A group of volunteers created the Homeless Garden Project in 1990 to provide a place of safety, beauty, and work opportunities for people who were homeless.  Today, we provide a bounty of activities at our 2.5 acre organic garden, attracting a wide variety of individuals living in Santa Cruz County.

Programs for Everyone

Natural Bridges Farm (map)

Enjoy a moment away from urban life.  Our 2.5 acre farm is located on Shaffer Road at the end of Delaware Ave on the Westside.  From dawn to dusk, visit and take a leisurely stroll, contemplate the crops and ocean view, or talk with the ducks.  

PLEASE NOTE: Dogs must ALWAYS be on leash at the farm - no exceptions.

Volunteer Garden Projects

Natural Bridges is a working farm. We'd love to have individuals or groups join us in any of our current projects or to design one of their own.  Come for 15 minutes every three years, once a month, weekly, or participate daily.  

We have scheduled volunteer activities every Thursday and Friday from 10am to 2pm. If you have your own project in mind, talk to Karalee or Paul at 831.423.1020. We'll try to help you in your plans.  

Morning Kitchen Lecture Series

Every Wednesday at 9 am from April to November, people from all walks of life meet outside our farm kitchen for a free class on organic gardening. Topics include such items as composting, the medicinal properties of herbs, beneficial insects, pruning basics, and cooking ideas.  Please call 831.42.1020 to confirm lecture for the week.

Programs for Individuals-in-Need

Kitchen & Resource Center:

Every Tuesday through Friday, Our farm kitchen provides two hot meals for anyone volunteering or working that day.  

 

Our kitchen is also the site of our community resources program.  We bring vital resources within reach to individuals-in-need.  Organizations such as Second Harvest Food Bank visit our kitchen on a regular basis, providing essential information and necessities to individuals living on the streets or at risk of losing their homes.  Often the Kitchen Resource Center is a person's introduction to our job-training program listed below.

This program is back up and running now that our kitchen is rebuilt. If you would like to bring or prepare a meal for crew and volunteers, call the farm at 423-1020.

Job-Training & Transitional Employment:

(Download a Job-Training Application Here) ( Aplicación Para Entrenamiento)
The Project's employment-training program serves individuals in Santa Cruz county who are homeless or formerly homeless, who have experienced barriers to employment, and who wish to maintain a stable productive place in society.

Our training consists of formal classes and hands-on work in one of three programs:

• In the Natural Bridges Farm program where trainees learn to sow, cultivate, and harvest organic produce and fresh cut flowers.  This harvest is sold at From Our Garden store and through a community supported agriculture program.
• In Homegrown Gardens, our edible plants nursery, where advanced trainees learn horticultural skills and nursery operations as well as customer service, inventory, and retail experience.
• In the Women’s Organic Flower Enterprise (WOFE), where trainees learn to dry a wide variety of herbs and flowers and design beautiful, long-lasting arrangements.  Some WOFE trainees are also responsible for securing wholesale orders from restaurants and other businesses, thus opening them to future sales jobs in all types of industries. 

Connecting with Community:

Our Connecting with Community program links job-training participants with appropriate resources for housing, food stamps, drug rehabilitation, long-term counseling, and free to low-cost physical and mental health services.

As a trainee nears completion of our employment program, Connecting with Community engages the individual in one-on-one job searching techniques, application review and coaching, and interview role-playing.

Programs for Students and School Groups

UCSC Interns

Several colleges at UCSC allow for internships at our Natural Bridges Farm.  Past internship projects include managing our 22 week CSA program, creating and maintaining a kitchen garden, working with trainees on nutritional issues, and building our newest nursery.   Please contact your internship coordinator or Darrie Ganzhorn (831.426.3609 ext: 2#) to learn more about these opportunities.  

School and Youth Groups:
Youth groups (classrooms, clubs, and troops) regularly come to Natural Bridges Farm to learn about ecology, nutrition, and civics.  We offer a variety of sessions and depths of information. Our lessons are vibrant and memorable because of the direct interaction with the farm.

Past participants include students from Gault, Montessori, New Horizons, and Bay View; youth organizations such as Ventana Wilderness, Interloken Quakers, and Santa Cruz Adventure Camp; and troops from the local boy and girl scouts.   We also welcome families involved in home-school programs.

Contact Darrie (831.426.3609 ext. 2#) for further information.