A Great Start on Forever: May 2008

People Making a Difference in Conservation

From Russia with Love of Conservation

Conservation knows no boundaries. Just ask Anna Basanova. The 16-year-old high school student from Angarsk, Russia, is currently staying with the Tim Coy family in Lewistown, Missouri, through the 4-H Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Program.

Roughly 6,000 miles from her home in Russia, Basanova owns the distinction of becoming PF's first-ever international Ringneck. She earned a membership by participating in the Ten Rivers Chapter of Pheasants Forever's youth essay contest. Here is what Basanova had to say about her outdoor experiences in Missouri:

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A Great Start on Forever: May 2008 My name is Anna Basanova and I want to tell about my outdoor experiences in North America. I came from Russia to USA as an exchange student. It was my dream to see USA culture. I have been here about 4 months and am not only opening myself to a new country, but also new activities, things about which I have never thought of in Russia.

I have never gone fishing and hunting in Russia, I did not know anything about it. What I thought was that hunting meant "take a gun and shoot". I live in a big city, full of cars, buildings, people and factories. You need to ride far away from the city to enjoy fresh air and nature. Here I live with a host family in their country house. I get up every day and look out the window to see a wonderful view of nature: the early sun in the forest and its reflection on the lake. This is the one thing which you can not find in a city. Nature gives people a bouquet of positive emotions. This is also is one of the reasons why outdoor activities are so important and so interesting.

My first acquaintance with North American outdoor activities was fishing. I got up early in the morning and my host father Tim and I took the fishing rods and bait down to the lake. The first my problem was learning to cast my line out far away from shore. After many attempts - I did it! In the end I became familiar with bluegill, large mouth bass and catfish.

Then I became a hunter! I have never known that hunters have different seasons for different animals, I have never heard of deer season and we do not have turkeys where I live. Tim and I went into the forest looking for turkeys. We did not shoot any, but I saw for my first time a real turkey, I also saw a real deer. When we went deer hunting, I got up before sun rise and dressed in the hunting clothes. Tim and I came to the blind which he set up before. I never thought you could walk and hunt animals or sit and wait for them. We did not find a deer but the hunt gave me new knowledge about wildlife.

It's true when I say I open myself to a "new world": The world of hunting and fishing. It is a full world for me because it has so many things which I do not know. Now I know about animals, fish and birds which inhabit in this area. You can understand the age of turkey from its spurs; you can understand the gender of deer from his horns. I can say now hunting and fishing needs special skills and equipment and everybody who really wants to hunt or fish can do it and take a lot of fun from it!

Hunting and fishing gave me the opportunity to see the wonderful world of nature. The nature of Missouri is different than in Russia. The big great oak trees, red, yellow and brown leaves, boundless fields of corn, hills and valleysâ¦I am glad I have the opportunity to live in foreign country and participate in outdoor activities! There are so many things which I do not know and I want to study it.

If you have story ideas, dog photos, pre-1980 hunting photos and requests for future On The Wing consideration, please send correspondence to ahauck@pheasantsforever.org.

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