In a previous issue of "Fish & Game Finder Magazine," we told you about the FWC’s Urban Pond Projects. Those four projects provide about 150 fishing clinics per year, with the help of local schools and parks departments. The clinics teach young anglers about the aquatic environment and how to conserve it, as well as, how to catch and identify local fish and the basics of angler ethics.

Many other Division of Freshwater Fisheries’ (Fisheries) projects reach out to youth, senior citizen, physically challenged and female groups that are typically underexposed to the joys of fishing. Blackwater Hatchery (Santa Rosa County), Richloam Hatchery (Sumter County), Joe Budd Aquatic Education Center (Gadsden County) and Tenoroc (Polk County), in particular, put on special events each year.

Joe Budd Aquatic Education Center hosts a pilot project, which is partially funded by the Florida Advisory Council on Environmental Education. An intensively managed 15-acre pond, nature trails and a log cabin provide an ideal site for K-12 field trips. Curricula topics, for 4th through 10th graders, cover aquatic and associated upland habitats and include: fish identification and dissection, pond life, water and soil testing, and track casting. The experience culminates with an opportunity to go fishing. The first year, 4,000 children participated in 43 events.

Tenoroc is another Fisheries’ project where educational and outreach opportunities are offered. This 6,000-acre reclaimed phosphate mining area provides exceptional fishing opportunities for a minimal fee, plus it has several specially designed facilities for the physically challenged that can accommodate special outreach programs. A recent "Bait Your Own Hook" program was conducted, in coordination with FWC Law Enforcement, to teach women the fundamentals of fishing, as well as, demonstrating some advanced techniques.

Formal classroom education programs are provided through "Aquatic WILD!" The FWC sponsors WILD workshops for teachers K-12, who are taught to use a wide array of free curriculum support materials, which they take with them to use in their own classes. About 40 workshops annually train 900 educators, who can reach about 35,000 students each year.

Another school and community-based program that we are using is "Hooked on Fishing--Not on Drugs." This program was developed by the Future Fisherman Foundation. It provides classroom materials, while stressing life skills, family involvement and actual fishing trips. It is nationally certified to use "Drug-Free School" monies, and meets some requirements for nonviolent school and self-esteem programs.

Finally, Fisheries produces educational publications, including a "Kids Fishing" booklet, five regional fishing guides, the statewide regulations summary, a pond management guide, and educational booklets on striped/sunshine bass, recycling your catch, largemouth bass, and peacock bass. "Freshwater Fishes of Florida" and "Recycle your Catch" posters are also available.