Blog #1 Pre-Project
In an effort to bring others the same feelings of peace and determination as I have when fishing, I organized a fishing club in the summer of my senior year. It was in this time that the world, and consequently, my peers, were struggling with the outbreak of COVID-19. The four captains including myself found ourselves lost in the violent swirl of the pandemic, struggling to cope with a completely sudden change in our everyday lives, and seeking human connection in the midst of an extremely isolated environment. Fortunately, we stumbled upon fishing as a way for us to get together in person, while also safely socially distancing. Fishing allowed us to maintain safe social contact, spend time outside, and de-stress. As the weeks passed, we found ourselves fishing with more and more friends, and we eventually grew a large enough fishing base to begin beta-testing for a fishing club at our school.
It was the combination of these two ideas that motivated me to start a fishing club. Originally intended to bring my swim-team together, the club quickly expanded to accompany kids from multiple schools and friend groups. However, this exceptionally strange time called for creative ways to stay safe while also having fun. The fishing club met once a week and split up into socially distanced groups of 2-3 people. These groups traveled to many different fishing locations and joined a zoom call to compete and see which group caught the most fish. Using this “summer trial” I went on to form Hawken Fishing Club. The club received funding from the school to make the Hawken pond more sustainable and provide students with a safe way to have fun whilst in school.
In my senior project I hope to build upon what I began in the late summer and continued on through the fall. I hope to bring my summer hobby to more Hawken kids and make fishing easy and accessible for all right on campus! I will be working predominately on campus with David Ricci to secure funding and begin Hawken Pond renovations. We will be working with Hawken faculty and school leaders to hopefully install an aerator, stock the Hawken pond, construct fish habitats, build an informational kiosk, and buy fishing equipment. Previously, Hawken headmaster expressed concerns about how the pond as presently constructed is not a long term sustainable fishing environment, we are working with him and many others in changing this and making it sustainable for other's enjoyment for years to come.
It was the combination of these two ideas that motivated me to start a fishing club. Originally intended to bring my swim-team together, the club quickly expanded to accompany kids from multiple schools and friend groups. However, this exceptionally strange time called for creative ways to stay safe while also having fun. The fishing club met once a week and split up into socially distanced groups of 2-3 people. These groups traveled to many different fishing locations and joined a zoom call to compete and see which group caught the most fish. Using this “summer trial” I went on to form Hawken Fishing Club. The club received funding from the school to make the Hawken pond more sustainable and provide students with a safe way to have fun whilst in school.
In my senior project I hope to build upon what I began in the late summer and continued on through the fall. I hope to bring my summer hobby to more Hawken kids and make fishing easy and accessible for all right on campus! I will be working predominately on campus with David Ricci to secure funding and begin Hawken Pond renovations. We will be working with Hawken faculty and school leaders to hopefully install an aerator, stock the Hawken pond, construct fish habitats, build an informational kiosk, and buy fishing equipment. Previously, Hawken headmaster expressed concerns about how the pond as presently constructed is not a long term sustainable fishing environment, we are working with him and many others in changing this and making it sustainable for other's enjoyment for years to come.
I've enjoyed watching the project come together, Alex. You are going to learn so much more than just fishing. You and David have done great preparatory work (with a lot of flexibility) and I'm excited to see how the next steps evolve.
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