In 2018, as the world watched the Camp Fire ravage land and lives—including half of my students' and teachers' homes—we opened our farm to fire refugees. Students and their families began to heal through tending animals, creating art in the orchard, or writing their stories near the creek. Trauma, like compost, transformed into fertile ground, causing me to wonder...
How might we raise the resilience threshold of all climate-impacted youth?
The Problem
561,000
high school students impacted by the two most destructive wildfires in California history.
in the wake of disaster
Learning
Loss
results from inability
to concentrate,
school closures, and
displacement.
trauma &ptsd
Compounding
Effect
on academic progress
leading to lower
graduation rates or
graduating without a
clear path to college
or career.
scientists predict
Climate-related
Disasters
will intensify in the
next decade, putting
communities at risk--
not just in California,
but across the U.S.
and globally.
Hidden Springs Family Ranch is located in Butte Valley, CA (near Butte College) 25 minutes from Chico, 20 minutes from Oroville and 15 minutes from Paradise. At Hidden Springs we practice regenerative agriculture which means we focus on ways to reverse climate change through farming methods that restore degraded soil. Learn more about our farm at www.facebook.com/HiddenSpringsButteValley.
Recently, the farm received funding from the California Department of Food and Agriculture to offer a paid fellowship for students entering grades 9-12. We'll be diving into themes of environmental justice and food justice, regenerative agriculture, and compost.
Application Process
We are looking for 10 high school students who want to make the world a more vibrant, thriving home to join us for the Hidden Springs Food & Farm Summer Fellowship. In order to be considered for the fellowship, you'll need to apply, participate in a volunteer shift at the farm, and interview. This might sound intimidating - but don't worry! We want you to succeed and will do our best to make the application process welcoming, encouraging, and a positive experience for all.
Before starting your application, please read this page in its entirety. There are important details each applicant needs to be aware of before submitting the application form at the bottom of the page.
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Kara Tupy
Farm Education Director
(She/Her)
Kara has been involved in climate justice since 2014 when she and her family sold their suburban home and relocated to a 40-acre parcel of land in the Sierra Nevada foothills with the goal of growing their own food and fostering deeper connections with the earth and each other.
Kara has spent most of her adult life in the field of education working with all ages from infants to college students. In 2017 she founded a learning cooperative called Farm School and began learning about land-based experiential education. She loves the writings of Wendell Berry, the poetry of Mary Oliver, and the songs of Ruth Moody. Most of all she cherishes the wisdom of learning in community.
Kara’s professional experience ranges from teaching in traditional classrooms to running an outdoor, project-based learning program to serving as an administrator for a charter school with an enrollment of 3500 students.
An innovator at heart, Kara hopes to extend learning beyond the classroom for the nation’s children and youth through FarmTeach.
Paul Tupy
Farm Operations Director
(He/Him)
Paul grew up in St. Paul, MN visiting his grandfather's farm in nearby New Prague. Though a city kid, he felt drawn to the rural lifestyle and dreamed of one day owning acreage that he could farm. Paul knew it was time to turn that dream into a reality when the flock of chickens and turkeys he was raising in his surburban backyard outgrew their space. Drawing on the memories of his childhood visits to his grandfather's farm, he embarked on his own agricultural adventure when he bought his first rural plot of land in Northern California in 2014.
Knowing there was a lot to learn, Paul read voraciously about all aspects of farming, visited local farms, and took classes through the UC Davis Cooperative Extension. In his research, he stumbled onto the idea of regenerative agriculture as a means to reverse climate change by sequestering carbon in healthy soils. From that moment on, Paul has been on a mission to see Hidden Springs Family Ranch operate under the principles of regenerative agriculture. Slowly but surely, the changes he has implemented are resulting in greener pastures, healthier animals, and impacting the climate for the better.
Paul's background includes a twenty year career in law enforcement before transitioning to an executive role with the State of California. His work allows him to address structural inequities in Law Enforcement agencies.
As a part-time rancher, Paul hopes to use the skills he’s gained as an executive to increase access to land for historically marginalized communities.