Facing the prospect of a bleak winter after curtailed seasons in 2020 and 2021 — when it opened for just a month — the Beacon Hill Children’s Farm is hoping to raise money through an animal-sponsorship program.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the farm early and hard, with the popular destination closing just days after opening for the season in 2020.
To stay afloat, the Koenders family, which runs the farm in conjunction with the Beacon Hill Farm Society, started a “Goat Fund Us” fundraising page on the Go Fund Me site.
This year, to ensure that the 100 farm animals get safe, warm and cozy barns over the winter, plenty of food to keep up their energy and any necessary veterinary care, they are asking people to sponsor one of the animals — an alpaca, chicken, goat, potbellied pig or a miniature horse, for example.
There are 21 sponsorships to choose from, ranging from $25 to $150. Sponsors receive a special certificate in the mail. People shopping for an animal lover can have the certificate made out in the recipient’s name as a gift.
Alternately, donors can pay for hay for a day or provide veterinary care for the farm animals. People can even sponsor the park’s free-roaming peafowl, who visit the farm on occasion.
“We need support from the community to cover the costs of housing and feeding all the animals through the winter,” said Claudia Laube, the farm’s manager. “Asking for help again isn’t an easy step and it doesn’t feel good at all. We are very aware that many people out there find themselves in strained financial situations and are facing all different kinds of hardships. But we hope that there might also be some who like to support us — and can afford it, too.”
Located in Beacon Hill Park — which once featured a zoo that began operations in 1889 — the farm dates back to 1973 and is located in the same area as the former zoo’s deer enclosure. In the winter, the animals go to a private farm in rural Metchosin.
When the farm is open in Beacon Hill Park, it typically sees about 2,000 visitors a day over spring break, said Dennis Koenders, who has operated the farm with his wife, Lynda, since 1985.
The closing in 2020, six days after the farm opened, came with a significant financial hit. In a typical year, donations at the gate — the farm charges no admission — over the summer season are usually enough to cover the cost of care for the animals and upkeep of the property over the winter.
They survived last winter thanks to the government’s wage-subsidy programs covering staffing costs. The staff of roughly a dozen full and part-time employees shrank and some donated their time to care for the animals or maintain the property.
The 2021 season lasted just a month, with a lower number of visitors than usual.
That left the farm, when it closed for the season after Thanksgiving, with little to no revenue to continue through a second cold winter. The Koenders looked for initiatives to replenish the coffers, pay for feed, supplies and medical attention for the animals, and upgrade the farm to adhere to enhanced cleaning protocols, and settled on the sponsorship idea.
“We have been blessed to be able to bring joy and happiness to the community these last 36 years,” said Lynda Koenders. “We miss welcoming the visitors and we miss our volunteers — which can be up to 100 — who help us every year.”
For more information, to donate or to choose an animal to sponsor, go to beaconhillchildrensfarm.ca.
