Leaving the Big City Behind for a Farm

Miriam climbs gingerly into the aviary to look for quail eggs. She has to take care not to burn herself on the infrared lamp that keeps the birds warm. At first, the nine-year-old comes up empty-handed. Aaron, who searched the coop before her, made off with all the spoils. A little later, Miriam strikes it lucky after all. “I found one!” she cries, holding a tiny egg in her hand. Next, the children get to spend some time with the bunnies, stroking the babies that were born just two weeks earlier. The air rings with excited voices, exclaiming: “Aren’t they sweet?” “So cute!” and “Can I hold one?”

Miriam, Aaron, and a dozen other girls and boys from Leipzig have come to Schulzendorf in Brandenburg to spend the afternoon at The Ark’s new children’s ranch. Here, at a location about an hour’s drive north of Berlin, the Ark’s founder Bernd Siggelkow has realized his dream. Set in the heart of nature, his farm is teeming with animals and welcomes children, many from difficult backgrounds, offering them positive experiences. The pastor’s idea is to use animals as therapy to help build children’s self-confidence and encourage them to feel closeness. “It’s not just about giving the kids a good time, they also have to learn to take responsibility. That’s why we get them to help out around the farm,” explains Siggelkow.

Parvis working in the stables.

And there’s plenty to keep the group from Leipzig busy. Fresh straw and hay must be provided for the sheep, the horses have to be tended, and the riding arena cleaned. While some of the children bounce exuberantly on straw bales in the barn, Aaron and a few friends get busy with a wheelbarrow, caring for the animals. Miriam and some of the other children are at work in the riding arena. When they have finished cleaning, the schoolgirl and her friend Lisa rest on a bench. “That was pretty tiring,” the girls agree. As a reward for their efforts, they finally get to take a ride.

All the while, newcomer farmer Siggelkow tells the kids fascinating facts about the animals and ranch. He bought the property in 2016 with donations. “Thanks to the first 100,000 euros courtesy of RED NOSE DAY, the facility was finally able to open its doors at the beginning of October,” says Siggelkow. He explains that the money went into all the necessary technology and infrastructure as well as rebuilding a barn.

The pastor got young people involved right from the get-go: “A group of teenagers from The Ark in Berlin’s Hellersdorf district came through each weekend. Among the many jobs they took on were clearing out the stables and putting up fences,” recalls the 53-year-old. “They loved being on the farm so much that they would have happily moved in permanently.“

Set on two hectares of land – one owned by The Ark, the other leased – the 200-square-meter farmhouse that is Siggelkow’s home includes eight beds, a playroom and living room as well as a dining room and lounge for guests. In addition to the horses, the farm’s other residents include rabbits and birds as well as sheep, chickens, dogs, and parrots. When Siggelkow doesn’t have young visitors, he cares for the animals by himself or with the help of interns before making the commute to Hellersdorf where his main job as head of The Ark awaits.

It’s there that the youth pastor founded the first of the Ark centers 20 years ago. Characterized by prefabricated housing projects, the area in eastern Berlin is regarded as a tough neighborhood with high levels of unemployment. Μany children here have troubled home lives. Siggelkow and his staff ensure that these kids don’t spend all their time on the streets or in front of screens.

“The ranch significantly improves what we can offer them,” he says confidently. “In Berlin, kids face the pressures and frantic pace of life in a big city on top of the stressful school and family life. Here in the countryside, they have the space to run free,” says the animal lover in jeans and rubber boots. He admits to often feeling himself shift down a gear, too, on the journey from the capital back to Schulzendorf.

Young visitors from The Ark in Berlin's Hellersdorf arrive once a week, but he has also welcomed children from the charity’s various other centers. What’s more, the ranch is open to children and families from the surrounding areas. Siggelkow works with schools in Berlin and takes children with behavioral problems to the countryside. “We take on elementary school children who get suspended from classes for a whole week because the teachers don’t know how else to deal with them,” explains the pastor. “When they arrive, they are often aggressive and think they’re incredibly tough, although in reality they are fragile and vulnerable,” he adds. After their time on the farm, many of them are completely changed. “Working with animals teaches them that making an effort has its rewards.” As a result, their attitude to school also shifts. “Suspensions don’t help children. Here, we can achieve a lot with very little.” In his experience, “these young people come to realize it’s worthwhile working at school rather than just being a nuisance.”

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The group of children from Leipzig come from Eutritzsch, a socially mixed neighborhood. “Our facility is attended by both underprivileged children and those from good homes,” says Adrienn Schmidt, head of The Ark in Leipzig, who accompanies the group. All of them benefit from getting out of the city for a day and spending time in nature together with animals. “This is a rare opportunity for most of them. “Many children never get to experience the peace that the countryside offers,” emphasizes Schmidt. For some of the kids from The Ark in Berlin, this is their first excursion ever, adds Siggelkow. “The hour-and-a-half journey seems like a world tour to them.”

For the group from Leipzig, the journey home is twice as long. Later Adrienn Schmidt reports that, the moment they got home, many of the children signed up for the next trip to Schulzendorf in summer: “They’ll be talking about visiting the farm for weeks to come.”