Children’s Nature Retreat Animal Sanctuary

Agnes Barrelet, our executive director and I will attend on February 1.  We will bring a Zip drive for a short power point presentation.  Here is a short biography on Agnes.

Agnes is passionate about two things - children and animals.  

She grew up in the south of France and developed an affinity for animals at an early age.  She spent her summers in the mountains caring for goats, sheep and chickens.  She came to the Untied States to finish her university studies.  She then moved to San Diego and has been here for the past 23 years.  She worked as a VP of Sales for an internet analytic company and was instrumental in the business going public before leaving the corporate world. 

As a mother, she became extremely interested in education and was the past chair board chair of the O’Farrell Charter School.  In 2011, she was asked to take over leadership of Hands Untied for Children, a nonprofit dedicated to providing educational opportunities for children and families in the Burkina Faso region of West Africa. The nonprofit continues to grow under her leadership.

She also recognized how our children here in America are losing touch with nature and are much more attuned to tablets, cell phones and the digital world.  She decided to do something about it… and two years ago started building the Children’s Nature Retreat in Alpine.  It is a 20-acre animal sanctuary, designed to foster in children (and adults) a deep connection to the natural world.  The Retreat, opened to the public just a year ago.  

  In July of 2017, Hands United for Children was renamed the Children’s Nature Retreat Foundation to better reflect our work to enrich the lives of children and their families in West Africa and in California.  For more information log onto http://childrensnatureretreat.org/. .