The youngsters were participating in the junior guides program, sponsored by the Rangeley Region Guides’ and Sportsmen’s Association. The program of weekly experiential classes for children aged 9 to 12 is designed to instill in them an appreciation for the outdoors.
Eighteen children attended Monday’s program, which took them from the classroom to a nearby stream and back again.
Participants listened to a presentation on insects at the group’s Oquossoc clubhouse given by volunteer Elaine Holcombe, a retired teacher from Connecticut who spends summers in Rangeley.
The “bug dials” the children were given had life-sized drawings of 11 native insects that live in area ponds, rivers and streams. They include information on life spans, eating habits, predators and other interesting facts. The insects are models for flies tied and used by area anglers.
Armed with their bug dials, nets and plastic bags, the group shuttled to South Bog Stream in Rangeley Plantation for a bug hunt. Hopping onto rocks and along the stream bank, the would-be entomologists caught adult insects, larvae and nymphs using the dials and field guides to identify them.
“Hands-on is the best way to learn,” said Holcombe, after watching two girls run screaming from a captive inch-long spider.
Don Palmer, vice president of the association, volunteers with the program. His wife, Stephanie Palmer, is the program’s director.
The program, in existence for eight years, has served 300 to 400 youngsters, estimates Don Palmer. It serves 30 to 40 kids annually at no charge. They need only to complete an application and be willing to attend all or most of the six Monday events, he said. Several former participants have graduated to come back as assistants.
“The motivation of the (adult) volunteers is to share the love of the outdoors given to us by our parents at an early age so that this will be a gift that the youngsters will take with them for the rest of their lives and subsequently share with future generations,” said Palmer.
Deirdre Aronson has two girls attending the program and volunteered to help out Monday at the stream. Her daughter Amy had caught a rather large spider. Policy dictates catch and release, even for insects, but Aronson was still worried.
“You need to release that spider,” she said to Amy before heading for her vehicle, “because that’s not getting in the car with us.”
Amy complied and then said, “I call shotgun.”
Back at the clubhouse, the youngsters tied flies with the help of several volunteer anglers in the afternoon.
The idea was to base the flies on the insects they observed in the wild but some of the children were attracted to more brightly colored components.
Other activities included in the program include hiking, canoeing, woods safety, map and compass, archery and, of course, fly-fishing.
The program will culminate on Aug. 10 at the club’s Outdoor Sporting Heritage Day, a family event that is open to the public. It will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Oquossoc clubhouse.
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