Green Acres Sanctuary trip

A couple of weekends ago, my daughter and I went on a group field trip with other Portland-area vegan families to volunteer at Green Acres Farm Sanctuary out in Silverton.

We had been to Out to Pasture a couple of times, and really enjoyed seeing the animals living their lives without interference or expectation. I can’t describe it really, it just feels different. I think this video gives you a good sense of the environment, and photos say it better than words.

It is what I imagine heaven would be like. That may sound crazy, but you can feel the peace of the animals, and the beauty of the surroundings.

The people who run these farm sanctuary organizations are so compassionate and rely on volunteers and donations to keep them going. I hope you’ll consider spending time and/or money to support rescued animals.

Our job was to clean out one of the sheep sheds. Not too bad, and very satisfying to spend an hour or so shoveling out old straw and manure, adding clean straw and giving them fresh water. Kids pitching in and using wheelbarrows and rakes is good for them!

It was a fun experience to go with other families, and we ended up staying quite awhile afterwards meeting each other, sharing food, recipe ideas, and similar experiences. I hadn’t realized before that was missing from my life. I am just used to being the odd one out. Very nice to balance that with people who understand a different perspective too.

Did I mention in addition to all the more common farm animals, they have a hinny?

And baby animals?

Not to mention, they happened to have about 9 wiggly puppies at that time!

Check out their website for the next work party and to read about the animals! We look forward to our next visit.

 

 

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