Submitted by Stu Paterson for BPSA
Photos Credit: Kat McCulloch, Paterson Media
Wiarton, Ontario: February 19th 2024 marked another successful FAMILY DAY at the Bruce Peninsula Sportsmen’s Association. (BPSA)
It’s an annual affair and this year our Family Day Open House attracted several hundred visitors, young and old, all interested in discovering what our conservation club is all about.
Our Family Day event gives us an opportunity to promote the great outdoors as well as the programs we offer. This day helps us introduce young people to outdoors activities such as the heritage pursuits of fishing and hunting.
There were Fish Hatchery tours. Since the sixties our volunteers have raised and stocked over 4-million fish to enhance our sports fishery.
Our younger guests got a chance to try archery, one of Canada’s fastest growing sports. We offer both youth and adult archery programs.
Visitors were interested in our rifle and handgun target shooting programs, youth firearms safety classes and a wide array of collector firearms.
A large display of wildlife wood sculptures by Grey-Bruce expert carver Clayton Urbshott, received rave reviews. His works are meticulously crafted from kiln-dried basswood. Countless hours are poured into each piece from start to finish. Urbshott’s wood carvings have garnered attention from collectors and art enthusiasts alike. His passion for the craft shines through in every delicate detail. Clayton Urbshott’s remarkable wood sculpture left a lasting impression on BPSA Family Day attendees.
Guests got to cook their own hot dogs and enjoyed drinks compliments of BPSA.
Several visitors took the opportunity to join BPSA which has been operating since the sixties with a focus of preserving and protecting fish and wildlife. BPSA offers several conservation programs including tree planting. We promote the sale of apple trees to feed deer in winter. We boast an invasive species awareness Boot Scrubber Program. So far we have installed 75 scrubber units across Grey Bruce. All BPSA programs are staged as a community service and are run by our volunteers.
BPSA President Carl Jones said he was encouraged with the turnout which he suggested “helped introduce our club to folks who have never been here before.”
Jones said “We strongly support our Family Day and Kids Fishing events where young people are taught the joys of outdoors recreation and conservation. We encourage those young people to carry on the good conservation work started many years ago by our club’s pioneers.”
Regular BPSA club meetings are held at 7:30 pm on the last Thursday night of each month.
If you think you might want to check us out, join us Thursday February 29 at our clubhouse on North Acres Road west of Wiarton.
