THE HEALING PLACE — HIDDEN BEE FARM

By Kathy Fox

Nestled in the rolling hills of Columbia, Tennessee, is the Hidden Bee Farm. The 1843 farm is also a nonprofit equine and farm animal rescue, founded in 2021 by Jackson Seaton, the son of David and Alicia Seaton. The rescue takes in many abused, injured, and mistreated farm animals, and is a source of comfort for Jackson as well as the animals that call it their forever home.

When the Seaton’s discovered the old house and farm, they fell in love with the historic Federal home and overgrown pastures, and knew they found their sanctuary. What they didn’t expect was their son Jackson would also find healing there. Jackson, as an autistic and epileptic child, faced many challenges, and the animals at the Hidden Bee Farm have a special connection with him, especially those who had suffered in the past. The animals have proven to be a source of happiness and reassurance for Jackson and although they communicate without words, they seem to understand each other perfectly.

PHOTOS BY ROSS JAYNES VISUAL MEDIA CO.

PHOTOS BY ROSS JAYNES VISUAL MEDIA CO.

Initially, the Seatons got started by virtue of Jackson because of his kinship with animals. Since he is predominantly nonverbal, he seemed to communicate and bond with animals in a way he could not with other children or individuals. The animals gave him the ability to express himself and create friendships with the animals. One of the therapies the Seatons did with Jackson as a child was animalbased therapies and therapeutic riding. What Alicia noticed whenever she took Jackson to the farm or the boarding facility, he was just a normal child. Nobody noticed anything different about him other than he had no fear of walking into a rink or riding a horse. He could get on a horse to ride with no issues, and he could also walk up to a cow or pig, or any other animal and bond with it. He was simply a normal child running around the farm. These moments gave David and Alicia a sense of knowing that Jackson’s purpose in life was with animals.

When the Seatons moved to Tennessee they brought with them Jackson’s therapy goats, Jasper and Zephyr, Firefly and Dixie, two rescue horses, a desert tortoise named Michael, and inherited a few animals that remained on the farm Mr. Darcy, a rooster, and Kitty, the barn cat turned house cat. The first animals rescued were two Jerusalem donkeys, Gypsy and Silverbell, which have the markings of a brown cross on their back hence the name. Since then, horses, pigs, goats, ducks, donkeys, and a cow are all residents on the farm today each with their own compelling rescue story. “Regardless of how aggressive they were, they had an immediate attraction, bond, and gentleness with Jackson,” said Alicia. “This sparked the initial concept of expanding into a rescue. There is definitely a need for it in our community, but at the same token, we saw a mutual benefit. Jackson showed his care, love, and compassion for the animals, which in turn helped accelerate the rehabilitation of the animals.”

PHOTOS BY ROSS JAYNES VISUAL MEDIA CO.

PHOTOS BY ROSS JAYNES VISUAL MEDIA CO.

The focus of the Hidden Bee Farm is to educate the community, especially children, with the dual purpose of humane treatment of animals as well as working with special needs children. Alicia said, “We want to educate the community in the importance of proper care of these animals because many we received were sick or neglected, or sometimes people simply didn’t realize what care was needed.” Many of the farm animals at the rescue have been surrendered because their owners could not afford to take care of them, have passed away, or moved and could not bring them along. “Tennessee has a strong history agriculturally,” David commented, “and with regards to animals, we simply want to supplement and complement that at the same time, so education becomes a vital part of the community and in that aspect in spirit as well.”

PHOTOS BY ROSS JAYNES VISUAL MEDIA CO.

PHOTOS BY ROSS JAYNES VISUAL MEDIA CO.

PHOTOS BY ROSS JAYNES VISUAL MEDIA CO.

As the Hidden Bee Farm continues community outreach and rescuing animals, they have been adding events, volunteer opportunities, and programs to help educate people, as well as fund the nonprofit which is 100% donor-funded. Last October there was a pumpkin patch, at Christmas, there was a sensory Santa, and in the spring there will be a big event with the Easter Bunny including an escape room and children’s crafts. “I home-schooled Jackson and because this is such a large homeschooling community, I have been getting many requests for activities for children and schools. It's very rewarding for us to see the children come and enjoy and learn about the animals. It's morphed into an education facility, and we only want to expand that, especially for special needs children,” Alicia said.

Currently, the farm needs to expand its paddocks so it can start accepting more animals. In addition, they need more fencing and sheltered areas for the animals. “We are happy to take used fencing material or items for the goats to jump around on, we are happy to take all kinds of stuff we are not choosy,” Alicia said. “If you are doing spring cleaning and you have expired cans of vegetables or fruits, we will take those too. The pigs just went through two cases of canned peaches and finished off the pumpkins.”

For additional information on the Hidden Bee Farm, to volunteer or help financially, visit hiddenbeeanimalrescue.org To see what the animals are up to daily, follow them on social media at @thehiddenbeefarm. The farm animals look forward to meeting you soon!