About the Get Outdoors Program
[ Get Involved! ]

For most outdoor enthusiasts, life's fondest memories were captured during youthful forays in the outdoors. Childhood experiences in the woods, by the lake, or at camp, opened our senses to the natural world that surrounds us.

Through healthy and active outdoor pursuits, such as camping and canoeing, fishing and hunting, cross country skiing and mountain biking, we developed a life long appreciation for nature. In turn, we became environmentally responsible and devoted to protecting our precious natural resources.

How times have changed since those adolescent adventures in the great outdoors.

Today, in-door sports and skateboard parks, shopping malls and street corners as well as in-home entertainment like computers, video games and satellite television distract the attention of our youth. Backyard woodlots and local nature trails and wetlands [natural classrooms where children once played] are being paved over in the wake of urban sprawl. To make matters worse, the provincial government has recently eliminated environmental science as a core subject in Ontario's secondary schools.

Frankly, this modern era and access to digital entertainment is leaving a generation of youth disconnected from nature. The outdoors community is gravely concerned about this trend. The further removed society becomes from nature, the less it will understand the connection between human behavior and the state of the environment.

In this fashion, who will become the future caretakers of our natural resources?

The answer is in our youth.

Get Involved

The O.F.A.H. is a recognized leader in promoting youth conservation education and leadership. O.F.A.H. supported programs such as Eco Adventure Tour, Tackle Share, and Ontario Family Fishing Weekend have made an enormous difference for youth throughout Ontario.

Amid the modern preoccupation with in home technology, we know that young people truly love to "get outdoors" - hence the importance of supporting local youth conservation clubs.

Get Outdoors is the acclaimed award winning youth conservation and leadership initiative, spearheaded by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. Developed by popular demand, this one-of-a-kind program has helped inspire the creation of literally dozens of community supported and extra curricular youth conservation clubs, and is quickly becoming the household name for youth conservation in Ontario.

The goal of O.F.A.H. Get Outdoors is to help bring a youth outdoors club to every community in Ontario.

O.F.A.H. Get Outdoors is for parents, teachers, volunteers and students interested in promoting youth leadership, conservation and outdoor activities. This O.F.A.H. Get Outdoors workbook will assist your school, outdoor organization, church group and/or community service agency establish a youth conservation and leadership club.