2003 Education & Outreach Newsletter

Program Updates for BOW, WILD, CAEP & FIC

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman

As of July 1, 2003, the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman Program was officially cut due to budget constraints. Most of the workshops scheduled through the end of the December will still occur (see BOW page for more information).

The good news is that, because of the program's success, it may be viable outside Fish & Game as a non-profit organization with corporate sponsorship. Hopefully BOW will be back up and running by next year.

For more information, or to offer sponsorship support, please contact Susan Herrgesell, Program Coordinator, sherrges@dfg.ca.gov, (916) 653-7448.

Project WILD

Fish and Game is no longer the sponsor of the Project WILD program for California due to 2003-2004 State Budget reductions. However, Aquatic WILD workshops may still be offered to educators due to federal grant funding of Aquatic WILD Guides. An Aquatic Wild workshop is available online for educators (see WILD's web page).

Taking Action Guides may be purchased (for $7) directly from the National WILD Office. The National WILD website www.projectwild.org has information and order forms.
 

At this time there are no prospects for a state sponsorship for the WILD program. A state sponsor would need to provide the funding for the purchase of K-12 Guides and a person to administer the program. With the Sports Fish Restoration Fund grant, the DFG Aquatic Wild Adminstrator could administer both the K-12 and Aquatic program, if a funding source for the K-12 guides was found outside the department.

Contact Bobbie Winn, bwinn@dfg.ca.gov, (916) 653-6132 for further information.

Classroom Aquarium Education Project
(AKA Salmon or Trout in the Classroom)

Want to know what kids think about hatcheries, or about protecting the fragile critters adapted for life under water? Ask a teacher. California’s teachers can shed a lot of light about what’s on the minds of an upcoming generation of Californians.Apart from the facts and fictions that a youngster might absorb through watching televised programs, the greatest number of Californians learn about the nature of aquatic resources in schools. This situation has been aptly observed by Department personnel who actively work with teachers in getting our message out.

Teachers intuitively know that a youngster’s eyes grow wide observing salmonid eggs hatching out to tiny alevin, the yolk sacs still attached. So, it’s easy to understand how teacher workshops with the Classroom Aquarium Education Program (variously know around the state as Salmonids in the Classroom, Trout in the Classroom, Steelhead in the Classroom) are able to fill up quickly. Teachers get an orientation, classroom materials, and then follow up by receiving the permitted fish eggs. Check out our web site link www.dfg.ca.gov/caep/ to find out more about opportunities in your area!

Gail Davis, CAEP program coordinator for San Joaquin Valley and Southern Sierra Region, has developed a broad outreach strategy. Partnering with a non-profit, she has developed a Teach the River Symposium presenting a variety of experts on local watershed resources. The event’s workshops and field trips annually reach out to well over a hundred K-12 teachers within a nine county area. Imagine if you will, a ripple effect touching literally thousands of students concerning the life cycle and habitat needs of salmon and trout!

If this is only the beginning, then much more is to come for DFG support of educational outreach. It is a powerful strategic tool that represents the Department and its goals to a public that needs to be informed. Stay tuned for more on Teach the River Symposium 2004 scheduled in the Fresno area on February 20 & 21.

Fishing in the City:
Tightened up and Fishing Still

A parent volunteer shared the story of his son’s first fishing success at a Fishing in the City event. A first catch was just the incentive needed to light the fishing fire in the young boy and to bond father and son together in a heartfelt pursuit. Soon after, a local teacher taking part in the event with her class described her students’ discovery of a cow bone in the lower part of the local creek, far from the pasture lands above. Through their watershed studies the kids knew just how this bone could have found its way there and why people should be concerned about what winds up in our sensitive aquatic systems. These kinds of stories are not rare when it comes to tallying up the rewards generated by the Department’s Fishing in the City program.

While the state budget crunch has taken its toll on many DFG programs including this one, rods and reels continue to introduce youth to the art and science of fishing in three major urban areas of the state: Greater Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, and Metropolitan Sacramento. Truth be told, it’s a leaner DFG crew today that maintains these partnerships with cities, counties and service groups and continues to serve the public. However, forging community links is something of a specialty for those who oversee Fishing in the City. And even while weathering elimination of support positions (and the entire program in San Joaquin Valley – Southern Sierra Region) the dedication of regional program coordinators Louise Fiorillo (SCR), Ethan Rotman (CCR) and Joe Ferreira (SVCSR) is personal testament to the value of this publicly popular program.

Look also to the smiles on the faces of the many FIC volunteers whose many hours of volunteering generate an in-kind dollar match which serves to maintain a good deal of federal grant support for DFG aquatic education. To know how Fishing in the City fares the best option is to look into the eyes of the kids who are getting their first exposure to a personal relationship with the outdoor world. The ideas of conservation and stewardship of resources are learned concepts. When we teach these ideas to a new generation it makes managing the resource that much easier.

For more information about availability of Fishing in the City programs check our web site at www.dfg.ca.gov/fishinginthecity.

• Fishing in the City - Los Angeles
  Fishing in the City Interpreter, Los Angeles Area
  Southern California FIC staff anticipate delivering the same services as last year if funds remain available for their Catfish stocking contract. Without the contract, a dramatic drop in FIC events and related in-kind matching funds may occur next Summer. Staff would then redirect efforts toward smaller group events and investigating alternative fund resources. Last year, with 2 full-time employees and 1 part-time employee, FIC-LA provided:
  • 367,887 Public Contacts by FIC Program Staff at 41 Events
  • management of 343 Volunteers who worked a collective 3968 hours
  • approx. 70,000 lb of Catfish to 30 urban park lakes in the Los Angeles / Orange County area
• Fishing in the City - Fresno
  The Fresno Fishing in the City program has been discontinued due to funding constraints.
• Fishing in the City - San Francisco Bay Area
  • Residents of the SF Bay area are in for a treat this upcoming winter holiday season: many urban lakes around the bay will be stocked with 1 pound trout at the end of December. For a bigger thrill, select lakes will receive 1-3 pound trout!
  • As partnerships are the core of the Fishing in the City program in the Bay area, most existing school watershed study and fishing programs and public fishing programs will continue despite the drastic cutbacks in staff and funds. Many partner agencies have already bolstered their support by increasing their commitment of time and money to keep their local programs afloat!
  • In April, we unveiled our new 1500 gallon Mobile Fish Exhibit and were honored with awards from both Governor Gray Davis and Director Bob Hight.
  • "Learn to Fish" clinics for schools and the public will continue to be offered all around the SF bay area this winter and spring.
• Fishing in the City - Sacramento
  No news.