Sweet Meadow Farm Offers Animal Play

Written by Whitney Cyr

Sweet Meadow Farm in Sherborn, the children get a unique opportunity to actually touch, play, feed and take care of the animals instead of watching them from behind a glass.

The children actively engage with the animals and learn about them in addition to learning about themselves.

“Confidence is the thing you learn most about being with animals. You learn how to be a team player, sharing and responsibility because you have to learn all the things that coming along with taking care of them,” Programs Director Julie Michaud said. 

Julie has been a lifelong animal lover. She said she was born at Sweet Meadow and her mom raised her in an environment surrounded with animals. 

“I went to Norfolk County Agricultural High School for animal science. I got my business degree in college so I could run an animal business,” she said.  

Among some of the barnyard animals at Sweet Meadow—mini horses, mini cows, goats, donkeys, bunnies, kittens, baby chicks, ducks, an alpaca, ferrets, hamsters, guinea pigs, and parakeets. Their exotic animals include a baby kangaroo, a chinchilla, an emu, peacocks, a hedgehog and deer. 

Sweet Meadow offers several programs in the summer. Daily horseback lessons are provided by the licensed horseback riding instructors. Another program, called Ponies and Pets, allows children to walk and groom the ponies, includes an animal science course for hands-on learning and a nature walk in addition to pony rides. Another of their summer weekly programs is called Barn Buddies and Junior Farmers, where children can learn how to grow a garden and take care of a bunch of animals. One of the highlights of the program is hatching baby chicks in an incubator. 

Michaud’s favorite part of teaching at Sweet Meadow is birthday parties. 

“They’re really fun,” she said. “The kids just love interacting with other animals. They love riding the horses too.” 

Working at Sweet Meadow allows Michaud to share her passion of animals with others. 

“I was born with animals, I’ve always loved them since I was a little kid,” she said.