In 2015, a group of dedicated parents and teachers joined together to create a special place called, Willow Tree for children to learn and grow in nature. 

In the Fall of 2018, Willow Tree became a non-profit enrichment center that would allow them to work with homeschooled students and support the education of children who do not thrive in a typical classroom experience.

Willow Tree's mission is to inspire a passion for learning and create a space that integrates the child’s use of thinking, feeling, and willing through a well-rounded education. 

For the past five years, their enrichment center has been a unique place where children can experience the joy of learning in an environment rich in challenging academic programs, full of art and music and outdoor experiences, and with a lot of active community involvement. 

Since opening as an enrichment center, they have been renting a local facility and they are ready to have a home of their own. They obtained 14 acres of land in beautiful Bonsall and are currently working on their Major Use Permit in order to build a campus that will allow students plenty of outdoor space to learn and grow and classrooms that they no longer need to share with another entity.

The facility will be small and its MAXIMUM capacity will only be 216 students.

The students are typically not all there at the same time since there are many different schedules that students can choose to attend (4 days, 2 days, or just a few classes). The varied arrival and dismissal times would thus not create an impact on the surrounding traffic. 

WHY THINGS CAN'T STAY THE SAME

The facility they have been blessed to have these past few years is only a temporary space. It has very small classrooms that do not allow for the movement that students need and it doesn't have the outdoor natural space for the students to spend time.

While searching for a location that could be their forever home - they looked at over 42 different properties before they found the perfect place that would give the students the opportunity to learn and grow in nature. 

The Lilac property has the space they need in order to build classrooms to the size that the California Department of Education recommends. It has space for hiking trails, gardens, animals, as well as, ponds and streams for the children to explore and learn from the natural world around them. 

SIGN NOW

Friends of Willow Tree has been working with the county to obtain their Major Use Permit since 2018. They are at the end of the Major Use Permit process and we would love to show the San Diego Planning Commission and our County Supervisor, Jim Desmond that they are truly a jewel to add to the Bonsall and North County community.

There is no other place like the Lilac property for children to learn and grow. We invite you to please share this Bonsall community petition to support the building of the proposed Willow Tree non-profit enrichment center.

By signing, you will let these important decision-makers know that this is an opportunity to build a unique educational learning environment to help support children who do not thrive in a typical classroom:  Jim Desmond - San Diego County Supervisor, Sean Oberbauer and Michael Johnson - SD Planning Department, Steven Norris - Bonsall Sponsor Group.