From Teachers and Community Leaders
“The retreat gave my students who come from diverse and challenging backgrounds a forum to understand discrimination and social injustice and begin to transform their pain into empowerment. In these four days I saw my students grow, because the experience gave them a safe space for understanding the destructive racism and sexism they experience and perpetrate in society at large.
This experience empowered my students to make positive choices, to push out of their comfort zones and learn a new way to interact. This experience truly transformed my students and had a lasting impact on how they treated themselves and others.”
“ It was as if the weight and pain of the world was lifted and they were free and safe to find and themselves—I hope we can continue this tradition and provide the space for learning and growth for more students.”
“I just wanted to say “THANK YOU” for doing such a great job with HYPE and the Linden Park project. You present extremely well, and your passion for serving kids, promoting conservation, and teaching stewardship is very prevalent.
Both the Civic Cultural Commission; and the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission, fully embrace this effort and think that involving youth while working with a key partner, like Hidden Villa, is just what we should be doing.
We’re very fortunate to have you leading this, thank you! “
“Thank you so much for hosting the students this weekend. Your tour was very well received and that you brought home the concepts the students were covering in class in a very meaningful way. “
“On April 19th, you hosted approximately 30 students from our Bay Area Pilot Certification Program at Hidden Villa. What an experience!
This field trip went above and beyond our expectations and hopes in so many ways. It was invaluable for our students to see the hands-on logistics of ecologically sensitive landscaping. As your tour included the cover crops on the agricultural field, the native plant nursery, the wildlife corridor, the irrigation systems, your IPM approaches, and so much other excellent information, it was a perfect complement to everything we had studied in the classroom. The field trip was such a great learning experience that there was talk about integrating it into the curriculum for potential classes in the future.
I wanted to give you a more personal thank-you as well. The majority of our students are monolingual Spanish speakers with a very low educational background. The warmth and welcome you conveyed to them were so heartfelt and truly genuine - you even gave them each a plant to take home! One student said "I feel like I am on my ranch back home in Mexico". Unfortunately, in some places of learning and commerce for organic gardening, my students do not feel welcomed. This was not the case at Hidden Villa, and as a person of Latina descent, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Participant Testimonials
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