**WARNING: This blog contains some graphic photos that may be disturbing to some**
Do you want to learn how to hunt, fish, or trap wildlife? Or perhaps your life has gotten too busy, and these hobbies have taken a back burner? Well R3 is for you!
The Hocking College School of Natural Resources is partnering with The Ohio Division of Wildlife to promote and support the R3 program - Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation.
What is the R3 program?
R3 is an initiative that is focused on attracting new and inactive sportsman to these once-popular outdoor pastimes.
Steady declines in the participation of these traditional activities can be attributed to changing demographics, competing hobbies and interests, and shifts in American culture. Reversing this trend is the goal of the R3 movement nationwide, as all regions of our country are seeing similar shifts.
Let’s break down the three R’s and learn how this program could benefit you or someone you know:
Recruitment
Recruitment focuses on engaging new participants in an outdoor activity though direct exposure and mentoring. The idea is to attract not only youth, but also adults that show an interest in hunting, fishing or trapping, by designing activities that encourages beginners to these outdoor sports. Through enhancing exposure, and reducing barriers to initial participation, ideally more people will choose to get involved in these activities. This includes facilitating shooting, hunting, trapping and fishing events, providing the necessary instruction and equipment, and making these sports more widely available to people of all walks of life.
Retention
Retention targets those individuals that have been through the recruitment process, have experienced and enjoyed these activities on a trial basis, and choose to continue pursuing the activity. These participants are beginning to embrace this activity as part of their self-identity, and need support overcoming any barriers that may inhibit continued participation. Through assigning a mentor, individuals may be more encouraged to pursue the activity, as well as opening up greater opportunities for both mentor and mentee to have unforgettable experiences.
Reactivation
Reactivation refers to those individuals that have lapsed in their participation in an activity, and encourages them to fall back in love with the sport through special events and opportunities, and reconnecting with their hobby. Through providing support and resources, inactive sportsman will have the tools needed to increase their current participation rate.
Hocking College is excited to be involved in this initiative, and hopes to foster an interest in outdoor sports to a new generation of natural resource students that have no past exposure to these pastimes.
Through organized activities such as hunter’s education, trapper’s education, deer processing workshops, and much more, we continue to provide opportunities and exposure to these activities to encourage students to adopt a life-long, enjoyable hobby.
To learn more about Wildlife Resources Management degree, contact the program manager, Lynn Holtzman at holtzmanl@hocking.edu or at (740) 753-6274.
