Yesterday a good friend of mine invited me to speak to his grade 11 and 12 outdoor education class about hunting and conservation. His class usually is centered around rock climbing, kayaking, hiking, survival skills etc. As of late he has started to teach them about game animals in British Columbia, Canada.
I jumped at the opportunity to speak to a group of youngsters about hunting. In this day in age especially around these parts our youth get very little exposure to hunting and a lot of exposure to David Suzuki and other left wing anti hunting media.
I started out asking the class what they thought the benefits of hunting were. Surprisingly some of the kids had some insightful answers. I outlined what I believe some key benefits are: healthy organic food, recreation, money for our economy and conservation, and tradition. Then I got into the difference of preservation vs. conservation and why both are important. I talked a bit about the balance of nature and how wildlife can be effectively managed to have healthy herds over the long term.
Then for some fun, I showed the class a bear rug from a
last year. I also showed the kids my Bowtech Tribute bow and broad heads, and how an arrow kills opposed to a bullet. A bullet kills by shock and hemorrhaging while a broad head kills by cutting, and hemorrhaging.
Lastly, I showed the class some clips from my
. I showed clips about hunting bears, shot placement, and field care. The kids were really excited.
I left the kids with some literature about bows and some contact information to get involved with the
. The class was interested in coming out to the archery night and the .22 shoots to see if hunting and shooting would be of interest to them. All in all I think some good seeds were planted and I hope some of them will really take an interest in hunting and conservation. Thanks again to the teacher who let me come and share about my hunting passion.