Preserve and Conserve for the Next Generation

My future Sigma Kappa and avid hunter.

We are BIG hunters in our family. Everyone hunts but me; even my daughter killed two does this season. My fam loves to shoot guns and hunt animals. They’re not too bad at it either.  Everything they kill we eat, and we have eaten very well this winter. It may sound contradictory that the words preservation and conservation would be attached with hunting. It’s through hunting that we have been able to teach our children about preservation and conservation of this precious garden God has allowed us to take care of.

Our children have learned that you have to take care of the land to attract deer. It can’t be littered with trash, or cleared too much because you have to allow hiding places for the prey as well as the predators. The dads at the hunting club spend many Saturdays working the land to plant green fields and clearing debris from the winter. It’s a lot of work; and the odds are still in the deer’s favor. They have keen hearing, and will run at the slightest provocation. There have been many a weekend the fam has come home empty-handed.  The children know that the work is vital for the good of the land and the animals that call it home.

The children also learn that you have to know what you can or can’t kill. They know you don’t shoot deer that are too small. It’s the young healthy ones you want to survive to pass on their strong genes to the next generation of the deer population. They know why there are limits set on the number of bucks that can be harvested. They know you need to clear out some of the predators because they breed faster than the deer and can wipe out an entire herd. It’s a very fragile balance, and one that’s not learned overnight, but comes from knowledge gleaned over years. I’m blessed my husband is a wonderful teacher.

9 Point Buck near Cemetery Stand

One of my favorite things to do in regards to hunting is to see what the game camera picks up. A game camera is set up, usually on a tree, and takes pictures when an animal walks in front of it. The animals are stunningly beautiful. You see them in their natural area, just being. We become nature voyeurs. The fam will be gathered around the computer scrolling through all the pictures marveling at all the different animals we see.

It is our generation that is charged now with the care and conservation of this earth. It’s our job to teach the next generation so they in turn will teach their children how blessed we truly are.