Ohana Preservation Foundation

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Aldie, VA
Ohana Preservation Foundation

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Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Ohana Preservation Foundation, Nonprofit Organization, Aldie, VA.

Our mission is to promote resilience and foster healing for vulnerable children, families, and caregivers through animal-assisted activities, horticulture, and expressive arts by offering individual/group counseling and creative wellness programs.

10/23/2026

On Wednesday, the farm turned a happy shade of orange as students from Loudoun Country Day School joined us for a day built around seeds of kindness. 🌿🌼

They spent the day learning about the animals who call Ohana home: how our bunnies live and what makes them feel safe, how our hens spend their days, and how our horses communicate with gentle eyes and soft noses. Together, they built a bunny habitat, and Kona hopped by to supervise, which made the work feel very official. Every animal got its share of careful, gentle petting, from the minis at the fence 🐴 to a very patient hen to Bella waiting in the barn.

Then came the seeds. With their own small hands, they rolled seed bombs and tossed them across the property, scattering wildflowers-to-be into the fields where they’ll rest through winter and wake in spring. Kindness works a lot like those seeds. It starts small, takes root quietly, and grows into something beautiful long after it’s planted.

Thank you, Loudoun Country Day School, for sharing your little explorers with us. Come back and see what you’ve grown.

10/22/2026

Healing doesn’t always look like sitting across from someone in an office, finding the right words.

At Ohana, mental wellness looks a little different. It happens outdoors, in gardens and on walking paths, among animals who listen without judgment, and in quiet corners where kids are free to explore at their own pace. Play isn’t a break from the work here. Play *is* the work. It’s how children process big feelings, rebuild trust, and remember what joy feels like.

Sometimes that looks like climbing onto a wooden horse, grinning ear to ear, with someone who’s got your back.

His shirt said it best: family. 🌿

10/20/2026

Fall looks especially beautiful when it’s painted with friends. 🍂🎨

Last Friday evening, blank canvases became glowing autumn skies, each with two golden heart-shaped leaves catching the light. Thank you to Rk for guiding us through every layer, to Lux Spread for the beautiful treats, and to everyone who joined us.

10/16/2026

Autumn asks us to let go, and our gardens are no exception. Students from Indy Hart 🐾 spent a soft gray October afternoon with us, cutting back the spent hydrangeas, clearing tired stems and grasses, and tending the raised beds so they can rest through winter and bloom again for the children and families who come here to heal.

Heather Brush worked alongside them, pruners in hand and pink gloves on, sharing her love of these gardens with every cut. There is quiet wisdom in this kind of work. Clearing away what has finished makes room for what is still to come, and grief teaches us the same.

Thank you, Indy Hart 🐾, and thank you, Heather. Our gardens and our hearts are fuller for your time. 🌿

10/15/2026

The Washington Post recently shared a new UC Davis study finding that just three minutes with a miniature horse or donkey can lift a teenager’s mood. The teens in the study left their visits feeling calmer and less lonely, and the ones who paid attention to the animals’ gentle cues, a soft lean or a quiet step away, felt the biggest shift of all.

Naturally, we had to test this ourselves. 🌿

Our mini donkeys Lana and Kai were happy to volunteer as research assistants. Results were reached well before the three-minute mark: heads resting on shoulders, eyes drifting closed, and a heart that felt noticeably lighter afterward. We can report that the findings hold up beautifully here in Aldie, VA. 🫏❤️

None of this is news to the children and families who come through our gates, but it is lovely to see science catching up to what our animals have been teaching us all along. Healing doesn’t always need many words. Sometimes it begins with someone small and fuzzy choosing to stay close.

Read the WaPo article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2026/09/17/just-3-minutes-with-mini-horse-or-donkey-improves-teens-moods-study-says/

10/14/2026

On December 6th, our pasture opens its gates for our annual Healing with Horses event, an afternoon for children and families carrying grief and/or difficult seasons of life. 🌿

In collaboration with Hope For Grieving Families, come meet the gentle souls who do some of our quietest, most important work. There is a particular kind of comfort in standing beside a horse, in the slow rhythm of its breathing, in being seen without needing to explain. We’d love to share that with you.

📅 Sunday, December 6
🕑 Two sessions: 2:00–3:30pm or 3:00–4:30pm (latest arrival 3:30)
📍 Ohana Preservation Foundation, 24240 James Monroe Hwy, Aldie, VA
🎟️ $7 per person, ages 5 and up. Little ones 4 and under are free. Free tickets available upon request.

Spaces are limited, so we encourage you to reserve your session early. Every dollar goes directly to our mission of supporting grieving children and families. Tickets at the link in our bio or click here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/healing-with-horses—2026

10/13/2026

Ohana wants to thank Brody’s Grandparents, Grandma and Grandaddy Watson, for their generous donation. We are so grateful for your support through the years. We LOVE you!! 🌺 Hugs from Ohana & the Watson Family!

10/09/2026

Please join us in welcoming Autumn Brennan to our ohana. She will be starting in November, and we are super excited! 🌿

Autumn brings 20 years of experience in mental health and wellness to the farm, where she now leads our Equine-Assisted Learning and Equine-Assisted Activities. Her approach focuses on the nervous system and the whole person, and our horses are her partners in it. Together they offer hands-on wellness practices, real-world skill-building, and group programs that help individuals, families, and teams move past what’s been holding them back.

Her background spans trauma-informed care, animal-assisted work, clinical and coaching leadership, and counselor education. What she loves most about her work at Ohana is how a horse meets each person without judgment, and how much clarity, strength, and steadiness can grow from that. We’re so grateful to have her with us!

10/05/2026

Kai rests his head on Lana and lets his eyes drift closed, as if the rest of the morning can wait. Our mini donkeys understand comfort better than most of us. It rarely needs words; often it’s just leaning on someone you trust until you feel steady again. That quiet sense of belonging is what we hope every child and family finds here. 🌿

Address

Aldie, VA
20105

Website

https://linktr.ee/ohanapreservationfoundation

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