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For the third and final time this year, over 50 families gathered at Peter Pan Park to enjoy the great outdoors and the classic pastime of fishing on Saturday morning.
Vamos a Pescar – Spanish for “go fishing” – is a program that has introduced local families to outdoor activities for the past five years and this year, thanks to a grant from George HW Bush Vamos a Pescar Education Fund , he was able to organize three events and serve 53 families from May to September.
Saturday was the last event of the year and was an opportunity for families to put into practice the material, skills and knowledge acquired during the first two sessions. The families engaged in a fishing tournament first, then ended the day with, fittingly, a fried fish with fish tacos.
“We have fishing instructors from all over the state representing Fish Kansas and Kansas Wildlife and Parks here and they answer questions in case they don’t understand or know how to work with their reel or whatever,†Patricia said. Saenz-Reyes, Migrant Education Coordinator from 253 USD. “We’re just here to have a good time. … It’s just a day of fun and really promoting family engagement and enjoying the outdoors.
The KDWP dumped 200 pounds of fish into the pond at Peter Pan Park prior to the event. So Saenz-Reyes said that anyone who paid attention in the first two sessions should have been able to grab something.
In addition, representatives of the Modern Spanish Program from Emporia State University, Flint Hills Technical College, Kansas Health Foundation, and the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office were all in attendance at the event, providing valuable multilingual resources to families present.
“For me, this is an added benefit to families, not only with the fishing, but they also get other information,†said Sally Sanchez, director of Hispanics Today and Tomorrow.
Saenz-Reyes said the events were also beneficial from her perspective as a school district employee.
“It also gives us the opportunity to bridge those gaps in communication and focus on this family engagement and also educate families on the importance of education, as education is the key to success,” she declared.
Sanchez said the three-event streak of the year has been an incredible experience.
“We asked families to attend and learn because some people, even children, don’t know what fishing regulations are, even parents don’t know,†she said. “It was a good experience learning all of this, as well as the different types of fish here in Kansas. I even learned it myself. But it was a wonderful experience for most of them as some had never even touched a fishing rod, let alone go fishing.
The exact details of what Vamos a Pescar will look like in 2022 are still pending, but Saenz-Reyes has said it will certainly happen. She and Sanchez are hoping it can be similar to what they may have done this year, but if not, it will be the once a year event like what they have been doing in recent years.
“We’re still focusing this event during Hispanic Heritage Month in late September, early October, so something is going to happen for sure,†she said.
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