·        Kids Edition of Conservation Digest Honored

·        New Archery Program Set to Double in Size

Kids Edition of Conservation Digest Honored

PIERRE, S.D.—A publication created by the S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Department to interest young people in the outdoors has been honored as the best of its kind.

The Kids Edition of the department’s Conservation Digest received a first place honor in the 2006 awards program sponsored by the Association of Conservation Information. ACI is a nonprofit association of information and education professionals representing state, federal, Canadian and private conservation organizations.

The full-color youth-oriented special edition of Conservation Digest won its award in the one-time publication—other category. Two publications from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department tied for second place in that category.

“This is a great honor on a national level for the Game, Fish and Parks communications staff, and a humbling experience for a program manager,” said GFP Communications Manager Chuck Schlueter. “I made a suggestion to our staff a couple of years ago on what I thought would be a great outreach piece for youth in our state. Our staff took a completely different approach and won a national award for it. It’s a great example of the intelligence and motivation that exemplifies our GFP staff.”

Targeted toward students in the fourth grade, the award-winning edition of the magazine featured articles by and for young people. Topics included first-person accounts of elk and turkey hunts, career profiles, nature crafts, cartoon renderings of wildlife facts and resources for teachers and parents.

“I am so excited to be able to produce a kids’ version of our department magazine,” said Thea Miller Ryan of The Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls who served as the project coordinator. “I think it gives kids a great opportunity to find out about more possibilities for staying in touch with their outdoor heritage.”

Praise from readers young and old signaled to the department that the publication was a hit long before the ACI award. Consequently, Conservation Digest subscribers recently received a second Kids Edition of the magazine. The new edition features articles about proper outdoor clothing, taking outdoor photos, geocaching, becoming an outdoor artist, duck hunting tips, aquatic information and resources for teachers and parents.

The latest Kids Edition of Conservation Digest is also available at no charge from district and regional Game, Fish and Parks offices or by contacting the GFP Information and Education Office in Pierre at (605) 773-3485. Requests can also be made via e-mail to wildinfo@state.sd.us.

--GFP—

New Archery Program Set to Double in Size

PIERRE, S.D.—A new archery program in South Dakota schools has hit the bull’s-eye with students and teachers.

The South Dakota version of the National Archery in the Schools Program started with 12 schools in its inaugural year. That number of schools is set to double in the 2007-2008 school year according to Curt Robertson, hunting safety coordinator for the S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Department. The program is led by GFP in cooperation with the S.D. Department of Education.

“The fact that we’re going to double our number of participating schools is really encouraging,” Robertson said, “and the growth of the program isn’t going to stop there.”

Plans have also been made for training the specifics of the archery program to teachers in the Sioux Falls School District. “By 2008, there should be 7,000 students in the program,” Robertson said.

The new schools added to the archery program include Pierre, Howard, Britton-Hecla, Edmunds Central, Rapid City Stevens, Ethan, Faith, Madison, South Middle School in Rapid City, Flandreau, Black Hills Career Academy and East Dakota Education Co-op in Sioux Falls.

While the growth in the archery program shows that school administrators are willing to invest in the course, it has also proven to be popular with students. After the initial year of the program, students were surveyed about how they felt about the archery class. Of 1,050 survey responses, 86 percent said they liked the archery program and 63 percent said they liked school better because of the archery program.

“I think the most telling statistic is that 76 percent of the students said they were more likely to attend school on the day that archery was offered,” Robertson said. “Programs that help students stay in school have a value that can’t be measured.”

The National Archery in the Schools Program is a cooperative effort between conservation agencies, education departments, school systems, archery organizations and private archery enthusiasts. The Archery Trade Association provided critical funding for much of the equipment to be used during the pilot school project. The South Dakota Archery Association has provided funding to purchase five archery kits for schools across the state.

--GFP--