Education, Connections Take Root at Simple Sparrow Care Farm
For some, Simple Sparrow Care Farm brings back fond childhood memories like the familiar smell of their grandparents’ barn. For others, it’s a place to explore and learn through hands-on experiences with farm animals. And for many—veterans, foster families, and trauma survivors—it’s a safe haven to start their healing journeys.
In 2013, Jamie Tanner’s husband Eric surprised her with a two-acre plot of land in Hutto—a property that would eventually blossom into a community haven. Jamie, who grew up with an incarcerated parent and found refuge on her grandmother’s farm, wanted to pass that same sense of safety and peace to her children. But as she opened the farm’s gates to friends and neighbors, she realized the farm wasn’t just helping her family—it was nurturing many others around them too.
By 2017, Simple Sparrow Care Farm became a nonprofit, rooted in the belief that “potato farms grow potatoes, but care farms grow care.” Today, the farm partners with licensed therapists and educators to offer trauma-informed mental health care, spiritual guidance, and hands-on learning programs. “It’s for anyone to find healing and the best version of themselves on the farm,” Jamie says.
CONNECTIONS ACROSS GENERATIONS
One of the ways Simple Sparrow Care Farm touches lives is by welcoming visitors of all ages through partnerships with several local nonprofits, schools, and churches. Among them are: A Gift of Time, which serves individuals with dementia, and Faith in Action, which offers rides and support to homebound seniors. “So many of them grew up on a farm and raised animals,” Jamie says. “Coming to the farm takes them back to their childhoods.”
And when seniors can’t visit the farm, the farm comes to them. Volunteers from Simple Sparrow travel to nursing homes with animals in tow, bringing comfort and joy to residents. Neurologists have observed that for many residents, especially those with advanced dementia, interactions with animals can also encourage speech and increased awareness.
Beyond healing, Simple Sparrow’s programs plant seeds of empathy and compassion early in life. In its recent Little Care Farmers program, preschoolers cared for animals, read stories like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and learned how different diets and food allergies create opportunities for understanding one other’s unique differences.
One week, participants talked about food insecurity and packed lunch kits for people experiencing homelessness. Another week, they crafted shelters and learned about how animals—like people—need safe places to live. “It’s learning how we take care of one another, how animals take care of one another, and then asking, how can we show compassion and care to the community outside the farm?” Jamie says. “We’re providing opportunities for people to interact with nature in a very relational way, and that simple act is so powerful, it changes everything.”
Teacher and mom Rachel Lee couldn’t agree more. After adopting two kids from foster care, she found herself in need of peace and rejuvenation—both of which she found at Simple Sparrow Care Farm. “The farm became a place where I learned how to regulate myself in the hard moments. My kids also learned how to regulate themselves through the caring of animals.” No matter what needs or struggles kids have, “I feel like there’s a place here for each child.” Rachel’s sixth-grade classroom also participated in the PAW program, which allows local schools to foster rabbits during the school year. Thanks to Bear, the bunny they fostered, her students—who have behavioral issues and intellectual disabilities—learned how to slow down, practice gentleness, and recognize the needs of emotions of another living being. “I feel like he was our greatest regulation tool in the classroom,” Rachel says.
FALL FARM ADVENTURES
There are a variety of ways to experience the magic of Simple Sparrow Care Farm. This fall, the beloved Book & Bunny returns on Tuesdays at 9:30 to 10:30am from October 7 through November 11. Designed for preschoolers and their grown-ups, the free story time begins with a reading around the fire pit and ends with an invitation to explore the farm.
For curious first-timers, the farm opens its gates to the public on the first Saturday each month from 9 to 11am. These free, open farm days are relaxed and welcoming, offering families and individuals the chance to explore the property, pet animals, ask questions, and learn more about what care farming is all about.
And for those with preschool-aged kids eager to get their hands dirty and explore the world around them, keep an eye out for the next session of Little Care Farmers that Jamie and her team hope to bring back this fall.
To learn more, visit simplesparrow.farm and follow Simple Sparrow Care Farm on Instagram.