10,000 Ice Anglers Project brings the joy of ice fishing to Twin Cities students
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Busloads of students from St. Paul's Heritage Academy went to Como Lake on Monday to cast reels — many for the first time ever — into icy waters.
Karl Erickson is a former teacher who is now with Elpis Enterprises.
"Most kids are not getting the opportunity, regardless of where they live in, even if they're on a lake or near a lake," Erickson said.
Elpis Enterprises has been working alongside several organizations to put together the 10,000 Ice Anglers Project, a free program aiming to introduce children to ice fishing.
"Wherever teachers are hoping for a free opportunity for a fishing adventure on the ice and learning about all the safety aspects of it, wherever we can find those teachers that want to do that, we try to bring all the gear and bring all the people," Erickson said.
With the help of a grant from Capital Regional Watershed, their goal is to get at least 10,000 students on the ice this winter.
Erickson looks back on the warmer-than-usual winter last year.
"Last year we had to cancel for about 2,500 students we were lining up to go and that's just part of the challenge here, is having weather that works," he said.
Learning how to fish isn't all they're learning. St. Paul police officers like Sgt. Amy Rahlf are on hand to teach proper ice safety and how to pick up after yourself.
"That's bad for the water, it's bad for the lake, it's bad for the fish. So teach them some of that stuff, too, that they might not otherwise think about," Rahlf said.
And as the saying goes, a bad day fishing is still better than a good day at work, or in this case, class.
"Maybe this is the lamp that lights the pathway to nature, and especially for ice fishing," Erickson said.