Editor’s Note: This is a regular monthly column from Colorado Parks and Wildlife about wildlife issues in the Falcon area by a career wildlife officer.
Aaron Berscheid is a district wildlife officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Aaron covers the “wild” side of Northeast El Paso County, including Black Forest, Falcon, Peyton and Calhan. He also covers some of Elbert County, north of U.S. Highway 24 and south of State Highway 86, including the towns of Elbert, Kiowa, Ramah, Simla, Matheson and a small portion of the Limon area.
Education matters
By Aaron Berscheid, District Wildlife Manager, CPW
I wear many, many hats.
I am not only a law enforcement officer and wildlife manager, I also work with the public as a wildlife educator. That’s right! I love to teach.
I have taught in schools, manned educational booths, met with local community groups and my personal favorite, instructed hunter education and hunting and angling outreach events.
I’ve taught all ages of school classes, from elementary through high school. For the teachers out there, I offer classes that follow the state core curriculum. These classes are age appropriate to get kids engaged with hands-on activities that help them grasp the environmental and wildlife aspects of their world.
These classes are always student favorites, as the activities get them outside and moving. Or the cool props in the classroom captivate their imagination and always command attention with little effort. From owls to owl pellets, skulls, hides and physical education like archery, there is something for everyone.
I also provide angling education and field trips to get the kids moving and physically engaged outdoors while doing a fun activity and learning about aquatic ecosystems.
I also provide hunter education and hunter outreach programs that you can sign up for at https://cpw.state.co.us/events.
Teachers are obviously welcome to contact me about these things, but you don’t have to be a teacher to access these activities. Churches, scouting groups, community groups and festival type events all fall in my wheelhouse for education.
Let me know if I can help!
In the coming months, I’ll share more stories as I write about wildlife issues in our community. Got a question, problem or column idea? Please email me at aaron.berscheid@state.co.us or call me at 719-227-5231.
I might even answer your question in a future installment of “Wildlife Matters.”
