Bancroft Fish and Game Club helps NERDs

May 5, 2016

Members of the Bancroft Fish and Game Protective Association present a cheque for the new bursary to NERDS student representatives.

We’re counting down. The Northern Environmental Research class (NERDs) is up against the clock trying to get everything ready for our year-end projects. As we work on preparations for the trip to Rockingham, we are also putting together our Golf Tournament. The golf tournament is a fundraiser for the program; this will be its fifth year. The funds from this Tournament go towards our certification trips that we take to get our Boat License, GPS Certification and more.

For the past two weeks we have been going out and talking to local businesses about tournament sponsorship. For those who golf, entry forms are now available; please contact us at: nerds2016@gmail.com.

Last week was busy. In addition to the Golf Tournament preparation, we also worked on our tree project, and participated in fin-clipping the yearling Brook Trout. This tells when the fish was stocked and approximately how old it is.

We were thrilled to have a visit from members of the Bancroft Fish and Game Protection Association. They were here to present a cheque to the NHHS Outdoors Programs. Their donation will set up NERDS and NOS bursaries, to finance the costs for two students each year who would not otherwise be able to afford the program. We would like to thank Bancroft Fish and Game for their generous gift.

Last week, we had our swim test. Everyone passed, so now we can go in the boats to do some research with the SLIN Netting – and hopefully catch enough fish to eat while we are at Rockingham.

The NERDS also went to Algonquin College to find out about the school, and in particular, their Forestry program. We practised a variety of activities that Forestry students would be involved in, such as using a Range Finder Tree, and identifying trees. As well, we got to do a little geocaching. To top off our experience, we watched the current forestry students practice their Logger Sports.

It was a great experience and a great day!

Submitted by James Keller