About

About Friends of Deer Hollow Farm “FODHF”

Friends of Deer Hollow Farm (FODHF) is a volunteer non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization formed in 1994 to preserve and support Deer Hollow Farm, a regional teaching center in the heart of Silicon Valley that promotes environmental education. To date, FODHF has raised more than $2.5 million for the 160-year old teaching farm.

FODHF Mission Statement

  • Preserve Deer Hollow Farm for future generations, a historical area and working farm.
  • Support the Farm’s regional environmental education program for the benefit of schools and the community by raising funds through donations, grants, and public events.

About Deer Hollow Farm

Deer Hollow Farm is located in the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve in the hills above Los Altos. It is a regional, environmental education center with about 130,000 annual visitors from all Bay Area cities. Approximately 5,000 students from schools across the Bay Area take experiential environmental education classes and field trips each year, with 50% receiving scholarships from FODHF.

The Farm offers:

  • Environmental education programs for approximately 130,000 Santa Clara County children for the last 30 years
  • A free “Living Museum” with century-old restored farm buildings, visited by approximately 130,000 San Francisco bay area visitors annually
  • Approximately 80-100 farm animals and birds, a large demonstration garden, orchard, and homestead exhibits
  • Nature Center featuring educational exhibits of plants, birds, and animals from the area
  • Picnic areas

The Farm teaches students and community visitors vital lessons about:

  • Source of our food
  • Sustainable agriculture
  • Respect for land, wildlife, farm animals
  • History of Silicon Valley farming
  • Principles of avoiding waste and recycling
  • The interdependence of all life
  • The culture and history of the Bay’s Area’s Native American Ohlone who lived here for 10,000 years.

Who Funds the Farm?

  • City of Mountain View Parks & Recreation provides Farm management, farm staff and supplies. Santa Clara County provides operations support for the farm to the City of Mountain View.
  • Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District provides the land, buildings and maintenance staff and costs.
  • Friends of Deer Hollow Farm (that’s us!) funds field trip scholarships and animal care and feed as well as farm operations and enhancements. The City of Cupertino, the Town of Los Altos Hills, Santa Clara County and other foundations and organizations provide grants to FODHF to help cover these costs, along with ~150 individual donors across the Bay Area.

This unique community partnership provides Farm operational funding of more than $500,000 annually.