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04/04/2009
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Staff photo by Joe Phelanfrom the Kennebec Journal
FAIRPOINT PLAN TARGETS DEBT
Wind project off Mass. meets strong resistance
Three bills seek tougher rules for petitioners
New rules for special education debated
Happy apples
AUGUSTA: Cuts to French curriculum run into opposition
HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL: Hall-Dale drops MVC title game to Mountain Valley
HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY NOTEBOOK: Different stakes in Gardiner-Winslow rivalry
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Kennebec Journal
from the Morning Sentinel
'At the time ... he was psychotic'
Man answers door, is attacked with Mace and then robbed
FairPoint reorganization plan aims to slash company's debt
Concerns over special-education changes aired
FAIRFIELD: Clinton man, 21, arrested on rape, assault charges
Stun gun, arrest of suspect end high-speed, 2-town chase
HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY NOTEBOOK: Gardiner, Winslow take to ice again
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Skowhegan wins KVAC A title game
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Morning Sentinel
BY TRAVIS BARRETT
Outdoors Writer
The idea is simple and unpretentious. It's about getting kids outside.
The University of Maine 4-H Camp and Learning Center at Bryant Pond served more than 2,000 young people in the state last year, many of whom came and spent a week studying ecology, learning the skills to become a registered Maine guide and surviving in the backcountry. On Friday at the State of Maine Sportsman's Show at the Augusta Civic Center, Bryant Pond's outreach director, Scott Olsen, was busy spreading the word.
"It's just about getting kids connected to the outdoors and teaching them outdoor ethic," Olsen said. "It's about getting them attached with what we feel is so special about Maine."
Just one year ago, the Pine Tree State 4-H Foundation and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension took over what had been the Maine Conservation School. The 170-acre area near Bethel features a renovated house and log cabins on the pond from which it derives its name, as well as archery and shooting ranges, a ropes course, hiking trails and recreation fields.
In the summer, camp experiences range from one week to six weeks, serving ages 8-18. Bryant Pond offers three different skill "paths" for its campers -- the Naturalist path for exploration, the Primitive path for learning to live off what nature provides and the "Woodscraft" path for teaching the essentials of becoming a Maine guide. The organization just received a grant to construct a new building on the grounds that can be used in the winter.
"It's in a rural area, so many of the kids from around there know about hunting and fishing and that kind of stuff," Olsen said. "But there are also kids from the southern part of the state, too. It's not that some of those kids don't know about it, it's that their parents don't really know about it and haven't exposed them to these things.
"Kids aren't afraid to learn that stuff. They want to learn. They want to go do it."
Other people want the kids to do it, too. L.L. Bean, the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine and the Audubon Society are among the corporate partners of the Bryant Pond site. In some cases, partnering businesses and sportsman's clubs offer scholarships to help defray the costs of a week's camp, which is typically between $500-700.
"SAM and Audubon -- who would think of those two sides coming together?" Olsen asked. "But that's a good thing, and it teaches kids that it's OK to sit down at dinner and have different perspectives and be able to talk about those things.
"Everybody talks about how they're feeling a lack of participation from the younger generation. We think this helps get younger people outside. When you find something you like or are connected to, that's when you're quick to stand up for it."
Travis Barrett -- 621-5648
tbarrett@centralmaine.com
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