When you think of Kensington Metropark, images of wooded paths, and the beautiful lake, probably come to mind.
But did you know in the back of the park, they have a farm center?
It’s full of goats, sheep, cattle, chickens, ducks, geese, miniature donkeys and full-sized draft horses. Their mission, besides having a bunch of animals for the public to enjoy, is education.
“They are ambassadors,” said Dr. Patrick Bigelow, the supervising interpreter at the Farm Center. “We know we have a very suburban and urban population in our area, and a lot of kids growing up don’t have a chance to really learn about agriculture and where their food comes from.”
The spring is an exceptionally good time to visit the farm center because there will be baby animals. Currently, they have lots of baby sheep and goats, but their pig is due on May 1.
The youngest members are inside the main barn. Babies are kept in there for a little more than a month, until they are big enough and mature enough to go out into the main pastures.
Bigelow said goats and sheep typically give birth to twins, so you will often spot two babies with their mother.
Sometimes, at about the same rate humans have twins, goats and sheep will have triplets. They currently have one goat who has given birth to three very cute kids.
You are welcome to come up and pet the animals if they come up to the fence.
Most of the animals love for you to scratch where they cannot, similar to your pet at home, however, you may find that the sheep are shyer than most.
Bigelow said sheep have a strong prey response, meaning they are very skittish. As he put it, they won’t be able to tell the difference between your Pomeranian or a wolf, so no pets are allowed in the Farm Center.
They also discourage people from bringing food to feed the animals, as it teaches them bad habits and behaviors.
If your child ends up loving the trip to the farm, you may want to look into their many summer camps, where they can spend the day out on the farm. There are several options for kids of various ages, and lengths of time.
Wolcott Mill Metropark also has a farm center with lots of similar experiences.
For more information on all the fun things you can do at the Huron Clinton Metroparks, visit this website.