Generations ago, there were so many orchards and fruit trees in the South Bay that it was known as the “Valley of Hearts Delight.” Stanford University was built on a farm. And the Peninsula — a sweeping landscape of scenic ranches, dairies, and flower fields — was one of California’s most productive agricultural regions.
Everything changed after World War II, when suburbs, freeways and technology companies wiped away much of that rural sense of place.
But on a winding road in Los Altos Hills, Hidden Villa remains. The 1,600-acre working farm grows not just carrots, lettuce and pumpkins, but also curiosity and love of nature.
Founded in 1924, the nonprofit farm provides tours to more than 10,000 school children every year, in grades K-12, teaching them about where their food comes from, real-world biology, and how to be good stewards of the environment.
Hidden Villa also offers summer camp programs, a youth hostel, and hiking trails for the public. The Trust for Hidden Villa, which runs the property, is requesting $25,000 from Wish Book donors to fund scholarships to allow at least 725 kids from low-income schools in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, many of whom have never been on a farm, to visit and participate in their environmental education programs.
“The kids have seen animals at the zoo. But this is very personal,” said Konstance Kirkendoll, a first grade teacher at Beechwood School, which serves kids from East Palo Alto and Menlo Park. “It gets imprinted. They remember this. On the ride over today they were talking about how they tasted fennel here last year.”
On a recent fall morning, Kirkendoll was leading a group of her first grade students through the farm on a field trip, their faces filled with wonder as they walked through the lush patches of organic tomatoes, onions, lavender and lettuce, under apple trees, pear trees, sunflowers and grape vines.
“Close your eyes,” said naturalist Nina Vuoso to the 6-and 7-year-olds. “Open your ears. For every sound you hear raise your hand. Can you hear a bird?”
Students Delilah Monje, Noah Lee, Evelyn Serrano, Angel Rodriguez, Ava Valencia, Mia Reyes, and their classmates closed their eyes.
“YES!” everyone cried.
“Now let’s look for colors. What do you see?” Vuoso asked.
The voices came fast and furious. “I see yellow flowers!” one girl said. “Red fruit!” said a boy.
The first stop was the honey station, where the children dipped small wooden sticks into a honey jar and Vuoso explained how bees visit flowers and make honey
“I see a bee!” one girl called out. “It tastes like sugar” one girl said. The others nodded. “It’s good!” said another.
Then came the kale patch. Dark green leaves were handed out, and the kids began crunching.
“It’s good!” offered one girl. “Too sour!” said another, making a face.
“If you want to take it out of your mouth, you can put it in the compost,” Vuoso said.
On to the tomato patch.
“Today we are looking for the reddest tomato that isn’t on the ground yet,” Vuoso said.
“I found it! I found it!” one girl squealed. They all gathered around, picked from the vine, and took a bite.
“I’ve never tried a tomato,” one boy said.
They spent time with chickens then made their way over to a corral with several cows.
“This is Tallulah,” Vuoso said. “She’s our new cow.”
“Why is she shaking her tail?” asked one girl.
“To chase away flies,” Vuoso said.
“What’s on her ear?” another asked.
“Those are earrings from the vet,” Vuoso explained. “They tell the farmer that she is healthy and her milk is healthy.”
Such field trips — bringing city kids out to discover the bigger, wilder world beyond their neighborhoods — began at Hidden Villa in 1970. Some of those kids became counselors at the summer camp years later. That was the original hope: Hidden Villa’s founders, Josephine and Frank Duveneck, were convinced of the power of nature to bring people together.
The son and daughter of prominent families Back East, they married in 1913 and came to California not long afterward, driving around in a Model T. When they found the farm off Moody Road for sale for $20,000, they fell in love with it.
Over the years, they acquired more land, and many friends.
They founded the Loma Prieta chapter of the Sierra Club in 1933. They opened a summer camp for children of all races in the 1940s when segregation was still prevalent. During World War II, the couple took in Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany and supported Japanese Americans who had been sent to internment camps. They invited Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to their property to strategize and relax during the heyday of the United Farm Workers movement. By 1960, they put the property into a nonprofit trust, hoping to keep it rural forever. Josephine died in 1978 at age 87. Frank died at age 99 in 1985.
Through Hidden Villa’s programs, their love for the land and for community, continues.
Scholarship funding helps students from schools in underserved areas visit. And Hidden Villa’s supporters say they are hoping more donations will allow more kids from all backgrounds to join in.
“Many of our students will tell us this is the first time they’ve ever been hiking,” said Daisy Alicante, assistant principal at Downtown College Preparatory School in San Jose. “With parents working two and three jobs, they often don’t have the time to go out and enjoy nature. They’re focused on basic needs like nutrition and shelter.”
THE WISH BOOK SERIESWish Book is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operated by The Mercury News. Since 1983, Wish Book has been producing series of stories during the holiday season that highlight the wishes of those in need and invite readers to help fulfill them.
WISHDonations will help the Trust for Hidden Villa fund scholarships to allow at least 725 kids from low-income schools in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties to visit and participate in their environmental education programs. Goal: $25,000
HOW TO GIVEDonate at wishbook.mercurynews.com/donate or mail in this form.
ONLINE EXTRARead other Wish Book stories, view photos and video at wishbook.mercurynews.com.
