Welcome to the Big Sky Community
Big Sky Sanctuary is located on Bunurong Country, in what is now commonly known as South Gippsland. In solidarity with local Aboriginal communities, we acknowledge that this land was never ceded.
Big Sky is an intentional multi-species community. The humans who live in the community operate within an ecofeminist,consistent anti-oppressionframework, which prioritises the ethics of care. It is a place where the oppressive rules of mainstream society are actively rejected. Big Sky community members, including residents, volunteers, patrons and friends, are working to co-create a vibrant inter-species community; our utopian vision for future non-human/human relations.
The resident community members at Big Sky come from a diversity of backgrounds. Some have found their way here after being rescued from the horrific conditions of factory farms, some rehomed, abandoned or considered no longer “useful”. Others have been with us long before the sanctuary existed. Each one has a unique story which speaks to their involvement in the community.
Part of the share can be as work (on farm or organizational). The Farmer in return provides: Full Season Vegetables – salad greens, root vegetables, broccoli, beans, cooking greens, sweet corn, potatoes, peas, tomatoes, herbs, cabbage, cucumbers, summer/winter squash, onions, garlic, etc. – all as the season progresses. “Visiting the ranch, it was clear we had to create a course and facilities that celebrated its location. We decided to keep the course itself clear of any houses, so the majesty of the place was intact for all 18 holes. I wanted the Big Sky experience, every step of the course. There is a vista at every tee.
The name Big Sky was inspired by the dramatic, daily show of colour and light from a seemingly endless, big sky. The vistas are spectacular and fill us with a sense of freedom and purpose.
Welcome to the Big Sky Community! Enjoy your virtual tour here on the website and if you would like to know more, please open up a dialogue with us via emailbigskysanctuaryinc@gmail.com .
Why We Aren’t Open to the Public
We know that if we operated more like a business, with opening hours and scheduled tours, bumper stickers and a tax deductible status, that we would attract more donations. And it’s not that we don’t need the money, money pays for vet bills and feed bills and we have plenty of both. It’s that we need something more important, that you have us in your minds. We need you to come and visit us.
When we have visitors to the sanctuary, we want them to have a hands on experience rather than that of a voyeur. We invite visitors who want to be a part of what we are doing, not just those who want only to see what we are doing. We want visitors to experience what happens here each day, warts and all. Monthly working bees are set at the first Sunday of the month so that dates can be put in diaries well ahead of time. Live in volunteering is also encouraged, as some experiences are outside the usual working bee hours.
Our sky is big and we want everyone to experience it. So we invite people to join us as our hands get dirty doing the day to day tasks involved in providing sanctuary for those in need.
If you haven’t had a chance yet to soak up some of Horse Network’s breathtaking footage of Big Sky Farms in Starksboro, Vermont, now’s your chance. The barn and wedding venue has been a longtime labor of love for owner Aaron Pollak and his fiancee, trainer Megan White, who boards up to 10 barrel horses on the property.
We caught up with the couple to find out more about country living, those beastly Vermont winters, and (literally) turning mountains into molehills barrel racing arenas.
HN: Megan, I believe you’re from Arizona originally, how did you end up in Vermont?
MW: I was born and raised in Arizona. I started hauling my horses to Vermont to continue training and to spend summers with my now fiancee [Aaron]. This is the fourth summer I’ve spent here, and I brought seven horses with me this year.
Big Sky Farm Mac Os Download
On the road with Megan’s barrel horses. (©Big Sky Farms)
HN: Aaron, what was the property like when you bought it?
AP: The farm was there, and dates back to the mid-1800s, although it was in some parts of disrepair when I bought it. We have done a ton of work to bring it back into shape. It’s taken lots of hard, sweating long days.
MW: There was an existing orchard, sugar bush, and barn, and we combined two pieces of land to create it. We added an arena, round pen, fenced pastures, and we had to improve the pasture quality from disuse.
HN: What else did you have to do to make Big Sky horse-friendly?
MW: We needed to add stalls to the barn, so now we have six. I have separate pastures for every horse, and each pasture has its own run-in shed. I keep the horses separate because of the risk; one bad kick or play turned too rough can end a horse’s barrel career. They can touch each other over the fence and see the other horses all around, but it keeps them safer. I have 10 pastures total. The horses I have now are all my own personal horses, with a few outside horses in for barrel training. We have a total of nine on the farm this month.
HN: What do you do with your horses in the winter?
MW: I don’t spend winters at the farm. I pack up and take my horses back to Arizona with me. Winter is peak [barrel racing] competition time there. So none of my horses get a winter break like many of the horses [in Vermont] seem to do. They get breaks all throughout the year as needed.
HN: What was your biggest challenge in creating the property?
MW: [Aaron] had to basically move a mountain to flatten a place for my arena. There’s not a flat piece of ground on the property, and I have a love/hate relationship with it.
AP: Yes, the arena was the biggest project to date. All I can describe it as is jello. I would pick the dirt up on one side of the hill, move it downhill, and then it would just keep melting and sliding. It was a slimy mess.
Moving mountains, no big deal. (©Big Sky Farms)
HN: Megan, what’s the difference between training horses in Vermont vs. Arizona?
MW: My horses are easier to keep in shape here, but I miss things from flat Arizona, like my sand track where I can breeze them and stretch them out. I use a four wheeler to get around and bring the horses in a lot more here, and I’m still in better shape than when I walk everywhere in Arizona. My horses don’t get pasture in Arizona, so they definitely think that’s the best part—although it comes with a lot more pulled shoes and biting bugs.
HN: What’s next for the property?
MW: We are busy hosting weddings on the farm; we’ve had five or so here so far. The view is the hook, and we have so much space, we can pretty much accommodate anything. We are in the process of creating an outdoor pavilion, we have a pond, an orchard, and now the experience to plan weddings too. We also sugar and sell maple syrup from our own trees and sugar house.
(©Big Sky Farms)
Big Sky Farm Mac Os 7
HN: What’s your favorite thing about Big Sky Farms—and how’d it get that name?
Big Sky Farm Mac Os Catalina
AP: The name ‘Big Sky Farms’… well, I guess when everything is said and done, we are there because of the privacy and the view, and it has one very, very big sky.
MW: Yes, the best part about living here is the view of Camels Hump [State Park]. We are at the end of a road, on the top of a mountain. When everyone goes home for the day, we have total peace and quiet.
Big Sky Farm Mac Os X
Camels Hump and that big, Vermont sky. (©Horse Network)