Sunnyside Farms – Helping a community by empowering women and providing farm-based wellness activities
Burlington, Ontario. – Sunnyside Farms in Clyde Park, MT is a community based, family run operation. Founded by Wendy Bauwens over 3 decades ago, Sunnyside Farms set out to enrich their community by providing a safe and educating experience for people of all ages. Their approach to this was to incorporate the breeding and training of Fjord horses for therapeutic use with programs that provide “impactful, farm-rich experiences for those who are socially, economically, mentally and physically challenged in life”. These programs include Leaders In Learning, designed to help kids develop confidence, and Wellness Wednesdays, an approach to integrated health and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy.
In late 2021, Sunnyside Farms took action to help with a community-wide lack of housing, specifically for young women in need. To help solve this situation, a historic building was chosen to convert into living quarters. Sunnyside reached out to Sun-Mar with the goal of partnering to install an accessible composting toilet for use in their many programs, and the GTG was the perfect fit. Their efforts resulted in the opening of the Giddy Up Girls Housing, which was completed in the spring of 2022 and has space to accommodate four people. To view the walkthrough of the housing, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yLvGjjtzww
When asked about the partnership between Sunnyside Farms and Sun-Mar, Rehan Shah said, “The GTG is the ideal toilet for the programs Wendy and her team are running at Sunnyside. We’re so happy to help them give back to their community.” For more information on the GTG, please check https://usa.sun-mar.com/urine-diverting-gtg-toilet/
About Sunnyside Farms
For almost three decades, Sunnyside Farms has been breeding Fjords destined to help less privileged youth who are faced with special needs. Primarily, we strive to assist those suffering from educational hurdles, traumatic experiences and social challenges. We bring peace to those who struggle by breeding and sharing Fjord horses suitable for development, learning and growth. With the help of our horses, we foster physical and educational opportunities for early childhood learners while bestowing a sense of responsibility and empowerment to developing youth. More information on programs and how to become involved can be found on the Sunnyside Farm website https://sunnysidefjords.org/
