Event Scrapbook Women in the Outdoors Event

Nature's Acres event

Nature's Acres of central Nebraska held its 10th annual Women in the Outdoors event June 12 in St Paul.

Thirty-four women from all over the state, as well as Colorado and California, participated in geocaching; bird identification; blackpowder, handgun and shotgun shooting; trailer backing; fishing; Dutch oven cooking; kayaking; summer planting and more.

Big River Longbeards Event Shooting

Big River Longbeards event

This Florida chapter held its first Women in the Outdoors event on May 15 at the Blountstown Police Department.

Seven women completed the six-hour firearms safety course, taught by Major Rodney Smith, which qualified them to apply for a Florida concealed weapon permit.

Everyone had a great time and was treated to a hamburger lunch prepared by Justin Ford, Tyler Stoutamire and Raymond Russell.


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Quaker Girl Triple Threat Friction Call
Quaker Girl Triple Threat friction call

Quaker Girl Game Calls
for a great cause

Quaker Boy Game Calls created the Quaker Girl line of turkey and deer calls specifically with female hunters in mind to give them a little personal touch to their own game calling. The products are made with the same craftsmanship and quality as the original Quaker Boy calls, and they have the same fantastic sound. The big difference? Pink accents and lettering — and that a portion of the proceeds from sales goes to fund breast cancer research.

Damsel deer hunters can call in bucks using the Brawler grunt call and the Bleat in Heat can call. The Quaker Girl line also includes a deer antler mounting kit that features pink felt.

For turkey hunters, there are box and a pushpin calls. More advanced callers can try the Triple Threat friction call and Mini-Mag mouth calls, which are cut to fit smaller-framed mouths.

More information about Quaker Girl Game Calls

 

Women in the Outdoors fosters a healthy mind

Women in the Outdoors GeocachingMy introduction to Women in the Outdoors was coincidental. Jessica Arnold, a Warren County, Pa., probation officer, and I share a few clients. I was in her office one day when she was talking to someone about Women in the Outdoors. Out of curiosity, I asked for more information. After a minute or two, I was hooked and accepted an invitation to come to the event she was coordinating.

As the executive director and a counselor at a counseling agency and substance abuse clinic, I am acutely aware of how mental illness impacts lives. My crusade, however, is mental health. If we focus on health, we can talk about education and prevention as well as traditional treatment.

So, I showed up at my first Women in the Outdoors event three years ago with a little canopy, a few brochures about our agency, a few games people could play while waiting for lunch and a bag full of kazoos. I talked to as many participants as I could, congratulating them on their excellent judgment on devoting a day to better their mental health. My first impression was that the participants were having an absolute ball. Even in the registration line, there was anticipatory excitement. Returning participants were chomping at the bit, ready to get started, and newcomers were like kids at Christmas. And as I made the rounds of the 25 or so workshops,

I saw people were having serious fun.

Over lunch, a group reviewed the current year's event brochure, already planning which classes they would take next year.

As we gathered for the wrap-up session, one wide-eyed woman excitedly said to another, demonstrating with an imaginary muzzleloader, "I lined up the sights, pulled the trigger; there was a huge BANG, and a cloud of smoke. I hit the target the very first time! I never shot a gun before!"

I realized something else important was happening. There were 50 volunteers and instructors involved in the administrative activities and workshops. Each volunteer was passionate about what he or she was doing.
Women in the Outdoors' value was appreciated by this cadre that they were dedicating hours to sharing the passion they have for archery, shooting sports, kayaking, for all of the other workshops, and for organizing the event.

Women in the Outdoors is an excellent ambassador program for the NWTF. Women experience activities that can lead to life-long hobbies. It also allows instructors and organizers to demonstrate just how far such fun can take you.

But everyone takes away from Women in the Outdoors events is dozens of mentally healthy, fun experiences. — Gary Lester