by Tammy Beauchamp, Library Assistant/Volunteer Coordinator, The Colony Public Library

The Colony Public Library (Denton County) is a member of the Tackle Loaner Program through Texas Parks and Wildlife. Our library patrons are always surprised to find fishing gear available at their library! Since starting our partnership with TPWD a few years ago, one of our staff trained to be an Angler Education Volunteer and we have held workshops in the library a couple of times a year since. Due to COVID-19, we were unable to have in-person programming, so it was decided to shift our programming to a take-home kit.

We wanted the kit to be both fun and educational, just as our in-person workshops, so we planned that our target audience would be families, and that the various activities included in the kit would be geared for Pre-K to age 12. We modified the Angler Education Workshop into four sections, Habitat, Fish ID, Knot Tying & Tackle, and Water Safety and included links to easy-to-follow video instruction, accompanied by some diagrams included in the packet. The supplies included in the kit were child friendly and included “hooks” made from paperclips and a pipe cleaner with a clip on “bobber” and “weight”. The kit also included a fish identification game that could be colored and assembled before playing, along with various other activities. We produced three informational and instructional videos using supplies included in the TPWD Angler Instruction Kit. These videos featured our Angler Education Volunteer, Tammy Beauchamp, and our library “mascot” Imogene, the unicorn. The videos can be viewed at the links below:

HABITAT & FISH ID 

KNOT TYING & TACKLE

WATER SAFETY

Our partnership with Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Tackle Loaner Program has been a great experience for us here in The Colony where our tagline is “The City by the Lake”!

Have you heard about the State Fish Art contest? It is a wonderful way to teach about each state's fish in our nation.

The Fish Art Contest is part of a conservation education program designed to spark the imaginations of students while providing valuable lessons about fish and the importance of conserving Texas' aquatic resources. The nationwide art contest is sponsored by Wildlife Forever, a national conservation organization. Students in grades 4 through 12 in public, private or home schools are invited to submit a drawing of a fish from the official fish list and a one-page essay on its behavior, habitat or conservation. Students in K-3 may also submit a drawing; the essay is not required for this age group.

A free lesson plan is available for assisting students who wish to enter the contest. Entries must be postmarked by March 31 each year and must comply with all rules and regulations. An official entry form must accompany all entries.

The TPWD Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens is the official host for the Texas Fish Art Contest, and Texas entries are judged there. Winning Texas entries are forwarded to Wildlife Forever's headquarters in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, to compete for national awards.

State contest winners are invited to attend an awards ceremony each summer. The Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest provides funds for cash prizes for Texas winners and for travel expenses for Texas first-place winners.

The contest is sponsored by Wildlife Forever, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Rapala, U.S. Forest Service, Bass Pro Shops, Wonders of Wildlife, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, National Fish Habitat Partnership, and Western Native Trout Initiative.

Wildlife Forever is a conservation organization whose mission is to conserve America's wildlife heritage through conservation education, preservation of habitat and management of fish and wildlife. Learn more about this program on the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center page! 

_{(Photo: Artwork from the 2021 First Place Winner Joshua Thomas of Southlake, Texas)}

Sidney Delgado
Aquatic Ed Intern, Summer 2021 - North Texas Region

I'm Sidney Delgado and I am from Keller, Texas. I was a swimmer for 10 years and also taught swim lessons to kids 3-10 years old. I have always loved the outdoors. My favorite memories as a kid were hunting, fishing, and going camping with my family.

I am a senior at the University of Texas at Arlington, and I am studying Criminal Justice. My interest in the law originally came from watching Law & Order: SVU as a teenager and wanting to be just like Detective Olivia Benson (haha). But in all seriousness, I have always had a fascination with the law. I decided to mix my passion for the law and my love for the outdoors hoping to become a game warden one day.

I chose to intern with TPWD because I love working with people and educating others on things I am passionate about. In addition, I hope to be a game warden after I graduate. I figured having experience in the outdoor aspect would benefit me in the long run. I hope TPWD brings me networking opportunities to help further my career after graduation.

My plans for the future are to graduate in December 2021 with Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice, then work my way into becoming a game warden.

Lacey Parker
Aquatic Ed Intern, Summer 2021 - Central Texas Region

Hi, I’m Lacey Parker! I’m from San Angelo, TX.
I love to be in the outdoors in my free time (hiking, tubing, exploring) and having jam sessions on long drives!

I attend Texas State and studying Aquatic Biology and Business Management. I’m super passionate about aquatics and leadership development, so that was what drew me to those fields!

I chose to intern at TPWD because this internship had all the things I loved: outdoors, aquatics, and volunteering! I knew the knowledge, skills, and experiences I would gain here would be irreplaceable. My first impression of the team confirmed that, too! I couldn’t be happier to have been given the opportunity to be a TPWD intern.

In the future, I plan to lead my own team in the aquatic field. I want to help other people grow into their full leadership potential and share my knowledge with those that are also passionate about learning more of the amazing things nature holds! 

Chase Pena
Aquatic Ed Intern, Summer 2021 - Houston Region

Hello! My name is Chase Pena and I’m from Humble Tx.

I love to fish any chance I get or just be outdoors, I’ve been fishing since I can remember in bayous to now offshore trips in the gulf. I also play football at East Texas Baptist University (ETBU) as a linebacker, but I played quarterback at Humble High School. Another sport I really like to play for fun is paintball when I get the opportunity. I have 3 pets, I have an English bulldog named Elvis which weighs about 70 pounds and eats everything, I also have a Wiener dog named Camo, and lastly, we have a rabbit named Dusty.

I’m attending ETBU and studying criminal justice as my major and double minoring in biology and forensics science. I was a chemistry major my freshman year, but I recently changed because of a lack of interest and because I want to work towards becoming a game warden.

I am interning at TPWD to learn how Mr. Akins does his job, to see if this field is a good fit, and also for the opportunity to teach young kids how to fish! I plan on becoming a game warden (hopefully) to be able to better preserve our ecosystem.

by Karen Marks, Aquatic Education Manager

What’s new:
• We’ve Got Mail
• Reports / Logbook Updates
• Business Cards for Instructors
• Tackle Maintenance Opportunity and Logbook
• DeBait Cards have a new look

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, TPWD has closely adhered to health and safety guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in developing Program COVID-19 protocols and procedures. Recent changes to CDC guidelines have allowed for more schools, nature centers, businesses, and camps to open. Which means we are all getting requests for fishing classes and events. Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is a private and personal decision, as is the choice to wear or not wear a mask. TPWD Volunteers should respect the decisions of the event venue, their colleagues, and participants to maintain a safe and harmonious work environment.

Although this past year has had its challenges, many of you have persevered and taught online or in safe and small group settings. We appreciate everyone who has been able to support the program during this past year. With your help We Kicked Bass in 2020!

WE’VE GOT MAIL:
We have a new program email! Our new email is AnglerEdu@tpwd.texas.gov. With the growth of all of our programs (Hunter Edu, Boater Edu, Archery, Project WILD, and more), we have outgrown the old Education email box. Now each program has a unique email address. We have updated our forms with the new email; the old "education" email will be discontinued next year.

REPORTS AND LOGBOOK UPDATES:
Heather has been working hard to make all of our forms and reports fillable – just download and save them to your computer, fill it out, save it, then email to us. This way you can bypass printing out the forms. [Helpful hint, save your supply copy with your contact/shipping info - then all you have to do is fill in the dates and quantities for the next order.) All updated forms are available on the Instructor Resources website, Please be sure to use the most recent version of the supply order, class reports and volunteer rosters (look at the date at the bottom of the form) so that your reports are in compliance with the federal guidelines.

The online report form (logbook) has two tiny changes, as a result of our recent federal audit:

     1. The start and end dates are now labeled as Volunteer Service Start/End Date; the actual event date can be included with the Event name. For multi-day service or events, you still need to itemize each day and corresponding volunteer time in the Service Notes section, or upload the Instructor Timesheet as backup documentation. (Reminder, we can not accept statements such as, “I taught 3 hrs. per day for 4 days.”). The most common error caught by the auditors was that people forgot to change the End Date (at the top of the logbook) for one-day events. 

      2. A new facility type has been added to the drop-down menu. It now includes a “Virtual/Online” option. 

You can also upload documents, asst. volunteer rosters, or class rosters to your online logbook reports. PDFs, Word Docs and Jpeg files under 3 MB are accepted. Be sure to share a photo from the class/event – we love seeing these.

To make scanning your documents easy, you might consider downloading the free Adobe Scan-Mobile PDF Scanner App to your smart phone (iPhone or Android). 

BUSINESS CARDS FOR INSTRUCTORS:
Many of you have asked if we have business cards. Now we do! A new business card template is available on the Instructor Resources webpage. You can download, fill out, and print it on to business card paper. A package of 100 cards can be found at your local office supply store or online and typically costs about $5.00. An Area Chief template has been sent via direct email to all Area Chiefs.

NEW TACKLE MAINTENANCE OPPORTUNITY AND LOGBOOK:
To better track tackle maintenance service hours, we have created a specific opportunity for programs and sites that have equipment that is used for public classes. It is not applicable for personal equipment. Please contact staff to request the opportunity assignment.

DEBAIT CARDS HAVE A NEW LOOK:
The DeBait Cards have a new look – the Go Fish Logo is on the front, but the cards still have the same Q&A’s. The cards can be downloaded and printed from the Instructor Resources webpage. We have a limited number on inventory for those who have Instructor kits, contact us at AnglerEdu@tpwd.texas.gov to request a new set for your kit.

TENKARA 101
Vincent Lecca, Angler Edu Area Chief located in Driftwood, will be hosting a TPWD educational series with help from fellow Anger Educators and TPWD staff to introduce Tenkara fly fishing. This style of fly fishing can be traced back 400 years to fishermen in Japan, but was only recently introduced in the states.

Daniel Galhardo, Tenkara USA founder, will also join us on a few of the webcasts. To learn more about the sport, check out Daniel's blog.

Vincent is looking forward to discussing this unique way of fly fishing that has him crazy about Tenkara fly fishing (he owns 4 of these rods now). 
_{(Photo courtesy of Shane Wilson. Karen Marks fishing with a Tenkara rod.)}