Rooted in Community: Golden View Elementary’s Farm, Families, and Experiential Learning Programs
The Ocean View School District campus also offers a Spanish/English Dual Language Immersion program.
On February 26, families didn’t just attend school in Huntington Beach’s Ocean View School District, they stepped into a living laboratory.
At Golden View Elementary School, parents followed their children through garden beds, past a newly installed greenhouse, and into outdoor classrooms shaded by a gazebo built with grant funding. Students proudly demonstrated projects, harvested vegetables, introduced 4-H animals, and even pointed out baby chicks that had hatched just days earlier. It was all part of the school's annual Environmental Showcase.
Principal Venus Moeller stood near a newly installed greenhouse and gestured toward a small brooder box, “These baby chicks that were just born about a week ago. Our kindergartners literally saw them hatch out of the egg.”
For Moeller, moments like that capture the heart of Golden View’s mission. “They get to see what food looks like before it’s processed,” she explained. “Eggs can be blue or purple or brown…it really provides an understanding of healthy eating, sustainability and how to grow vegetables.”
In a coastal Orange County region dominated by traditional campuses, Golden View feels different — more like a small private school than a public elementary. With around 300 students, a 2.5-acre environmental learning lab, a dual-language Spanish-English immersion track, and robust social-emotional programming, the campus leans fully into experiential education.
A Farm as a Classroom for all Subject Areas
Golden View’s 2.5-acre farm — referred to by staff as an environmental learning lab — operates as a daily classroom. Teachers sign up at the beginning of the year for designated environmental science and farm blocks. Students and teachers go to the garden for math, language arts, science, and soft-skill classes.
“We set a schedule at the beginning of the year so they sign up for their slots,” Principal Moeller said. “There’s environmental science time and there’s farm and garden time.”
The space is deliberately designed for flexible instruction. Outdoor classrooms include stump seating and whiteboards. A new gazebo and proper benches were added to make longer lessons more functional.
“Kids love sitting on wood stumps,” said Principal Moeller. “But there’s times where they need a table — they’re handling soil and whatnot. So we used a grant to get the tables and gazebo, and more recently our new greenhouse.”
“You’ll see our kids doing a lot of science projects out here for their class. Math is also studied on the farm, measuring — you name it, we use it for a lot of things.”
The result, she added, is an atmosphere that shifts the tone of learning. “When you come out here, it just feels different. You get a sense of calm.” That calm is by design. Social-emotional learning is embedded into the outdoor education programming.
Bringing Community & Real-World Learning Together
The school’s Environmental Showcase Day also brought 17 community partners onto campus, including the Environmental Nature Center, 4-H Club, Armstrong Garden Centers, and the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy. Families rotated through hands-on stations led by local environmental experts.
“All the businesses that are here right now are just in support of the general education process,” Principal Moeller said. “It’s a whole different way to apply learning in a fun, hands-on way.”
John Villa, Executive Director of the Wetlands Conservancy, described the power of real-world environmental study. “We teach them how to do water sampling, soil sampling, plant identification — whatever they’re writing their papers about,” Villa said.
Golden View’s farm serves not only its 300 students daily, but also the broader district. On Wednesdays, other schools sign up for 50-minute field trip slots, where students harvest vegetables, meet animals, and learn from the campus’ environmental science team.
Environmental Science Teacher Jennifer Miranda — known to students as Ms. Jess — leads those experiences. “Science teaching is shifting to be less conversational and more hands on,” Miranda said. “Making sure they can ask questions, reason, and do all that stuff that TikTok doesn’t allow for.”
A former nature preschool educator, Miranda now sees every class once a week and is working to deepen project-based impact.
“The standards now for science are about going deeper,” she said. “It feels more meaningful because each kid has a different connection to the farm. Some kids come out during recess and say, ‘Ms. Jess, what can we do?’ They just want to be here in the space.”
Farmer Dana and Community Roots
At the heart of the Golden View Farm Lab is “Farmer Dana,” who tends the animals, gardens, and an ever-evolving ecosystem that has become central to the school’s identity. She began more than 30 years ago as a parent volunteer in the garden. Over time, she stepped into the lead role, carrying forward the history of the space while reshaping it into a dynamic environmental learning lab.
Her deep roots are matched by the students who return to the garden long after they’ve left the school.
Among them is Mackenzie Ford, now a high school student and president of her local 4-H Club. Mackenzie — along with her sister Macy, the club’s vice president — volunteers on campus two to three times a week, caring for goats and mentoring younger students.
“We usually spend a lot of time here during the school year,” Mackenzie said. “It’s a lot of fun. We love being here.”
Farmer Dana’s work makes that full-circle return possible. She ensures students don’t just observe — they lead.
“The fourth and fifth graders help take care of the animals in small groups. Somebody’s the leader, and they make sure that everything gets done,” Dana said. “They have to work as a team.”
For some children, that responsibility becomes something even deeper than a lesson.
What begins as egg collecting or goat feeding often grows into leadership, mentorship, and service. Former students come back to volunteer. Families stay connected. The farm becomes more than a classroom — it becomes a thread that ties generations of the Huntington Beach community together.
Dual Language, Civic Learning, and Recognition
Golden View’s environmental programming is paired with a thriving Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Spanish-English track. Their goal is to prepare students to become bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural. Students may earn the Biliteracy Program Participation Recognition from the Orange County Department of Education in second and fifth grades.
Caroline Rodriguez, a veteran educator with more than 20 years of experience and a proud Cotsen Fellow in Environmental Science and Agriculture, represents the depth of the school’s instructional talent. Fluent in four languages and holding a Spanish Bilingual Authorization, she works to create “engaging, supportive, and culturally rich classroom environments where students feel empowered to explore, question, and grow.”
Golden View has earned the prestigious Golden Bell Award for innovative environmental stewardship. The school partners with the Cotsen Art of Teaching Foundation, enhancing instructional excellence across campus.
Technology integration is also part of the model; students use iPads and Chromebooks daily, supported by a safe, modern campus with air-conditioned classrooms and an active PTO that organizes events and field trips.
For parents interested in TK/K enrollment, Golden View is hosting a tour on March 16, 2026 from 2:30 - 3pm.
Read past coverage:
Jeannette Andruss