Fishing For Youngsters with Gresham Village School
Tuesday November 8th, 2016
Tesco Bags of Help has used the 5p bag charge to support environmental community schemes and events. Norfolk Rivers Trust has used this fund to get young people outdoors and in touch with their natural surroundings, and have with the help of Bayfield Estate, set up a FREE fishing school. We have a number of local enthusiastic volunteers, all keen fishermen and women, to help give advice and tips to the young people who visit Bayfield Lake for fishing lessons.
Gresham Village Primary came to visit us on Friday 4th November; despite a slightly drizzly start to the day, it brightened up to give beautiful reflections of Autumnal trees on the water, as well as a great view of all the birds in the area including Kestrels, Buzzards, Heron, Grebes, Swans and many others.
The first group of children arrived and the volunteers showed them how to set up the rods, how to attach a juicy maggot and how to cast their rods out. The next step, and probably the most difficult, was patience. We had a few bites but nothing firm, but whilst we were waiting we learned about the class visit to see Swallows and Amazons at the cinema. We also learned a bit about the children, many of whom have fished with their Dads or Grandads in the local area. At one point I did feel like they were teaching me more than I was teaching them!
The next group arrived after lunch and we did the same set up. This time we were very fortunate to have a water vole join us! We watched him moving from the bank, underneath lily leaves and back to the bank, fattening up for winter. He didn’t seem to mind our presence at all. We still didn’t manage to hook any fish but the day was heartily enjoyed by the young people and the volunteers. We can’t wait for the next group to book! Thank you to Mr. Coles for arranging the trip, thank you to our volunteers and thank you to Tesco and Groundworks for providing the funds to enable us to do run this project.
A student enjoying her first fishing experience at Bayfield Lake
