Registration has been extended for the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) program. This weekend of hands-on skills workshops takes place in October at Killens Pond State Park.
I write about this event every year, but I still haven’t been!
This is the 19th year for Delaware’s Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) program; the first was in 1991 in Wisconsin. It’s now international— 46 states and seven provinces with more than 80 workshops offered each year. Delaware’s 2017 BOW takes place the weekend of October 6th through the 8th at Killens Pond State Park and is sponsored by DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife.
BOW offers a variety of 1.5-hour and 3.5-hour courses taught by volunteer instructors who share their expertise and provide instruction in a safe, supportive and non-competitive atmosphere. The cost of participating in the full BOW weekend is $130, which includes meals, lodging, instruction, and use of necessary equipment and supplies. The cost of participating in only Saturday’s BOW courses is $90, including meals, instruction, and use of necessary equipment and supplies.
A variety of courses, eh? Get a load of the selection:
- Orienteering 101
- Campfire Cooking
- Camping 101
- Tree I.D.
- Intro to Canoeing
- Daypacking/Hiking
- Invasive and Nuisance Plants in Delaware
- Cooking Your Catch – How to Process Your Fish
- Intro to Shotgun
- Intro to Target Archery
- Birding 101
- Intro to Fly Fishing
- Beginning Freshwater Fishing
- Prehistoric Storytellers (a course on Delaware’s horseshoe crabs)
- Native Landscaping for Pollinators
- Boating Safety
- Waterfowl I.D.
- Edible and Medicinal Plants
- Wonders of Wetlands
In addition, this year they are offering a specialty course: a mentored crossbow deer hunt. Participants will learn how to safely use a crossbow, participate in a hunter safety course, and take part in a deer hunt (after being paired with a mentor). You need to have a Delaware hunting license and hunter education certification to be part of this course.
Now, while BOW is intended to teach women outdoor survival skills, the courses are open to anyone over the age of 18. Scholarships are available for the first time this year through the Delaware Friends of BOW.
Registration has been extended until Friday, September 15th. Get on it! More info on how to register and apply for scholarships can be found at http://de.gov/bow.