Forestville, WI (September 7, 2022) – Putting its best oar forward, Into the Outdoors Educational Network and Future Angler Foundation (FAF) won the “Community Outreach Award”) at the 2022 International Boating and Water Safety Summit (IBWSS) held earlier this year.
Admittedly, that’s a mouthful, so in simple language, FAF invested in series of exceptional educational episodes, aired on the national Into the Outdoors Educational Network that drew widespread viewership and earned industry acclaim.
To best understand what FAF and Into the Outdoors created that reached an estimated 8.7 million viewers, it’s easiest to read IBWWS’ executive summary of the award-winning project:
Summary: This recreational boating safety education series impacted millions via two, half-hour broadcast television shows on 165 channels including PBS channels, and with classroom videos and lesson activities that empower teens to take an assertive role in boating safety practices with their peers and their families. The television shows revealed how the foundations of boating safety practices and certification can help save their lives and those of their friends and families. The peer-driven lesson activities used modern inquiry-based learning combined with stakeholder research and debate where kids designed and developed their own boating safety scenarios on how to instill boating safety in family and friends.
Audience: The target audience was a combination of outdoor theme television audiences and teens in classroom settings. The outdoor theme television audience demographics reveal about half are older than 18 (adults) with the youth focus on 10–16-year-olds. The goals of both the television shows and classroom education where to reveal the crucial importance of Recreational Boating Safety (RBS) and pathways to becoming certified and the life-altering rewards of practicing the finer points of recreational boating safety. The distribution goal was to impact millions using a variety of broadcast television and digital channels. The goal was attained when the stations saw the value to the public and importance of the content, leading them to air the show.
Messages: Key messages were: always wear YOUR PFD from the moment you arrive near the vessel to the moment you depart; create and file a float plan; get certified; don’t let peer pressure result in unsafe practices; know about and have a full complement of safety and rescue gear on board and how and when to use it; when and how to use reach-throw-row-go practices, and finally, that recreational boating safety is everyone’s responsibility. The key messages in the classroom video and companion lessons were that when empowered with a certified boating safety course, teens can assume a leadership role with family and friends to have safe recreational boating safety outings.
Execution: The two, half-hour television shows were distributed as part of the Emmy-winning Into the Outdoors Network and set a new standard in public education by reaching an estimated 8.7 million viewers over 165 broadcast and digital channels. The classroom videos and companion RBS lesson activities were distributed nationally and free to all students and teacher via https://intotheoutdoors.org/topics/into-safe-and-smart-boating-part-1/.
Evaluation: The classroom education videos and lessons have student pre and post evaluations as part of the educational assessments of the student knowledge and participation in the peer-driven learning.
Future Angler Foundation president Patrick Neu commented: “This award is a testament to the exceptional success we have achieved through our partnership with Discover Mediaworks as our content creation partner over the past several years. We are proud to play a role in the award winning “Getting Families Fishing and Boating” program series that is distributed through the Into the Outdoors Television Network. To win this award for the boating safety series is proof that our combined efforts are making a difference by saving lives!”
Interested in supporting FAF and the “Getting Families Fishing and Boating Initiative? Learn more or donate today!
ABOUT
The Future Angler Foundation (FAF) is an incorporated 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation formed in April of 2012. The FAF’s mission is to “Create New Anglers and Boaters” through its support of angler education and boating safety programs hosted by passionate, knowledgeable volunteers throughout the U.S. and through its “Getting Families Fishing and Boating” initiative, a series of free source digital educational programs developed to engage young anglers and boaters as they educate them about angling in an exciting, informative, and effective manner. More information about the FAF can be found online at www.futureangler.org
The Women's Outdoor News, aka The WON, features news, reviews and stories about women who are shooting, hunting, fishing and actively engaging in outdoor adventure. This publication is for women, by women. View all posts by The WON
