A young man, Harvey Sayce, who has been producing his own bird seed for four years, approached EnviroAbility, the charity based in Ross-on-Wye, earlier this year, with the dream of opening up this idea for others to become involved in, and a local filmmaker, Sam Callen, has now stepped foward to produce a documentary about the project.
Harvey, and Dennis Humble at EnviroAbility, are hoping that the video will be used on a Crowdfunding website, which is an online donation page, very much like Just Giving. It is hoped that the money raised through the Crowdfunding website will help get the project off the ground.
The Bird Seed Project is designed to re-educate people about the local eco-system. Harvey explained that when people purchase bird seed they often don’t realise where the food is coming from, and sometimes it has travelled halfway around the world. He said that creating bird seed that has been grown in Herefordshire, that is organic and without any chemical sprays, will be much healthier, not only for the birds eating the food, but also for the environment as a whole.
Dennis told the Ross Gazette, “The glory with this sort of project is you can meet people with a shared interest.” Dennis explained that sometimes when groups of people who have a disability meet, it can be in a superficial environment, but when they meet because of a common passion, lasting friendships and bonds are forged.
They hope that anyone with an interest in wildlife and who would like to get back in touch with the great outdoors will join the group. They also hope that any students who want to join in with the production of the documentary will get involved, to put forward their ideas. Anyone with any marketing ideas, or anything at all to contribute is also more than welcome to do so.
Harvey’s original name for the project was ‘Feathered Friends’, but as another company already has this name, they must come up with another one. Harvey’s mum, Gail, has come up with ‘Spreading our Wings’, but they are open to suggestions.
EnviroAbility also hope to be working with local schools in the near future, and bringing them into the project, via a Country Classrooms scheme. This idea aims to educate children in an outdoor environment, in a hands-on learning technique.
If you have any suggestions for a name or any other ways the project could be developed please speak to Dennis at EnviroAbility on 01989 763388.