Mike Shepherd started conducting games for children in Canberra in the seventies to draw suburban communities out of their individual houses and closer together. Having been brought up on a farm, he wanted to share the feeling of an extended family with people from the city. In the 80s this philosophy started take hold on his property in Goulburn. The building of a Yurtvillage was approved by the council and Mike started an outdoor Back to Basics living and learning school. Mike’s passion has always been to teach children about life on the farm and give them practical skills to create self confidence. And of course everything was based around making it fun!
At the Yurtfarm we also want to create awareness about how to life with less, self sufficiency and sustainable living, concepts that are even more important these days of climate change and global insecurity. 
After having successfully operated for 35 years Goulburn Mulwaree council is now asking for the Yurtvillage to be submitted to a modern DA which quite frankly would defeat the purpose of teaching children about Back to Basics and as a small business beyond our financial reach. 
Please help us convince the council that we need to stay open for the sake of the children in modern day electronic society.