Gone Fishin': Farmington Area Kids Get Hooked on the Outdoors

6th grader Samantha Beaman likes being outside. And thanks to a new curriculum offered through the After School program, she gets there more often. 

"I love outdoors," Beaman said. "There's breeze, heat and animals, and I like all those things. You don't get them indoors." 

She was among a dozen students who walked from the After School program center at the  to fish in a nearby pond Monday. The field trip is just one of many activities designed to connect kids with nature all year long. Coordinator Kathy Martin, a therapist at in Farmington Hills, said her interest in outdoor therapy led to her involvement with the program.

Martin, Chris Wall from Milford-based Heavner Nature Connection and Paul Augsburger, who is retired from the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources, supervised the Monday expedition. The kids learned how to bait a hook and cast a rod, along with some lessons that had nothing to do with fishing.

"It's not all play," Martin said. "They're establishing relationships, building trust, problem-solving."

Some 7th and 8th grade students are also getting leadership training by mentoring the younger students. The After School program is open to 4th-8th graders from Farmington or Farmington Hills. 

Outdoor Education Program partnerships have been established with the City of Farmington Hills and Special Services Dept. to offer activities like maple sugaring and archery, Martin said. The activities are designed to give kids a positive experience in the outdoors, to ease any fears and encourage them to spend more time with nature. 

"Something kids are missing today," Martin said, "is the opportunity to use their imaginations and have a special place to go outside."

Power student David Clemons, 12, said he has been fishing "tons of times". His favorite part? "Catching the fish." 

Several of the kids on Monday's field trip reeled in sunfish from the stocked pond, but on a catch-and-release basis. 

"I think the hardest thing for these kids is they want to take the fish home," Martin said. 

The Outdoor Education Program is made possible through financial support from The Riley Foundation and the Farmington-Farmington Hills Optimist Club.