NEW EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT PROGRAM HITS THE STREETS OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY

Little Shepherds Nature Lab launches ROVER, a 26-foot school bus-turned-classroom that delivers unique experiential learning opportunities focused on regenerative soil science, creative literacy, and world music for youth ages 4-18.

SAN DIEGO, December 20, 2023 – Open to the public on Thursday, December 28 at the Living Joy Homestead, ROVER features a kid-sized composting station, live worm bin, mini-greenhouse, creative literacy nook, and a pop-out musical stage. It will deliver classes, concerts, and workshops rooted in holistic health and environmental stewardship to kids and families throughout San Diego County beginning in the new year.

Driven by community collaboration, Little Shepherds Nature Lab represents a grassroots network of parents, teachers, shepherds, farmers, gardeners, builders, and expressive artists. ROVER is the third campaign this organization has launched since 2021, and it aims to be a vehicle for expanding local awareness and appreciation of regenerative approaches to agriculture, economics, and everyday living.

“This is regenerative education for a resilient generation,” says Gina Tang, Creative Director and Founder of Little Shepherds Nature Lab. “We’re giving youth opportunities to work and write by hand as a direct extension of their hearts, while asserting that their voices matter, their senses are real, and their value is implicit. Real connection begins with meeting their emotional need for authenticity, then building on the resulting resonance in the context of a shared environment. ROVER is our response to a mainstream culture that seems to disconnect people from themselves, each other, and the earth. It’s a platform for those who wish to co-create a more coherent experience.”

The December 28 “Open Bus” will be held from 2:00-4:00 pm PST at the Living Joy Homestead, located at 2045 69th Street in Lemon Grove. Along with family-friendly arts and crafts, garden tours will be offered by AB Nevarez, Director of Operations at Little Shepherds Nature Lab, and Stephan Auvil, Director of Living Joy Homestead. Hummingbird Hotel will present their original music, followed by the Little Shepherd’s Bus Band. Fermenter’s Club will offer a kid-friendly fermentation station. Earthen building artist Teo Briseño will guide adobe brick-making. Berry Good Food Foundation and Sambazon are donating organic snacks.

In a time where approximately half of the children in the United States live with chronic illness, Little Shepherds Nature Lab looks to the soil as the foundation of human, plant, and animal health on this planet. In addition to the many immunological and psychological benefits provided by outdoor learning and play, their programs emphasize the importance of physical movement, whole-food nutrition, and adequate hydration. Signature curriculum modules such as Words & Worms, Poetry & Planting, and Creating Writing & Composting seek to bridge our earth’s living ecosystem with the unique inner landscape of every individual, drawing forth an embodied sense of self-expression, belonging, and mutual responsibility.

“This program is wonderful. I am so happy it exists and is open to include so many different families, backgrounds and financial abilities. It gives kids and adults alike the opportunity to be in nature, learning about our ecosystem and how we can be better stewards of it. It was not only fun but very informative,” Michelle Langer said after her family participated in Little Shepherd’s summer camp.

Another participating parent, Alex Whyte, wrote, “Gathering in this playful community, we got to merge our personal expression, whether words, songs, or art, with each other while surrounded by all the beautiful aspects of nature. We got to explore the unseen worlds of the earth, the microorganisms that add their own essential elements to the world. When we commit to looking beneath the surface we find opportunity for growth, we find vulnerability and strength, and we find our place, if just for that moment, in the miracle of life itself.”

The ROVER Open Bus event is free to the public and appropriate for all ages, with RSVP required. The bus activities begin at 2:00 pm, and wrap up around 4:00 pm. Other events taking place at Living Joy Homestead on December 28 are also open to the public, including a pumpkin preservation workshop by Fermenter’s Club at 10:00 am, and an in-depth garden tour at 12:30 pm.