Everybody in Winnemucca, Nev., knew that the city had a problem with an exploding population of feral cats. But it took a motivated group of junior high students to do something about it.

Inspired by a visit from Heidi Hopkins of The Humane Society of the United States and by counselors at the non-profit Nevada Outdoor School, students from Winnemucca Junior High School's Outdoor Club have developed the city's first-ever Sterile Feral program.

"The idea was to do a service learning project that the kids could take ownership of and see what happens when you make a difference in their community. And they've done a fantastic job," said Stephanie Lefevre, executive director of the Nevada Outdoor School.

Worthy Endeavors

"This year, the kids will be doing a large educational component, going door to door in the community to explain and build support for the program," she said.

Winnemucca is a rural area, and parents worried that local teens didn't have enough to do once they left school for the day. Winnemucca Junior High set up an after-school civic service club but had trouble attracting students. Attendance shot up when they shifted the program to focus on hands-on outdoor activities and partnered with the Nevada Outdoor School.

Power of Choice

Students in the Outdoor Club were given the power to choose among themselves what sort of service project they'd like to concentrate on. For the first month, each student researched a community issue and gave a presentation about it.

"They left it to us to decide what to do," said Ashley Carpenter, a 13-year-old eighth grader who is now involved in Sterile Feral. "There were so many cats running around town. We took a field trip and saw all the cats. They didn't have food or water; some of them were sick; some of them were injured."

When the club voted on which project to pursue, the Sterile Feral cat program came out as the winner. Then, the students got to work.

Beginning in January 2008, they researched the problem of stray cats and learned about humane trapping, spaying, neutering, and vaccination programs.

On A Mission

They made flyers, wrote press releases and speeches, and fanned out into the community to educate people about reducing feral cats. They launched six fundraising efforts and partnered with local veterinarians and the city government.

"These kids are awesome," said Hopkins, now Wyoming State Director for The HSUS. "They were really motivated and full of questions. They are eager to help however they can."

The students converted dry statistics about feral cat populations into a graphic-rich Power Point presentation, which they presented to the city commission. Going before the city commission was nerve-wracking, said 15-year-old Julia Nicholson.

"I was scared at first, but I was really happy when it was over," she said. "We got the money that we needed."

The students persuaded the city commission to provide a 50-50 match for the funds they raised. They found local veterinarians who were willing to perform the operations at cost. So far, they have raised enough money to spay or neuter 150 more feral cats.

The students even developed a sponsorship program in which a donor can pay $80 to spay or neuter one cat. Donors are recognized in the local newspaper and receive a personalized, hand-written thank you letter from the club.

Stellar Performance

Nancy Peterson, manager of The HSUS' feral cat program, commended the efforts of students, city commissioners and local veterinarians to reduce the number of feral cats and improve their quality of life. "No person, agency or organzation can combat cat overpopulation alone," she said.

The local chapter of the American Red Cross recognized the students' extraordinary efforts and gave Winnemucca Junior High's Outdoors Club the Animal Real Hero of the Year Award.

Nicholson, one of the students who presented the Sterile Feral program to the city council, graduated from Winnemucca Junior High last year. She hopes to be a founding member of a new Sterile Feral program this year--at her new high school.

Source: The Humane Society of the United States