TAKE ME FISHING™ AND DISCOVERY EDUCATION LAUNCH SERVICE LEARNING CHALLENGE TO IGNITE STUDENTS’ INTEREST AND INVOLVEMENT IN AQUATIC CONSERVATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Alana Carchedi, Discovery Education
240-662-2572
alana_carchedi@discovery.com

Stephanie Vatalaro, RBFF
703-778-5156
svatalaro@rbff.org

– Explore the Blue Program Resources Expanded To Include Middle School Students –

Silver Spring, Md. (September 17, 2012) – Take Me Fishing and Discovery Education announce the launch of the Explore the Blue Water Challenge, a hands-on service learning challenge for middle school students designed to bring learning to life, by getting students out on the water and reinforcing the benefits of aquatic conservation. The Water Challenge is part of ExploretheBlue.com, a free, comprehensive resource empowering K-8 teachers and parents to engage students in a dialogue about the importance of outdoor recreational activities, such as boating and fishing, and to foster an appreciation for the protection and conservation of America’s lakes, rivers, streams and oceans.

For the Water Challenge, students in grades 6-8 are asked to choose a local waterway or water-related issue in their community, conduct research, develop and implement an action plan by getting out on their waterway and reflect on their findings in a two- to five-minute-video. One grand prize winning team will be awarded a US water-based adventure trip, a $5,000 grant for their school to continue working on their service project and a $1,000 scholarship check for each student on the winning team. Scholarship checks and teacher prizes will also be awarded to second and third place winning teams. Entries for the Water Challenge are due by March 14, 2013.

“We are delighted to expand our program with Discovery Education, encouraging a new group of middle-school aged children to get outside and learn about boating, fishing and the environment,” said Frank Peterson, President and CEO of the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, the non-profit that runs the Take Me Fishing campaign. “Ninety percent of adult outdoor enthusiasts are introduced to nature-based activities between the ages of 5 and 18. Providing opportunities to get involved with the outdoors through programs like Explore the Blue, will help foster an appreciation for our natural world for years to come.”

Building on the website’s robust collection of resources for students in grades K-5, Take Me Fishing and Discovery Education have expanded the site’s reach to K-8 students with new middle school earth and life science lesson plans to help nurture a passion for outdoor recreation and conservation. In addition to the new resources, more than ten family activities on the site will now be available in Spanish, providing important resources to Hispanic populations nationwide.

“Discovery Education is pleased to expand the Explore the Blue program to middle school students and give them a truly hands-on opportunity to explore the world around them and extend the concepts they are learning in school beyond the walls of their classrooms,” said Mary Rollins, vice president, Discovery Education. “By expanding the site’s resources to include students in grades K-8, we can help encourage all youth to participate in on-the-water activities and engage in aquatic conservation efforts.”

Take Me Fishing and Discovery Education are also launching the Explore the Blue Educator Sweepstakes. K-8 educators can enter the sweepstakes once a day until it closes on March 14, 2013 for the chance to win the grand prize of a one-day outdoor fishing adventure field trip for their entire class, outdoor exploration kits for their class and a $500 cash prize. Two runners up will each receive outdoor exploration kits for their class and a $100 cash prize.

For more information, visit ExploretheBlue.com.

About RBFF
RBFF is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase participation in recreational angling and boating, thereby protecting and restoring the nation’s aquatic natural resources. RBFF helps people discover, share and protect the legacy of boating and fishing through national outreach programs including the Take Me Fishing™ campaign and Anglers’ Legacy™.

About Discovery Education
Discovery Education transforms classrooms, empowers teachers and captivates students by providing high quality, dynamic, digital content for grades K-12 and community colleges. Powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in the world, Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based digital media, professional development, assessment tools and a passionate educator network to support districts in accelerating student achievement. Discovery Education services like Discovery Education streaming, Discovery Education Techbook and Discovery Education Higher Ed, are in more than half of all US schools and 35 countries around the world. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

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