It has been said that the human body is the highest form of art and Sydney University Veterinary students have embraced this mantra. This year, for their annual fundraising drive the students have posed nude for a charity calendar, with help from a few, furrier companions.
This year, the money raised will go to the Rural and Remote Mental Health which delivers mental health programs and services to rural and remote Australia. The not-for-profit particularly focuses on indigenous, mining, and agricultural and farming communities.
With October being mental health month in New South Wales, the focus of the charity drive is particularly timely. Mental health is also an issue that the veterinarian profession struggles with, as one study found that suicide rates among vets were four times higher than the rest of the population. However, there is growing recognition within the industry of the mental toll that working in this field can have on vets, particularly those who are fresh from finishing their studies.
The nude calendar aims to counter all of this, by both promoting a positive image of young vets and raising funds for the organisations that will support the vets once they finish their studies. Last year’s calendar was able to raise almost $10 000 for greyhound charity Friends of the Hound. This year the students are hoping to surpass this target. Pre sales for the 2018 calendar are now available and feature the students shot by Meredith Schofield on the university’s farms in Camden.