Youth Expo

In the spring of 2019 I had the distinct pleasure of being invited to participate in the Youth Conservation + Education Expo.  As a retired science teacher and owner of a small tannery, I agreed. I had heard wonderful things about the Youth Expo took the opportunity to discuss and introduce local youth not only to the techniques of tanning their harvested animals, but also to show them how they could more completely utilize their trophy and how tanning fits into the larger picture of managing our natural resources.

As sportsmen and women, we should all be concerned about the decline of our younger generation getting involved in the use and understanding of the outdoors. I am convinced that activities like the Youth Expo at Teller Wildlife Refuge are critical in developing an appreciation of the many different aspects the outdoors have to offer and how important it is for us all to understand the interrelationships that exist in nature. As the saying goes, “Give a child a fish and you will feed them or a day, teach them to fish and you will feed them for a lifetime.”  Youth Expo and Teller’s array of conservation education programs provide these kids the “food” of information that will help feed their appreciation of nature for a lifetime.