The Minnesota DNR has a program called Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW). The premise is simple: Get more women involved in outdoor activities. The workshops are for women of all ages and skill levels, from someone trying an activity for the first time or someone of expert outdoor abilities; designed for anyone to learn a new skill or improve skills that may already be developed.
The program actually has its roots in Wisconsin: Christine Thomas, while an associate Dean and Professor of Resource Management at the University of Wisconsin, started researching the reasons why more women weren’t active in outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing. She discovered, throughout her research that women preferred to learn skills in a non-competitive environment while being taught by other women. This lead her, in 1991, to develop a program called “Becoming an Outdoors-Woman.” The program was first offered in Minnesota in 1994 (history).
Outdoor workshops for women
The BOW program offers the following class types:
- Single Day classes
- Women’s Weekend Workshops for women that are 14 years old and up
- Beyond BOW for women to develop an in-depth focus on a single skill such as hunting, fishing, and other outdoor skills.
The weekend workshop will take place at Deep Portage Learning Center in Hackensack, MN from September 29th to October 1st. Classes that include shooting, archery, and bow hunting. Along with these skills, the workshop will also cover finding and cooking wild mushrooms, birding, pine basket making, Dutch oven cooking, orienteering, rock climbing, dressing for the outdoors, walking stick making, and beekeeping.
Linda Bylander, BOW Coordinator had this to say about the upcoming workshop and it being held at Deep Portage Learning Center: “Autumn is great time to come together, enjoy nature and develop new skills in a friendly and supportive environment. Deep Portage is an ideal place for this because of its great mix of classrooms, a rock climbing wall, safe shooting ranges and more.”
The upcoming workshop is designed mainly for women that are 18 years of age and up, but girls between the ages of 14 17 are welcome to join with parents or guardians. Visit the BOW homepage for more information, schedule of other classes and workshops, and to register by clicking here.
And the rewards aren’t just physical. As Bylander says, “Minnesota’s outdoors has so much to offer, and learning new ways to enjoy it is truly empowering and can lead to a more personally rewarding and healthy lifestyle.”
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