As he looked down at that child’s eyes, filled with excitement, admiration, and awe, he realized that whatever choice he made in this moment would be instilling something that boy would take away forever.
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What is the right age to get kids in the outdoors? Is it when they are old enough to walk, old enough to decide for themselves, or is it something born into them?
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“Auntie! I brought my bow!”
What’s better than hearing that from a 4 year old as she piles out of the car? Archery has become a prevalent family pastime over the last several years and raising our next generation of hunters is key to the preservation of our hunting rights. The biggest question regarding young archers is often ‘when should I introduce my kid/niece/nephew/grandchild to archery?’ I think the answer to this is pretty simple—whenever they want!
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Each year the San Diego Chapter of the National Wildlife Turkey Federation has a couple of opportunities for kids to pull for hunts on private land and we asked Abby if she would like to try for a hunt. She’s a lucky girl and her name was pulled for both opportunities! March 18th was her date and she was set to hunt on the Santa Ysabel preserve with a mentor from the NWTF and me. Only 20 people are allowed to hunt on this preserve each year and it is the kids on the Saturday and Sunday of this Mentored Youth Hunt so it’s a special deal. They close the hunt area to the public so it remains safe for all.
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I was lucky enough to teach an outdoor class for fish dissection at our Bear Creek Days for schools in southwest Montana. I loaded up 50 rainbow trout from the Ennis National Fish Hatchery and took them to our camp ground at the base of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness where several schools from the area had a field trip week. They learned about all the insides of a trout as well as the history of native trout and fish verses nonnative introduced fish of Montana. It was a very rewarding day to hang out with 8th graders who loved getting their hands dirty. But that isn’t what completely set apart that day from any other.
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