Educational Programs - Billy's Rent a Goat

Billy’s Rent a Goat is about bringing the community together and getting them to interact and to educate people about their environment.

To develop an understanding on important goat husbandry skills
To learn about the animal’s life cycle, such as gestation, birth, growth and death
To learn about the anatomy of goats and basic biological processes such as ruminant digestion
To engage with a farm animal and to apply text book biology to a real life mammal
To observe how goats interact, as individuals and as part of their herd
To gain an understanding of the behaviours of goats as prey animals and learn about their body language

The intrinsic nature of engaging with the natural environment can have a stress and anxiety reducing effect while fostering a sense of well being and relaxation
The experience takes students out of the classroom into the outdoors, thus creating an opportunity for experiental and positive learning, using all the five senses
To develop communication competencies such as partaking in a group discussion and developing observation skills
To gain a deeper understanding of the needs of others; to develop empathy
To understand the importance of respectful and responsible interactions with others
To learn about our own behaviours and social structures by reflecting on the animals behaviours, social interactions and group dynamic

To understand that goat husbandry can be a pathway to a sustainable future
To watch a real life demonstration of how grazing goats help to manage invasive weeds while encouraging regrowth of native perennial plants
To learn that goats produce organic fertiliser that helps o restore soil
To understand that goat grazing is an excellent fossil fuel free, low impact, alternative farming method
All these learning outcomes can be used as starting points for teachers to deepen classroom based learning on a range of sustainability topics