The Cuvilly Story Cuvilly Arts and Earth Center draws its name from the rural village in France where the foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Marie Rose Julie Billiart, was born. A peasant woman, she established schools where materially disadvantaged children could receive free education. Saint Julie's goal was to teach children "what they need to know for life." Cuvilly Arts and Earth Center, a ministry of the Sisters of Notre Dame, was founded in 1983 by Sr. Patricia Rolinger. An educational facility dedicated to modeling methods of ecological sustainability, Cuvilly is located on the grounds of a former dairy farm in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The facility includes a renovated dairy barn that accommodates the preschool, a studio, and offices; a photovoltaic array and wind turbine to supply the Center's electricity; a "recycled" 19th century timber frame barn [slideshow of barn-raising]--originally built in Danvers, Massachusetts, which was razed, tagged, moved to Ipswich, and then raised at Cuvilly with the invaluable help of the Timber Framers Guild--to house a variety of farm animals; 15 acres of land that includes woodland, a pond, fields, organic gardens, an orchard, trails, animal pastures, and a play yard. An herb garden, meditation spiral, and beehives sit high on a hill overlooking Ipswich Bay. Cuvilly strives to keep Saint Julie's spirit and work very much alive and relevant to the present moment. Although today's challenges are different from those faced in 18th century rural France, our goal is the same: "to teach them what they need to know for life." Knowledge of ecological and environmental issues is critical to the survival of our planet. Children, especially, need to experience themselves as part of the natural cycle. Cuvilly is dedicated to reawakening the human consciousness to the interdependence of life. Since 1983, more than 1000 students and their families have participated in the mission of the Center. Cuvilly's resources and programs, such as its community organic gardening program, art studio and its involvement in Heifer International, serve to create an atmosphere for learning that respects all of creation in an ecological balance. The living, breathing expression of Cuvilly's mission is found in its animals. In addition to the goatherd raised to benefit Heifer International, the school is home to pigs, donkeys, horses, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, a llama, dogs and cats. The lessons taught by the animals are at the heart of Cuvilly's guiding principle: All life is sacred, and the diversity of life is essential for the well-being and sustenance of the planet. To give children the experience of diversity is critical to nurturing the human's basic instincts to live in harmony with the created world. Without diversity, the quality of all life diminishes, be it agricultural or societal. We seek to reinvent the way we inhabit the earth because our current way is often destructive. The teaching staff's unique "Full Circle Curriculum" teaches that everything needs food and everything becomes food in the cycle of life-death transformation. Cuvilly uses its animals to create an environment where a pig is more than a pork chop - it is a living being with value in and of itself. Cuvilly's story is only 20 years old. Check out our current offerings and join us on our journey into the next 20 years and beyond.