WOODBURY — Nonnewaug’s junior and senior aquaculture class has been hard at work preparing fishing rods to sell at a fundraiser for their program. 

“This is going to work as an active fundraiser for our aquaculture class,” said Nonnewaug aquaculture instructor Leanne Golembeski. “We are dedicated to giving these students the best learning experience possible and with this fundraiser we hope to raise money to give our students new learning experiences more by taking them on more educational field trips and new equipment for the classroom.”

These handcrafted fishing rods are an excellent way that these students have learned hands-on skills with constructing them on their own. 

“They can now know what to look for when shopping or even buying their own fishing pole now and what factors that need to be considered,” said Golembeski, who is in her second year leading the program. 

Students can now independently identify specific traits they want to have on their fishing rods. Due to the expense of modern fishing rods, this is a valuable skill when becoming your own fisherman.

The fishing rods are a composite blend of materials that makes them strong yet lightweight, made with hand-carved cork full grip handles, which makes casting onto water almost effortless.          

“I enjoyed crafting these things [fishing rods],” said Nonnewaug senior Jillian Brown. “It is a unique thing that we get to do, and I don’t think you’re going to find a casual classroom activity like this in a normal classroom.”

Along with her fellow peers, Brown takes pride in her work, taking time and energy to get precision when working on these fishing rods.

“It’s not something typical from a school to see,” said Madison Fitzmorris, a senior at Nonnewaug and floriculture student, “but it’s so nice to see members of our school getting involved in the community at such a young age. It’s a refreshing sight to see it in all departments of the FFA.” 

With the aquaculture program already teaching students how to fish, tie their own fly fishing flies, it feels complete with now the addition of learning to build a custom fishing rod. 

“It’s important to make these rods so that the kids know their wants in the classroom are heard,” said Golembeski. “A lot of the students, especially this year, have actively demonstrated an interest in fishing. These spinning reels specifically can be used with saltwater fishing from the shore, as well as fresh water.”

Unique to this year, students are exposed to a saltwater unit which teaches students about the vast variety of fish available on the east coast. 

“It’s amazing because it goes with our curriculum this year of salt and freshwater,” said Golembeski. “Because of the high interest in fishing, students are able to use their own knowledge and ultimately step up as lead roles when creating the rods.”