For Trinity Hall senior Emma Markiewicz, a passion for animals and an interest in veterinary medicine have inspired her to explore the relationship between humans and animals through hands-on research at Allaire Community Farm.
A three-year member of the farm’s Youth Leadership Academy, Emma has gained valuable experience working in the outdoor petting zoo, garden and market. Through her involvement, she has gained an understanding of animal care, behavior and the importance of providing a safe and nurturing environment for rescued animals. Emma has also assisted in managing the farm’s social media platforms, creating educational content highlighting various animals and market-based products.
With an interest in both human and animal behavior, Emma saw an opportunity to combine her interests through an independent research project examining the human-animal bond. She connected with Dr. Ginny Rentko, a veterinarian and faculty member at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, who focuses on the relationship between humans and animals, and the role animals play in promoting health and well-being. Together, they developed a research question: Does more frequent contact between a volunteer and an animal indicate a stronger relationship between the two?
To explore this question, Emma visited Allaire Community Farm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays over a four-week period. She observed the interactions between four farm animals, Ben and Jerry (alpaca llamas) and Sunshine and Ragan (goats) and three volunteers (herself, Basha and Allison). Throughout the study, she documented the animals’ responses, behaviors and interactions with each volunteer. Her observations supported the idea that frequent, consistent and positive interactions help strengthen relationships between humans and animals, but that the development of trust depends on more than simply the amount of time spent together. Each animal’s individual personality, previous experiences and natural behavioral tendencies also played an important role.
One of the clearest examples involved Allison, who had volunteered at the farm for two years. All four animals consistently recognized her voice, responded to their names when she called and followed her during feeding times. Even Reagan, the most reserved of the group, regularly approached her when called. Allison shared that it had taken nearly a year for Reagan to become comfortable with physical touch, demonstrating that building trust requires patience and allowing animals to interact at their own pace.
Emma observed similar progress through her own interactions. Having known Ben for two summers, she had already established a connection with him, and he regularly approached her upon arrival. Jerry was initially more hesitant, but gradually became more comfortable approaching Emma independently, eventually accepting physical affection. Reagan also demonstrated significant progress throughout the study, eventually approaching Emma voluntarily and greeting her before entering the feeding area.
Emma’s research further highlighted the influence of individual personalities. Ben was consistently outgoing and curious, while Jerry tended to be more cautious and often followed Ben’s lead. Sunshine approached people with confidence, while Reagan required more time and patience before becoming comfortable with unfamiliar interactions. These differences reinforced Emma’s findings that relationships develop at different rates, even when animals are given similar opportunities to interact with people.
Emma also examined whether food was the primary motivation behind the animals’ responses to volunteers. While feeding times naturally attracted their attention, she observed that the animals frequently approached familiar volunteers outside of feeding routines. Even when volunteers entered the enclosure simply to refill water bowls, the animals often stopped what they were doing to investigate. These interactions suggested that the animals recognized and responded to familiar people beyond their association with food.
Ultimately, Emma’s findings reinforced the importance of consistency, patience and positive experiences in developing meaningful human-animal relationships. The animals demonstrated recognition of familiar volunteers, increasingly sought out their company, and became more comfortable through repeated interactions. These findings also reflected Allaire Community Farm’s guiding philosophy: “We nurture through nature.” Through her research, Emma saw firsthand how relationships between humans and animals are built through mutual respect and trust, with each developing at its own pace.