Learn to become an 'Outdoors Woman' at these DEC workshops

Learning to bait a fishhook at a workshop was empowering for Naimah Trotter, 59, of Islip.

“When I went fishing, my brother would always put the worm on for me,” said Trotter, a retired Half Hollow Hills school principal who took a state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) women-only fishing workshop two summers ago in upstate Lake George. “It’s kind of nice to know you can do something that you don’t have to really rely on a man for.”.

It’s a woman’s world at Becoming an Outdoors-Woman, or BOW, workshops, “designed primarily for anyone who identifies with the female community,” according to the DEC website. Led by DEC volunteers, most of whom are also women, participants are introduced to survival skills in more than 30 often male-dominated outdoor activities such as fishing, hunting, trapping, reading compasses and maps. They can also try their hand at starting a campfire (with or without matches), taxidermy and shooting a muzzle-loaded firearm.

“We keep you very busy over the course of three days,” program coordinator Katrina Talbot said of activities geared to “getting women out of their comfort zones and exposing them to new experiences.”

Although held in upstate New York, the workshops attract “quite a few” Long Islanders who are looking to unplug in a supportive environment that includes two nights of hotel-style lodgings, three group meals per day and evening socials, lectures and tutorials, said Talbot, 41, a former U.S. Forest Service field biologist.

“Everyone is trying something new, so you don’t feel self-conscious about it,” she said. “You can feel the empowerment grow throughout the weekend as the women make friends and plan hikes and camping trips together.”

The “vibe of female empowerment” appealed to MaryKate Haggerty, 23, of Northport, a freelance video editor who said she powered off her cell phone to “unplug” during a recent workshop, also in Lake George.

“There would be a little lesson beforehand, and then we would go out and practice it,” Haggerty said of the experiences such as kayaking (with her mom) and identifying wild birds. On a hike without her phone, Haggerty said, “it was a unique experience to get to the top of the mountain and not feel inclined to take a picture.”

Upcoming programs include a Bow-Hunting 101 Workshop May 15-17, $423; Beginner Fly-fishing Bootcamp May 29-31, $420; and Back Country Basics Aug. 7-9, $445. Programs are held at Great Camp Sagamore in upstate Raquette Lake.

The DEC also offers an annual Becoming an Outdoors-Woman fall workshop in October at the Silver Bay YWCA in upstate Hauge ($475). If you’re looking for a group travel experience, the DEC is partnering with travel companies on a safari skills workshop in Mozambique in June ($2,800 plus airfare) and a trip to Peru including the Machu Picchu World Heritage Site in September ($3,995 plus airfare). More info: bit.ly/403GgQC.