Vermont North Country Longspurs JAKES Event
EDGEFIELD, S.C. — Vermont’s NWTF North Country Longspurs Chapter hosted its 27th annual Bunnell Camp JAKES event near St. Johnsbury, hosting more than 100 youth to participate in fun, outdoor stations and activities. This event brought together the entire community, all dedicated to introducing young people to the outdoors.
The event began around 7:30 a.m. with a fishing tournament at the camp pond that was stocked with trout for the event.
After the fishing tournament, the young attendees were broken into three age groups, which participated in different age-specific stations. Stations included hunter safety, an introduction to bowhunting, crossbow shooting, .22 shooting, shotgun stations and a JAKES BB gun shooting trailer.
This event also offered stations that allowed the young attendees the opportunity to get immersed in nature, including a pond life aqua-biology station, a nature hike station, an introduction to kayaking station, an orienteering station and a station led by the local Boy Scout troop on how to tie knots and build fires. The chapter also invited a local 4-H shooting club that was nationally recognized for their muzzleloader shooting to demonstrate how to use a muzzle loader. After stations were wrapped up for the day, a jacket was given away as a prize to the winner of the morning fishing tournament, and raffle winners were announced.
“I feel like a lot of what we’re teaching here are dying skills,” said Andre Sanders, North County Longspurs Chapter president. “Some kids aren't exposed to what we're teaching, and without an event like this, they may never be exposed to things such as shooting a gun or building a fire outside or how to call a turkey.”
Sanders emphasizes the event’s ability to build connections in more than one way. This year, there were a few adults who returned as mentors after attending the same event when they were kids. Building lasting relationships and communication between the attending youth and their mentors is another key component of the event.
“I personally have taken a couple of youth from this event out youth hunting after meeting them at this event,” Sanders said. “Those kids would have never gone hunting had this event and these connections not been made.”
Sanders is also thankful to have had more than 40 volunteers, from local business owners to avid hunters to the state fish and game and biologists that dedicated their time to teaching a station at this year’s event.
“With the National Guard running a station, and the Boy Scouts attending, it just shows that this is a huge community event,” Sanders said. “I'm just the newest president of this chapter, and taking on this role was important to make sure that this event continued, as our chapter was looking at potentially collapsing. I've been with the chapter for seven years now, and I've been the president for one year. I think it's a great event, and I hope that it continues on long past me.”
Established in 1981, the NWTF’s JAKES program is dedicated to informing, educating and involving youths 17 and younger in wildlife conservation and the wise stewardship of our natural resources. JAKES events help pass on the traditions of responsible hunting, teach the principles of habitat management, hunting ethics and safety.
For $10 a year, JAKES receive a year subscription to JAKES Country magazine (four issues), a chance to win a hunt of a lifetime and a membership card.
In addition to JAKES Day events, NWTF chapters across the country host various events that engage youth in the outdoors, including mentored hunts for a variety of game species. Learn how you can get involved as a volunteer with the NWTF or look for an upcoming JAKES event in your area.
About the National Wild Turkey Federation
Since 1973, the National Wild Turkey Federation has invested over half a billion dollars into wildlife conservation and has positively impacted over 24 million acres of critical wildlife habitat. The NWTF has also invested over $10 million into wild turkey research to guide the management of the wild turkey population and to ensure sustainable populations into perpetuity. The organization continues to deliver its mission by working across boundaries on a landscape scale through its Four Shared Values: clean and abundant water, healthy forests and wildlife habitat, resilient communities and robust recreational opportunities. With the help of its dedicated members, partners and staff, the NWTF continues its work to provide Healthy Habitats and Healthy Harvests for future generations.