The Kent project became part of the Get Hooked on Fishing network towards the end of 2006.
David Evans has been working in community development around the Gravesend and Dartford area for the past eight years. He has established links with many other agencies and workers in the area and is pleased to now have the opportunity to pass on his angling skills developed in his younger days when fishing was something of an obsession for him.
The Kent Project
The Kent project does not have a venue of its own at present and currently focuses its activities in the Dartford & Gravesham areas. Negotiations are taking place about constructing an ‘Angling Centre of Excellence’ with a local developer which would be fantastic if this were to come about in the future – so fingers crossed!
Most of the sessions run to date have been undertaken with young people at risk referred to Youth Inclusion Programmes locally. There are very few local qualified coaches and this is an area that needs to be addressed. Fortunately, we have been able to get some youth workers trained who are aware of the benefits of using fishing as a tool to engage with young people. These workers have been able to incorporate angling in to their programme of activities and work in partnership with Get Hooked to deliver sessions. This has brought a large amount of gift in kind to the project and helped us to keep things moving forward.
Some free taster sessions offered to schools has highlighted a demand far in excess of what can be met at this stage so there is clearly an opportunity to develop over time given the necessary resources. All the young people involved so far have really enjoyed and benefited from the experience and given very positive feedback.
Key Partners
Get Hooked on Fishing Kent works closely with the following partners -
Free taster sessions being run in partnership with The Environment Agency at Gordon Lake Gravesend Riverside Area on Saturday 29th July from 12 Noon.
Volunteering
Get Hooked on Fishing is very open to people wishing to gain further Youth Work experience or angling knowledge by way of volunteering. Anyone wishing to do so can contact Andy directly for further information.
If you would like to talk to Get Hooked on Fishing about setting up and running your own project, please complete our contact form by CLICKING HERE
