2004 Education & Outreach Newsletter

Bull's-eye! DFG Targets Youth Outdoor Education

The California Department of Fish and Game’s Education & Outreach and Hunter Education program partnered up this spring and summer with the California Bowmen Hunters/State Archery Association (CBH/SAA) and Maya Archers of Roseville, California to expand Youth in the Outdoors (YO) events - - offering archery opportunities to a local Boys and Girls Club. For those of you not familiar with YO: Youth in the Outdoors is a joint committee of various agencies, businesses, and organizations dedicated to the education of our youth in terms of outdoor education and all of the educational components associated with outdoor recreation, preservation of outdoor heritage, and the use of our natural resources.

The events were kicked off with an overview of safety and equipment and then actual shoot time. The kids were given a pre-quiz at the time of sign up; throughout the event, questions from the pre-quiz were addressed, answered and reinforced. For example: It is ok to feed wildlife because they might be hungry? At the end of the event a post quiz was given with the same questions as the pre-quiz to measure what was learned. The results were great!

The instructors were patient and relaxed and the kids had a great time; many of the kids commented on how difficult the sport of archery was but wanted to pursue it further. Several of the parents also tried their hand at the sport and agreed that the sport required more skill than they had assumed.

After several hours of shooting, a hamburger and hotdog barbecue lunch (thanks to local grocery stores) was served and it was great to see such hearty appetites in action. The food was good and our compliments to the Maya Archer Chefs and Sara Holm, DFG biologist.

After lunch, we had guest instructors from the Leave No Trace organization (a national organization of federal partners) teach a segment of outdoor ethics. The kids were shown low impact outdoor-use techniques that apply to all recreational users whether they are: hunters, anglers, backpackers, etc.

Highlights of the events were the big smiles from the kids that achieved something they thought they couldn’t do and knowing we were reaching a group of kids that otherwise would not have the opportunity to participate.

In summary, I think most of us in the industry agree that our future is largely determined by the probability of our youth to participate in traditional outdoor activities and show a concern for environmental issues. It is true, there are some good things going on in terms of youth outdoor education. The California Department of Fish and Game has served on the YO committee since it’s early beginnings and there are dedicated DFG folks and others that have single handedly worked very hard to promote youth outdoor education; however, the need to expand youth outdoor opportunities is eminent.

We have a generation of kids (and adults) that are totally disconnected with the outdoors and with what Aldo Leopold (often referred to as the father of wildlife management) referred to as a lack of a land ethic. Famous words of Aldo Leopold: “There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery and the other that heat comes from the furnace.”

With continued support from volunteers, stakeholders and sister agencies we can continue serving California youth - - even in budget times such as these. Thanks again to Maya Archers and CBH/SAA.

Youth in the Outdoors Events