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An oberhasli goat makes an eye contact with a visitor. Animals at the barn have their individual names. Rayna Mitzman, animal care specialist at the barn, said that she enjoys understanding different personalities of each animal. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org

The 473 acres at Northwest Park, located along the Farmington River in Windsor, contain more than just trees and grass. The park also holds a nature center, 12 miles of trails, soccer fields, a maple sugar house, a playground and picnic area, and a barn with a variety of farm animals.

John McGuire, of Windsor Locks, pats a donkey at the animal barn in Northwest Park in Windsor. Animals, including turkeys, ducks, mules, rabbits, goats and cows, at the barn are open to the public for education and preservation purposes. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
Rayna Mitzman, animal care specialist, cleans the floor. “I wish more people knew that it was here, so more people can enjoy it,” Mitzman said. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
Rayna Mitzman, animal care specialist, cleans the floor. “I wish more people knew that it was here, so more people can enjoy it,” Mitzman said. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
A Cotswold sheep peeks inside the barn at Northwest Park in Windsor. Visitors are not allowed to feed the animals because many at the barn are on a special diet. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
Rayna Mitzman feeds oberhasli goats at the barn. The friendly goats tried to prevent her from leaving by standing near the gates and rubbing their bodies on her legs. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
An oberhasli goat makes an eye contact with a visitor. Animals at the barn are all named. Rayna Mitzman, animal care specialist, said that she enjoys understanding the different personalities of each animal. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
A donkey has an afternoon feast at the barn. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
Rayna Mitzman, animal care specialist, carries around gate keys for different animals at the barn. Specialists take care of the animals in daytime, and volunteers tend them in the evenings. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
Joshua Mead, environmental education, explains to middle school campers which animal tracks they can look for on a hike. Camp Foxfire run at the Northwest Park from June to August. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
A Camp Foxfire participant shows what a turkey track looks like. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
Summer campers play a game where they step on specific animal tracks with hands and feet, similar to Twister. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
Campers learned about tracks of animals, including bear, coyote, turkey, beaver and goose. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
A self-decorated workbook lies on the grass while summer campers do a field study about the process of flies and beetles eating dead animals. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
Ducks gather near the gate as visitors walk nearby. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
A pond near the entrance of the Northwest Park. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
A turtle swims by in a pond near the entrance of the Northwest Park. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
Fish at a pond near the entrance of the park. Visitors can also explore the butterfly garden, hiking trails, tobacco museum archive and animal barn at the park. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
A group of students from Windsor Locks pat a cow after swimming at the Rainbow Reservoir at the park. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org
A student on summer break sits in the park after swimming at the Rainbow Reservoir. Credit: Yehyun Kim / ctmirror.org

Yehyun joined CT Mirror in June 2020 as a photojournalist and a Report For America Corps Member. Her role at CT Mirror is to tell visual stories about the impact of public policy on individuals and communities in Connecticut. Prior to joining CT Mirror, Yehyun photographed community news in Victoria, Texas and was a photo and video intern at USA TODAY and at Acadia National Park in Maine. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Yehyun was born and raised in South Korea.