We ask for feedback from every visitor after their visit. It gives us a great picture of how things are really going, since folks say things in writing that they don’t say to you while they are here. This is the first in a series of articles responding to some of the common feedback.
From customer this week:
“Post up signs around the animals with their names, ages, what they eat, so we as parents can teach our kids some facts about them.”
Or another request from last week:
“I wanted to see more animals, could you maybe make an educational video about the farm and have a room to show it to visitors?”
We get these comments almost every single day, so it is well worth considering.
How do we respond- should we create signage for each animal? Or a farm movie?
Here’s why we don’t. And won’t.
Farming is based on observation of your animals and crops. And the weather. And your neighbours and what they’re doing. Yes, educating yourself is good, but book knowledge without watching your animals in real life is useless.
We would like you to experience this when you come here. This is not a zoo, a museum or an amusement park, it is a farm. A real farm where we raise these animals for food and look after them 365 days a year. When you come here, most of the ‘staff’ is us, our family, the farmers that care for these animals daily.
Yes, often the animals do have names, ages and interesting stories about them. But what we most want you to get out of your visit is the very rare chance to get up close to farm animals and watch them.
Take time to see how they move, what they look at, and how they feel in your hands. Is their heart beating fast or slow? How about their breath? How often do they blink? Are they chewing their cud? Do they have mammary glands? How do they react when you hold out a blade of grass?
Teaching our children does not need to involve knowing ‘the facts’.
True teaching is showing our children how to observe and ask questions.