Sustainable Communities

In cooperation with the City of Cotati, Sandy Loam leads farm, nature and cultural programs for young people, educators and families.

Making it possible for young people to "understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature…" — Dr. Maria Montessori

Our Inspiration

More than 100 years ago, Dr. Maria Montessori revolutionized our understanding of how young people learn through her research and experiences. Her theory of child development and the resulting method of education continues to be validated to this day.

We are inspired by Dr. Montessori’s belief that farms are the optimal educational laboratories for young people. At Sandy Loam, we integrate the fundamental principles of the Montessori Method with an immersive farm- and nature- based learning environment for children, youth and families.

Call for Community Partners

We are passionate about engaging with our community through programs that focus on the environment, agriculture, cuisine and Sonoma County’s diverse cultural heritage.

Contact Aishwarya at info@sandyloam.org if you are interested in implementing a community program in collaboration with Sandy Loam.

sandyloam_org

Get a head start on your holiday decor and make yo

Get a head start on your holiday decor and make your own fall wreath! Floral designers @jasminpringle and
Nyah Wynne will guide this workshop, and help you create a piece of floral art to take home with you. All supplies are provided. Come solo, or bring a loved one!
Register through the @cityofcotati ! https://cotati.recdesk.com/Community/Program
(Filter programs by Location: @verondafallettiranch)

#fallfestival #cotati #sonomacounty #wreathmaking

Save the Date for the Cotati Fall Festival at Vero

Save the Date for the Cotati Fall Festival at Verona-Falletti Ranch!

New this year: Sensory Hour on Saturday, October 26th 10-11 am.

Last week our Early Release Day Enrichment student

Last week our Early Release Day Enrichment students explored herbs.

We had a smell test (It’s harder than you would think!), explored the abundance of herbs in our education garden, made herb butter from their choice herbs, created sage sticks for drying and harvested and dried some basil. 🌱

The ranch house smelled so good!

Come out to the Veronda-Falletti Ranch tonight and

Come out to the Veronda-Falletti Ranch tonight and hang out with our animals, play games and create beautiful crafts.

All ages welcome! Family friendly FREE event! 4 pm - 5:30 pm tonight Friday, Sept 20. Registration is preferred but walk-ins are welcome. Register at Cotati.RecDesk.com.

Also, save the date for the Cotati Fall Festival October 19, 25 & 26.

This month’s theme for our Early Release Day Enr

This month’s theme for our Early Release Day Enrichment program is Farm to Table.

Last week we made garden cameras to take pictures of all of the amazing things growing in our garden. We then picked apples from our apple trees and had a taste test. Did you see the beautiful pink pearl apple slice? They’re so pretty inside.

This week we picked cucumbers, carrots, and dill from our pickle garden. We practiced our kitchen skills and made pickles and pickled carrots to take home.

Next week is all about herbs and finds us in the kitchen again. The last week of September, the 25th, we will explore tomatoes and taste the many varieties growing in our garden. We will also make fresh salsa from our salsa garden.

Would you like your child to join us? Kindergarten through 5th grade students can join us on Wednesdays from 1 - 4:30 PM. We also offer extended care under a different registration from 11:30 - 1 PM.

We have outdoor and indoor play, crafts, homework time if needed, and of course, hands-on learning.

Visit cotati.recdesk.com to register today. Thank you to the @cityofcotati for making this program possible!!

We have a new farmer at Veronda-Falletti Ranch! T

We have a new farmer at Veronda-Falletti Ranch! Tomi is the new boss of the farm animals and the steward of the agricultural areas of the Ranch. Welcome, Tomi! @cityofcotati @verondafallettiranch @fernhomestead #cotati

The campers in our older kid camps in June found b

The campers in our older kid camps in June found baby caterpillars on our fennel. We decided to collect them and watch them grow.

The younger campers, in July were able to watch the caterpillars move into the pupa stage . This Anice Swallowtail is the first to emerge from its chrysalis and enter the world.

We wish you all the best butterfly! Thank you for letting us watch you grow and change.

Continuing Education is what keeps us teachers up

Continuing Education is what keeps us teachers up to date and our curriculum fun and exciting.

I had the pleasure of spending yesterday with educators from Sonoma County and beyond at @schoolgardens amazing class held at @srjcshonefarm.

We harvested from their gorgeous garden, made an incredible meal and enjoyed sun tea that was scrumptious to the tongue and eye!

Thank you for another wonderful, inspiring and informative class! I can’t wait for the next one!

Want to learn more about our farm animals? Ever wa

Want to learn more about our farm animals? Ever wanted to work with sheep wool to create art? Love the smell and taste of herbs? Come our to the Veronda-Falletti Ranch in Cotati on September 7th from 1 - 3 pm and meet and greet our animals, create sheep wool art with your child(ren), explore our beautiful herbs and make, taste and take herb butter!

Children 5+ and their guardians are welcome. Cost is $6/person.

Please register at cotati.recdesk.com

Brought to you by the @cityofcotati and Sandy Loam.

It’s time to register for our Early Release Day

It’s time to register for our Early Release Day Program for the Fall! We start on Wednesday September 4th. Our program runs from 1 pm - 4:30 pm and we offer Extended Care from 11:30 am - 1 pm for those in the CRPUSD. Drop off is flexible for the Extended Care.

Our program cost is $20 - $45 - pay what you can.

Our Extended Care is $10.

Register for the days that your child will attend. This program is getting more and more popular. We will have a limit of 14 children, so be sure to register in advance.

Go to Cotati.RecDesk.com and search for “Sandy Loam”.

Here are some of the exciting things to come at th

Here are some of the exciting things to come at the Veronda-Falletti Ranch - brought to you by Sandy Loam and the City of Cotati.

Go to Cotati.RecDesk.com to register for these events.

Our campers made beautiful artwork this week! Fair

Our campers made beautiful artwork this week! Fairies, gnomes and fungi. 🧚🍄 What a fun week!

So much discovery and playing is happening this we

So much discovery and playing is happening this week at camp. We are loving the cooler weather, the animals and the crafts.

Farm animals, learning, art, and exploration. Bees

Farm animals, learning, art, and exploration. Bees, butterflies, birds and other pollinators. These are the things that made up thisweeks camp. Our campers had so much fun and made new friends! We can’t wait until next week.

Would you like your little camper to join us? We have a few spots available for our next two camps. Go to Cotati.recdesk.com and look up Sandy Loam to register.

Gentle hands for gentle animals. Our sheep and goa

Gentle hands for gentle animals. Our sheep and goats just love having kids on the ranch! It’s a great opportunity for our campers to get up close and personal with them while taking some responsibility by serving breakfast.

We have 2 weeks of camp left after this week. Visit Cotati.RecDesk.com to sign up. Look for “Sandy Loam”.

We wrapped up week 3 of our 6-12 year-old summer c

We wrapped up week 3 of our 6-12 year-old summer camp yesterday. We had so much fun focusing on chickens and birds this week. We had lots of first time experiences with caring for the flock, taking a walk to look for birds and having our own chicken eggs for snack as deviled eggs. 🥚

Due to a few last minute cancellations, we have a few coveted spots open for our 4-6 year-old camps in July. Go to Cotati.RecDesk.com to register today!

Thank you @cityofcotati for providing such an amazing place and for partnering with Sandy Loam so that we can bring programming like this to our amazing community!

Letting kids express themselves through creative p

Letting kids express themselves through creative play, and art is one of the best ways to help them find out who they are. Art with no expectation or limits, open ended play no judgment or grades helps them to be able to express themselves their own way.

Here at Sandy Loam Farm, Art and Nature camps, we encourage children to be themselves, get creative, and most of all, have fun. Look how amazing these kids are!

We still have openings for this week’s 6 to 12-year-old camp and a few openings next month for the 4 to 6 year-old camps. Register at cotati.recdesk.com.

Our second week of camp was spent studying seeds,

Our second week of camp was spent studying seeds, plants and flowers. The kids got creative with seed pod challenges, we reenacted exploding seed pods, painted our own pots, did lots of art and spent a bunch of time with the animals.

We have one more week of camp for 6 to 12-year-olds next week with a few open spots left. We have one opening in our second and third camps in July for 4 to 6-year-olds. Register at cotati.recdesk.com.

@cityofcotati

Our first week of Farm, Art and Nature camp was so

Our first week of Farm, Art and Nature camp was so much fun! We spent time with our farm animals, had a visit from the Dairy Princess, learned all about wild animals, habitats, tracks and scat and did tons of art. I mean, squirrels with mustaches! 🥰 We used Jacob sheep wool for their tails and facial hair.

Let’s not forget the creative mud kitchen play!

We have one week left of the 6-12 year old camp and 2 spots available in our 4-6 year old camps in July. Go to Cotati.RecDesk.com to register.

Our new chicks have grown so fast! The Early Relea

Our new chicks have grown so fast! The Early Release Day students enjoyed interacting with them, getting them used to people. It was a fun and important role.

They are now in the coop/run and slowly being introduced to the existing flock.

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