Youth Education
Rocky Mountain Flycasters participates with other organizations to provide youth with STEM education to help young people become more aware of and connect with the environment through fly fishing, aquatic biology, and conservation of cold water streams, lakes, and riparian areas.
A chapter coordinator supports each youth program described below for the organization or school that is sponsoring the program. The chapter will provide materials and volunteers to lead or assist with the activities.
Free Kids' Fishing Day
Each year on Colorado Free Fishing Weekend, the US Forest Service sponsors a Free Kids' Fishing Day Event on Saturday at West Lake in Red Feather for children 15 and under. The USFS provides beginner level spinning rod/reel equipment and some fly fishing gear. Rocky Mountain Flycasters typically provides volunteers who circulate the shoreline assisting kids with casting, line un-tangling, baiting, landing fish, explaining about fish handling and answering all the typical beginner questions of the kids and parents.
Children’s Water Fest
Local Water Festivals promote hands-on learning about water issues for students. Our interactive game, “Who Eats Who At The Stream”, recreates the food chain in the aquatic ecosystem. This game enables us to get our crucial message to elementary aged youth about how important cold, clean water is for our watershed.
Trout in the Classroom
Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is a conservation oriented, environmental education program that offers students a chance to raise trout in a classroom setting and then release them into a nearby stream or river. Caring for the fish fosters a conservation ethic in the students, and the act of walking to a stream bank and directly releasing the fingerlings into the water makes a concrete connection between caring for the fish and caring for the water. To learn how it works and view example lesson plans go to: https://www.troutintheclassroom.org.
To get started contact education@rmftu.org
