Agile Project founder nominated for Pride of Australia Award
From plans to travel around the world to fostering five orphaned joeys - why this Cairns ecologist gave up her dream to start an animal welfare group.
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At just 21, Shai Ager has achieved more than many people dream of.
She has become well known in the Far North region through her work with the Agile Project — an animal welfare group, of which she is the founder.
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Her volunteer work in helping rehabilitate agile wallabies from the Trinity Beach area has earned her multiple accolades, including 2019 Cairns Young Citizen of the Year and a nomination for 2019 Young Woman of the Year on International Women’s Day.
Now she has been nominated for a Pride of Australia Medal by fellow Agile Project volunteer Carla Berry. The Pride of Australia honours ordinary Australians doing extraordinary things in their community.
Her work with the Agile Project and their efforts in caring for the wallabies has been well documented. But two years ago, Shai had a different life planned — one that did not involve living with five orphaned joeys.
She was at The University of Queensland studying ecology, from which she graduated in 2017, and her plan was to travel around the world.
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“So I saved up throughout university. I did full-time work and full-time uni, so that was quite stressful,” Shai says.
“I really wanted to volunteer around the world. But I had to cancel all that — I’m glad I did.”
At such a young age, the Kuranda Koala Gardens zookeeper has managed to build up a base of about 150 volunteers who have answered hundreds of call-outs and rehabilitated countless agile wallabies.
Shai, who grew up in Cairns and Mission Beach, says she was always destined to work with wildlife.
“I’ve been a wildlife carer since I was 12 years old,” Shai says.
“My mum was a wildlife carer, but she was in and out of hospital, so whenever she had to go in, it was down to me — and raising my brother.
“Growing up, my pets were snakes and we had birds and joeys as well. There were so many animals in my house sometimes I did just want to escape.
“A normal weekend would be three-hour joey feeds. If I had to go out somewhere, I would have to take my joey with me if it was too small.”
For the past two years, Shai has been dealing with the adversity of legal proceedings, for a permit to relocate the wallabies. During this time she has built up a tough mental resilience.
“The main thing is becoming a leader and trying to get people to do free work as volunteers.”
She has used retreats in a bid to build her skills as a leader, as well as a stronger mentality.
“Seeing so many dead animals, it gets to you. Sometimes I can get quite panicked about it, but if you’re on scene with seven of your volunteers you can’t get panicked in front of them. A lot of people think I just deal with it … I go home and cry too.”
Fellow volunteer Carla Berry says Shai is inspirational.
“With her dedication to everything she is doing, it brings out the best in people. We all want to help because we see her working so hard.”
Nominations for Pride of Australia close on October 21. Nominate a local hero at www.prideofaustralia.com.au
Originally published as Agile Project founder nominated for Pride of Australia Award