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Chenoa Manor Hosts Summer Intern
In 2008, Chenoa Manor hosted Nin Cameron-Blake: our first summer intern. Nin worked closely with the animals of Chenoa Manor during his six-week internship, tending to their needs on a daily basis and learning about their different personalities. In addition, Nin worked with one of the youths in our program.
In this interview, Nin discussed his experience at Chenoa Manor:
- CM: What are some things you learned about how the animals interact with each other?
- Nin: There is actually so much happening on the farm even when it doesn't appear so - it's deceptive. By just feeding the animals I gained one aspect of how the animals lived, which is basically an authoritarian view of looking at the animals as farmers don't tend to spend quality time with their animals unless they're sick or treatment is needed. This is where Chenoa Manor is very different as one can spend hours looking at the different animals and never get bored just because of how they behave with each other and, if analyzed, their thought process of how to do things.
- CM: What were some of your most memorable moments or experiences while working with the animals of Chenoa Manor? Did you feel you bonded with any particular animal or animal group?
- Nin: Roman, the thoroughbred horse who was my best friend, would always spot me from half way down the lane and start neighing "Nin is coming - food time" to his new friend Bacardi. I groomed Roman every day with slight caution until he realized that I was there to help him feel young again! In just two weeks, I saw an improvement with his attitude towards humans. Roman was shy and wary of people visiting the farm. This is part of the reason why I worked so closely with Roman, to try to get him more open to people, and I have also had previous working experience with horses. After losing his Christian - his previous stablemate - Roman had become very lonely and closed. In just four weeks I was able to see Roman break out of his shell and even find a new best friend in Bacardi.
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Other memorable moments were playing with the goats and sheep, trying to use my hand as one of the heads to imitate the ramming action. This stood out in my mind because the force that went into ramming them was considerable, and the fact that they were not at all aggressive was fascinating. This was also common with the cows, especially Melchior, who always wanted to play, but because he was the biggest out of all the cows, it was bit more difficult to stand in one place and not get pushed over.
Last but not least, was the arrival of Nevis, who I gravitated to immediately. He was a tri-color border collie, very energetic and intelligent. He was an animal who was determined to have an important role on the farm.
- CM: You had the chance to observe a few different groups of youth interacting with the animals. How do you feel the youth benefit from the animal residents at Chenoa Manor?
- Nin: The time the kids spend with the animals provides them with the challenge of trying to gain respect and trust from all the animals. This is more of a mental exercise for the children as they have to try to see things from the animal's perspective as they try to develop a relationship. During the first five to ten minutes of being surrounded by the animals each species is just as curious as the other.