"Exciting and inspiring the next generation."
That's the rallying cry for The Wild Sheep Foundation's (WSF) Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience (YWCE). As part of WSF's Sheep Show® at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, this outreach Impacted a record 2,745 school-aged children through hands-on wildlife educational experiences.
As part of WSF's Sheep Show® at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, this outreach impacted a record 2,745 school-aged children through hands-on wildlife educational experiences.
It's to excite and inspire the next generation of outdoors enthusiasts and wildlife conservationists," said Ryan Brock, PhD, WSF's Youth Education Coordinator. "We're working with the public, charter, and home schools to provide their students a unique, fun, and highly educational look at wildlife conservation." At the 2024 Sheep Show, more than 1,800 students participated and got opportunities to climb a rock wall, learn about wild sheep identification, and encounter raptors.
The National Bighorn Sheep Center (NBSC) brought a large display of skulls, hides, and educational handouts.
"We love being a part of this. Our mission is education and outreach to conserve wild sheep, wildlife, and wild lands. The Sheep Show® and the YCWE are great ways to advance that mission, and we're glad to be a part of it," said Interim Director Amanda Verheul. Seeing the kids' reactions to the educational wildlife activities is exciting for everyone involved. "We love seeing their smiling faces and knowing we're planting seeds for them to get involved in conservation."
One particularly fun activity involved letting kids use a radio telemetry unit to find a collared plush bighorn. Another had kids learning to identify birds by seeing a large and rare collection of mounted birds.
A significant event partner is the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), which participated in several activities, including doing a presentation with a Karelian bear dog named Badger, which used to manage problem bears in a non-lethal fashion.
"We enjoy doing presentations with Badger and seeing the kid's reactions and using that to educate them about wildlife and conservation," said NDOW’s Carl Lackey.
The event coincided with the National Archery in the Schools Program Northern Nevada State Tournament. The competition drew 186 participants who also got a chance to take part in the YWCE.
"A lot of those kids don't really know anything about hunting or maybe even wildlife, but their interest in archery through this great program gives us a chance to engage them and hopefully inspire them to take an interest in wildlife," Brock said.
While Thursday and Friday's events were only for pre-registered schools, WSF opened them to the public on Saturday.
"Parents got an expo pass for the day so they and their child can get in to see what the Sheep Show is about. We reach out via social media and try to find people who might have never considered hunting or conservation, but perhaps had an interest in their child getting involved in nature," Brock said.
All of this is only possible with volunteers, which guarantees each child gets hands-on opportunities and guidance from someone passionate about conservation.
This year, 340 volunteer instructors signed up, shattering last year's record of 300.
"That helps us complete the circle of what we're trying to accomplish, and we look forward to years down the line, perhaps some of the kids that came to the 2024 event signing up to volunteer and help other kids have the same inspiring experience that impacted them," Brock said.
Another aspect of youth engagement at the Sheep Show was a helicopter display by Mike and Beth Reed of Wildlife Capture Management. Set up in the main expo hall it allowed kids (and kids at heart) a chance to get close to a helicopter and learn about wild sheep and other types of wildlife captures. A Dall sheep 3-D archery targets were set up on a tether to show how copters move the animals. Another was covered with a net to simulate the capture.
“The families really enjoyed coming by and seeing the display and we enjoyed talking with them. It’s a good chance to get kids excited about working with wildlife,” said Mike Reed.
That was a big part of the 2024 Sheep Show® and from the number of smiling faces of youngsters at the YCWE and in the expo hall it looks like that mission was accomplished.
Tags: Youth