Heart of the Hollow A Book About Deer Hollow Farm
Natalie Rockhold
Above: A sign on the way into Deer Hollow from Rancho. 2
Dedication
When I would visit Deer Hollow as
a kid, I never realized how much work went into the animals that I loved so much. I never thought about who fed the bunnies and goats, who cleaned up after them, and who kept them safe at night. The behind-the-scenes work that children don’t think about is done by volunteers and employees of the city. I would like to dedicate this book to all the people who have put their time and love into Deer Hollow Farm.
Thank you for keeping it just as nice as it was when it was founded, not to mention 50 years later when I first set foot on the property. Your work is appreciated more than you know. And more specifically, this project would not have been possible without Jessica. Everyone I interviewed reminded me of how much you do to keep everything going at the farm. Thank you for putting up with me brandishing an audio recorder at you and following you and everyone around with a camera.
3
Table of
4
Page 3 Dedication
Pages 6 & 7 Preface
Pages 4 & 5 Table of Contents
Pages 8 & 9 Introduction
Above: The view of Rancho from Deer Hollow.
Contents Page 10 Chapter One: Educate
Page 22 Conclusion
Page 14 Chapter Two: Cultivate
Page 23 Works Cited
Page 17 Chapter Three: Participate
Pages 24 & 25 About the Author
Above: A visitor reading the signs on the Nature Shed.
5
Preface
When presented with the objective of the documentary project, to research and tell the story of an influential person or place in the community, I immediately thought of Deer Hollow Farm. I have spent nine consecutive years at Deer Hollow, five as a summer camp volunteer and four as a participant, so it definitely holds a special place in my heart. Honestly, I was surprised to learn that no one had documented such a unique place before. It is the only farm for miles around and is well known and loved by my classmates and family members. They have each experienced Deer Hollow in different ways, as a casual passersby or even an annual volunteer.
Although going out to the farm for each of my interviews and photo taking sessions was time consuming, I found myself looking forward to each trip because I genuinely enjoy spending time in Rancho San Antonio. I secretly appreciated the fact that I was forced to go into nature once a week for several weeks in a row, because usually that kind of time doesn’t have a place in my schedule. Once there, the hours slipped by as I visited animals, talked to interesting people, and took photographs of the scenery. I never lost excitement for the final product, even though it took over 20 hours to complete. Throughout this project I struggled to find an angle, simply because there are so many aspects of the farm that I could highlight. Would I focus on the environmental education? The livestock? Its volunteers or its historical origin? All I knew was I wanted to do Deer Hollow justice and show whoever reads this book why I fell in love with it so many years ago.
Left: Two of the farm’s lambs. Left: The Hay Barn’s view of Rancho’s foliage.
7
Introduction
“What products can we get from a chicken? Does anyone
know?” The kindergarteners glance doubtfully at each other and back at the volunteer, who waits patiently for an answer. Some of them absentmindedly trace designs in the dirt with chubby fingers. After a pause, one brave little boy opens his mouth to speak. “Hmm… eggs?” he wonders aloud, wide eyed. It has just occurred to him that his breakfast was created by a chicken like the one in front of him. Suddenly he reaches out and hugs the bird, a childish outpouring of trust towards his new friend. He bounces the unamused chicken gently on his knees. “....Scrambled eggs?” He cracks a toothy grin and the children around him erupt into peals of laughter.
Left: Luna and Roxy, the farm’s two Jersey cows.
This is a common scene at Deer Hollow Farm, a unique community nestled in the heart of Rancho San Antonio Nature Preserve. The City of Mountain View has restored various buildings around the property and preserved it as a historic site. In addition to numerous summer camp and school education programs, Deer Hollow is a working farm with over 100 annual volunteers. The farm is a place where kids who live in Silicon Valley can have their first encounters with farm life and animals, and are gently reminded of the way people lived before modern conveniences. Deer Hollow Farm’s motto is “Educate, Cultivate, and Participate,” which perfectly describes its three main goals. Each chapter of this book is dedicated to one of those words: “Educate” refers to the environmental education programs and animal interactions for kids; “Cultivate” for the cultivation of a historic working farm inside of Rancho San Antonio; and “Participate” to the underlying volunteer program that allows members of the community to participate in helping Deer Hollow to be its unique self.
9
Chapter 1:
Educate
Left: Jessica and her favorite animal at the farm. Although Jessica Morgan’s job is defined as Senior Recreation Coordinator, she began at the farm as a lead teacher and remains primarily an environmental educator at heart. When asked what the job meant to her, Jessica responded, “What we do out here is just going to help future generations, make sure people understand where food comes from, and have a personal connection to a beautiful piece of open space.” Deer Hollow’s educational programs reflect Jessica’s vision of keeping the next generation grounded. Showing kids where their food comes from is something that may seem simple to us, but can be groundbreaking to them. Lisa Cornelius, Deer Hollow’s farmer, weighed in on this topic, stating, “It’s really rewarding to see some of those kids get to have those interactions. You know, some kids [have] never touched a goat before or they’ve never pulled a carrot out of the ground and learned that a carrot is a root vegetable.” Uses for the various native plants around the preserve may seem novel and interesting to us, but to our ancestors they were essential for survival. Kids love learning about the madrone, or “refrigerator tree” and how its keeps water closer to the outer layer of its trunk than most trees, making its bark cool to the touch. A large part of environmental education around the preserve is tied to Ohlone history, the Native American tribe who inhabited the property first. The topic of the portrayal of Native American history in American classrooms is a highly discussed one, with educators criticizing the “‘narrative erasure’ of Indian people” throughout historical education (Sousa). Deer Hollow has taken active steps to acknowledge and celebrate Ohlone culture. The farm’s property includes a historically accurate recreation of an Ohlone village, complete with a sweat lodge and archery classes.
“Jessica is a great
person, multitalented, artistic, creative. She keeps everyone together and makes sure the volunteers are happy and everything’s running smoothly.” -Julie
11
Kids are introduced to native life in a fun and interesting way, often role playing an Ohlone’s daily tasks. Jessica describes the popularity of this unique program: “I always joke that we could fill our whole school year program with just Ohlone classes. At least half of our classes are held in the village, and our wait list is all for classes who want to be in the village. It’s very popular. And we’re lucky that it’s part of the state curriculum because all 3rd and 4th graders need to have this knowledge.” Perhaps the most exciting education to a child visitor, however, are the animals. An animal provides a variety of entertainment: the sounds and smells it emits, vibrant colors, and soft fur. Child development specialist Susan Born states: “As most early childhood educators know, meaningful work is the best way for children to become invested in something. And it’s easier than you may think to offer children meaningful ways to participate in caring for animals.” These positive effects could stick with a child for the rest of their life and give them a greater perspective on their place in the world. Deer Hollow has meaningful work for children ingrained in each of its programs. Whether they are cleaning a pen, laying out feed for a goat, or collecting eggs, the immediate results of their work inspire kids to care for other living beings.
Right: A recreation of an Ohlone hut. 12
“We are really
lucky that the city, almost 40 years ago, decided that this is an important thing for the community. There’s nothing like this even anywhere near Silicon Valley. You have to go on a 2 hour drive to get close.�
-Jessica
13
Chapter 2:
Cultivate
According to Born,“Recent research estimates the total television time for children under age eleven at approximately twenty-five hours per week (not including computers, video games, and other screen time).” How does a place like Deer Hollow fit into the lives of kids that depend so heavily on technology? Especially here in the Bay Area, a fifteen-minute drive from Apple’s headquarters? Julie Dewey, a longtime volunteer at Deer Hollow, described the farm’s unique location perfectly: “You think of it as something historical in the midst of Silicon Valley where everything is new.” An important part of Deer Hollow’s community is the fact that it is embedded in Rancho San Antonio, a nature preserve in Los Altos. The farm is well known with kids across the Bay. Jessica said, “Yeah, it’s great that almost all elementary kids in the Mountain View School District come out here. Everyone knows what the farm is; from kindergarten through 3rd grade, they’re all coming out here.” People are able to hike their way to the farm, or use it as a finale to a larger loop around Rancho. Cultivating a farm inside of Rancho also means cultivating the history of Deer Hollow over the years. The story of the farm’s origin is a classic example of early settlers in California. Around the farm signs are posted with the history of each building, and pictures of how the farm looked decades ago. Until the 1970s, Deer Hollow was a privately owned property, operated mainly by the Grant family. The City of Mountain View has worked closely with farm operators to keep Deer Hollow as historically accurate as possible while updating it with modern conveniences and resources to expand. Jessica keeps the historical education going by offering classes on things like cheese making, archery, and Ohlone arts and crafts. Left: A bluebird, commonly seen around Rancho.
15
Timeline 1860
Grant family buys Deer Hollow farm property
1975
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District acquires property
1992
1996
Grant cabin restored by MROSD and the City of Mountain View Cabin’s interior fully restored and furnished
Right: A map of Rancho San Antonio. Deer Hollow Farm is in the center. 16
Chapter 3:
Participate
Two cows, five sheep, five goats, sixty chickens, twenty ducks, eight rabbits, and two pigs. These animals need constant care, more than can be given by paid staff. That’s where the volunteer program comes in. Jessica described the volunteers’ responsibilites: “There are so many animals being fed that it’s about a monthly requirement where [they have to] go through the barn and check out how many bales of alfalfa and forage hay and straw and all that stuff, and looking at grain and whatnot, it’s just like a constant feeding out there.” New volunteers do take longer to train and have less reliable schedules than paid staff, but “it’s definitely a community of people who really enjoy being out here. It’s really awesome to be able to provide that kind of environment where they’re doing work that matters and where they’re learning,” Lisa describes.
Far left: Julie cleans out the cow pen, one of her daily tasks as a volunteer. 19
Below: Lisa wrangles a pregnant goat for individual feeding.
“I might be scooping barns on any given day,
milking animals in the morning, making sure that everybody got fed and we have up-to-date feed.” -Lisa
20
Although it’s obvious that volunteering is beneficial to the farm, what the farm brings to the volunteers is less obvious. A good amount of Deer Hollow’s volunteers are retirees, who do the work simply because they love it. According to recent research, it benefits them greatly. Nanci Hellmich’s article on the benefits of volunteering for seniors asserts that “research shows that people who volunteer report lower mortality rates, lower rates of depression, fewer physical limitations and lower levels of stress than those who don’t volunteer.” To Julie, the act of helping out around the farm gives her “A sense of place in the world... it gives me a sense of wholeness.” The benefits are for everyone. According to the National Wildlife Federation, spending the majority of time inside “profoundly impacts the wellness of our nation’s kids.” “Participate” doesn’t just refer to volunteers that do chores. Because of its open nature, the farm accumulates regular visitors who really add to the community. Everyone at Deer Hollow agrees that these are the people that sometimes touch them the most. “There’s a lot of people that come out here to hike all the time, and they know all the animals, and they ask me questions, and they talk and they learn. And so it’s awesome to be that kind of a resource for the community here,” Lisa said. Eagle Scout projects and structures built by community outreach organizations are common around the farm. The duck pond was renovated in 2015 by an Eagle Scout. A final requirement for a Boy Scout to become an Eagle Scout is to perform a project beneficial to the community. (Boy Scouts of America)
From right: Julie, Lisa, and Jessica.
21
Conclusion Deer Hollow’s quaint, welcoming feeling draws everyone in and allows people of all ages to feel comfortable. It’s a timeless place that allows people to escape their responsibilities, even for a few hours. It is constantly improving and renovating while carrying on with its day to day responsibilities. Currently they are renovating the milking room and part of the main barn. The duck pond was also renovated in recent years. What’s ahead for Deer Hollow farm is simply more education, more cultivation, and more participation with the help of the community they serve. As Jessica put it, “We will continue to think about different enhancements and see how we can improve the experience for students, for visitors, what sort of educational focus we can add to this place. And it’s a lot about bringing in new volunteers, and getting this experience for members of the community.”
Right: The Hay Barn. 22
Works Cited Boy Scouts of America. “Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook Procedures.” Scouting.org, Boy Scouts of America. Accessed 2 April 2017. Cornelius, Lisa. Personal Interview. 20 March 2017. Dewey, Julie. Personal Interview. 20 March 2017. Deer Hollow Farm. “About Friends of Deer Hollow Farm ‘FODHF’” Deer Hollow Farm. http://deerhollowfarmfriends.org/about/. Hellmich, Nanci. “Retirees Pay It Forward: The Benefits of Volunteering.” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 23 Dec. 2014. Accessed 17 Mar. 2017. Morgan, Jessica. Personal Interview. 23 Feb. 2017. Morgan, Jessica. Personal Interview. 20 April 2017. National Wildlife Federation. “Health Benefits.” National Wildlife Federation. National Wildlife Federation, n.d. Accessed 17 Mar. 2017. Selly, Patty Born. Connecting Animals and Children in Early Childhood. Saint Paul, US: Redleaf Press, 2014. ProQuest ebrary. Accessed 7 March 2017. Sousa, Ashley. Review of Sleeper-Smith, Susan, ed., Why You Can’t Teach United States History without American Indians. H-AmIndian, H-Net Reviews. August, 2016. Accessed 7 March 2017.
Sprite, the farm cat, in her favorite place to sun.
About the Author
Natalie Rockhold is a junior at Freestyle Academy. She is studying
digital media, which means learning to make websites (she enjoys those) and music (she wishes she was better at that). She loves animals but has to hang out with other people’s because her mom is allergic to everything. In her free time she enjoys doodling and doing/teaching gymnastics. She hopes to one day study graphic design or visual arts.
26