INTERACTION, EDUCATION,
WELLBEING – WITH ANIMALS
Vision
Increasing purpose and quality of life for those with disabilities and neurodiverse conditions, through safe and respectful interactions with animals and plants.
Welcoming the public to a space where they can increase knowledge and compassion for the natural world.
What is Hygge?
Katherine is from Denmark, and found it appropriate to use the word Hygge in the business name as this is the feeling we strive for people to feel, when visiting us or having a visit from us.
The word Hygge, (pronounced,”Hue-gah) is a word that we (Danish background) use when we feel happy, content, and comfortable, a bit like our sheep Alisha in the middle of this picture. 😉
The Farm Journey to Now
At The Hygge Farm we have a variety of friendly farm animals. You can read more about them under the section “Meet the Farmily“
The inspiration to start The Hygge Farm was working at a farm school with a focus on people with disabilities and neurodiverse conditions. Seeing the huge effect animals and nature as a whole, had on people, really blew me away! It was the most rewarding job I have ever had, to not only see the smiles on people’s faces but to see them grow their confidence and personal skills was incredible.
Most of the people I worked with were teenagers, some were still at school and some had finished, and this was now one of the only places they would be able to come and feel as If they had a purpose. Most of the people that would come and help out on the farm would find it very hard to find a job and therefore spend most days sitting at home, but the farm was a safe sanctuary for them.
While I was working there, we not only had people with disabilities and neurodiverse conditions come to help out, the farm was also open to the general public and to school visits. Exploring, learning and engaging with animals and plants. After the decision from the education department to cease the funding for the farm school, I decided to start The Hygge Farm.
The Hygge Farm started out in 2018 as a mobile animal farm, traveling to education support centers, nursing homes, and schools to name a few. It soon also became popular for events and birthdays. In 2023 we purchased a property in Southampton, 7 minutes from Balingup in the beautiful South West region of Western Australia.
Meet the team 🙂
I (Katherine), Sergio and our son Njord own and operate The Hygge Farm. The Hygge Farm is located in the beautiful southwest of WA only 5 minutes from Balingup.
We have multiple activities on offer including guided farm tours, one on one animal assisted wellbeing, workshops and also a mobile service where we can bring animals to you.
When you visit the farm, you will be guided by myself (Katherine) to meet, greet, feed, pat, and learn about the different animals on the farm.
We are currently running homeschool sessions once a month (Currently fully booked) but are planning to continue those, so please keep an eye out on social media for new enrolments.
As you can all imagine, we have our heads full of ideas and we can not wait to share them with you as soon as possible! Therefore it is important to follow us on Facebook and Instagram so you do not miss out on new offers!
We can not wait to meet you!
From Katherine, Sergio, Njord and all the animals!
Meet Katherine
- Director at The Hygge Farm since 2018
- Qualified zookeeper with specialty in equine and farm animals.
- Certificate 3 in agriculture.
- Certificate 4 in training and assessment.
- 5 years of industry experience, working with people with disability and neurodiverse conditions.
- 10+ years of industry experience as a farm manager in multiple different farms and farm schools.
- 5 years apprenticeship as a vet nurse at The University of Copenhagen- Large Animal Hospital.
- Qualified animal assisted therapy practitioner.
- Currently a trainer once a week at a private RTO, training year 11 and 12 in cert 3 animal care services.
- Completed Mental health first aid in April 2023
- Mother and wife.
Meet Sergio
- Certificate three in metal fabrication.
- Diploma in project management.
- Worked for BHP for ten years in the maintenance coordination and supervision of the fixed plant operations across BHP where he was responsible for the schedule and budget.
- Extensive experience working with multiple departments to achieve a successful project.
- Spent time as a continuous improvement specialist which involved implementing new processes or modifying existing processes and tracking the implementation.
- Serge has a lived experience, as he as a child contracted viral meningitis resulting in moderate/sever hearing loss. He spent seven years undergoing speech therapy as a result.
Meet Njord
A happy healthy 4 year old boy full off joy for life and love showing people his animals 🙂
Farm Tour Bookings
1 hour Guided Farm Experience – Explore the farm with a hands on guided tour to meet, pat, feed and learn about our friendly farm animals.
Bookings Essential
Under 2 – FREE
Kids – $15 each
Adults $20 each
Group concessions available on request