City kids know little if anything about nature and the great outdoors. The overwhelming majoring of them have never been fishing or hunting or out communing with nature. That’s something the members of Pass it On Outdoor Mentors work to change. Since 2002, the members of the organization have taken more than 1200 youth on outdoor sports adventures.
Recently, the group has reached out to other youth sporting groups to recruit participants in the program. After making a presentation to member the Wichita Bulldogs, the group is also excited about the programs expanding diversity.
“It’s a really great experience for these kids,” noted Mike Christensen, president of Pass it On Outdoor Mentors. “A lot of these kids haven’t spend a lot of time outside the City of Wichita. We get them out in nature.”
According to the 4-H books, hunting teaches youth numerous life skills including:
Self-discipline: When hunting, youth need to think about what they are doing and whether they are following the laws of if the shot they are about to take is ethical.
Resiliency: Every hunt, you may not catch something, but youth learn the important of continuing to try and not give up.
The Pass it On Outdoor Mentoring Programs partners each child with an adult and trained mentor, who helps pass on these and other life skills during their training sessions and controlled hunts.
The program begins with a Hunter Safety Class. Completion of the class is a requirement to get a hunting license in Kansas. Outdoor Mentors offers the free class to program participants. After the youth complete the class, they can go on the controlled hunt. The first hunt is a controlled pheasant hunt just north of Wichita.
“A lot of people don’t end up going hunting because they don’t have a place to go or someone to take them. We make sure the kids get a chance to get out and go hunting,” said Christensen.
The youth are partnered with a mentor on the hunt and yet they use real guns.
“We’ve never had an incident, boasted Christensen, who insists hunting is much safer than basketball, baseball, or football. “Hunting definitely has the least number of injuries per capita.”
Pass it On’s next Hunting Safety Class is Feb. 5 and 6 at the Big Brothers and Sisters Offices at 2nd and Broadway. The training is from 6-9 p.m. on Friday and from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday. The safety class is all classroom work with the participants learning the basics of hunting, plus hunting safety and conservation of our natural resources.
The next hunt is a controlled pheasant hunt on Feb. 20.
Register online at www.outdoormentors.org. Limited to 45 people. Must be 11 years or older to participate.
The Hunter Mentoring Group, Pass it On, is reaching out to increase the diversity of participants in its hunting program.
