Third-graders have ‘Field Day’

Volney Dunavan - dunavan@netptc.net

Volney Dunavan/Sierra Star

Rivergold third graders Becky Knemer, Sarah Goodfellow and Antonia Mele join mom Wendy Goodfellow in viewing a Smokey Bear poster of different tracks one might find in the mountains of Eastern Madera County.

NORTH FORK — Putney Ranch Western Field Days is a popular event which has been put together for third-grade school children. It has three components: gun safety, tracks and trails, and the history of the Forest Service.

Current statistics say as many as 40 percent of American households have guns and four to five children die daily from non-homicide firearm incidents. Knowing this, Madera County Sheriff John Anderson has fought hard to establish a gun-safety program for the children in this county. Through a grant from the National Rifle Association, the sheriff has been able to bring the NRA unit to the mountains in a pilot program.

School children come to the sprawling ranch to hear Sheriff’s Deputies Hank Baugh or Mike Molsbergen conduct the NRA’s “Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program.” The NRA program emphasizes gun safety for children, whether the gun is found inside the home or away. The unit has an animated video and workbooks and is available to everyone at http://www.nra.org/safety/eddie.

Second segment is the popular trees-and-tracks adventure coordinated through the North Fork Mono Rancheria. Here children learn to identify the animals and trees which are native to our Eastern Madera County mountains. This is accomplished by learning to identify the animal tracks and the nuts from the trees.

Third segment is about the history of the United States Forest Service and how and why it has become a guardian of natural resources.

This year students from Rivergold, Coarsegold, Spring Valley and North Fork Elementary Schools will have the opportunity to participate in Putney Ranch Western Field Days.