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Creating a world

where young people feel

safe and supported

Almost a quarter of all young people experience poor social and emotional wellbeing.

Our programs empower young people to instil life skills, confidence, hope and resilience.

We help young people realise their potential and embrace their opportunities for a chance at a good life.

What we do

The Good Life Farm has offered tailored programs founded on the principles of animal-assisted learning since 2005.

We enable young people to create bonds with animals before transferring these skills to their relationships with other people. These bonds are based on care, respect and love.

Our programs have been independently evaluated to improve participants' social skills, confidence and sense of self-worth, and reduce their anti-social behaviour.

Learn more about our programs

Independent evaluation provides evidence of success

We are delighted to share with you the results of a 12-month evaluation of the Good Life Farm program. The evaluation demonstrates the outstanding impacts of this unique form of animal-assisted learning.

We all knew intuitively that our model of animal-assisted learning has beneficial outcomes for our young people but this evaluation provides empirical evidence to support our beliefs.

“For most of the participants, their Good Life Farm experience (encompassing staff interaction, time in nature and caring for animals) enabled them to gain confidence, life skills and strategies to manage stressors”.

“Evidence suggests after two terms, many participants have developed the skills and confidence to better engage in educational and social settings”.

We know we have a terrific program. Growing our capacity to take in more kids is our biggest challenge.

Download the final evaluation report

How you can help

Join the board

We're hiring for new Directors on our board.

More information
Partner with us

We're looking for partners to help us achieve our goals.

Contact us
Donate

Help us to maintain the farm and provide food for the animals.

Donate now

Sponsor a child

The Good Life Farm aims to give every troubled young person a fresh chance by instilling life skills, confidence, hope and resilience.

Many of our young people are people whom no other organisation or schools will take in. We work with them to make positive changes to their lives through guided experiences with animals and nature on our small farm.

Our child sponsorship program gives you a chance to help a young person participate in our 10-week intensive life and skills program for the first time.

The children in our sponsorship program aren't able to access our program due to:

socio-economic disadvantage

existing vulnerabilities

further isolation from the community, education providers and services throughout COVID-19.

All young people are between the age of 7 and 17.

Learn more about our program

Latest updates

Now available in Vermont

We will be offering a second program on location in Vermont for Term 4 2024 and are hopeful that this may provide an opportunity for young people to participate who may have been previously unable, based on location.

Find out more
Recycle and support the farm

By donating your valuable container refunds at your nearest refund point, you can help us to deliver the Life and Social Skills program to more vulnerable young people.

Find out more

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Principal, Chum Creek Primary School

Lesley and the staff at Good Life Farm build a wonderful rapport with participating students and this facilitates open discussion about appropriate behaviours and the effects of inappropriate behaviours on others.

Participant Parent

W's involvement in the Farm this term has certainly been beneficial.

He is finding ways to deal with his anger and anxiety that has impacted his ability to go to school the past few years.

He is in a much happier space and the consistent approach farm has provided him has improved his self-esteem and wellbeing.

I wish to thank all the Good Life Farm staff for their hard efforts.

Participant Parent

The impact of the program has meant that S has been able to build an identity of self and to connect with people from a strengths based perspective - solid ground.

S found the environment at the Farm a very safe place which I am sad to say he has not had at school or in some family environments.

This term I have seen S grow into a young person who is taking some first steps into the world such as his first job.

Prior to his attendance at the Farm, his experience was too overwhelming for him to make sense of it.

S has a direction forward and concrete experiences of kindness, respect, excellence and commitment that he gained through his time at the Farm.

It takes a village to raise a child - and the Farm has been part of that village for S.

Participant Parent

I want to thank you for all that you have done to help J become the amazing person that he is. He shared with me your reflections on him and his journey at The Good Life Farm and it brought me to tears to think how much pain he was in before he found you.

I am so grateful for the loving kindness, support and space you and the animals have shown him. I am so proud of my young man and know that moments he shared with you are going to help him for the rest of his life.

In a super stressful time where we often didn't know what to do next, he found a place at Good Life Farm where he could recover his sense of self and heal from the traumas and misunderstanding and school. I am excited for him to face the world with all that you have helped him know about himself.

Thank you for all that you do.

Assistance Principle, Healesville Primary School

“In our experience, students attending the program have become more engaged with school, developed greater resilience and strategies to assist with conflict resolution and recognition of the impact their behaviour has on other people.”

We acknowledge and respect the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, the traditional custodians of this land since time immemorial. We are learning that the land is not ours to own, but to look after and that if we listen, we may hear in it the calling of the eternal Spirit. Responding to this call, we commit ourselves to work for justice, reconciliation and care of the earth.