Looking Back at 2022: Our Woodstock Unwrapped
Looking back at 2022…with more sheep and gratitude
I was reading an article online this week featuring our little hamlet of High Falls NY. The article was about our few local celebrities (hi Mandy Patinkin!), real estate, and the handful of restaurants clustered on our slow and short main street. There were a couple of comments already on the article, but one just made my day: “No mention of nearby Woodstock Farm Sanctuary? It is the kindest, sweetest, gentlest vibe on earth.”
Isn’t that lovely? And it’s absolutely the point! To be kind, sweet, and gentle to those animals who come through our gates after absolute hell and to give them all we can. To also be kind to our visitors who come to learn, our volunteers who come to help, and our partners who work to change the world with us.
We are winding down the year 2022 here at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary with shorter caregiving days and longer nights. Some of our barns are fuller than ever...but we have also lost many dear old friends this past year. And as it gets cold and dark and the barns and coops are the warmest, coziest spots to be in High Falls, I think a lot about our longtime friends we lost this year, including Dolly the impervious llama, Amy the beautiful brave turkey, Clover the spunky brilliant goat, Ashton the dignified patriarch of the sheep, and Big Red the gregarious rooster (all pictured on the right, in order). We are so grateful to have been able to care for them at the end of their lives—offering kindness and dignity in their deaths as we hope we did adequately in their lives.
2022 is the year that little Remy the goat came to Woodstock Sanctuary and thanks to our incredible community, he has had the best care to accommodate his disability, including multiple surgeries, prosthetics, and custom wheelchairs. We welcomed the sheep family we call “The Band” – who were rescued from a meat farm in the spring. Patti the mother sheep went blind during her pregnancy and was going to be killed after her triplet lambs were weaned, but the owner of the farm was persuaded toward mercy. Patti and all three of her babies were surrendered to us and will now live their whole long lives in peace together. We also welcomed Heathcliff the calf, who was spared the terrible fate of a male calf born on a dairy farm, Monisha and Lesley the baby turkeys rescued right before Thanksgiving, Peppermint the hen after she was sent to a slaughterhouse by the egg farm who owned her, and dozens more new faces. All were given medical care, usually for the first time in their lives, TLC, and the consideration of being individuals worthy of care and respect.
The Band, shortly after arriving to their new home at Woodstock Sanctuary.
Over 3000 visitors came to the Sanctuary in 2022. They took part in our Public Education program that is dedicated to educating individuals about animal agriculture and connecting humans to farmed animals in an environment that is not a farm, petting zoo, or state fair. We track the metrics of this program on inspiring change and teaching our visitors. It is hugely impactful. In reading the surveys taken after the tours—this is one of my favorite responses from this year:
“Tour was wonderful and I can’t wait to return to volunteer. Everyone was so kind, informative, and caring to the residents (the animals). I got a wonderful feeling about Woodstock Farm Sanctuary and can’t wait to return.”
That sentiment about being kind is continuously illuminated as I go through our tour surveys and visitor emails.
Curly the pig enjoying a belly rub during one of the Sanctuary Tours.
Of course, our education work does not just happen onsite at the Sanctuary – we also run campaigns and advocacy efforts that reach millions of people who will never visit and may not even live in the same country as us. These days, community is not just local – it exists in digital spaces which allows us to reach so many people from this little NY hamlet. In 2022, we launched a coalition with 24 other partner sanctuaries and advocacy organizations around the exploitation and abuse of animals at state and county fairs. As part of that campaign, our staff documented what happens to animals at three fairs near us, including the mammoth NY State Fair, and we are making strides to end the truly terrible Birthing Center there. This campaign has informed over two million people so far!
Our targeted advocacy and our message of kindness and education has reached over 60 million people in 2022 through media stories, partnerships, social media, and campaigns. We are truly a small organization doing huge things because of our team, our community, and the inspiring residents here who motivate us every day. As this is not our story-- it is their story. And we are honored to be able to tell it. Thank you for listening.
For the animals,
Rachel McCrystal, Executive Director