Looking Back on 2024
As we enter winter and the nights are long, we are also closing our 20th year at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary.
Sanctuary work is cyclical. We work outside in all seasons and mark their passing with changes to our caretaking regimens and facilities upkeep. We bring out the snowplow or put it away. We stock up on more hay or work on pasture rotation for fresh grass. Some months, we welcome thousands of visitors, and some are spent by ourselves—just our team, the ice beneath our feet, and the cows.
There is also the cycle of life and loss at a sanctuary. When you rescue farmed animals, they are usually very young, often just babies. We rescued many of our residents over a decade ago which means that now, much of our work is eldercare and end-of-life care. We’ve endured some difficult losses this year at the Sanctuary. We said goodbye to some of our dearest friends in 2024, including 17-year-old Albie the goat and Clyde, a 10-year-old rooster.
Clyde the rooster
Albie the goat
Caregiving intern with Mrs Potts
It is our greatest privilege to care for them and to know they have a place to grow old with their herds and friends. So very few of the billions of animals who are farmed will ever grow old. We learn from their wisdom even though our hearts break again and again when they leave us.
2024 was also a year of great triumphs and joy, as our community rallied behind our mission and helped us celebrate 20 Years of Woodstock. We set ambitious goals for the year and have accomplished most of them! We will share a full anniversary year wrap-up in January, but we are thrilled to share that we welcomed over 3,400 people for Public Education programming, reached over 3 million with our targeted advocacy campaigns, expanded our coalitions and partnerships, and had over 200 new volunteers join us on-site to save lives. We are so grateful to all the people and organizations that we have partnered with this year.
Visitors meet the rescued cow herd during our Birthday Bash
There are some wonderful new animal faces at the Sanctuary in 2024—including Nicole the sheep who was rescued from extreme neglect at a small local farm. Nicole’s story alone reached over 2 million people through social and news media. Dozens of people told us they learned about the myth of small farms being good for farmed animals through Nicole’s story.
Nicole the sheep during rescue
Today, on the last day of 2024, the ground is wet and partially thawed. We are scattering native wildflowers across 20 acres of the Sanctuary that we are restoring to meadows for birds and pollinators. We are repairing buildings to prepare for the next cold front and checking all our water lines. And we are trying to raise enough funds to take care of the over 300 rescued animals here this winter…. and be ready to save more lives!
If you can help contribute to this work, today is the day! All donations on December 31st, 2024, are being TRIPLE matched. So, give today if you can for Albie, for Clyde, for Nicole, and for all of those who need sanctuary through all seasons.
For the animals,
Rachel McCrystal
Executive Director