The 11th annual Youth Outdoor Day was held Saturday in Walnutport.

Sponsored by the Delaware River Shad Fishermen's Association and Blue Mountain Fish and Game Association, the event aimed to teach young sportsmen and sportswomen about outdoor sports and how to be safe in doing them.The free event was open to children between 8 and 15.Groups of participants rotated through 10 different stations, staying at each one 45 minutes."Some stations change each year and some stay the same," said Dave Carl, one of the event's organizers. Carl has been with the association for over 20 years and started the event 11 years ago."We usually get plenty of repeat kids so we try and keep it interesting for them, but last year and this year we have mostly new kids." Carl voiced his happiness with the turnout."After 10 years of having children come to this program it is still a learning experience for both the students and the volunteers. It's great to know we can and do have a positive effect on the students' lives and make a difference regarding environmental topics."Participants began their first lessons at 8 a.m. Each station taught a different lesson to the children. Topics included fishing, wildlife ethics, archery, lure making, knot tying and canoeing.Trapper Steve Wentzel of the Pennsylvania Trappers Association taught participants about ethical trapping of wildlife."A lot of people are against trapping because they don't know how it works," Carl said."A lot of people encounter some dangerous animals but they can't do anything about them and they may think their only option is to shoot them. This will teach the kids how to trap animals safely, which ones need to be trapped, and why."At other stations participants learned and practiced new skills. Children built mason bee houses to help foster colonies of mason bees to encourage pollination and learned how to both flip and cast fishing lines.Jeannie Carl of the Carbon County Environmental Education Center gave a lecture titled "How to stay away from wildlife."At the fishing station the catch of the morning went to Xander Hudock who snagged a 24¾-inch catfish that weighed 6 pounds.Trophies were awarded at the end to participants who demonstrated special skills at events.Sponsors of the event included the Carbon County Environmental Education Center, the Lehigh Valley Canoe Club and the Northampton County Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs.