About 30 blind or visually-impaired Iowans will learn how to fish later this week at Big Creek State Park near Polk City, an effort to hook them on a new hobby while helping the Whiterock Conservancy. Luke Wright, an Americorps volunteer, is coordinating the effort along with a group from the Izaak Walton League.
Wright says: "We’ve got 15 volunteers coming from them. Of course, they’re all expert fishermen and they’re going to assist in any way they can. We’re also going to do some clean-up projects and build some birdhouses and duck houses to donate to Whiterock as well." He says all of the fish that are caught will be put to use as a food source for a program that’s reintroducing a rare bird to central Iowa.
Wright says they’ll go to Save Our Avian Resources which is setting up an osprey program. The fish will be put on ice and fed to the birds as needed. He says this is a first-time effort that has much promise.
Wright says, "I think it’s covering a lot of bases and it’s a win-win from start to finish. Giving these blind people an opportunity to go out and do something they wouldn’t normally have a chance to do is kind of a nice twist. It’ll be just a great event." The event is scheduled for Saturday, May 19th.