Regenerative Education Alliance

The Regenerative Education Alliance (REA) is a Petaluma-based nonprofit advancing ecological and community health through the CASE framework: Community, Agriculture, Students, and the Environment. We are building a regional community of practice dedicated to regenerative agriculture by connecting farmers, educators, youth, and local organizations through hands-on learning, land stewardship, and shared ecological goals. While our work spans intergenerational collaboration and systems change, a core focus has been engaging high school students—especially those in alternative or under-resourced educational settings—through internships that restore soil health, foster environmental leadership, and reconnect teens to the land and one another. Together, we’re cultivating a resilient future rooted in relationship, regeneration, and place-based education.

Goals and Objectives:

1) Foster connections to regenerative agriculture as a life skill and career path

2) Enable students to find and deepen positive relationships with learning

3) Foster positive relationships between youth and the community

Intern Program

At the heart of REA’s programming is our regenerative agriculture internship, which matches high school students with local farmers and ranchers for mentorship, hands-on training, and real-world experience in sustainable land stewardship. Interns work weekly at regenerative farm sites—including our primary hosts, Fern Homestead and the Deviled Eggery—where they learn soil health practices, food production skills, and the ecological principles behind regenerative farming. The program is designed especially for teens who may be disengaged from traditional academics, offering an immersive, supportive environment that fosters confidence, connection, and a sense of purpose. Through partnerships with a growing network of farms and ranches across the Petaluma region, we are cultivating both the next generation of environmental leaders and a stronger, more resilient local food system.

Field Trips

REA’s field trip program offers students immersive, curriculum-aligned experiences on working regenerative farms throughout the Petaluma area. Designed to complement classroom learning with hands-on engagement, each trip explores soil health, ecological stewardship, and sustainable farming practices. Students tour farms, interact with agricultural professionals, and participate in activities like composting, planting, and animal care that reinforce key concepts in environmental science. REA currently partners with three core host sites: Umbel Roots, where students learn about rotational grazing, biochar, and duckweed systems; Pepper Lane Farm, which demonstrates permaculture-based methods including water conservation and integrated pest management; and Fern Homestead, a fully diversified teaching farm offering instruction in organic gardening, animal husbandry, and propagation. New host sites are continually being added—reach out for the latest opportunities.

Instagram: @REA_Sonoma

Facebook: just regenerativeeducationallinace

Email: **@***************************ce.org