MUSE School

MUSE School, a school in Calabasas, California, US, has been described as the country's first vegan K-12 school.[1][2] The school was co-founded in 2006 by James Cameron's wife Suzy Amis Cameron and Suzy's sister Rebecca Amis. It is a non-profit private school.[3] The motivation for starting the school has been reported to be the founders' and their children's[4] lack of satisfaction with the quality of education on offer with particular reference to the environment, in their children's context, and the desire to raise children for whom environmentalism is a way of life.[3] The school has been described as a "utopia" in which children learn to respect nature, be happy about diversity.[5] The school allows students to decide what they learn based on their inclination.[6] In June 2015, the school had 146 students, including three of the Cameron children.[7]

Seed-to-Table program and transition to a completely plant-based menu

At the school students and staff grow fruits and vegetables that are included in meals the school serves,[8] under a programme called Seed-toTable program, under which students understand how to cultivate and pick fruits and vegetables and to prepare meals from them.[9] About 200 various plants are grown under this programme.[10] The school adopted an exclusively plant based diet since the autumn of 2015. This caused 40 percent of the students to be removed from the school, subsequently there was a recovery in the numbers and by November, 2015 the school's strength was the highest ever.[11]

Facilities

The school operates from a 22-acre campus in Malibu Canyon. A building on the campus was once used by a school founded by Will Smith. In May 2015, five solar panel towers, each generating 300 kWh, designed in the shape of sunflowers by James Cameron, were installed on the premises. These would provide 75 to 100 percent of the schools electricity requirement, depending upon incident solar radiation and demand.[12]

Red Carpet, Green Dress

Jake McDorman participated in a campaign during the 2015 Academy Awards ceremony for the benefit of the school,[13] under the "Red Carpet, Green Dress" contest.[14][15]

Controversy

In 2014, a National Labor Relations Board ruling criticised the school's employer confidentiality policy and declared it illegal.[16]

References

  1. ↑ Feinsinger, Greg (2016-01-04). "Doctor's tip: Word getting out about plant-based diets". postindependent. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  2. ↑ Kirkova, Deni (2015-11-12). "Director James Cameron’s wife opened first all-vegan school as he filmed Avatar". metro.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  3. 1 2 "James Cameron Announces His Wife's Private School Is Going Vegan". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  4. ↑ Mojkowski, Elliot Washor, Charles (2013-10-11). Leaving to Learn: How Out-of-School Learning Increases Student Engagement and Reduces Dropout Rates. Urban Fox Studios. ISBN 9780325050720.
  5. ↑ >>>, Maureen Harrington (2010-03-06). "Muse school is actress' brainchild". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  6. ↑ "James Cameron's elementary school to become first ever to be all VEGAN". Mail Online. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  7. ↑ "Teaching the Next James Cameron". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  8. ↑ Muelrath, Lani (2015-09-15). The Plant-Based Journey: A Step-by-Step Guide for Transitioning to a Healthy Lifestyle and Achieving Your Ideal Weight. BenBella Books, Inc. ISBN 9781942952091.
  9. ↑ "'Titanic' director's wife terminates meat from school lunch menu". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  10. ↑ Erbentraut, Joseph (2015-06-03). "America Is About To Get Its First All-Vegan School Cafeteria For Kids". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  11. ↑ Ward, Lucy. "No beef allowed: inside the schools that have banned meat". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  12. ↑ "James Cameron, Suzy Amis Cameron Unveil 'Solar Sun Flowers' Project". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  13. ↑ "Exclusive: Getting Red Carpet-Ready for the Oscars with American Sniper Star Jake McDorman". InStyle.com. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  14. ↑ McDonough, Katie. "Suzy Amis Cameron "greens" the red carpet". Salon. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  15. ↑ "Red Carpet Green Dress contest extends deadline to Jan. 12". latimes.com. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
  16. ↑ "James Cameron Can't Tell Elementary School Workers to Shut Up". Celebrity Justice. Retrieved 2016-01-09.

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