By Ian Bartelmez, WWA Education Committee Chair
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s February 2020 Newsletter edition.
Wow, it’s nearly February already, hunting is done (unless you travel), and until spring turkeys, let’s hope it stays cold enough to keep the ice safe.
Part of Peter’s presentation included the Adopt A Wildlife Area work accomplished by WWA volunteers in 2019. See all of the slides here
Speaking of ice… after a long, slippery drive we made it to Green Bay for the WWA State Meeting on January 25th; it was a great event highlighting our Hall of Fame inductees and some pretty great info on habitat restoration (thanks, Peter!), water management, parasites, populations and season structure/zone info.
But most importantly (to me, anyways) I got to meet several great people, some I have had interactions with via email, phone, or through WWA’s facebook page, and some new introductions, showing me that we really are blessed to have a great group of people that really want to see our missions succeed!
So, education… what to say in the dead of winter?
A nesting tube WWA gave to a landowner shows signs of use back in summer 2018. Winter’s a great time to place these structures.
It’s time to use this winter wonderland to get into places we usually can’t, using the ice as a walkway allows us a great opportunity to place a wood duck house or mallard tube in a spot we may not be able to reach in open water conditions. So once the ice is safe, let’s get the kids and others who haven’t experienced conservation first-hand before, out to build and install some nesting structures. Remember my comments about the scouts? I bet there are a few troops that could use some winter project ideas, plus it’s a perfect opportunity to explore the habitat in a different season from a different perspective. Maybe pick some of that monofilament out of those tree branches on the way.
How else can we use the “off season” for educational engagement? Well, our local high school trap teams are having their banquets/fundraisers and it’s a great way to build a relationship, ask if they would mind including WWA in a small way (no raffles, no fundraising), just a little space to set up a small display about our habitat and education work to see if anybody is interested (it wouldn’t hurt if you attend to drop a few bucks on their event in good faith). I think we may be surprised at the interest this could generate in our local youth.
But most importantly, we need to use this new year and it’s opportunities to get motivated, make some new contacts and plan for education to be a part of our chapter agendas.
Let’s get a wing shooting clinic scheduled, an AWA work day that is less work and more explanation of what our work does.
Ok, that’s it, just an appeal to make WWA’s education mission a larger part of our overall mission this year.
Think it over and let’s make 2020 the year we live up to expectations!