Academics afield (AA) is a college focused hunting recruitment program

AA has been implemented at eight different universities in the southeast and has demonstrated success and revealed unique opportunities for recruiting new hunters from non-traditional backgrounds (e.g., women, young adults from urban areas). However, more can be done to diversify the population of young adults who participate in these programs. This project will extend and expand the effective AA program model to focus on historically black colleges and universities (hbcus) across the southeastern united states.georgia wildlife federation in partnership with north carolina state university will leverage our existing partnerships, experience, and to identify and address the unique constraints faced by african americans. By implementing surveys and interviews we hope to further understand and then create viable opportunities to make hunting and shooting sports more relevant and inclusive for students of color.georgia wildlife federation and subrecipient partners will host programs at corresponding academic institutions. Program implementors will select students to participate in AA for the whole school year. Each program hosts 3-4 learn to hunt workshops a year. Each program is organized by a student intern (with support and oversight from academic faculty advisors, supervisors from partnering governmental and non-governmental organizations). Each workshop focuses on a different species and includes a thorough training on the history of hunting, species biology, firearm safety and use. Then student participants join student coaches on a guided hunt with a corresponding game meal to celebrate the experiences. Hunts are guided by student coaches to encourage community bonds and future hunting opportunities. In addition, by working with existing hunters we can further pass on the education, responsibility and ethics of the program. Partnerships amongst state wildlife agencies, conservation organizations, industry and community members are relied upon to ensure all curriculum and safety standards are met. Partnership with north carolina state will enable strong evaluation efforts to measure our impact and ensure data-driven decisions regarding program improvements. We are expecting to engage hundreds of students in AA increasing participation in hunting in shooting. We are expecting to conduct a research investigation understanding common barriers of underrepresented audiences. We are expecting to engage dozens of organizations and partners across the southeast to support AA implementation. After implementation and analysis, we will produce an addendum to the general AA practitioner's guide focusing hunter and shooter recruitment efforts for students of color.academics afield will have untold positive impacts. In addition to increasing participation in hunting and shooting sports IT will help underrepresented and historically marginalized populations forge a stronger positive relationship with the outdoors, hunting, and wildlife management agencies. Students from all backgrounds will benefit from skill development, mentor identification and a greater understanding of wildlife conservation. Universities and colleges will benefit from the resources and opportunities for their students. State wildlife agencies will benefit from improved relevancy with underrepresented populations. This will improve national efforts to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in the outdoors and the wildlife conservation community.