On September 15, Colorado TU joined Mountain Range High School of the Adams 12 School District for a fishing event on Hunters Glenn Lake in Thornton. About 30 students of all grades came to fish- some for the first time. The event is the capstone field trip to their Fly Fishing unit during a Physical Education course. Led by teacher, John Marquez, the students learned how to cast, select flies, handle fish, and how to be stewards of our natural resources. The program is part of the National Fishing in Schools Program (NFSP) that "educates students about fish, insects, aquatic environment, resource stewardship and conservation using fishing, and learning the skill of casting, as the instructional tool."
Trout Unlimited and Colorado Parks and Wildlife helped teach the kids about conversation efforts in the state and how students and anglers can be more involved. "Trout Unlimited has been a very valuable partner to us because it puts our students in touch a with an organization that is responsible for preserving our cold water fisheries. TU helps us paint a larger picture to our students in our fly fishing unit that includes conservation as well as the skills necessary to enjoy our natural resources," said Marquez. "We could not do our day on the water without our partnership with Trout Unlimited."
At the event, about half the students caught a fish and when asked how many students would go fishing again, all said that they would like to continue fishing in the future.
CTU and MRHS, with help from the NSFP, students are being introduced into conservation and fly fishing at an early age. These students are the future of fishing and the next generation of environmental stewards.
