ELSIE — When Cecilia Mialon started her animal sanctuary, Veganville, in 2016, she had no background in education.

But as she learned more about animal rescue and environmental advocacy, she became passionate about sharing her knowledge with her community — first through farm tours, and now through an education program for high school students.

LEAP, or Leaders for Ethics, Animals and the Planet, is an agricultural education program launched by three animal sanctuaries in Northern California.

Billing itself as a compassionate alternative to programs such as 4-H and the National FFA Organization, LEAP provides high school students with scholarships to participate in monthly workshops where they learn about animal welfare, the food industry and climate action.

Unlike 4-H and FFA, the animals students work with throughout the program are not sold for slaughter.

The program quickly expanded, now partnering with 25 animal sanctuaries nationwide —including Veganville, located on 11 acres east of Seaside. Mialon described the program as a “perfect fit” for the mission of her animal sanctuary.

“We’re all farm animal sanctuaries with different missions,” Mialon said of the sanctuary partners. “Some are more focused on rescue and rehabilitation and maybe even adopting out, where mine is more long term — the animals that come to my place live the rest of their lives there.

“And then I have another big focus on environmental and climate education. So that’s why I was really interested in the program because it covered so many different aspects … I believe that it’s all kind of interconnected.”

Mialon’s sanctuary is one of the smaller farms partnered with LEAP. She has 21 animals — including goats, sheep, pigs and chickens — but animal rescue is only one part of what happens at Veganville. The sanctuary also boasts a permaculture food forest, so visitors can learn about sustainable agriculture practices as well as animal rescue.

LEAP provides the curriculum for a series of nine workshop sessions throughout the year. Workshop topics include climate consciousness, exploring the lives of farmed animals and the intersection of human and animal rights. Each workshop includes some traditional instruction paired with vegan cooking classes and hands-on animal care.

Because her sanctuary is on the smaller side, Veganville’s LEAP program has capacity for just five students. Mialon has reached out to the five school districts in Clatsop County, as well as school districts east of her, in Vernonia, Banks and Forest Grove, in an effort to get five applicants for the program before a deadline on Oct. 14.

Mialon admitted that getting local school districts interested in the workshops has been a bit of an uphill battle, especially given the wide range of agriculture education opportunities available in the county.

“I’m not here to bash 4-H or FFA,” Mialon said. “I think there’s a purpose for every piece of education for students. I think it just needs to be diversified with alternative options. This is a completely different kind of idea than raising a baby animal and then basically selling it off to get slaughtered, forming a connection and then being OK with that disassociation.”

If Mialon is unsuccessful this year, she plans to try again next year and expand her outreach efforts to the Portland metro area.

“I understand this is different from what is typically being given to your students,” she said. “I get it. But let’s try to diversify what they’re being exposed to, because I think if I had been exposed to a program like this when I was 16, I probably would have dove into activism a lot sooner.”