Montecito Union Partners with AHA!

As MUS superintendent Anthony Ranii mentioned to the Montecito Association earlier this month, AHA!, a local nonprofit serving teens, families, and educators in Santa Barbara County, is now utilizing MUS’s Nature Lab for its Littlest Little Farm. 

The Littlest Little Farm, launched in fall 2019, is one of the nonprofit’s afterschool programs, teaching participants about regenerative farming and agricultural skills. Participants work as part of a team, building friendships, getting hands in the soil, and communing with plants, animals (goats, chickens, and a tortoise), and insects. The former location of the farm was a private residence. 

The Nature Lab at MUS invites students to imagine, build, and get messy in nature as they care for the planet and one another. They do this by creating and sustaining an experiential outdoor ecosystem rooted in biodynamic/regenerative agriculture and nature-inspired arts collaboration. “While Nature Lab is used by MUS students every school day, part of our mission is to share this resource with the larger community,” Ranii said. 

AHA! teens and facilitators will assist in all aspects of caring for the Nature Lab’s garden and tending the livestock (baby goats, chickens, and a tortoise). Students earn a $40 stipend per four-week cycle or community service hours. One-third of the harvested produce will be donated to community partners, including Storyteller Children’s Center.

AHA!, which stands for Attitude, Harmony, and Achievement, utilizes a unique social and emotional learning model that gives young people the tools to feel safe, seen, and emotionally connected as part of a positive peer community. Teens 13 to 18 years are invited to enroll in four-week sessions, which meet on Saturdays from 10:30 am to 12 pm. To enroll, contact Paulina Romero, AHA! Enrollment Coordinator, at (805) 229-1079 or paulina@ahasb.org. For more information visit
www.ahasb.org.