Brussel and Sprout, two pygmy goats, have been welcomed to Ladysmith Federation and the children are over the moon with the new arrivals. "This is SO exciting", Amelie from year 5 was overheard saying as she worked to remove buttercups and daisies from the goat paddock (apparently goats are not meant to eat buttercups and daisies!). Lots of children have been involved in the project before the goats even arrived, helping Mr Hawkins, the Site Manager, dig holes, install the goat seesaw and slide, and plumb in a handwashing area. The goats have their permanent abode at the Junior School but are 'Federation Goats' - they look forward to taking walks down to the Infant School once they have been trained to walk nicely on a collar and lead. There are also plans to get children involved in entering Brussel and Sprout into a pygmy goat show!

We were lucky to have a small budget to start the project up and the amazing Mr Hawkins has made this stretch as far as possible by using materials from around the school and saving items destined for the tip (such as the goat shed door and windows which were found in the alleyway by the school). We have also had a very generous donation of 30 bales of hay and straw from a farmer, which will keep our two little goats going for a while! The ongoing cost of the goats now falls to the school community and the CPTT and we have lots of fundraising event ideas for the future. However, more pressingly, we need to raise funds for equipment to enable the children to make the most of caring for the goats right away and for a security camera so the animals at the school are extra safe and secure.

More specifically we would like to raise funds for:

- overalls for the children to wear whilst working with the goats

- child sized mucking out equipment such as forks, brushes, and wheelbarrows

- rubber matting to make cleaning the goat shed easier

- money towards a security camera for the animal area

Ideally we would like to purchase this equipment as soon as possible so the children can get stuck in straight away. If you are able to donate to the fund and/or share the page with friends and family who would like to support a project that will enrich the lives of children at Ladysmith Federation and give them unique opportunities, we would be most grateful! Any money raised over the target amount will go towards the full costs of the security camera and ongoing upkeep of the goats. Thank you for supporting this exciting project.