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Friday Harbor High School junior Audrey Allen shares insights about the community project at Island Haven Animal Sanctuary that she recently completed with fellow junior Eleanor Rollins.
I started my research on farm animals when my community project at Friday Harbor High School started. My colleague Eleanor and I wanted to work with Island Haven Animal Sanctuary here on the island.
Island Haven takes in farm animals who need homes. This most often happens when the people who had the animal previously could no longer take care of it, when the animal is no longer wanted due to illness or age, or when the animal’s environment is no longer safe. Island Haven takes in these animals and takes care of them to fit their individual needs.
Like most animals, goats need to be able to play and run around. For young miniature goats, it is especially important for them to have different activities. To help satisfy this need, Eleanor and I decided to build Island Haven’s miniature goats a miniature playground in order to give them a fun toy and new stimuli. We ended up making a teeter-totter, a balance beam, and added some wood rounds for the goats to jump around on as part of our playground. We researched what types of non-harmful woods we should use and figured out what goats most like to play with. We were fortunate to find a few generous people who donated wood and supplies to us and helped us reach our goals.
But it’s important to consider the reasons why the goats ended up at Island Haven at all.
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