Women take on the outdoors

Outdoor recreation is not unique to most Montanans, but a ‘Women in the Outdoors Workshop' is.

Outdoor recreation is not unique to most Montanans, but a ‘Women in the Outdoors Workshop' is.

Currently, Sanders County hosts the only outdoors workshop for women in the entire state of Montana.

The workshop was brought to the Sanders County fairgrounds in Plains five years ago and is open to women ages 14 and up for them to test their courage and learn new recreational skills, all centered around the outdoors.

"It's a way to get out there and try something new in the outdoors without having to spend money and buy a kayak to try it out," said Cynthia Boehler, volunteer and co-organizer of the workshop. "It helps women come out, get involved in something and not feel intimidated by it because usually in all the classes everyone is new doing it, so you don't have to feel embarrassed."

These outdoors workshops take place all over the United States and are affiliated programs of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF).

All proceeds from the event go to the national nonprofit conservation and hunting organization, which in turn helps put on the annual event in Plains.

The workshop is one of many outreach programs put on by NWTF. In addition to

providing recreational opportunities for women, they also do outreach programs for children called JAKES (Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship) and Wheelin Sportsmen, which helps people with disabilities enjoy outdoors activities.

The NWTF was formed in 1971 as a way to conserve wild turkeys while preserving the rights to hunt them.

A Paradise resident brought the workshop to Sanders County five years ago. After the first year, she moved back east, but a group of local volunteers kept the program going.

"We went to the first one and they had kayaking and I talked my sister into taking it. And after that we've been on the committee," said Boehler.

At the workshop, attendees can pick four different classes to attend, unless it is hiking or rock climbing, which take up two sessions. Classes at this year's workshop took place this past Saturday, July 10, and included everything from Dutch Oven Cooking, taught by a chef coming in all the way from Idaho. The food made throughout the day was the women's meal for dinner.

There was a survival and self-defense class, archery, powder puff mechanics, beginning yoga, trap shooting and the list goes on and on.

This year, there were only 30 people signed up through registration, a significantly lower number than last year's 78 attendees.

However, around 52 women ended up attending this year's workshop. Boehler said she thinks the economy played a part in the low numbers this year.

"It's a great time to just say ‘I'm going to have a me day' and just have a good time," said Boehler.

New to the event this year was a class called "dirt on worms," which taught women how to use worms to compost their kitchen scraps led by a master gardener.

Aside from the chef from Idaho, most of the classes are taught by local residents and Camp Bighorn runs the kayaking and rock climbing.

Co-organizer of the event Kathy Logan partook in the worm bin class and made her own 12 gallon compost bin. Logan said the point of the class was to create a worm bin to place kitchen scraps, except meat and fats, into a bin filled with straw, newspaper and worms.

The scraps are broken down into microbes, which are eaten by the worms and then the compost can be used in a garden or house plants.

"I wanted to build a worm bin for years," said Logan. "It was really a nice way to take care of your garbage and it was very convenient."

In addition to the worm bin class Logan participated in trap shooting and also said the wood working class was very popular throughout the day.

Logan said the group of volunteers will plan the workshop next year and keep the tradition going as "it's just a fun, fun day."