Women’s outdoor weekend heads to Northwest Arkansas

Oct. 9, 2019

Randy Zellers

Assistant Chief of Communications

HUNTSVILLE — The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will host a special Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshop at the Ozark Natural Science Center in Huntsville Nov. 1-3. The weekend-long workshop has enough room for 60 women to attend and learn about wildlife, hiking, hunting and angling in The Natural State. Applications for the event are available at www.agfc.com/bow.

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman initially began in 1991 through the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and was introduced to Arkansans by the AGFC soon after.

“BOW is celebrating its Silver Anniversary in Arkansas this year,” said Lea White, program coordinator for BOW and the AGFC’s Hunt Natural mentored hunt programs. “We just concluded our Central Arkansas event with 140 women in attendance, and we’re really looking forward to this new partnership with the Ozark Natural Science Center to host a new workshop in a new location.”

White says many smaller workshops have been held by nature centers and educators through the years but this will be the first large-scale expansion of the program in Arkansas.

Participants can select from 18 class offerings, ranging from managing a backyard habitat for butterflies and songbirds to shooting and hunting deer on public land and even basic squirrel hunting dog training.

“We have tried to offer many different classes in this workshop than our traditional BOW weekend, and are trying to match up the courses with the facility and terrain,” White said. “There are some great opportunities for hiking and outdoors activities in mountain areas for this event, so we’re trying to take advantage of those.”

The workshop costs $225, which includes overnight lodging on Nov. 1 and 2, all meals, and covers the expenses for the hands-on classes.

“BOW is a great way for women to get out and learn about the outdoors,” White said. “There are many women who want to learn about hunting, camping and fishing, but they don’t have the network of friends who pursue these adventures. BOW is a great way to learn how to participate in outdoor activities and build a network of ladies who enjoy the same passion.”

Visit http://www.agfc.com or visit the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman Arkansas Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BOWArkansas for more information.