Kids show to be filmed in Fredonia
POSTED: June 20, 2008
A recent graduate of SUNY Fredonia and now host of “Aquakids” will be returning to the Fredonia area to bring light to important conservation efforts.
Canadaway Creek in the village of Fredonia will be the focus for the episode during filming this Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday faculty will work with approximately 70 children, parents and partners including New York State Department of Environmental Conservation biologist Jim Markham to help assess the health of the creek, perform cleanup efforts, and plant 150 willow trees (whips) to help curtail stream bank erosion.
On Sunday AquaKids filming continues, as roughly 200 brook trout are to be released into Canadaway Creek in Laona. The brook trout, although native to these waters, had been extinct to the region for over 100 years until a successful reintroduction effort last year. Sunday’s release is expected to help further those efforts.
Children within the Sportfishing and Aquatic Resource Educational Program (SAREP) raised the funds to purchase these trout through the sale of fishing flies they themselves created. In addition to enhancing the trout population, this repopulation effort should extend the length of the area’s fly fishing season, which could also serve as an economic stimulus to the region.
Aqua Kids is a TV show seen in 85 percent of markets across the United States. It is dedicated to educating children about the conservation of marine environments and the animals that inhabit them. In its seventh year of existence, it targets children ages 7 to 14. Molly McKinney, a 22-year-old graduate of Fredonia’s communication department, has worked on this show since age 13 and traveled throughout the United States, Central America and the Caribbean on filming excursions. Since coming to Fredonia she has worked with the biology and communication departments to continue her work with AquaKids.
SAREP (Sportfishing and Aquatic Resource Educational Program) is partnering to help Molly and her AquaKids team in the production of this episode. The two days of activities have been organized by the SAREP Youth Fly Fishing Program, which is directed by Professor Rey and local middle school teacher John Straight.
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