Renée Goodman
Special to The Morning Star
Senior outdoor education students from Nakusp Secondary School will be making their first appearance at the Vernon Boat Show, selling their very own fishing lures and fire starter kits.
The high school students have been successfully marketing and running this business out of the small community of Nakusp for the past four years.
The Outdoor Ed Program is exclusive to Nakusp and was founded by teacher and outdoor enthusiast Dorian Boswell in 2010. It focuses on hands-on learning and developing survival skills such as shelter building, fire starting, hunting licenses, boating licenses and first aid training. Students also get certified for Ground Search and Rescue (GSAR). The junior program also includes knot tying and fly tying.
“We live in such a small, rural community with such easy access to the outdoors that it just makes sense to take advantage of it,” said founder Boswell.
Many of the students that take this course end up volunteering for the local search and rescue unit.
A large portion of the program focuses on entrepreneurialism. The students sell two products: one being a dummy fishing flasher used for salmon and trout. The product attaches directly to a down rigger ball and the fisherman simply attaches his line above the flasher and trolls.
“One summer, I was out on the coast, and saw this fishing lure, and I thought ‘hey, this is great,” said Boswell.
He then took the product back to the students, where they redesigned and refined it. It’s the only flasher on the market which does not speed up when the boat accelerates, therefore, it is not speed sensitive. It can be used with any lure or bait.
In 2013, the students got their first try at salesmanship.
“The first year we ever sold the product was at the Trade X Show in Abbotsford, and we made about $2,000,” said past student Jacob Henschke.
Since then, the students have moved on to the Vancouver International Boat Show, which they have attended annually since 2014, and flourished. For this year’s showing in Vancouver, the students sold an additional product: their fire starter kit.
“If you’re an outdoorsman, hiker, quader, these are great. They’re portable and incredibly durable. They don’t crumble and they’re waterproof,” said Cameron Olson.
The blocks, which are the main feature of the product, are sold in a watertight kit with a flint and steel and a lighter.
“It’s a big hit with the kids. They love being taught how to light a flint and steel fire, and we love showing them,” said Olson.
This year’s show in Vancouver yielded $19,000 for the program, with combine flasher and tinder kit sales.
“We are the ones entirely responsible for running the business,” said student Abby Boswell. “When we are preparing for a show, we make all the flashers by hand, plan logistics and design the booth. When we tell customers this, they are really impressed.”
Students even get the chance to deal with other businessmen and women who take interest in the program.
“Nakusp is such a small town and this program really gives us a chance at real world experience through a real audience with a real product,” said another student, Cailan McQuair.
The class is now looking at expanding their horizons and going to more shows. They are attending the Kamloops Gun Show Friday, and will be on the docks at the Vernon Boat Show April 30 to May 1. They are also defending their business plans at the Jr. Dragons Den in Trail May 7, and hope to win some funding there.
“All the money we make goes back into the program and into next year’s shows. The success of this program is really amazing. For the first time in four years, we are self-sustaining, and it really goes to show what hands-on learning can do,” said Boswell. “We could not do this without the community support. From grants we get from the different organizations in the community, to the businesses in this community, it’s amazing. This program wouldn’t exist without them.”