Protecting the Hunting Heritage in the Classroom
Conservation and Wildlife management workshops are the heartbeat of Safari Club International (SCI) Foundation mission. Teachers earn college credits as well as benefiting from new material and ideas for the classroom. The end result is a life long commitment to the outdoors, respect for nature and an awareness of the contributions hunters make that benefit all wildlife.
The program developed in 1976 and held in outfitter camps in Alaska, British Columbia and Wyoming. The American Wilderness Leadership School (AWLS) inception was a dream to protect the freedom to hunt by involving more students in wildlife conservation. As the passion of the SCI Foundation staff and volunteers grew so did the vision. In 1979 SCI Foundation leased Granite Creek Ranch, 33.6 acres near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Realizing that more students could be reached by teachers in the classroom, the first teacher workshop was developed in 1977. What was once a dream has grown into a fully staffed educational and retreat center accredited by the American Camp Association. Today more than 4001 educators have graduated from the AWLS program reaching more than 1,200,000 students in classrooms all across the country annually.
Each 8-day teacher workshop is packed full of hands-on instruction. The educational experience includes fire arm safety, archery, fly tying, wilderness survival, outdoor interpretive techniques, wildlife conservation, and field trips, including instruction from professionals. Experts from the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, Wyoming Game & Fish Department, the National Forest Service and the oil and gas producers are the base of knowledge that qualifies teachers to earn 3 Wildlife Management credit hours from the University of Colorado.
Becoming An Outdoors Woman & More is another great opportunity at AWLS. Designed to meet the growing needs of the outdoors women this 6-day workshop is aimed at women 18 years or older who are interested in improving on existing outdoor skills or learning new skills.
The More comes from the additional days offered compared to the traditional BOW Programs. Opportunities abound with professional instruction in hunting; fly fishing, fly tying, photography, backpacking, horseback riding, wilderness survival, Dutch oven cooking, whitewater rafting and more. Women have more than thirty activities to choose from during the five days of instruction. Only one Bow & More Workshop is offered annually and space is limited.
For more information on dates, registration deadlines and how to qualify for one of the workshops at the American Wilderness Leadership School log on to www.safariclubfoundation.org or email Don Brown at dbrown@safariclub.org. Safari Club International Foundation is a 501C3 corporation funding and managing worldwide programs dedicated to wildlife conservation, outdoor education and humanitarian services.
Taz Ridley, Chair – SCIF Education Committee
