A chance to give back to the outdoors

Readers who have followed this column for a few years will know the first column of each year is a call to arms.

This is a time for readers to reflect on the past year and how they have given part of their time and energy to the outdoors in some way.

Now is also a time to contemplate the next year and formulate a simple, yet determined plan to give more in the future.

Last year has come and gone, there is nothing we can do about what could have happened, what we could have accomplished. Yet, we can learn from the past.

Was there a chance to pick up a soda can or teach a youth to fish? Those are what I consider lost options or possibilities.

Keeping with the first-column-of-the-year tradition, we will discuss a few easy and simple ways for outdoor-minded people to give back to the outdoors.

Pick up trash

In my way of thinking, they are inconsiderate slobs, those people who deposit trash in an inappropriate manner. And I don't apologize if one of my readers sees themselves in this light.

However, it is my responsibility to try and help them change their ways.

We are talking about a person who throws a soda can out the vehicle window while traveling on any road. Check this scenario: There is an aluminum can at the beginning of a trail you use to hunt deer.

The object was in the same spot in 2009, had moved a foot or two in 2010 and a few inches more in 2011, last October.

If you would have picked up the can in 2009, the problem would have been solved during the first year. Instead, more and more visitors to the same area have viewed the same piece of litter.

Note: It would not have been necessary to pick up the can on the way in to hunt, because an aluminum object in a backpack may make more noise than desired. But not picking it up on the way out was shameful.

Teaching youth to pick up after these disrespectable people is easy.

The 6 and 7 year olds are anxious and willing to pick up every scrap of litter in view.

A few cautions are appropriate at this point. My buddies and I don't mess with broken glass or other items which might be hazardous, unsafe and otherwise dangerous. Our youth should be taught in the same manner.

My hunting buddies consider picking up a bit of trash here and there to be good karma, providing us with a good feeling, yes, but perhaps a bit of good luck, too.

Instructing others about the outdoors

A standard theme of this column is the teaching of our youth and adults who are inexperienced. Controlled and structured instruction, such as a hunter education course, is an essential and necessary part of the sport of hunting.

However individual coaching is another vital part of an outdoor education and it is not to be taken lightly.

Annual one-day youth fishing events are important to teaching a youngster and sometimes his/her parents as well. Parents who grew up without an outdoor education find it difficult to teach their children to fish, hunt, camp or build a fire. This topic leads to another subject.

Teach a family about camping

Believe it or not, there are adults who have never been camping. Without a structured event how can a non-skilled person learn?

This is where a neighbor, friend or relative outside the immediate family becomes important.

The family of four, with two adults and two children, may not know the first thing about camping, but when accompanying an experienced camping family, the circumstances are ripe for tutoring on numerous subjects.

The unskilled family will need assistance with setting up their tent, building a fire, cooking meals, safety and survival.

While these tasks are second nature to those of us who camp often, the beginners will see them as enormous barriers. A backyard training session may be appropriate.

This will be a way to settle pre-camping apprehension and will save time at the campsite.

Imagine the experienced family inviting the others over for an afternoon. The tent could be set up and taken down as a demonstration, then let the inexperienced family set it up.

Fire building would best be accomplished at the campsite, unless a fire pit is available. But this is a great time to pull out the camp stove and make a meal using the same cooking utensils, which will be used when camping.

While eating the meal, camping safety could be discussed. Outdoor survival needs to be treated as a serious subject.

This is not to scare the family, but to support the fact that people become lost while camping and the chances of such an occurrence is more likely with inexperienced people.

Day trips         

Taking the family or a couple of friends on a day trip can provide a vast amount of outdoor education. Take along resource books about birds, animals and vegetation.

Also take lunch, be it the items to make sandwiches or a hot meal. This is another way to use the camp stove and heat a stew, soup or cook hamburgers.

Paper plates and plastic forks, spoons and knives will aid the clean-up chore, but as long as cleaning the cooking pot or skillet is necessary, using camping plates and utensils may add a bit of fun to the outing.

It is your choice

Giving back to the outdoors is an individual choice. Each of us is able to participate as much as we want while we are on an adventure.

Just remember, the discarded aluminum object will be in approximately the same spot, unless you make an effort to pick it up and dispose of it in an appropriate manner.