HEARTS LANDING RANCH
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Programs

the heart - session programs
Description
The Heart of What We Do:
The heart of our Session Program is to provide a safe place for children, horses and families to experience hope, healing and encouragement. In each session, through a myriad of methods, there is one main purpose-Restore Broken Hearted and Wounded

This is accomplished by inviting children to come just as they are. The leaders of Hearts Landing work hard to pair kids with an activity or horse that will encourage them forward toward hope and personal growth.

All activities are chosen at the discretion of each individual leader. Some of these session activities include working with/riding horses, mighty mini care, gardening and tractor work, crafts, games, chores, woodworking and life skills. A secondary goal of our Session Program is to educate kids in equine safety and husbandry. All activities with the children are structured to accomplish our primary goal of creating a safe and loving environment to mentor the broken hearted and emotionally wounded.

Session Programs Provide a drug & alcohol-free place to gather and grow self esteem with new skills and responsibilities and can include:

+ Bonfire night for groups
+ Beauty Barn Outreach
+ Leadership Educational Programs
+ Beauty Etiquette Barn 
+ Bonfire nights /gatherings to celebrate and enjoy each others success
+ Provide a venue for other non profit and community organizations
+ Seed to Stomach Program (Co-op Garden/ Orchard) (the larger program is on next page)
+ Provide an animal bonding/care program - Horse Care and Rescue
+ Partner with existing teen programs

"Horsemanship is the art of mastering our own movements, thoughts, emotions and behavior. Not the horses." ~Mark Rashid

Much of the expenses and time is spent on the horse therapy. Why? Participants learn to only have a positive relationship with a horse is to change themselves and their own behavior. Unlike traditional therapy, often times individuals struggling with emotional issues will not or cannot put their feelings into words, this can initiate powerful psychological healing for at-risk youths in unusually short periods of time. It's not about someone else, their attitude or behavior, it is the self-awareness that creates breakthroughs to see unexpressed emotional pain that leads to finally verbalizing those feelings. The first of many steps to emotional healing.

Interactions between humans and horses is all non verbal, body language. Even though horses have domesticated, they still operate on their basic nature. Humans and Horses are diabolically different from one another. And body language is the only language a horse knows. 

We leverage natural horsemanship training methods to develop the human-horse communication and specifically use the "games" as described by trainer Pat Parelli. 

Human thoughts and feelings are unconsciously and constantly revealed through our body language. The horse provides a non verbal mirror of how the human is behaving and the horse can sense either the person is safe or unsafe. The horse moves away or reacts to human aggression while a safe human can become part of the herd.

For the horse program, we use both large (1,000 pound horses) and Miniature horses (300) pounds. The "Mighty Minis" are being trained up to pull carts to drive out into the community or larger public events as "Mini Ambassadors" as 1. part of our outreach to let people know what we do and 2. provide an opportunity for participants to "upgrade" in their leadership and compete in carting competitions which leads to greater time management, finance and leadership skills. 

Budget
$280,000
Program Successes
While we have seen thousands of kids in all aspects of the ranch (Please see the document "HLR Brag Sheet"). Here are a few examples:

Example: Court Appointed Example: A high school male was court ordered to serve 40 hours of community service. He comes from a good family of 5 kids...all of them adopted. He started coming during our HLR Team Training sessions. He connected with several of the male leaders, felt valued and developed healthy relationships with them. He lives 2 towns away and it is quite an effort for him to get here. He not only finished his 40 hours, he has exceeded 120 hours! The judge sealed his record. 

1/2018 update: This young man went on to take a significant leadership position his Senior high school year. He just texted to ask if he could come back stating "The ranch just always felt like a safe place to be and to help around at and I'm missing everyone. There has been some tough times recently i my live over the last 1/2 year. The ranch was kind of like a breather." - T

Example: Foster Youth: young girl less than 10 years old, molested much of her life. Transferred from home to home because of her aggressive & violent behavior. She received traditional MFT talk therapy however was not showing much progress. She ws educationally and emotionally delayed, poor communication and social skills with low self esteem. We worked with her first by herself and then incorporated her into a group of middle school girls where she learned how to communicate and be accountable to others. 

Example: Domestic Violence: Single Mother, 3 children relocated to the area from another state. The husband/father was sentenced to 25 years for Domestic Violence
The younger son was receiving MFT equine therapy yet no funds were available for the mother and daughter. We incorporated both the daughter and mother at no cost into our mentor-ship program where both received support through the HLR community: emotional and practical. 

Example: CASA Youth: Mentors of boys who wanted to earn a refurbished laptop offered by CASA for 10 hours of community service. The CASA Mentors were able to use the property and teach construction and landscaping skills, and learn how to drive a tractor. All who participated earned their laptop!
seed to stomach (c)
Description
"An understanding of how engaging with the food we eat can teach us, crystallize connections between anyone and anything, and cultivate relationships that make our families and communities resilient" -Edible School Yard, Alice Waters

SEED TO STOMACH program, we teach:
The process of creating usable soil out of raw organic matter
Crop rotation, timing of planting and harvesting
Chicken raising and keeping
How to prepare yummy and nutritious meals
And will continue to learn from other programs which have had huge success: Edible School Yard, Sierra Harvest and Farm to Fork.

Hearts Landing Ranch currently occupies 3.5 Acres, walking distance from 6 schools, however we serve the greater Placer and Sacramento Areas. We are learning from and leveraging successes and programs at Edible School yard and they have found gardening and cooking program creates:
A sense of curiosity and dignity
The ability to work as a team to complete a job well
Respect for oneself and others
An appreciation for diversity and an ability to learn from difference

The Edible Schoolyard Project takes literature, politics, biology, history, and science out the classroom and lets young people cultivate their disciplines in a garden, stew them in a kitchen, and discuss them over a table, together and with love. The result: some of the most joyful, committed, and thoughtful young people I've ever met.
RAJ PATEL,Author and Activist

Hearts Landing's Long Term Seed to Stomach Vision includes an Education & Cooking Building with an outdoor kitchen and a large indoor commercial kitchen in order to take the produce grown on the property and learn how to prepare a meal, can or preserve food. In addition, provide produce to local food banks.

Seed to Stomach (c) Program Phases 
Phase I: Current 21 Raised Beds built and 8 in operation
Phase II: Design & Engineering of retaining wall, Solar, Education & Cooking Building
Phase III: Build Wall
Phase IV: Build Infrastructure & Building estimate $650,000
Budget
$4,000
Program Successes
-Donated 6,240 Eggs 
-Held Service Learning Sessions with 60 High School Students 
-We have 8 raised planter beds that have been in operation since 2014. Have 12 more raised beds built of the 51 planned
-Completed 5 Eagle Projects as part of the Seed to Stomach program: Garden Shed, Planter boxes, South Orchard, Chicken coop & Yard
-Worked with and Trained 12 AmeriCorps Volunteers over a 5 week period. Grading, Bare root Tree planting decisions and care, drip lines and pvc installation

We have been meeting with students on service learning days, teaching how to make soil out of raw material, including driving the tractor.
Starting plants from seed, transplanting, cultivating and care of plant and some food preparation. 

"I drove a tractor, man...I also rode a little pony chariot thing-a-ma-jingy. Personally, I like this place the most. I enjoy specific kind of hard work and labor, and this fits what I like doing." W. Ingle
Seed to Stomach (c) Program
Phase I: Current 21 Raised Beds built and 8 in operation
Phase II: Design & Engineering of retaining wall, Solar, Education & Cooking Building
Phase III: Build Wall
Phase IV: Build Infrastructure & Building $1,000,000

Program Description
In Berkeley, Alice Waters started runs a 1 Acre Edible School Yard for middle school kids. She has also been instrumental in helping Sacramento with its Farm to Fork program.
On 3.5 Acres, walking distance from 6 schools, serving the greater Placer and Sacramento Areas
Vision includes an Education & Cooking Building with an outdoor kitchen and a large indoor commercial kitchen 
raw material to finished produce to cooking, canning and preserving

See also:
Attached documents on benefits of gardening
Farm to Fork, Sacramento
Alice Waters' Edible school yard, Berkeley California 
Sierra Harvest, Grass Valley
Family Events 
​Description
Outdoor, easily accessible place to connect and risk real relationships with real conversations. 
Leadership outdoor experience.
Place to go for students After football and basketball games. 
Destination for 1st Camping experience for at risk and low income populations.

Budget
$2,000
Program Successes
Hearts Landing has hosted over 4,000 youth and young adults around bonfire nights. 

We have hosted a number of churches and their youth groups for leadership outings and a way for their youth to connect and share experiences through games. We had our first "Final Jam" prior to school starting in August 2017 and our first Christmas Carol sing-a-long December 2017.

In partnership with Bayside Serve Day, October 2017, new electrical lines were dug and outlets installed and new light posts for around the bonfire area were built... so that the 1 hour set up previously required is not necessary and we can host.

Currently all our wood is donated and most food, smores fixin's and beverages are donated. 
Biggest need is portable restroom and hand washing station.
Upcoming Events​
  • Spring Stampede
  • Men’s Second Saturday Work Days: check back for updates
  • Family Movie Nights, 2nd Saturday June, July, August, September 2021

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View all Events
© 2018 Hearts Landing Ranch​. 
​All rights reserved.
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  • Home
  • In the News
  • About HLR
    • Who We Are >
      • Meet Our Herd
      • Meet Our Humans
    • What We Do >
      • Sessions
      • Community Garden
      • Family Events
    • Videos/Testimonies
    • Video of Property
    • Photo Gallery
  • Get Involved
    • Program Overview
    • Minor Therapy Application
    • Adult Therapy Application
    • Emergency Contact Information
    • Individual Volunteer Application
    • Liability Waiver
    • Group Volunteer
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Contact Us
  • Donate Now
    • Adopt A Horse
    • Supplies & In-Kind Material Needs
    • Building Fund
    • General Needs
  • Events
  • Resources
  • Giving Edge
    • Summary
    • Programs
  • Blog
  • Calendar