Girl Scouts in Honeoye Falls complete STREAM Girls, led by the Trout Unlimited organization. Photo by Dan Hucko.
BY NORA BECKETT
8th grade member of Girl Scout Cadette Troop 61024
These days, it can be hard to get kids outdoors to explore the natural world around them. That’s why Trout Unlimited, a watershed organization dedicated to preserving rivers and streams for our futures, created a new program – STREAM Girls. This STREAM (science, technology, recreation, engineering, art, and math) program grants girls the freedom to explore the diverse stream ecosystem with their own hands, a special opportunity that can be hard for them to come by. With the help of committed program staff and scout leaders, the members of Girl Scout troop 61024, based in Honeoye Falls, NY, were able to successfully complete STREAM Girls.
As STREAM Girls focuses on fly-fishing, the activities that the troop participated in ranged from casting (which is surprisingly different from regular fishing!) and fly-tying to calculating stream flow and studying the macroinvertebrates in Honeoye Creek. Once or twice a month, the scouts and the STREAM Girls staff would get together to discuss, draw, and learn about the types of knots typically used to fly-fish, the kinds of fishing wire needed, and other essential aspects of the activity. They reflected on their new knowledge and progress, making sure to apply it when they attended the City of Rochester/DEC/Trout Unlimited Fishing Day this April as volunteers, helping the attendees learn the basics of fly-casting and reeling. Soon after, the scouts went fishing in a nearby pond with remarkable success. Each girl fulfilled all the necessary requirements to earn the STREAM Girls patch, and they all enjoyed the process – which is the most important part.
When interviewing the Girl Scout troop on their experience with STREAM Girls, the responses they gave showed just how much the amazing program meant to them. When asked about the process, Mrs. Jill Lloyd, a co-leader of the troop, had nothing but positive remarks. “I enjoyed the program. The volunteers who led it were very helpful and knowledgeable. It was a well thought out program and covered so many STEAM aspects. It was also nice to have others lead the meetings.” As an involved leader and busy parent with two daughters in scouts (and school!), she mentioned that this was a huge advantage. She went on to explain that she was grateful for the opportunity to learn the skills taught, as it was not an activity she would have thought to learn about on her own.
Mrs. Jessica Welch, another co-leader who is also involved in the busy family schedule and managed to attend every STREAM Girls activity, agrees. “I liked that it gave the Girl Scouts exposure to the stream in a different way, and a new skill that they likely wouldn’t have been introduced to otherwise,” she said. “I learned all aspects of fly-fishing. It’s a really cool sport, and I knew very little about it before this program. I am so grateful that our girls got to experience this!”
Our third co-leader, Jody Beckett, highly recommends this program for both scouts and teachers alike, explaining, “I was very impressed by the mentorship provided by Lindsay Agness and her team of Dave Agness, Carl Palmer, and Dan Hucko. Dan also took fantastic photographs of the girls’ journey along the way. Combined, their love of the sport blended with their mentorship made every lesson such a positive experience. This program provided all the gear needed each session, which made this a very affordable activity.”
The girls themselves had an awesome time, the most frequently mentioned favorite activities being the creative fly-tying, casting, and sitting by the stream taking statistical notes about it and drawing the wilderness around them. And, while the whole program may have taken slightly longer than expected to complete, it was agreed that it was all worth the while. Not to mention, lots of fun crafts and memories were created!
Overall, STREAM Girls, run by Trout Unlimited, has clearly proven itself to be a go-to STEAM activity for middle-school aged girls looking to get their hands a little dirty in the wonders of the outdoors. Being the second Girl Scout troop in the Rochester area to complete the program, Troop 61024 has recommended this to multiple troops in hopes that more scouts will become aware of the life within our local bodies of water. As a bonus, upon completing the program, Trout Unlimited also offers a full year’s membership and seasonal magazines with exquisite fishing guides, information about the local fish, personal fishing stories, and more. For the STREAM Girls program, or for a Fly-Fishing Merit Badge counselor, please contact Lindsay Agness, the Director of Youth Education at the Seth Green Trout Unlimited, at lindsay.agness@gmail.com or visit http://www.sethgreentu.org. We hope you’ll join us in being part of the fishing community!
