Stanford welcomes volunteers at its educational farm – gloves provided

Bay Area residents have the opportunity to learn firsthand about organic farming by pitching in as volunteers.

By Kathleen J. Sullivan

One recent Tuesday morning, 8-year-old Deven Patangay slipped on a large pair of gardening gloves – as big as baseball gloves on his small hands – and reached into a tangled mass of vines to pick one cherry tomato, which he proudly showed to his grandfather.

It was the first time Gopalkishan Patangay had brought his grandson to the O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm, which welcomes residents of the San Francisco Bay Area to learn firsthand about organic farming by pitching in as volunteers.

Together, grandfather and grandson filled pint containers with bright yellow tomatoes.

During drop-in volunteer hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, visitors work alongside Stanford staffers Will Chen and Allison Bauer as they tend 6 acres of fruits,  vegetables, field crops, herbs and flowers, and meet the needs of a small flock of chickens.

A simple sign – a chalkboard posted near the barn – greets volunteers: “Welcome. Please sign in on the iPad, wash your hands, grab gloves and meet us in the field.”

The O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm, which offers academic and experiential learning opportunities for the Stanford community and beyond, is a project of the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. The farm is located at 175 Electioneer Road (at Campus Drive West). More information is available on the farm website.