FWC hosts youth event at Capitol, encourages conservation
News Release
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Media contact: Katie Purcell, 850-459-6585;
or Jessica Basham, 850-410-4943
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)
provided a glimpse of the Florida outdoors to more than 200
students attending the agency's "Creating the Next Generation That
Cares" event in downtown Tallahassee Thursday, April 7.
The courtyard between the old and new Florida capitols housed a
variety of interactive displays to inspire youth to enjoy Florida's
natural resources and to learn to protect them.
"This event is part of our renewed commitment to help create the
next generation that cares about conservation," said Nick Wiley,
executive director of the FWC.
Increasingly, today's children are disconnected from the
outdoors. They devote nearly eight hours a day to entertainment
media and media multitasking, according to studies, while the
number of youth who spend time in traditional outdoor activities
continues to decline dramatically.
"By providing information and interactive outdoor experiences to
youth, Wiley said, "we hope to motivate them to care about
protecting the legacy of magnificent natural resources that are
unique to Florida and that help fuel the state's economy."
At the event, one display featured a touch tank of marine life;
another offered kids a chance to pretend to be a bear for a little
while and search for berries and bugs to eat. Participants also had
a chance to learn how to cast a fishing line.
"Kids learned the names of bird and animal species that are
native to Florida and created bird masks to mimic their favorites,"
said Jessica Basham, one of the FWC coordinators.
The students got to see a baby alligator and other reptiles and
amphibians up close, as an expert stood by to answer their
questions.
There was a display of the law enforcement vehicles and vessels
the FWC uses to patrol, protect and preserve Florida's woods and
waters, and one of the FWC's K-9 teams demonstrated how it helps
with different cases.
For more information on the FWC and its youth initiatives, visit
MyFWC.com/Youth or FYCCN.org.
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