside. But they farm at 203 Cotter Street. It is the place where they have nurtured the soil and community relationships.

203 Cotter Street is one acre of land nestled amidst a housing development in the Mission Terrace neighborhood of San Francisco. The Kindergarteners, and the First and Second Grade students tend to the garden every day. Because the site doesn’t have buildings yet, when it rains, the children use tents for their classrooms. Their garden includes herbs and vegetables, and not only do they learn how to grow these foods, they also make lunch using the vegetables they grow. It is a holistic approach to learning that their teachers and parents value, with the hope that these youngsters will become self-sufficient and capable adults.

The Waldorf education system has schools all around the world. Most of them are located on farms or spacious agricultural land in rural areas. That’s because the Waldorf curriculum is based on farming, handwork, cooking, making clothing and activities that allow young people to interact with the countryside in meaningful ways. The Waldorf system, derived from the educational vision of Rudolph Steiner, the 19th century philosopher, seeks to develop the intellectual, social, practical and moral skills of each individual.

What makes Golden Bridges School set apart from other Waldorf schools is its urban location, its small amount of land and its focus on teaching urban youngsters using a curriculum that is derived from living and working on a farm. With homes all around, the neighborhood is a typically dense city area. The 55 children who attend the school are part of a larger community that may not have opportunities to visit a farm. So the school has embarked on a plan to bring the farm to them.

For two years, the students have been planting green things and learning outdoors at 203 Cotter Street, but with the help of visionary leaders, sponsors, and parents, classrooms will soon be built at the site. In fact, an entire school will be built, but thanks to Stanley Saitowitz and Natoma Architects, the building will require a very small footprint. Only 30% of the land will be used for the structure, leaving the remaining 70% in green varied spaces.

The architects have come up with a unique structure which will serve the students while matching the pioneering spirit and ecological values of the school. The classrooms will provide the space they need to study math, science, the humanities and the arts while leaving distinct outdoor areas. There will be designated places to play, to farm, and some wild landscapes to explore. The Waldorf curriculum devotes energy to respecting and celebrating the seasons which makes the various outdoor spaces accessible for a wide variety of learning experiences based on seasonal changes to the landscape.

The structure is innovative because it is both landscape and building combined. Natoma Architects first considered the surrounding neighborhood; which is built of single family detached houses and backyards. When looking at aerial views of the houses, the lots were clearly in a distinct pattern, so the new school buildings echo that pattern. Each classroom will be aligned with its own courtyard, just as each neighborhood home has its own yard. The entire school will have a living roof of greenery, which will serve to insulate the classrooms, retain water, and create a natural habitat for bees and other pollinating insects and birds. The roof will continue down the front exterior of the building, which will be sloped to reach the ground. The school will be hidden away inside its own hill.

At the front entrance to the school, there will be an open traffic circle for pick up and drop off of students, and temporary parking. When school is not in session, it will host community farmer’s markets and other events. It will be built as a roundabout with permeable surfaces, and rainwater cisterns situated beneath to catch storm waters to recycle for gray water use. There will be no pavement once construction is complete.

The interiors will feature wood, stone and other natural materials in keeping with the Waldorf philosophy of embracing nature. Large amounts of glass will be included on the interior and rear facing areas of the school so that natural sunlight can help to light the rooms and reduce electrical energy consumption. Multiple trees will be planted in the courtyard areas of the interior, adding their green colored leaves to the warmly colored woods of the structure.

A golden bridge is the crowning glory of the building. It will run from the front of the building through the center and flow to the back. It will arch down toward the farm area when it reaches the rear section of the building. It is a walkway that is meant to symbolically tie not only the classrooms together, but to create gathering spaces, and most of all, to represent the working together of the school and the community. The beauty of the design is that the previously unused lot, which never had a structure on it, will be filled with a useful building surrounded by orchards, organic farm plots, and a natural landscape for playing rather than the usual equipment found on school playgrounds.

The school is currently working on fundraising to build what will be the first urban farm school for grade school children in the nation. To that end, the school has started a Plant a School campaign which it hopes will bring in $6.5 million. The land was purchased in 2014, with a loan secured by a friendly supporter.

The fundraising project is divided into goals which serve as specific action phases. The first goal is the raise enough money to pay for permits, surveys, architect master plan fees, consultants and applications regarding use permits and other legal paperwork. The second goal will be to receive enough donations to build either the actual structure or an interim one. The school has raised over $200,000, and is welcoming stock and cash donations of any amount.