Monday, July 13, 2015

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman

 Mitch Ingold bravely stood before 85 women and delivered potentially disappointing news.

It was a warm, breezy Saturday in the woods — perfect weather for camp. But Ingold had to tell the women, who had come to this north central Illinois site to learn as much as they could about the outdoors, that approaching storms might impact Sunday's activities.

"But what about archery?" a woman called out.

"Beekeeping?" asked another.

"Power tools?"

The women were participants in Becoming an Outdoors-Woman, a weekend-long workshop coordinated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources each June and September.

The most recent event was held over three days on the Lorado Taft Field Campus of Northern Illinois University, adjacent to Lowden State Park. Twenty-four classes were offered on a variety of outdoor-related topics, each lasting 3 1/2 hours. Along with lessons about firearms and fishing, topics included everything from horse grooming and dutch oven cooking to picnic table yoga and, yes, power tools.

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshops are offered in 39 states and six Canadian provinces. Illinois has hosted them since 1995, but Ingold, field education coordinator for the IDNR, said they have never been so popular.

"Six years ago, 40 or 50 would sign up and it would take three months for registration to fill," Ingold said. "The last three years all workshops have been full, registration closed within six weeks, and this time we had a waiting list.

"You can always tell how good your program is by the number of returning participants," he said. "Ninety percent of our new participants come a second, third or 10th time."

The camp has become increasingly popular as more women get involved in outdoor sports, and as more women live independently, according to Ingold. Read the story in the Chicago Tribune.

Find out more:
Illinois Becoming an Outdoors Woman Workshop