Photo of Josh and Danielle Hanosh by Kara Maria Schunk.
Danielle and Josh Hanosh are the dynamic duo who founded Blackberry Creek Farm Animal Sanctuary in November of 2014. Since then, they have nurtured their unique mission to partner the rescue with their careers in education. They aim to provide an animal sanctuary for the next generation. They want to be the hub for the community whether it is to garden, learn how to cook amazing vegan meals, learn to care for animals or be an advocate, have a party or wedding, stay the night or just relax and rejuvenate.
In order to accomplish their goals for the sanctuary, Danielle and Josh are leading a fundraising campaign and “barn raising”. I was excited to chat with Danielle about plans for this inspiring sanctuary that’s saving lives and inspiring others to help animals, too.
I'm so thrilled to interview you. I am so inspired by Blackberry Creek Farm Animal Sanctuary. Can you share a bit about how it all started?
Starting the sanctuary was not something we set out to do, but reflecting on it now, we realize that everything we have experienced in life guided us to found this non-profit. Blackberry Creek really started after we went through a time of trial and loss ourselves and began educating ourselves about the suffering of others after stumbling upon some information about the animal agriculture industry. We were already teachers and realized that we could combine our educational expertise with the plight of farmed animals to awaken compassion in our society and to create a true sanctuary for both non-human and human animals alike. We knew we wanted to spend our lives helping those in need and teaching people how to love one another better, and for us the perfect way to do that was to make this very special place a reality.
In what way has having an animal sanctuary surprised you?
I think the thing that has surprised us the most is how the whole animal agriculture industry is really one of the very best kept dark secrets of our world and people really don’t want to hear about it because it is more convenient and comfortable to remain in that figurative darkness. Not only do we kill around 150 billion animals every year in the meat, dairy, egg, and fish/shellfish industries around the world, but animal agriculture is one of the leading cause of deforestation, species’ extinction, CO2 emissions, water usage, and world hunger (because grain that could feed hungry people is being fed to animals on massive scales). Money of course, drives this industry, and these companies and governments rely heavily on people choosing to look the other way rather than examine alternatives.
What do you love the most about it?
The thing I love most about it is seeing animals and people who have both gone through immense pain and emotional trauma learn to trust and love one another. It is life changing for each of them and I am grateful just to have had a small part in orchestrating that experience. I also love spending time with the animals myself. Tucking Po (our disabled pig) in each night is probably my favorite time of the day.
What do you wish everyone knew about your sanctuary?
I wish everyone knew that my husband and I (the founders) have the drive, imagination, educational background, and work ethic to implement programs that make an incredible impact in not only saving animals, but in providing critical education to improve human and environmental health and foster compassion in our communities and among our youth. The things we don’t have enough of are money and time. We work full time and run the sanctuary with an all-volunteer team. If every person in our region alone gave just one dollar a year we would be able to run the non-profit full-time and impact an unbelievable amount of both animals and young people.
I understand that you have a cool plan for expansion. What do you hope to do, and in what time frame?
Though we love our property, we have rapidly outgrown it and are so excited for the future! If our crowdfunding is successful in the next year we plan to purchase a new, much larger piece of land, build infrastructure and habitats/barns, an education and event center, and a unique barn for special needs animals. In the next 2~5 years we plan to start summer camps for children and teens, a community garden, Airbnb cottages, plant-based nutrition and cooking classes, open an on site veterinary center and begin regular implementation of our education programs in local schools and communities! One thing donors have already funded that we are excited to break ground on at the new property is Bert’s Book Barn (named for our late llama resident, Bert) which is a small children’s library that encourages literacy and compassion. Reading to animals has been proven to encourage fluency and confidence and avid readers grow up to be the most empathetic adults according to recent studies.
How can your supporters best help you?
What we need most to make this happen is funding! We work full time and run the all-volunteer sanctuary, but cannot grow without support from donors. By giving financially, spreading the word about our campaign with their friends, family, and co-workers, sharing on social media, and promoting our expansion in donor’s own inner circles, we would see success skyrocket. It would be incredibly exciting especially for the young people who are looking forward to attending camps at the property and the animals who desperately need a safe place to provide them with sanctuary!
What can people expect at the Barn "Raising" Gala 2017?
We have put together an incredible evening for our philanthropic guests to enjoy! Doors will open at 3:30 and guests will enjoy a complimentary shuttle from the nearby high school through the gates of the sanctuary where they will check in and receive a goody bag full of fun surprises! The evening will commence with a short introduction from the founders and two hours to explore the sanctuary. Guests will enjoy going to each barn to meet the animals, listening to their stories as told by our student volunteers, listening to live jazz music provided by the Rocklin High Jazz Band, participating in the silent auction, getting a drink at the open bar or the non-alcoholic Italian soda station, taking photos in the fun selfie area, entering the raffle, or going on a scavenger hunt around the property for prizes.
Later in the evening they will enjoy continued music, a full catered Mexican food dinner, and hearing our inspirational vision for the future of the sanctuary including a groundbreaking new program for students launching this year. The evening will conclude with our guest speaker, vegan bodybuilding champion, Torre Washington, giving a talk on nutrition and living an active lifestyle on a plant~based diet. There will be a s'mores dessert bar, fire pits, and the winners of the silent auction and raffle will be announced. Some of our most sought after prizes include a trip to the Grand Wailea in Maui, a weekend for two at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe, museum and ballet passes for a weekend away in San Francisco, and baskets of goodies from cruelty-free companies!
What's your vegan story? How and why did you go vegan?
If you would have told us five years ago that we would go vegan, we would have laughed out loud and rolled our eyes. It was a long process of education and coming to the conclusion that our ethics did not match up with our lifestyle. We watched Food Inc. years ago and started by cutting out fast food and only buying “humane” meat (which doesn’t exist). After that we visited Leilani Farm Sanctuary and began educating ourselves on both the animal agriculture industry and nutrition. We were actually vegetarian when we bought our property but by the time we founded the sanctuary we had learned so much about the horrendous treatment of animals in the egg and dairy industries that we gave up animal products altogether! When you have young hens and baby goats die in your arms after suffering in the egg and dairy industries, you quickly realize that a contributor to this suffering is not who you want to be.
What do you wish someone had told you before you started an animal sanctuary?
I wish that someone had told me about the strong resistance from people (even family and close friends) for whom there is a disconnect between the animals they see as pets and those they see as food. We have had many people tell us they wish to remain ignorant for fear of being sad or angered by the treatment of animals in the agriculture industry. Pigs for instance are incredibly intelligent (smarter than dogs) and loving, and yet because of our cultural norms and cognitive dissonance people believe they have a “right” to kill and consume them while at the same time being outraged over countries that eat dogs. We understand that logic as we used to have that same mindset, but the sheer volume of people who willfully resist educating themselves and promoting compassion to all animals is startling.
What’s your favorite compliment that Blackberry Creek Farm Animal Sanctuary has received so far?
One of my students told her parents that it was her favorite place on Earth...even better than Disneyland. Disneyland is one of my favorite places, so that compliment will be hard to beat!
When are you most happy?
I’m most happy when we rescue an animal from a horrendous situation and they get to step onto the sanctuary grounds and rest easy for the first night in their lives. One animal’s life may seem like a drop in the ocean to naysayers, but to that animal who is a thinking, feeling individual, it means life itself. The animals are truly the best ambassadors of kindness we could ever hope to find.
What is on the horizon for you now?
Besides our campaign to expand our sanctuary and education center, we are launching an exciting advocacy program this fall to impact young people in our region. In addition, my first children’s book illustrated by Diana Hofer is almost complete. We will be looking for a publisher soon and hope to release it in the coming year!
You can learn more about Danielle, Josh, and their sanctuary at the Blackberry Creek website.
Photos by Kara Maria Schunk.
