Lydia B. Stokes, a township resident, was a champion for education and a lover of nature, among many other things. The advocate was active from the 1950s until her passing in the 1980s, according to the Lydia B. Stokes Foundation. Maria Montessori, the Italian founder of the education method that bears her name, believed a school should be a “children’s house.” She opened the first of her non-traditional schools in 1907 and went on to spread her methods internationally over the next 40 years. The two women never met, but if Matthew Simberg’s plans come to fruition, he believes he can honor the legacies of both. Simberg, the owner-operate of the Merchantville, Camden County, Montessori Seeds of Education School, is seeking permission from the township to move his school to Stokes’ Chester Avenue property. http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/20180822/montessori-owner-plans-potential-moorestown-move