Welcome to Stardust Sanctuary
Located in the foothills of Mt. Diablo, our sanctuary is located just beyond the previous location of the Clayton Valley Pumpkin Farm. The ranch has sweeping views of Mt. Diablo and is home to some very special animal friends.
Our Story
Our animal friends help support our programming by enabling students to navigate everything from social concerns to boundaries, self-regulation and awareness, communication skills, and acceptance of others as they are. They are an integral part of our community. If you are seeking wellness support, please consider adding your email to a waitlist to be the first notified of on-site animal assisted psychotherapy to launch in Fall 2024.
​
Animals not only support wellness at our school, but they also help to aid in the understanding of other species. Through observation and inquiry, students are able to deepen their knowledge of the species we find on the ranch from our larger friends to the smallest bugs. Logs are kept in science journals and students are able to monitor everything like treats, food, and enrichment activities. This not only furthers knowledge over species but expands students' use of the scientific method and blends math, writing, and art.
Meet The Herd
Honey
Hi! I'm Honey. I am a sweet mini-donkey. I got my start in a pettin' zoo, but after a while, I found myself with a new owner. My new owner was real nice, but she was plannin' a big move move to the Treasure State and was worried about me makin' that journey. Because I'm so sweet, some animals have thought they can take advantage of my bein' kind and eat from my food bowl making me a little on the skinny side. Now that I've found my home with my new friends at Voyager, I'm not so worried about that. They take care of me and help my voice be heard. I learned I can even help others to find their voice too. Sometimes all you need is friend.
Frankie
Hi! I'm Frankie and I love belly rubs! I love them in the morning, I love them in the evening, I'd be accepting of them all day long! If you're sitting down in our pig pen, don't be surprised if I come and lay at your feet.
I am also a professional photobomber. The world simply needs to see my face in every possible picture. I just don't want you to forget about me when you leave. Pigs, like me, have an excellent memory, I certainly won't forget you after all the love you showed me.
George
Hi! I'm George. I have a white and black face, opposite of my pal, Petunia. Frankie is in this picture too, he seems to be in all of them. Camera just seems to love him, or maybe he loves the camera? Anywho, I'm a little bit more cautious than my friends. They seem to lead the way a bit more than me. I stand back and observe until I'm ready to make a new friend, but once I'm you're friend, we're like peas in a pod. If you come to visit, please let me come up to you so that I don't get scared because loud noises and lots of people make me want to run and hide. Have you ever felt like that too?
Edison
Hello There! I used to live down the road from here, but my old owner said she saw an ad for a goat who needed a friend and she brought me to live here. I get a lot of attention here which lets my personality shine. I love people, I love goats... there's not much I don't love. I'm the kind of goat that'll share my snacks with you. I'm a big believer in fairness. I'm also very curious, you might have guessed that from my name. Like all great scientists, I never give up on finding the answer to life's most puzzling questions and will sniff, paw at, and even eat my way to an answer.
Daisy Mae
Hi there! I'm Daisy. I came to Voyager with three of my friends. As the older friend, it was important that I set an example for everything new. I needed to find my courage and be brave to join the herd. I was pretty nervous at first, but I'm really happy here. I still hang with my old friends, but you can also find me playing with my new friends, like Milo!
​
Oh, hey! Have you ever seen a pig before?! I couldn't believe my eyes! I had only ever known goats, chickens and humans. When we first came, I just stared out the windows watching everyone. There were big creatures, small creatures and even some really big creatures! If you find your courage like I needed to, maybe you'll make friends here too.
The Colony
We're the newest creatures to join the herd here at Voyager. It's really scary to move from place to place, but we're here and found home. We were all living at a trailer park being fed by nice folks who would leave food for us. When new park managers came in, the food stopped. People were losing their homes for feeding us. Some of our friends starved because there wasn't enough food to sustain our colony of 50. A rescue was able to catch us and give us food and water and a temporary home before bringing us to Voyager. Here we have a cool room with all sorts of toys and beds and things for us to climb. As scary as moving around is, we're home now. There's people who love us and are giving us time to adjust. They aren't moving too fast or asking us to be something we aren't. That's all anyone could ever really ask for- a place to call home and someone to love you just for being you.
Walter
Hi-de-ho! The name's Walter. I'm a mini-donkey like my pal Honey. I am an escape artist, like Houdini, but donk-ini. I can find my way out of nearly every enclosure. Ms. Cesyli thinks I'm pretty clever. For as much as I mosey a long, I can find it pretty fun to have her come running after me. I also love grazing on the hillside with my pal. We have a lot of room to roam. Sunset offers some of the best views I've ever seen. I like taking little nibbles and then checking out that view. It helps that my new friends are often down there looking back at me. I sure do feel the love, I hope you do too.
Petunia
Hi! I'm Petunia, the head of the pig pen. Everyone answers to me (even the donkeys!). I am outgoing and will likely be the first to investigate you, but that doesn't mean I'm not a little nervous of new faces. I prefer when people use calm hands and voices around me. If you sit with me for a minute, and extend a hand, I'll learn that you're a friend too. Sometimes even when I'm confident, I can still have a case of the what-ifs letting me know that you understand is what gives me the courage to let people in.
Buddy
Hi! I'm Buddy. I came from a place where I was the only goat around. I had a makeshift herd with some dogs that hung around, but other than that, my herd was the humans. Since coming over to Voyager, I was able to tap into my goat roots. I even started to eat like a goat (Ms. Cesyli told me that Captain Crunch and Pizza Crust wasn't a great diet for me). She feeds me this healthy green stuff, I wasn't sure at first, but it's grown on me. The whole place has really. Here I have space to roam around and even made my first-ever goat friend: Edison. He's my best bud. I like to sit out at the top of the pasture and look out into the valley, that's usually where you can find me. I'm often caught in my thoughts and so sometimes change can be hard for me, even when it's well-meaning. I prefer space from others and time to adjust, but once I know you, I'll be right by your side.
Milo & Buckley
Hi! I’m Buckley! And I’m Milo! We can be found together in the pasture most days or attempting to cause some mischief. We get tons of love at our new home, everyone says we look like babies because we’re smaller than Edison and Buddy…and Honey and Walter and Petunia and Frankie and Georgie.... but we aren’t babies at all! We’re big kids, threenagers if you will. We love treats and to catch falling leaves… right in our mouths! It’s always a race to see who will eat it first! We are super speedy when we want to be and have been told we’re pretty silly too. We are always up to something!
Ollie, Delilah & Arlo
Hi! We're the triplets! We came with Daisy when we were just 5 months old. We're growing like weeds! Except not weeds because we eat those. Have you ever tried mustard leaves?! They are the best! They don't taste like mustard, but they do taste like leaves! When those are all gone you walk away with little flowers nestled in your fur! Oh, Spring! Spring, spring, spring! We love spring! Except for the days when the sky falls. What is up with that?! What, humans can tell the weather, but they can't work their magic to control it? Rude.
​
Anyway, we're pretty adorable. Unlike Daisy, we didn't have much experience with people, we were just raised with goats. Everyone here has been so kind though. People came to read us stories, people came to sing to us, they fed us from their hands, they even painted with us and get this, did YOGA around us! We started thinking that people aren't so bad! Little weird, sometimes off-key, but not bad! Ms. Cesyli thought it was important to let us choose what to do, while people would come to visit, we never *had* to go up to someone if we didn't want to. She made sure everyone kept their distance and made it our choice to come up to others. That gave us the ability to come around on our own terms. We're getting braver each day and are so thankful for our new home.
If you would like to donate to help support our animal friends in buying feed, toys, or supporting veterinary bills for routine and special procedures, we invite you to contemplate a monthly donation of $25+. Your contributions will help us to provide our animals with the best possible life.
Special "Thank You" to our friends at Dolan's Lumber for providing the much-needed supplies to help restore a barn for our new friends.