A favourite community spot in Victoria is reopening to the public after being closed for the season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Beacon Hill Children's Farm reopened Wednesday for viewing and for limited interactions with baby goats.
The general petting area is not currently open, and the daily "goat stampede" is not operating, though staff hope to have both of those activities up and running soon.
In the meantime, guests can still pet individual baby goats under supervision.
"The staff will bring over a baby goat because the petting area's not open right now and the stampede's not operating right now," said owner Lynda Koenders.
"Hopefully very soon that will change and we'll be able to get back to the normal things at the farm."
Koenders says there's currently four new baby goats, one individual and one set of triplets, as well as five baby lambs – a set of twins and a set of triplets.
"They're the Jacobs lambs. They're so, so cute," she said.
LOCAL SUPPORT
Koenders says she's grateful for the community's support over the past two years, during which the farm was mostly closed due to the pandemic.
She says that while tourists have always visited the farm, it's the island community that keeps it running.
"Most of our guests are local," she said. "I'd say 70 per cent at least are locals, and maybe 30 per cent are tourists. Maybe it's even a higher number for locals, it's the locals that keep us going."
Beacon Hill Children's Farm is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Koenders says she hopes more animals and fewer restrictions will be in place as the season progresses.
"I appreciate all the generosity of everybody who supported our fundraising and GoFundMe and our sponsorships," she said. "Come on in and see the animals you've sponsored."
