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Friday, January 22,
2010
Creative project aims to
raise awareness of feral cats
Creative project aims to raise awareness of
feral cats
Helen Jardine
Friday, January 22,
2010
Fifteen-year-old Somersfield Academy student,
Asha Caisey, is using what began as a school project to raise attention to
Bermuda's feral cat population.
As part of their school coursework
S2 students at Somerfield must complete a Personal Project which aims to
develop awareness of community needs and encourages students to gain a
sense of responsibility for their community.
Based on her love for
animals, Asha decided to highlight the Bermuda Feline Assistance
Bureau (BFAB) by photographing cats across the island.
Asha
explained: "At the beginning of this project we had a few weeks to do some
research. I wanted to pick something of major interest to me. I knew
that if I picked something I kind of liked, I wouldn't be passionate
about it.
"I have always loved animals and have a cat myself,
Minty, who is featured in some of my photos.
Creative
skills
"At first I had the idea of linking my passion for
animals with my creative skills and making a calendar of SPCA
animals. I found out this had already been done and didn't want to make
un-needed competition.
"One of my classmates mentioned BFAB to me
and the idea went from there."
BFAB is a registered Bermuda charity
established in 1992.
Its main purpose is to control the feral cat
population in Bermuda by means of trap, test, spay/neuter & release
programmes.
Last Thursday Asha showed off her photographs in an
evening exhibit at Somersfield Academy.
There was a donation box
set up at the event where Asha collected $220 for BFAB.
People at
the show wrote down their favourite photos and Asha has decided to turn
the 'top three' into postcards.
The proceeds of the prints will go
to BFAB.
"Some of the photographed cats are home cats, some
are feral cats," Asha said.
"You can tell by whether or not they
have had an ear clipped.
"The BFAB programme is actually a really
nice programme and what the volunteers are doing there is really
great."
As part of the project Asha also had to write a 4,000-word
essay detailing her project and what BFAB does in
Bermuda.
Somerfield will host their Personal Project Fair on
January 29 from 10am until 12:45pm in the Common Room.
"The
idea is for people to be able to get an idea of what others have done for
their personal project," she explained. "Everyone will have the chance to
discuss their projects.
"I'm very pleased with the end result.
There were times where I stressed out with it - trying to get all my
schoolwork done on top of it and preparing for the event itself, but it
was worth it."
BFAB liaison Robin Millett said everyone at
BFAB is grateful to Asha for bringing putting their charity in the
spotlight.
"I think it's absolutely fantastic!" Ms Millett said.
"It is great that she is raising awareness - especially among her peers
who are Bermuda's future pet owners."
Since they started up 18
years ago BFAB has spayed and neutered more than 17, 000
cats.
They continue to rely on donations and the efforts of
volunteers.
To contribute or learn how you could be a part of
their volunteer team call BFAB's voicemail at 291-1737 or mail to The
Bermuda Feline Assistance Bureau, P.O. Box WK 91, Warwick WKBX,
Bermuda.
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