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Becoming an Outdoors-Woman in One Weekend or Less

October 05, 2007 -
WINSLOW - Mary Szwec is a good example of the type of woman who signs up for a Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) Introductory Skills Weekend. Busy with her career in education and raising a family, it's only been within the past few years that the Searsport school superintendent has had the time to explore other interests.

"I love the outdoors and I love to be active and learn new things," Szwec said.

Now that her sons are grown and on their own, she has more time to attend BOW workshops, which teach women outdoor skills and recreation and are offered through the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. This year's introductory weekend was held Sept 14-16 at Camp Caribou on the shores of Pattee Pond in Winslow.

"This is the main event where women come to work on the basics," said BOW Coordinator Emily Jones.

To keep class sizes small and manageable, enrollment is limited to 100 women. This year, 65 women were in attendance at a cost of the $210 per person for everything, including meals. And, according to Jones, Szwec is pretty typical of the women she's seen sign up for workshops in the three years she's been running the program.

"We get a really diverse group but probably the average is a woman who has a husband or brother who hunted or fished or kayaked and she always wanted to try but never had the time or the means," Jones said.

Once Szwec found the time for BOW, she liked it so much that she came back for more. After taking an anchery course during her first BOW weekend, she signed up for a one-day advanced "Beyond BOW" archery workshop and now competes in the sport. She also took a fly-tying workshop that inspired her to go flyfishing with her son, she said.

Szwec retumed to take another introductory skills weekend of workshops this year to leam some new skills and become more proficient in others so she can pass them on to the next generation. She's taking flytying again because, with its foundation in biology, like so many outdoor activities, requires a lot of the knowledge teachers try to get across in tbe classroom. Thus, Szwec has introduced fly-tying as a wellness course for students and parents in the Searsport school system and will be helping to teach it this year, she said.

"The whole goal is if you hook kids on doing and learning something that interests them, then they leam something that stays with them life-long," Szwec said.

The school superintendent's desire to share her skills with young people is another connmon motivator Jones, finds among BOW attendees. Many moms sign up for the program because they want to learn how to spend time enjoying the outdoors with their chilcken and grandchildren. In the process, some BOW alumnae have discovered a hidden passion, like Szwec did for archery, and gone on to develop it with Beyond BOW workshops or even become registered Maine Guides.

"The skills they gained here gave them confidence to try other things," Jones explained.

This year's introductory skills weekend included workshops in archery, fly-fishing, hunting dog training and marksmanship. But, it wasn't all focused on hunting and fishing. There were also courses offered in canoeing, kayaking, biking, backpacking, self-defense and even meditation. In fact, there were so many workshops to chose from that a person couldn't take them all in one weekend. Which explains why some women sign up for the annual weekend more than once.

For many participants, it's the camaraderie of other women with similar interests and abilities that bring them back another year. Several women come back year after year as volunteers as do most of the instructors, many of whom are Maine Guides who also volunteer their services, Jones said.

Although Jones, a Unity College graduate, has only been .involved with BOW for a short time, the national program has been in Maine for 11 years. It was originally founded in Wisconsin and has always been connected with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. However, it has only been coordinated by a department employee since Jones was hired for the job three years ago. Before then, it was operated by a board of directors known as the Friends of BOW that still exists and helps to raise funds for scholarship, equipment and supplies for workshops, Jones said.

BOW workshops are offered from January through the fall with the introductory weekend in September the only weekend-long BOW event held each year. Beyond BOW workshops, which offer advanced level skill training, are held in one day or an overnight and a day. For more infonnation or to enroll in a BOW workshop, contact Jones at 287-8069 or via e-mail at emily.jones@nuune.gov.

SOURCE: CAPITAL WEEKLY

DATE: 09-20-2007


Lakes: Pattee Pond
Regions: Belgrade


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