Just recently, on Tuesday November 29, the Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum hosted a field trip, the first of its pilot curriculum of field trips for Sullivan County school students; and the group of 29 3rd graders from the Emma C. Chase Elementary School in Monticello couldn’t have been more delighted. 

Although not a prerequisite, the Chase school students were well acquainted with trout, having participated in the Trout in the Classroom program, which involves raising trout eggs in their school classroom, incorporating trout in their studies of science, math, english, reading and art, and releasing the trout fry into their local watershed in the coming spring.  

Along with a parent, two teachers and a teacher’s aide, the group arrived via school bus, walked across the arched bridge over the Willowemoc Creek with bag lunches in hand, and were met by CFFC&M Executive Director Ali Abate and staff members Eilis Cahill and Connor McCausland, who had designed the program that included activities both indoors and outdoors. 

The children were welcomed into the Wulff Gallery and were given a brief history of the Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum and fly fishing in the area that gave just enough “sense of place” for third graders. They were then presented with clipboards and illustrations hand-drawn by Connor and Eilis to enhance the day’s hands-on learning and inquiry-based activities – with the adults asking questions such as “what did you find?” and “what did you learn?” Utilizing enjoyable and fun events such as a scavenger hunt in the museum, a nature walk, and an arts and crafts session, the children learned about local history, science and ecology, which stressed the importance of preserving our rivers and the larger ecosystem. 

The 3rd graders were given the opportunity to learn how to cast a flyrod outdoors on the lawn and on the casting pond, then headed back into the Wulff Gallery for their arts & crafts session, where they were supplied with pipe cleaners, beads, magic markers and other art supplies to “tie” their own versions of trout flies.

The program lasted just over 2 ½ hours, with ample time to enjoy the diverse activities and have their lunch before returning to school in time for the end of the day busing schedule.

The CFFC&M is looking forward to hosting more school-day field trips for other Sullivan County School district children, beginning at 10 a.m. and ending at approximately 12:40 p.m. For more information, or to arrange a field trip for your school, please contact  Ali Abate, CFFCM Executive Director or Eilis Cahill, CFFCM Office Manager at 845-439-4810.

And coming up in 2023, an after-school Fly Fishing & Stream Science program will be made available in the spring and summer for students in Livingston Manor and Roscoe School districts. Three donors, Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s Outdoor Fund; Robert & Toni Bader Charitable Foundation; and the Lazare & Charlotte Kaplan Foundation Fund, have awarded grants this year, to be utilized in the after-school programs for those schools at no cost to the students.