“Say hi, to Teddy and Hot Spot for me,” my seven-year-old says as I prepare to head over to Sugar’s Bridge Farm on Sugar’s Bridge Rd. For the last two summers, Piper has attended their summer camp. An opportunity to feed ducks, clean alpaca cages, and swim in a pool, that came highly recommended by a friend. I admittedly didn’t look much beyond that, booking summer camps is a thankless task. Find one they like and I take it as a win.

That was until last week when I got one note, then another, from the parents of other campers.  

“I could probably go on and on about how wonderful Sharlene is, but I’ll spare you the gushing,” said Lauren Heaps whose daughter Mabel has attended the camp for the last three years. “What she has done with the farm since 2018 is just the tip of the iceberg of her plans to share it with the community. Unfortunately, the property is co-owned and the other owner is attempting to force a sale of the property which would be the end of Barnyard Camp, the farm and its animals, and 15 acres of open space that is enjoyed by our community.”

So, on Thursday, I headed to Camp Barnyard to meet with owner Sharlene Bund. When I arrived, there were chores to do. Chickens to feed. Ducks to let out for a swim. Among the ducks, I met Sojourn, a blind duck born without a right eye. It wasn’t clear from the beginning whether the little guy would survive and if he did, if the other ducks would accept him. Sharlene briefly debated whether living was the best option at all. Today we watch as he exits the pond, and pushes right up to the feeding bowl next to the others. As you can imagine, there’s a lesson here.

Then there was Buttercup, the adorable but sickly duckling who didn’t make it. Already a favorite of the campers, Sharlene had no choice but to share the situation. To a question of where’s Buttercup? She remembers responding, “She passed this morning.” The campers took it hard. Certainly harder than Sharlene and the counselors expected but she let the campers design and lead a burial service for the duck at the end of the week. There was a lot of crying, and sharing, and then miraculously just as things seemed to be spiraling out of control, moving on.

“It was really heart-warming,” says Sharlene of the experience.

Sharlene co-owns the property with Hans Busch, who plays no active role in the camp or any of the activities held on the farm. While the financials get complicated, Hans is now working to force Sharlene out of her half of the mortgage. His plans for the farm are unclear (and so far he is not sharing them), but the area is zoned residential leading many to fear of development. Regardless of what the plan might be, Sharlene is under a court-ordered clock to make a counteroffer if she wants to keep the farm and the camp going.

“Why can’t someone who doesn’t have mega dollars but has a vision for society preserve the land?” she asks.

It’s a good question, that right now doesn’t have a good answer. So, she has started a GoFundMe to help quantify support and is working to get the word out. She’s hoping she might get a little nature’s miracle of her own, an angel investor or another like-minded visionary who wants to see all those acres, to quote Sharlene, “used and shared and loved up by the community.”  

“This farm is so darn fun, Cara. I just want to keep the doors open for us,” she says.

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Originally published on Sept. 6, 2024

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