meet the team
at come & see
our people
Gail Holman
(she/her)
Co-Director
Bringing years of experience in environmental education, parent education, and ministry, Gail co-founded Come & See Farm in 2014 with Melissa as a space for children and their families to heal, grow, and learn together. She is passionate about caring well for the earth and each other through growing food, sharing stories, and building deep relationships with all the beings in our ecological communities. After a decade of providing land-based skill-building programs for children and caring for the livestock on the farm, Gail now serves as the vision-keeper and steward of our purpose as a farm. When she's not reading, writing, or making jam, you can likely find her in the barn singing to the fainting goats and sneaking an apple to Cherry Pie.
Melissa payne
(she/her)
Co-Director
After growing up on the land that Come & See calls home and working as a public school & special education teacher, Melissa started Come & See Farm with Gail to meet a need for her students and their families. She firmly believes that it takes a village to raise a child, and Come & See became that village for many of her students, who otherwise didn't fit in or couldn't afford existing extra-curricular programs. Though she's retired from her role at Bridgman Public Schools, Melissa still teaches special education students, creating an intentional and thoughtful environment for children to learn new skills. In this new chapter of Come & See, Melissa continues to provide support for our staff and animals and serves as our farm historian, keeping us grounded in the relationships that have tended these eight acres for decades. She loves to spend her weekends helping out at her sons' farms and chatting in the barn with her best goat friend, Meatball.
taylor (Tig) hartson
(they/them)
farm manager
Small ruminant lover and ever-curious land steward Taylor (also known as Tig) has been farming in varying capacities for a decade, discovering their kinship with dairy goats & excitement for cheesemaking in 2019 and never looking back. On all the land they tend, Taylor centers the complex relationships between plants & soil & animals & people and the value of mutual support in a shared ecosystem. At Come & See, they herd around a handful of goats & sheep through the woods and dream up opportunities to gather & share community knowledge & kinship. When Taylor isn't tangled in fencing or chasing a rogue goat, they're making cheese down the road at Verdant Hollow Farms, bark-tanning hides, or spinning piles of wool into yarn.
leigh peterson
(she/her)
farm manager
With a background in adult computer education and a current desk job as a data analyst and consultant, Leigh is the newest-comer on staff to the farm world, but she brings a lifelong passion for learning & teaching new things and a great enthusiasm & reverence for working with natural cycles. As a student of the seasons, she takes great delight in the transformation of plants, bacteria, fungi, soil, and sun into food, medicine, and libations. Leigh is the primary gardener, arborist, herbalist, bamboo-handler, and when the need arises, IT person at Come & See. At home, she splits fermentation duties with Taylor, heading up the sourdough and kombucha production while they handle the cheese.
our animals
the grazing goats
sol, máni, meatball, sumac, & jojo
The mischief-makers of the farm, this small herd of five spends the green months of the season munching on multiflora rose and black raspberry and mulberry between bites of grass.
the sheep
Dandelion, ginger, curtis, & lovey
A mixed flock of Katahdin and Finnsheep, these hooved critters graze alongside the goats, often following behind to clean up any tender grasses left behind.
the fainting goats
June, Jolene, & Josie
These three senior gals provide some much-needed calm to the barn, offering their soft snouts and bellies for pets and affection between bites of hay.
the donkey
cherry pie
Cherry Pie (aka, Her Royal Highness) is our sassy, spunky donkey who keeps our critters company and always has her eye out for an apple, peach, or other snack to swipe from your hands.
the birds
Chickens, ducks, & a guinea
Wandering through the brush and bramble and compost, our winged friends forage for seeds and nuts and bugs, keeping the farm stocked with fresh eggs and fertilizer.
