News & Events 2023-2024 School Year and More!

  

  • 6/5/23  Summer Farm Camp Opens  Check our Summer Farm Camp page for details.

 

  • 8/10/23  After School Care resumes  Please see our After Care page for more information.  Limited openings available.

 







PAST NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

 

  • 10/17/19 Green Family Living:  Connecting Kids with Nature  Be sure to check out the editorial by our director Linnaea Avenell in Growing Up in Santa Cruz.  Includes information about how and why we do what we do at Little Garden Patch, as well as tips for sharing the magic at home.   https://growingupsc.com/green-family-living-october-2019/

 

  • 4/01/19  New Chicks!  This is no April Fools -- 4 new chicks have joined the farm!  2 golden Buff Orpingtons, 1 white Brahma, and a lovely black with white lacey Wyandotte.

  • 3/29/18   New chicks!  Welcome brand new little baby chickens Marshmallow, Cupcake, Brownie, and Francesca (aka Franky).  As the name might suggest, Marshmallow will be a white chicken (Delaware).  But right now she's a yellow ball of fluff.  Sweet friendly Franky will be a black and white barred rock.  And Brownie and Cupcake will be black (update:  black with brown).

  • 11/24/17   Farewell to Dawson.   We are sad to announce that our dear little black doggy Dawson has passed on.  Words cannot express the void he leaves behind in all our hearts.  Dawson was a long-haired chihuahua and (we think) Dachshund mix whose courage, sunny personality, patience, and charm won him many admirers here at the farm.  Even the UPS carrier -- his professed arch nemesis -- has expressed his sorrow at the passing of  "the little Alpha", our pack leader.  Dawson was a pound puppy whose real age was not known, but we believe he was about 12 years old.  We know for sure that he gave our family 10 wonderful years of love, laughter, and courageous loyalty. 

  • 6/01/17  Presenting Cookie and Pearl!   Mia the pony now has two new friends, miniature ponies Cookie and Pearl.

  • 5/12/17  Welcome ducklings.   Jellya Duck hatched out her babies! 

  • 7/31/16   Farewell Friend   On this day we lost our wonderful male goat Elliot to kidney and digestive tract problems.  He was a loving gentle giant with tons of personality and will be deeply missed. Learn more.

  • 10/26/15  A new friend has arrived at the farm.  It's Mia the pony.  Mia is an American Shetland, a breed supremely well suited to pull a cart or carriage.

  • 12/2914  Meet our newest friend, Lilly the baby minature pot bellied pig.

 

  • 1/25/14  Daphne's Baby Goats have arrived!  FINALLY!   The adorable baby girls, Oreo & Penelope, were born January 25/26th in the wee hours.  It was a long night, but well worth it!  These sweet babies love to play and love to cuddle with children.  In fact, they might not let you leave.  "Waaaaait!  Come baaaack!" 

 

 



 

Here is a highlight from the article:

Local mom Linnaea Avenell and her family recently made a move that affects not only her own family’s connection with the land but also extends that connection to local children. “For many years my husband and I have been very much committed to the idea that connecting kids with nature would help them become more caring stewards of our Earth and of the other creatures that share it,” Linnaea explains. “Our most recent project in this vein is transforming our home/property here in Soquel into ‘Little Garden Patch Farm.’ Our goal has been to provide a space where children who might otherwise be stuck indoors all afternoon can enjoy child-led time playing outdoors the way so many kids no longer do.” Rather than sell the property in Soquel where she grew up and where her children and their friends got to roam, Linnaea’s family decided to move in and make it their business. Little Garden Patch Farm now welcomes children five and up for gardening and nature time. “I love watching a child arrive here after school—tired, batteries running on empty—get thoroughly recharged from running about outside playing games of make believe, playing ‘farm’ with the toys in the sensory tables, shucking corn husks from the garden to feed the goats, laughing at the chickens, exuberantly chasing a ball, and giggling along at story time,” Linnaea says. “It makes all the farm chores and maintenance I do around here feel totally worthwhile!” 

 

 

  • 9/04/13   We have some new arrivals at Little Garden Patch Farm...  Welcome Juice, Ginger, and Daphne.  They are all very sweet and adorable.  They would love to have some more little hands to pet them!

 

 




  • Little Garden Patch Farm is fully licensed and open for business as of August 20th 2013.  

Come join us for fun, learning, and reconnecting with nature!  

We offer a small family child care facilty set on an urban microfarm and homestead with ducks, chickens, goats and more.

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