COMMUNITY
community GOAT WALKS
As part of our commitment to providing free access to nature and community building, we offer free monthly goat walks. Our goat walks occur both at our farm and in public spaces throughout Philadelphia, and offer opportunities for people to interact with our goats.
Community Goat Walks are a unique opportunity for children and families to walk goats while promoting nature-based healthy activities and engaging in meaningful conversations. With trained goats and facilitators, our Community Goat Walks offer youth and their families multiple paths to experiences in nature, healing through engagement with goats, and personal development through education and skills building.
We partner with programs that share our values including walks at historic Philadelphia sites that honor the abolitionist movement, parks, and green spaces that support nature in the city, and libraries to promote intergenerational literacy.
We aim to have the ultimate impact of decreasing isolation and improving well-being and interconnectedness for Philadelphians, especially for communities that have been historically marginalized.
Check our Events calendar to learn about upcoming walks.
Storybook Trail
At the Philly Goat Project, we value the lifelong impact of both literacy and environmental stewardship on family wellness. Our Storybook Trail is a free and accessible half acre installation that blends nature with literacy and offers a unique platform for self-guided or teacher led programs to include storybooks and hands-on learning all year round. The trail is a place where small friends can climb, hop, observe and play, while at the same time read stories that are focused on wellness, nature, land stewardship in both English and Spanish. Our stories change for each season. The trail is flat, curvy, and covered by woodchips. We have many lovely reading nooks to encourage physical play and shared reading time for friends of all ages.
The Storybook Trail is maintained by volunteers and donations.
Grief Garden
In Fall 2023, our Grief Garden blossomed as a mental health initiative in response to the impact loss has on community well-being. Heightened by gun violence, the opioid epidemic, and the enduring impacts of COVID-19, few people in Philadelphia are ‘untouched’ by loss, and yet, many do not have an accessible place to honor these. In a society where grief is often stigmatized and misunderstood, our aim is to help break down barriers to grieving openly, hoping that every individual feels seen, supported, and empowered on their journey in healing.
Understanding that people hold and process grief differently, visitors are able to engage and connect in various ways throughout our garden. We've strategically placed benches for moments of reflection and created gathering areas for small groups to meet. Visitors can sit and watch the goats, adding to the sense of calm and connection with life. Our space also offers opportunities to honor loved ones, whether by tying a ribbon with their name to our fence or leaving notes in our stone memorial wall. Inspired by Itaru Sasaki, who lost all of his family to the tsunami in Japan, we have also installed a 'wind phone' for visitors to 'talk to' those who are no longer with us; their words traveling through the wind to reach them.
The Grief Garden is open 365 days a year from dawn till dusk. It is a place where people can come, regardless of where they are in their grief, and feel they belong. The Grief Garden maintained by volunteers and donations.
For directions on how to get to the Grief Garden visit here.
Neighborhood Family Garden
In the spring of 2023, PGP Teen Intern families created a shared space to promote all of the benefits of growing and harvesting fresh produce as a collective and creating community and wellness together. This sense of belonging is what the Neighborhood Family Garden (NFG) is all about. Members learn to grow veggies, make friends and share in creating wellness through nature. Participation is FREE however a minimum of 6 hours of help is required before taking home your part of the harvest.
Check out the Events calendar for our next "Meet and Greet."
Visit our BLOG and get to know us!
Contact Raquel at planthood@phillygoatproject.org with any questions.
Ready to join the Garden? Let's grow together!
