About Simple Sparrow Care Farm

Simple Sparrow is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, trauma-informed care farm.

When we teach people how to care for land, gardens, and animals, they are empowered to better care for themselves and others.

A care farm utilizes farm nature for educational, therapeutic, and/or vocational outcomes.

Potato farms grow potatoes; care farms grow care. —Founder Jamie Tanner, MACL

Our Mission

Simple Sparrow Care Farm collaborates with community partners to provide trauma-informed educational and therapeutic care farm programs and services for all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to Learn + Grow + Heal.

Several evidence based methods, including TBRI (Trust Based Relational Intervention) and NMT (Neuro-Sequential Model of Therapeutics), are integrated into practical farming lessons for rich somatosensory experiences, relational connections, and meaningful education.

We consistently evaluate our programs and services to determine the efficacy of our care farm model which contributes to national and global care farming research.

Learn + Grow + Heal

  1. Learn care: care farm programs and services teach all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to care for land, gardens, and animals which better equips them to care for themselves and others

  2. Grow compassion: earth care and self care holistically foster a greater sense of compassion through experience 

  3. Heal the world: meaningful experiences and opportunities for therapy on the care farm, people recover/heal from trauma, addictions, depression/anxiety

Our History

Eric bought his wife, Jamie, a small 2 acre farm in 2013. Jamie had grown up with an incarcerated parent but was blessed to have loving family and a grandmother who taught her how to care for land, gardens, and animals. Jamie always felt safe and happy on a farm and wanted to give that experience to her own children. After years of hosting friends and family for events and meals, it became evident that others benefited from farm life too.

Jamie started bringing animals to local schools to talk about compassion, care, and mindfulness. She also invited therapists and their clients who benefited from farm therapy to Simple Sparrow Farm for private sessions. The community responded with overwhelming support. Simple Sparrow became an official 501(c)(3) non-profit December 2017.

Today, Simple Sparrow continues to partner with licensed therapists, hosting therapy sessions at the farm for greater relational and mental health outcomes. In addition to providing access to mental health care services at the care farm, Simple Sparrow also provides spiritual care from qualified theologians and pastors. Simple Sparrow also provides training for professionals, students, and laity in trauma-informed care, basic homestead farming techniques, and non-profit management.

Jamie is in the process of completing a Doctorate of Education in Ministry at Dallas Theological Seminary. She aims to equip more care farmers in holistic practice, blending creation stewardship theology with a trauma-informed approach.

Vision

Provide access and exposure to educational and therapeutic care farming locally, equip and mobilize care farmers globally, and train professionals and laity in trauma-informed care of self and others utilizing farm nature so that people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities are empowered to Learn + Grow + Heal.

Scope of Work

Simple Sparrow Care Farm serves all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. However, our most notable work is our service to vulnerable and at-risk individuals including survivors of human trafficking, foster/adoption communities, and people suffering from depression or anxiety. Our care farm has proven effective for affordable alternative mental healthcare as well as outdoor education.

Core Values

Respect for nature, self, and others.

Kindness to all living things, self, and others.

Duty to steward all living things.