Highlight: Kelly Stang

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In 1991, a program was initiated by Dr. Christine Thomas at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with the goal of introducing women to outdoor skills -- fishing, canoeing, hunting, camping, hiking. Since most men learn these things by going out with their fathers or uncles or brothers, reasoned the founders, how could anyone expect women to pick up these skills unless someone took the time to teach them? Thus, Becoming an Outdoorswoman (BOW) was born. And the idea spread like wildfire. Today, more than 20,000 women attend over 80 weekend-long BOW workshops every year across North America.

But in throwing around numbers like that, it's easy to forget the many anonymous individuals toiling behind the scenes to make such opportunities happen.

In 1992, a woman from New York State named Angie Berchielli flew out west to attend a BOW workshop. She came back raving about it. "We should to this in New York!" She told her husband (a bear biologist for the state) and his co-workers. Berchielli got together a group of women to start brainstorming, and the DEC decided to send a woman out to Wisconsin for training.

A woman who worked for the DEC was chosen to go in August 1993. Then, a couple of days before she was supposed to fly out, she left the DEC for another agency. "Since I was now the only woman in the agency," says Stang, "they came to me and said, 'How'd you like to go to Wisconsin for this program?'"

By default, Stang found herself in charge of planning what was to become a groundswell. The first New York-based program was held in October of 1994. Stang arranged the facility, scrounged up donations for prizes, photocopied registration packets, stuffed envelopes, coordinated workshops, found instructors, and convinced people that this was worth doing. "We were the first state on the whole East Coast to pick up the program," says Stang.

Still, the program gets no direct money from the state. It doesn't have a budget. The numerous responsibilities that go along with planning the workshops weren't even included in her job description initially, but she was so convinced of the power of the program, she started doing one every year (two, in fact, during even years), with the help of a volunteer planning committee. "Most of the them have been doing this with me since 1993. Over half our instructors have been with us since the beginning."

And it's not only the instructors who keep coming back -- over 1100 women have participated in New York State BOW workshops since 1994, and slots for returnees are limited to the first 25 that apply. Spaces fill quickly. "We send out registration packets, and get overnight express mail back. Before we even look at the package, we know. 'This is a returnee.'"

The women at BOW workshops range from teenagers to women in their 80s. They choose from an array of course offerings such as canoeing, kayaking, flyfishing, archery, bow hunting, target shooting, gun safety, or Dutch oven cooking. Night programming includes opportunities to attend slideshows, lectures, and seminars. Wildlife biologists are invited to give presentations on oft-misunderstood animals such as bats. Says Stang, "Women rave about things like that in their evaluations: 'I just loved going to that program. I never knew that stuff.' Experiences like that turn people around from 'Bats are this rabid creature that's going to swoop down and bite me on the head,' to fascination."

Dining hall conversations during a BOW weekend reveal a wide range of women from all different backgrounds, each there for different reasons, but every one of them enthusiastic, supportive, and open to learning about her companions. One woman might be an avid hunter about to attend a workshop on field dressing a deer, while her neighbor might be an anti-gun activist headed for a cooking or canoeing class. "Workshop participants come away with an understanding and appreciation of the natural world they may not have had," says Stang. "They also have a chance to be exposed to people and experiences they might never otherwise have had. We get comments like 'I was deathly afraid of guns, but now I understand how they work.'"

Stang herself grew up in a family that didn't spend much time outdoors. "We camped some, just because it was the least expensive way to go on vacation." But an interest in outdoor skills? "It must have skipped a generation. My grandfather was an outdoorsman and avid fisherman. So was my cousin, who's male also. The three of us would go fishing."

Stang grew up in the Hudson Valley, near Bear Mountain-Harriman State Park, and began working in the park's concessions stands during school breaks. At 18, she began working at the zoo. "On my first day, I cleaned the snake pit. My mother is scared to death of snakes. She practically fainted when I told her."

It wasn't until college that Stang really got into the outdoors: hiking, camping, canoeing, hunting. "I went to a small school where everyone was very into the outdoors." Then she began working for the DEC -- where all her colleagues had similar interests -- and met her husband, an avid hunter and fisherman. "I didn't have that growing up. After I turned 18, the bulk of my outdoor learning came from friends, boyfriends, my husband."

Organizing BOW workshops in New York State gives Stang a chance to pass along her knowledge and good fortune. "I like giving women the opportunity to do this, to learn these things," she says. "The reward is the comments they send you on their evaluation sheets, things like 'My confidence and self-esteem have grown,' 'I've been home with kids for eight years, and I needed to do this for myself..' It's great knowing you've had an impact on someone's life and given them something good to do. They turn around and impact their kids -- and hopefully there are a few less kids hanging out at the mall and playing computer games."

Do you have an interesting story to tell? Or know of an adventurous or inspiring tale lived by someone else? Let me know!

Copyright (c) 2004 Judy Wolf

About the Author:
Judy Wolf (www.judywolf.com) is a world traveler, freelance writer, speaker, and whitewater kayak instructor. She's taken numerous, extended solo journeys around the world, traveling by foot, bus, jeep, camel, truck, boat, train, plane, elephant, and bicycle to over 30 countries on five continents. She currently lives in upstate New York with her husband and border collie, where she's working on a book-length travel narrative about her most recent adventures…that is, when she's not plunging off waterfalls or entertaining the dog.

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