JAKES Day aims to get youngsters interested in outdoors, conservation
Published 10:10 am Monday, July 21, 2014
Charlie Desrosiers, 11, takes aim at a target during the annual JAKES Day at the Cedar River Conservation Club Saturday.
Jason Schoonover/jason.schoonover@austindailyherald.com
Charlie Desrosiers pulled back a bowstring, released and his family cheered when his arrow struck a target.
This was just one of the scenes Saturday when a local club did its part to get local youth excited about the outdoors, conservation and sportsmanship.
About 36 children attended the annual JAKES (Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics & Sportsmanship) Day, a free event hosted by the National Wildlife Turkey Federation (NWTF) at the Cedar Valley Conservation Club on Highway 218 north of Austin.
Events included archery, trap shooting, .22 rifles, BB and pellet guns, demonstrations, lunch and door prizes.
“It’s more so to get more kids in the outdoors,” said Doug Bergemann, noting that it gets children off the couch and away from the television.
David Kartes, of Blooming Prairie, smiles after receiving a new bow in a drawing during the annual JAKES Day at the Cedar River Conservation Club Saturday.
Linden Anderson said the event promotes the NWTF’s motto “Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt” by introducing a new generation to hunting and conservation.
Jaimie Edwards, a wildlife biologist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, presented on the differences between rattlesnakes — a venomous breed —and other deceptively similar types of snakes often found in the Midwest.
Bull, fox, milk and garter snakes are commonly mistaken for rattlers, and Edwards equipped the children with tools for picking out the differences.
Rattlesnakes, while not typically found in the Austin area, often have bands of color encircling their entire body, while other snakes simply have blotches of color. Rattlesnakes shake their rattles upright in the air, while other snakes will shake their tails in the grass or weeds as a form of intimidation.
While rattlesnakes are venomous, the other breeds Edwards talked about are not. If people are confident enough to identify the differences, Edwards said people can handle other snakes.
Edwards was happy to present at the JAKES event Saturday, noting it’s good to see children enjoying the outdoors.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “Kids don’t have the opportunities to get out and enjoy nature like they did.”
Next up, the conservation club will hold its annual turkey calling contest at the Mower County Fair on Aug. 9, and it will have an inflatable BB gun shooting range at the fair on the evenings of Aug. 6, 7 and 8 and the morning of Aug. 9.
