Looking to the natural world for wisdom, guidance, and inspiration has informed much of what we do at Windy Hollow Farm. Outdoor education programs have become a way for us to share what we’ve learned and provide a place for others to share their knowledge. Through the years we have hosted herbal weekend retreats, one-day workshops, summer day camps, field trips, and ongoing school programs.

Windy Hollow Farm is home to ACORN Partners in Education, a local 501(c)3 non-profit organization that offers experiential learning programs on the coast. Our summer Farm Camp is offered in partnership with ACORN and we’ve been hosting it on the farm since 2010. Farm Camp is a time for outdoor-inspired fun. Children spend the week preparing homemade snacks, crafting projects in the workshop, sowing seeds in the greenhouse, harvesting from the gardens, and exploring the land and trails. This is a chance for kids to run and get their hands dirty in a safe outdoor environment. Social learning and playing are integral parts of camp with guided games and free time interspersed between focused activities.

Windy Hollow Farm hosts weekly outdoor learning days with the Kindergarten-3rd grade students from the Pacific Community Charter School. Teachers integrate interdisciplinary projects during their farm days and students take full advantage of the climbing tree, “mud hills”, and trails during their free time. A few of the cross-disciplinary projects include searching under the cypress trees for owl pellets, taking them back to the greenhouse for dissecting and journaling about them; finding a favorite plant in the hoophouse, examing its structure closer through a magnifying glass and painting watercolors of the leaves. They also spend time sowing seeds and tending the kitchen garden.