A youngster shows off a fresh catch at an event in Chico, Calif., in June 2008. (USFWS photo)

Helping kids making salmon egg bracelets at Watershed festival May 2008 at Redding California. (USFWS photo)

Jim Smith, Red Bluff FWO
Staff from the Service's Red Bluff Fish and Wildlife Office in northern California are doing their part to reach out to the public and help reconnect them with the natural world.  From April to June this year,  more than 50 percent of the office's 30 employees have volunteered to participate in six local community outreach events from Chico to Redding, California.

Staff participated in a variety of events across the spectrum of outdoor interests: Children’s Faire, Hooked on Fishing, Endangered Species Faire, Children’s Faire, Special Olympics, Watershed Festival, and the Sacramento River Celebration.  An estimated 11,000 people attended these events at which Fish and Wildlife Service and Red Bluff FWO activities were highlighted. 

Specific activities conducted at these events included set up and operation of “Salmon Life History Croquet," helping kids make salmon egg bracelets, stamping hands with fish and wildlife art, handing out informational materials, wildlife coloring books and Service brochures, and helping kids fish.  The public response at these events has always been positive especially those activities that target children.  Participating Red Bluff staff volunteer their time, much of it during weekends, to participate in these fun events which aim to connect people with nature and ensure the future of conservation.