performed in Georgetown, and he and the band serenaded Valerie the Goat and I.” She says that those who visit form a connection with her, and she makes lifelong friends. She calls the experience incredible for the mental health of visitors, and says visiting Island Hill Farm allows you to just enjoy the moment for a while. “I met my business mentors when they visited the farm; my photographer and all of my staff were actually visitors first before becoming staff members here at the farm,” she said. “You come here and you just get an amazing feeling. I'm just so authentic, and I try to offer an incredible experience. It makes me so happy to see the look in people's eyes when they're here and visiting the animals.” From summer camps and volunteer opportunities to working with the community, Farmer Flory wants to inspire young people and ignite a passion within the new generation for this type of work. “Volunteers usually start at age 15. To become a volunteer, we recommend being a visitor first, as there is a difference between a visitor and a volunteer. If you just enjoy holding animals, then be a visitor. If you want to learn what it takes to run a farm and care for animals, visiting a number of times and getting to know myself and our staff is a great transition to volunteering,” she says. She encourages kids to “get dirty, fall in love, have passion, work hard, be inspired, and have a good night's sleep.” Of the utmost importance is that Flory wants people to feel like they've found a safe space when they visit. She goes to great lengths to make everyone comfortable. “This is such an inclusive place. It never matters what walk of life you're from when you're here. You will feel like you're part of Flory's family,” she says. “We welcome all types of people, and
engaging with these visitors,” she says. “A customer from my daughter Jennifer’s work in Perth, Australia even came all this way and took a taxi from a cruise ship in Charlottetown just to meet her parents.” There have been some familiar faces on the farm as well, and Sanderson is so thankful for the support. “Brett Kissel, Aaron Pritchett, and the Stanley Cup have been here, along with some celebrity visitors whose names I can’t mention, and I’d say those visits were all amazing. Brett Kissel has visited three times and he, his wife, and their firstborn all have goats named after them here,” she says.
People have traveled from far and wide to see the farm's animals, including miniature donkey Gavin, Thelma the goat, and baby alpaca Junebug. Sometimes Flory is blown away by who visits and where they come from. “We have had visitors from Bethlehem, Russia, Belgium, Italy, Australia, Austria, England, and all over the US and Canada—it truly surprises me, and I feel like I have travelled the world by
“Brett helped milk the goats, and I even got to bring a goat on stage when he
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