2019 Youth Conservation Camp
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Shown Here is recently printed coverage of the YCC for 2019 held at our club grounds that was published by The Meadville Tribune. It is reprinted here by permission of the Meadville Tribune.
Shown Here is recently printed coverage of the YCC for 2019 held at our club grounds that was published by The Meadville Tribune. It is reprinted here by permission of the Meadville Tribune.
Youngsters learn about natural resources, firearm safety at conservation camp
By Tyler Dague Meadville Tribune
By Tyler Dague Meadville Tribune
WOODCOCK TOWNSHIP — Twelve bluebird nesting boxes and 23 wood duck nesting boxes were lined up along the side of the Saegertown Area Sportsmen's Club building.
Children were hammering away, putting together the bird boxes piece by piece, on Monday, marking the first day of the 2019 Crawford County Youth Conservation Camp. Led by representatives from sportsmen's clubs in Woodcock Township, Fairfield Township and Randolph Township, the camp provides opportunities for kids ages 11 to 16 to learn about the natural resources of Crawford County.
Bob Schoenfeldt, one of the camp counselors and president of the Crawford County Sportsmen's Council, was pleasantly surprised by the industry with which the campers brought to the bird box assembly and remarked about the bright group they had for the week.
The camp begins each day at 8:30 a.m., lunch is provided and each day wraps up at 4:30 p.m. The cost to attend is $35 per camper, which includes a T-shirt. Saegertown Area Sportsmen's Club allowed the camp to use its grounds free of charge, Schoenfeldt said.
"We want it to be affordable and a learning experience," Schoenfeldt said. "I'll make the campers write thank-you notes when we're done."
The Youth Conservation Camp is back again this year following a revival in 2018. The camp, which had been a fixture of the county, was dormant for 12 years prior to the council's decision to end the hiatus. A grant from the NRA Foundation — not to be confused with its political counterpart — provided the funds to once again set it in motion.
"Council decided that the future of our natural resources and the need for promoting good stewardship in conserving our natural resources was a priority project," Schenfeldt said in an email. "In order to do this, we needed to connect our youth to the natural world and engage them in outdoor recreation, conservation and lifelong environmental stewardship."
Today, Hannah Ernst, award-winning dog trainer and owner of Down Home Dog Training in West Mead Township, will stop by to discuss animal training and safety. In the afternoon, representatives from the Pennsylvania Trappers Association and Pennsylvania Game Commission Warden Randy Grago will join and take questions from campers.
Firearm safety and marksmanship are the focus of lessons on Wednesday. The NRA Foundation grant provided 22 caliber rifles, archery accessories and a gun vault. The camp has a day of shooting rifles and trap shooting along with archery.
On Thursday, the children will hear from Kylie Maland from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy about the stream restoration and habitat improvements the organization provides. There will also be an outdoor activity aimed at reinforcing the importance on the ecosystem of living trees that support stream and creek banks and dead, fallen trees that ofter fish habitat. Trips to the Tamarack Wildlife Center and the Woodcock Nature Center will provide lessons on turtles, songbirds and trees.
Finally, Friday brings Judy Acker from the French Creek Valley Conservancy, and weather permitting, the group will make a trip to French Creek. Another field trip ends the week at the Erie National Wildlife Refuge.
Schoenfeldt also desired to impart an Iroquois philosophy, known as the Seventh Generation Principle, that what one does today should result in a sustainable world for those seven generations into the future.
Joe Shellito, another camp counselor, said he's been with the camp since it was revived and lamented the closing of several sportsmen's clubs around Crawford County.
"It used to be that every club could only send five kids to the camp," Shellito said. "And we would have 25 or 30."
Still he said he enjoyed every part of helping with the camp and noted that they rotate activities to cover many facets of conservation, firearms and firearms safety, recalling a project last year where the kids put tracking bands on ducks and geese.
"We had kids that came back from last year, and they told their friends and brought friends," Shellito said. "We try to expose them to everything. This is a big hit too. You wouldn't think they'd enjoy building wood duck boxes, but you can see all the ones we built today."
Tyler Dague can be reached at 724-6370 or by email at [email protected]
Original article available HERE
Children were hammering away, putting together the bird boxes piece by piece, on Monday, marking the first day of the 2019 Crawford County Youth Conservation Camp. Led by representatives from sportsmen's clubs in Woodcock Township, Fairfield Township and Randolph Township, the camp provides opportunities for kids ages 11 to 16 to learn about the natural resources of Crawford County.
Bob Schoenfeldt, one of the camp counselors and president of the Crawford County Sportsmen's Council, was pleasantly surprised by the industry with which the campers brought to the bird box assembly and remarked about the bright group they had for the week.
The camp begins each day at 8:30 a.m., lunch is provided and each day wraps up at 4:30 p.m. The cost to attend is $35 per camper, which includes a T-shirt. Saegertown Area Sportsmen's Club allowed the camp to use its grounds free of charge, Schoenfeldt said.
"We want it to be affordable and a learning experience," Schoenfeldt said. "I'll make the campers write thank-you notes when we're done."
The Youth Conservation Camp is back again this year following a revival in 2018. The camp, which had been a fixture of the county, was dormant for 12 years prior to the council's decision to end the hiatus. A grant from the NRA Foundation — not to be confused with its political counterpart — provided the funds to once again set it in motion.
"Council decided that the future of our natural resources and the need for promoting good stewardship in conserving our natural resources was a priority project," Schenfeldt said in an email. "In order to do this, we needed to connect our youth to the natural world and engage them in outdoor recreation, conservation and lifelong environmental stewardship."
Today, Hannah Ernst, award-winning dog trainer and owner of Down Home Dog Training in West Mead Township, will stop by to discuss animal training and safety. In the afternoon, representatives from the Pennsylvania Trappers Association and Pennsylvania Game Commission Warden Randy Grago will join and take questions from campers.
Firearm safety and marksmanship are the focus of lessons on Wednesday. The NRA Foundation grant provided 22 caliber rifles, archery accessories and a gun vault. The camp has a day of shooting rifles and trap shooting along with archery.
On Thursday, the children will hear from Kylie Maland from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy about the stream restoration and habitat improvements the organization provides. There will also be an outdoor activity aimed at reinforcing the importance on the ecosystem of living trees that support stream and creek banks and dead, fallen trees that ofter fish habitat. Trips to the Tamarack Wildlife Center and the Woodcock Nature Center will provide lessons on turtles, songbirds and trees.
Finally, Friday brings Judy Acker from the French Creek Valley Conservancy, and weather permitting, the group will make a trip to French Creek. Another field trip ends the week at the Erie National Wildlife Refuge.
Schoenfeldt also desired to impart an Iroquois philosophy, known as the Seventh Generation Principle, that what one does today should result in a sustainable world for those seven generations into the future.
Joe Shellito, another camp counselor, said he's been with the camp since it was revived and lamented the closing of several sportsmen's clubs around Crawford County.
"It used to be that every club could only send five kids to the camp," Shellito said. "And we would have 25 or 30."
Still he said he enjoyed every part of helping with the camp and noted that they rotate activities to cover many facets of conservation, firearms and firearms safety, recalling a project last year where the kids put tracking bands on ducks and geese.
"We had kids that came back from last year, and they told their friends and brought friends," Shellito said. "We try to expose them to everything. This is a big hit too. You wouldn't think they'd enjoy building wood duck boxes, but you can see all the ones we built today."
Tyler Dague can be reached at 724-6370 or by email at [email protected]
Original article available HERE