This past weekend I participated in a new event in Indiana called" Hoosier Outdoor Experience" The event was put on by Indiana DNR. It was a huge event offering thousands of people an opportunity to try many different outdoor activities completely FREE. Archery, shooting, fishing, canoeing just to name a few.
Our club, Reel Women -Reel Men were involved with the fly fishing venue and it was wonderful to give so many folks a chance to see what our sport is all about.
The event was three days long, the first day was designated "Student Day"
Nearly 1,000 third grade students from all over Indiana were bussed in to attend this inaugural event. Interestingly enough, it was this day that opened my eyes and even though I WAS the instructor that day, by the end of the day I felt more like a student. A student who had just learned how powerful connecting with our children and sharing our passion really is. It was at this moment that I realized what impact we have if only we take the time to interact with our young people.
As a fly fishing instructor I feel my job is not only to teach flycasting and fly fishing, but also to help guide them to being better citizens. Citizens who care about our environment and who want to preserve and protect our natural resources.
As I stood before several classes of these third grade students, I spoke of my love of fly fishing and I briefly touched upon a few things the children could do to be better anglers. Things like not littering and picking up trash that is found in our rivers and along the banks, and then we discussed catch and release. Keep in mind these were only 9 year old children and I only had 4 minutes to speak to each class.
But something amazing happened, the children became very interested in the topic of releasing fish. Perhaps it was so foreign to them that they were intrigued by the concept, but regardless the reason I saw wide opened eyes, sparkling eyes and genuine concern. They spoke about maybe only keeping one fish instead of everything they catch, and one child even told me that he wanted to save some fish for his own children to catch someday.
Children are our future voters and leaders of our country......It is critical that we teach them not only to enjoy the wonders of the outdoors but also how to take care of it... to ensure future generations will have the same opportunities to enjoy clean, healthy rivers.
I intend to focus more on working with young people...they are intelligent, eager and purely delightful.
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