Cuddly goats in the “saloon”

Two ponies, three sheep, four minipigs, six goats, some chickens, ducks and rabbits—all of these animals, plus lots of freedom—that’s the Heidelberg Youth Farm. Children can learn here how to approach animals and, along the way, they also learn a lot about themselves.

It’s a typical spring day. The first blossoms are shimmering on the bushes. But winter has not yet fully said goodbye. The thermometer shows something between five and ten degrees Celsius. Now and again, drops fall from the grey clouds. These are not the best conditions to motivate children to go on a trip into the countryside after a long school day. That’s what you might think—until you walk through the blue gate and enter Heidelberg Youth Farm.

A few metres down the slope, past a big hall—and you’re already in the midst of it all. Some boys strike out equipped with pitchforks and wheelbarrows to clear away the dung in the sheepfold. Three girls head off into the hall to build an obstacle course of mats, planks and pylons. In the “saloon,” a hut with a few benches and a foosball table, a school project group from Emmertsgrund is having a conversation about rabbits. In between, the real stars of the youth farm who managed to lure all these kids into the countryside bustle around: six goats, three sheep, some chickens, a few ducks—and even the minipigs are sticking their snouts out of the sty.

Located in the very south of Heidelberg, the youth farm offers kids an experience, the likes of which is hard to find in a city. Here, you can potter and romp about, plant, harvest, cook and build things. But you can also—and this is what the youth farm actually is all about—clean out, feed, groom and look after the animals. It all started in 1994 with therapeutic riding. At this point the first youth farms in Germany were about 30 years old. The idea originally came from Denmark. The first “junk playground” opened there in 1943; it was a wild, untilled area, where the children—unlike at prefabricated playgrounds—were able to create their own world. The concept spread in Germany in the 1960s and experienced a new boost after the fall of communism. The Heidelberg Youth Farm, which is run by a non-profit association, is by no means the only youth farm in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region.

Alana Gerber has been working here for several years now. “Working with the animals and the kids is exactly what I want to do,” she says enthusiastically. She studied educational sciences and wrote her final thesis about animal-assisted education. She is one of the three pedagogues on the youth farm. “The children can really learn so much here,” from developing their motor skills to responsibility and empathy. And, of course, quite a good deal about animals.

When the kids are allowed to choose what they want to do, they usually have more fun—even when mucking out the sties

Pedagogue Alana Gerber

The facility would hardly be here today if it were not for the financial support of the city, donations and animal sponsorships. The support of the volunteers who look after the animals when there are no children around is equally important. In the afternoons, all children at the age of six or older are allowed to come; on Saturdays, younger children are also welcome—but accompanied by their parents, that is. Furthermore, there are also school project groups here during the week. In the mornings, school classes and kindergartens often visit the youth farm.

Emma and her friend are right now setting out to fetch the ponies. Bouncing and laughing, they make their way to the meadow orchard where the animals are grazing. Without hesitation the girls open the fence, attach the leads to the ponies and get going. Falina, the bigger of the two ponies with black fur, used to live on the riding stables next door. Sissi, a mini-Shetland mare, was bought by the youth farm from the veterinary office, which had seized the pony due to animal abuse by the previous owner. Some of the ducks are from an “Arche-Hof”, a farm that is part of a project for the conservation of endangered livestock breeds. The goats have moved here from a zoo. The chickens used to be laying hens and were completely dishevelled and exhausted when they arrived here. It was hard work to get them pepped up again, Alana recalls. But it was a motivation, too, to talk about the living conditions of laying hens.

Emma has been coming here for three years. She especially enjoys spending time with the ponies, no matter if this means mucking out their sties, grooming them or going for a walk with them. “I only have a fish at home,” she explains. “It simply exists. It is simply there. But ponies have their own mind. I like that.” Sissi, for example, is rather greedy, she explains, whereas Falina is fairly calm. “When she is annoyed, she just swishes with her tail and folds her ears back.” Afraid to get too close? Not her. As the two girls arrive at the youth farm with the ponies, Mercedes and Porsche have just got comfortable in the “saloon.” The two friends sit down to the goats and start stroking them. “If they don’t like something, they twitch their head,” Emma explains. But today, Porsche seems to like the cuddles.

For Alana, it is exactly theses encounters between children and animals that account for the youth farm. “The animals’ needs are of top priority,” she emphasises. “The youth farm isn’t a petting zoo.” Most animals roam about freely on the premises. If they don’t feel like getting pet, they simply walk away. “But when you are patient and become very calm, they might come back for you to feed them. This is how the children learn social competence.” It is very important to note that at the youth farm nobody is forced to participate—neither humans, nor animals. It is totally okay if you simply want to be there. “When the kids are allowed to choose what they want to do, they usually have more fun—even when mucking out the sties,” Alana reports her observations. 

Today, many kids are drawn into the green kitchen trailer. The smell of freshly baked waffles wafts over the winding premises. The willow is just starting to bud. Hand-made feeding boxes dangle on its twigs, woollen pieces of art and a mobile made from an old bicycle rim. There is an excited squeaking sound coming from the pig enclosure. The animals know exactly that they, too, will be fed soon. The boys who have up until now been at the sheep enclosure, place four bowls filled with chopped cucumbers, bananas, potatoes, bread and bell peppers in the enclosure. Fascinated, they watch the pigs eating and burst out in joy each time they catch a glimpse of the cute pig-tongues. It might well be that Alana will see some of the kids again later—when they return to help as volunteers to preserve this very special place.

www.jugendhof-heidelberg.org