KIMBERLY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Students from Kimberly got a hands-on lesson in outdoor activities Tuesday.
The Outagamie Conservation Club served as the classroom.
“This is a bolt. We’re going to push it up, and close it,” said Mike Young, Outagamie Conservation Club Director.
After a quick lesson in firearm safety the students were ready to take to the .22-caliber rifle range.
“It’s fun to learn about how to shoot guns, and have experiences like if we actually to out and hunt,” said Aaron Schmidt, J.R. Gerritts Middle School Student.
At the indoor range, some students are trying new things.
“I’ve never done anything like this before. So this is my very first time using a pellet gun. And I actually hit the target. So that’s good,” said Kaiya Fellenz, J.R. Gerritts Middle School Student.
In the same room, young archers hone their skills.
“I hit it,” said Wally Tews, J.R. Gerritts Middle School Student.
Tews tells FOX 11 he comes from a hunting family, and the seventh-grader was the first to pierce a dollar bill tacked to the target.
“I just find it enjoying, that you can drive your arrows in, and then get little clumps of arrows in the target. It just is exciting.”
25 students are part of a two-day career building program offered through J.R. Gerritts Middle School in Kimberly.
The young people could be conservation wardens, or wildlife workers in the years to come. And that’s not all.
Outagamie Conservation Club Director Wes Fietzer tells FOX 11 students represent the future of many outdoor-activities, especially fishing and hunting.
“We’re not getting any younger, so sooner or later, we’re not going to be able to get out in the woods. And if they want to continue hunting, we need those youngsters to pick up the sport.”
This is the 18th year the Outagamie Conservation Club has hosted the event.
