Kyle resident encourages women to try Texas Parks & Wildlife Department workshop

KYLE — For 30 years, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) has been offering the Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) workshop to provide a supportive space where women can feel comfortable learning new skills associated with hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities.

And for Kyle resident Christina Johnson, she has been participating in the BOW workshops since 2022.

“I'm from Houston and I grew up in a concrete city. I really liked nature and the outdoors. But you know, I didn't get as much exposure as I would like when I was growing up. And I've had some changes in my health, like my favorite sport used to be running [but] now because of the arthritis in my knees, this old lady can't run. So, I needed to find some new hobbies and I didn't want to do anything indoors, I wanted to do something that was more interactive and outdoors in nature because that's what I love,” she explained.

The workshops span a weekend, typically Friday through Sunday. Each workshop will offer about 20-25 different classes and during the weekend, participants can choose four classes that they want to take. Class topics are diverse and are divided into three categories:  hunting and shooting sports,  fishing and water sports and other outdoor topics (camping, cooking, bird watching and plant identification).

“It's a program that is geared towards introducing women to outdoor recreation, activities and helping them build skills and find their passion for any one of a number of activities,” said TPWD Communications Division Director Mischelle Diaz. “At a weekend, you’ll see kayaking, shotgun shooting, rock wall climbing, archery, wild game field dressing, fly fishing, natural fiber basket weaving, nature art [and] cooking outside.”

For Johnson, the first couple of classes that she took during the BOW workshops were plant identification and camping — where she learned how to pitch a tent for the first time. But since then, she has done other sessions, including archery and shooting.

“I love that you can completely reinvent yourself and there's no borders. Anything that you're interested in, there's an opportunity to learn it,” Johnson explained. “I like that the teachers and instructors that do the class are so well-versed that it makes it easy, that you can have success within one session … I've never shot a shotgun before, but by the end, I was already shooting moveable clays, which I would have never thought I could do.”

Part of TPWD’s mission is to educate communities about the outdoors and the natural and cultural resources of Texas. Diaz said that while women are often underrepresented in some outdoor recreational activities like hunting/shooting sports and fishing/boating, the BOW workshops help women to learn activities and topics in a safe environment.

“Becoming an Outdoor-Woman is an important part of introducing women to these outdoor activities and helping them feel confident about participating in them and showing them how to participate in not only a fun way, but a safe way. It kind of starts, opens the door and then allows them to take their own journey of discovery of what they want to do more. It's an important introductory program,” Diaz explained. “Many women want to go again and again. They begin to form bonds and not only learn new skills, but [get] new friends at these BOW weekends and then they want to go back. The programs are incredibly popular — most of them sell out within the first couple of hours when registration is posted.”

As there may be some women who are interested in signing up, but may be hesitant to do so, Johnson and Diaz both stated that the workshops are welcome to every woman at all skill levels. There are some who come into the programs who are well-versed in the activities, while there are others who are new to everything.

“There's women who go to these weekends who have never touched a firearm ever. There’s a class where there’s a sort of gentle introduction to firearms and they learn how to hold a firearm; they learn how it works [and] they learn how different firearms are used,” Diaz said. “They're not going to find a more supportive and welcoming environment. There are, at these workshops, women of all ages, sizes, colors, abilities and backgrounds. It's really difficult for me to even say what is the typical kind of woman that goes to a BOW because there just isn't one. I guess the only thing that unites the women who come to these is that they're open to learning something new.”

There are also the Texas Outdoors-Woman Network (T.O.W.N.) groups, formed by BOW alumni, Johnson said, where women practice the outdoor skills they learned and share their interests in outdoor recreation. According to TPWD, these local groups hold monthly meetings and coordinate field trips in a variety of outdoor activities for its members — attending a BOW workshop, or having outdoor experience, is not required to join the fun.

“One of the classes that I wanted to take was kayaking, but I'm too scared of the water. And so I said, ‘Well, I’ll start with boating.’ I had an opportunity to go on a boat and I was definitely afraid at first, but then by the end of it, I was kicking back, casting my line and catching some fish and having a great time. It was a lot of fun,” Johnson said, who is a part of the San Marcos T.O.W.N.

The next BOW workshop is scheduled for April 19-21 in Rockport at Camp Aranzazu. Registration for the workshops typically open up about a month prior. Interested participants are encouraged to sign up as soon as they can to ensure that they can get their favorite classes, as registration form processing is on a first-come, first-served basis.

The cost for participation will vary based on the fees being charged by the hosting facility. This includes two nights of lodging, meals, instruction and equipment use. A few classes will require an additional fee, but these fees are known upfront during the registration process, according to TPWD.

For more information about the BOW workshops, and to stay up-to-date when registration opens, visit www.tpwd.texas.gov/education/bow or follow the program on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tpwdoutdoorwoman.