Get Fishing Fund – Funded Project: HACRO were visited by The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire as part of his ‘Nurture through Nature’ campaign

Our Regional Angling Development Manager Jack Culpin has been assisting the Get Fishing Funded HACRO to run fishing events and received a very welcome visit by Nicholas Buxton, The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire as part of the ‘Nurture through Nature’ campaign.

The event was a great success and showcased the benefit fishing has for mental health and wellbeing, and social outcomes that fishing can often help provide a solution to for local communities and individuals.

Mr Buxton was fascinated to view the angling sessions and discover more about how they overlap with the objectives of his Office and the Nature Through Nurture initiative he provides his full backing for. Nicholas – who farms near to where he grew up near Ware – has overseen a move to more sympathetic farming practices including an extensive restoration of the river Ash, one of Hertfordshire’s prized chalk streams.

Caring for the natural landscape is therefore important to Nicholas, and being so in touch with the role of water provided a natural fit for HACRO to access Get Fishing Funding from the Environment Agency via the fund administered by the Angling Trust, and our Get Fishing events programme which sees thousands of people take up fishing every year, as part of the work funded by the Environment Agency National Angling Strategic Services Contract with the Trust.

On the day, the Get Fishing event helped illustrate to Nicholas how a personal re-connection with blue-green spaces experienced by the fishing participants, can have a hugely important, beneficial effect and tangible social outcomes when it is facilitated by the simple act of going fishing, and being next to the water’s edge.

The Hertfordshire Association For the Care and Rehabilitation of Offenders (HACRO) that accessed Angling Trust Get Fishing Funding is a predominantly grant funded charity, helping people in Hertfordshire who have been on the wrong side of the law to turn their lives around. They believe in second chances and their work reaches further than connecting with the individual offender, by providing a  beneficial impact on the lives of their families and social group.

HACRO’s vision is a world in which everyone has the chance to turn their lives around and lead a life fully contributing to society by taking part in projects that are delivered with respect and integrity and which build capability and confidence. They support ex-offenders, potential offenders and their families to make positive life changes, and in turn this reduces the number of victims of crime. HACRO provide mentoring support and a range of training and well-being programmes, and alonside this they work with local organisations to provide individualised, needs-based support. It was this mission that led HACRO to consider fishing activity as a brilliant fit to it’s aims.

Going fishing is about much more than just catching a fish. It provides an opportunity to spend time outdoors, away from the pressures of normal life. Spending time near water has been found to have a positive effect on mental wellbeing, increasing happiness and enjoyment of life, as well as reducing anxiety levels.

Anyone who has been fishing will know how beneficial angling is at boosting mental health and wellbeing, in fact this led to the Get Fishing for Wellbeing project, that helps individuals access “fishing on prescription” via social prescribing, the NHS and GP network by championing our Get Fishing for Wellbeing – Approved standard so that consistently high-quality experiences and benefits of angling activity can be prescribed to people with social, mental health, physical health and wellbeing needs.

Fishing provides a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature and feel the range of benefits that spending time outdoors can bring. If you’re new to fishing, there are lots of ways to get started and you can find a Get Fishing event for newcomers or contact one of our Regional Angling Development Officers to get more info.

What is the Get Fishing Fund?

The Get Fishing Fund has invested nearly £200,000 of fishing licence money to help get more people into fishing over the past year. The fund is provided by the Environment Agency and administered by the Angling Trust. The Environment Agency supports angling-based projects with grants of up to £2,500 to help purchase equipment, fishing tackle, resources and run fishing activities that give people the opportunity to get into fishing for the first time.

About Get Fishing

Get Fishing is the Angling Trust‘s campaign to grow participation in angling and get more people fishing more often. Annually, the Get Fishing campaign introduces over 30,000 people to angling at hundreds of fun, safe and friendly events funded by the Environment Agency from fishing licence income as part of the National Angling Strategic Services contract with the Angling Trust, and Sport England. Children under 13 do not need a fishing licence, and fishing licences for children aged between 13 and 16 are free but you still need to register and receive a licence before you start fishing. You can get a fishing licence for the full year, for 8 days (ideal for holidays!) or just a day’s fishing.

The Angling Trust’s ‘Get Fishing’ campaign is proudly supported by
Shakespeare, Exclusive Tackle Partner and Angling Direct, Exclusive Retail Partner
as we all work towards getting more people fishing, more often.