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Re: NFC: Re: THE LIST/survey




>
>Oh boy have you asked for it.  Here it comes.  :-)  Just please keep 
>in
>mind that everything I am going to say here is mostly to light a 
>spark
>and hopefully some of y'all will feel the urge to fan the flames and 
>get
>cookin'.
>
>
>Well one of the best ways, and possibly the cheapest, is CHILDREN.


We put together the Adopt a Tank Program on the website just for that
!!!!



>
>If a regional group got together and put together a 30 minute video
>about the wildlife in the local watershed, touching on the niches 
>each
>species fills, you can bet the public school teachers will devote a
>class day to the viewing of such a tape.  Don't get into it too 
>deeply,
>but definitely give kids an impression about what is living in their 
>own
>back yards.  I like the idea of filming these regionally because it 
>gets
>the kids fired up and some will be excited to know that the pretty
>rainbow darters live in the creek that flows through their back 
>yards.


Now thats a good idea...the local news and the schools would eat it up
!!!



>Many parents enroll their children in educational fishing camps.  I 
>know
>I participated in an annual fishing camp one weekend a year for every
>year until I was seventeen.  Lots of fishing was getting done, and 
>the
>kids also participated in seminars.  The last several years I was 
>there
>I helped my grandfather teach a class on saltwater fishing & 
>seasickness
>prevention.  We probably hit about 75 kids per year who enrolled in 
>our
>class.  Generally I think they put the instructors up for free so it 
>is
>a great opportunity for a cheap fishing trip, and to spend half the 
>day
>saturday with many young minds being filled with whatever you put in
>front of them.  Standing up in front of the kids for one hour with a 
>few
>tanks set up and maybe a slide show will open a new world for them.
>
>How about setting up a tank at the local museum and having a 
>volunteer
>come by once a week to maintain it and replenish brochures provided 
>next
>to the tank?


Good idea but we need to have ways to access these resources , how does a
fishing camp ask for a NFC speaker ? For that Matter how does anyone get
a NFC speaker except for me No one in the nFC does much public
speaking....


>
>One thing that would be really nice is starting to build a video
>library.  Not necessarily a professional production, but a series of
>tapes to show people first how to set up an aquarium for natives, and
>then maybe other tapes about how to collect fish, about conservation
>issues and ethics, maybe in-depth tapes on individual families of
>fishes.  I think it would be important to allow and even encourage
>people to copy these tapes and provide copies to friends.  Look what
>such a free-use license has done for the Linux operating system, 
>which
>is now the most common operating system found on machines permanantly
>attached to the Internet.  The master tapes should be stored 
>centrally,
>and first generation copies provided to every region at cost.
>
>The NFC has a tremendous library of articles and caresheets on the 
>web
>site.  I think these can probably be dressed up a little prettier 
>with
>one or two photos per sheet.  Then try to talk to the local pet shop
>about carrying one of the hardier and more colorful native species 
>and
>provide free care sheets for each one.  Make the first batch of 
>fishes
>free because *when* they sell, he's going to want to have more.  But 
>it
>won't be much of a risk to him if you make the first batch risk free 
>by
>making the fish free (INITIALLY).  Just try not to include too much 
>in
>these printed articles about how to CAPTURE fish because this might 
>come
>off as a bit threatening to a pet shop that is in the business of
>SELLING fish.



We have tried photos with pics and the download time is so hight that
people just stop , so we made things as simple as possible on the site.


>
>Aquarium societies are always in need of speakers.  This is a great
>opportunity to focus on a group of adults (and kids) who really
>understand and care about fish issues and in most cases probably 
>don't
>know a dace from a darter.


Again we need to develop a speakers group !


>Sometimes larger pet shops will do seminars.  The program prepared 
>for
>an aquarium society would work pretty well at a large pet shop too. 
>Work with the proprieter to have some of the highlightes species
>available for sale after the presentation.
>
>Can the regional groups try to work with the local news channels to 
>put
>together a 60 second piece on native fishes in the local viewing area? 
>
>You really have to light the audience on fire with it but I would 
>guess
>in many areas this would be possible.
>
>Or an article submitted to the local paper?  Maybe a short series
>highlighting natives?
>
>I think there should be a stronger push to get more prominent linkage 
>on
>the big aquarium sites.  If there is a little money available, a 
>banner
>ad campaign wouldn't hurt.  Banner ads generally cost a LOT LESS than
>you might think.  In preparation for something like this, the site 
>could
>stand for a bit of a facelift.  Spell check everything.  Spice up the
>visual appeal of the articles (while well written, the formatting 
>leaves
>a bit to be desired).  Include photos of the species in question in 
>each
>article.  And from the front page, make prominent links to pages for
>newcomers to read.  These few pages should have high visual appeal 
>and
>assume a short attention span to "hook" the reader.
>
>I wonder if there is a way for the NFC to piggyback on events 
>revolving
>around game fish events or fish stocking days.
>
>And along the same vain, how about submitting some articles to the 
>game
>fishing magazines to highlight some of the important non-game species
>that are vital to the survival of game fishes or that may otherwise
>enhance the life of game fishes.  Robert, the article you posted 
>today
>about how you revitalized your pond is a great example of the kind of
>thing that many sport fisherman may be interested in reading.
>
>This is only the tip of the iceberg, folks.  I don't know a lot about
>the NFC (just found it a few days ago) and I probably would have 
>known
>about y'all a lot sooner if some of the above suggestions were part 
>of
>"business as usual".  A very important factor for groups such as the
>NFC, I think, is to make a daily effort to be extroverted and
>inclusive.  Reach out to new people, and include them in the the 
>group's
>goals.  Make newbies feel like they have something to contribute.  
>Don't
>brush off people who don't know the first thing about North American
>non-game fishes.
>
>I'll shut up now.  I hope this helps bring about more detailed plans 
>for
>action.
>
>-- 
>
>Chris Hedemark
>Email: chris at yonderway_com   ICQ: 28986378
>Rural Living at Yonder Way - http://www.yonderway.com/rural
>
>


Robert Rice
Help Preserve our Aquatic Heritage join the Native Fish Conservancy
online
 at our website  http://nativefish.interspeed.net/

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