The Mission of the Wild Sheep Foundation is: To enhance wild sheep populations, promote professional wildlife management, educate the public about wild sheep and the conservation benefits of hunting, and protect sportsmen’s rights – while keeping administrative costs to a minimum. A critical component of this mission is “…educate the public about wild sheep and the conservation benefits of hunting…”

As noted in both our fall issue of Wild Sheep (Oregon FNAWS) and in this issue (WSF Alberta) Chapter News Sections, several of our chapters have initiated and are conducting youth education programs. This is a noble and worthy mission focus, and ensures the future of our hunting and conservation legacy by introducing youth to the outdoors. Youth outdoor education has been a personal “mission” of mine for more than a decade, and I have been fortunate enough to work with talented middle and high school educators to help develop, expand and promote outdoor education in the public schools, touching and forever changing the lives of several thousands of boys and girls annually. Admittedly, this is a “drop in the bucket” but frankly every young life introduced to the outdoors can be a life changed…and that make it all worthwhile.

My wife Kelli shares this passion for introducing youth to the outdoors. We were recently appointed as Co-Chairs of a community initiative “Youth Outdoor Education Committee” in Cody, working with K-12 educators, US Forest and Park Service leaders, Wyoming Game & Fish personnel and other community leaders to develop a program to get Cody kids to “step outside.” Using WSF and our mission as our education platform, we have taken the lead and have promoted a program to introduce an accredited outdoor education curriculum from Dallas Ecological Foundation titled “Outdoor Adventures” (OA) into our Park Country District #6 secondary schools.  Outdoor Adventures includes Hunter Safety, Boater Safety, Red Cross CPR and First Aid training, Angling Ed and other outdoor skills in an elective PE course. In addition, we have proposed the introduction of the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) in both our middle and high schools. Both of these proposals were enthusiastically received by school educators and administrators. We applied for a Communities Foundation of Wyoming Grant to help fund these two programs and expect a positive response before year end on our grant request. Our Committee’s plans are to launch both of these secondary school programs starting in the fall of 2010 to allow for teacher training on the various skills and programs. Our objective is to use our Park County schools as a pilot and eventually expand OA and NASP throughout Wyoming.

Most would assume that as the least populated state in the Union, and a state where ranching, hunting and the outdoors should be a way of life that Wyoming youth would automatically be introduced to hunting, shooting, fishing and the traditional outdoor sports. I assumed this as well, but at our first meeting I learned a shocking statistic – nearly 50% of children who are born, raised, schooled and graduate High School in Cody have not even been to Yellowstone National Park. Even though wildlife live on our doorstep and the nation’s first National Park and first National Forest are in our backyard, Cody, like most towns and cities in North America, is failing to get kids out of doors.

Frankly, Cody youth living and leaving without seeing Yellowstone was a crime I felt our community could not afford to continue. I proposed a Yellowstone Initiative to our education committee that would ensure that every student graduating in Cody would at least spend one day in this national treasure. After discussion, our group determined that the Yellowstone Initiative would be a perfect fit for our elementary schools. Several High school educators pledged to develop a curriculum for the bus ride, and the Cody High School Outdoor Club members offered their support as student chaperones. The Park Service will provide interpretive learning at various stops in the park during the day and the state would provide the school buses. We later proposed to our superintendant our plans and an initiative is now in the development to send 200 5th graders, over a three day period during the first week of school, to Yellowstone as a welcome back to school campaign providing core skills education, through experiencing the outdoors. Once again, our proposal was enthusiastically received and our superintendant is joining our Committee to help implement the program. We plan to get the outdoor community with WSF as lead to fund lunch, an interpretive packet and any other costs associated with this field trip.

These three initiatives, launched in a small community during a two month period, demonstrate that even a drop in a bucket can go a long way to steaming the tide of “Nature Deficient Disorder.”

We will be sharing the Outdoor Adventures, NASP and other education programs during our 2010 Convention Chapter and Affiliate meeting, Thursday February 4, 2010 from 1-2 pm in Room D9 at the Reno Sparks Convention Center.

Get involved and help a child step outside!

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