Hidden Villa Environmental Education

As part of our Environmental Education Program, we offer farm tours, farm and wilderness exploration, overnight stays, and farm chores. Please read the information below for details.

FARM TOURS - a sensory introduction to a working farm. Most groups range from 2-7 years old, although tours can be arranged for older children, special education, adults and other groups. For most children this 1 1/4 hour tour is a first-time learning experience where they can taste a root, touch a wool sweater on the hoof, find out what cows give them, and begin to understand the importance of the farm and garden in their lives. Farm Tours for organized groups run Tuesday through Friday starting at either 9:15am or 11:00am. Maximum capacity is 60 children per tour. Weekend tours for families are also available through Community Programs

FARM AND WILDERNESS EXPLORATION - This program's curriculum is designed for 2nd-6th grades and starts with a two-hour classroom orientation by Hidden Villa naturalists a week before the field trip. Using a slide show, music, role-plays, and hands-on teaching stations, the concepts and attitudes to be experienced at Hidden Villa are presented to the children.

During their field trip at Hidden Villa, the children learn the importance of the farm and wilderness to our urban environment. They may take leftover lunches to the compost pile, compost to the garden, and garden plants to the animals who will turn them into wool sweaters, milk, eggs, or hairbrushes. Following Adobe Creek up into the wilderness, they explore a variety of plant communities, learn about food webs, predator/prey relationships, animal adaptations, and stewardship of the land.

These field trips last approximately 5 hours, from 9:30am to 2:30pm. Classes are divided into small groups, led by our trained docents. Maximum capacity is 60 children. This trip can be combined with our Overnight and Farm Chore Program.

OVERNIGHT & FARM CHORE - A Hidden Villa overnight allows students to build cooperation skills while discovering the wonder of the nighttime world at Hidden Villa. Participants stay in heated cabins at the Hidden Villa Hostel and cook their own meals in the Hostel kitchen. Teachers may schedule a one or two-night overnight to extend their Farm & Wilderness Exploration trip in to a longer, more intense experience.

All meals are arranged by parents and teachers. We ask that parents serve as chaperones at all times on the overnights.