I've always loved helping others in the disabled community get involved with outdoor recreation. I continue to believe it's one of the best ways to work through the many challenges those of us with a disability face on a daily basis. It's also great for one's spirit and helps focus our attention on our abilities rather than what we can't do. But my lastest interests...fishing, shooting (both gun & crossbow), and hunting...have me on a new mission of sorts.
In the hunting & fishing world, there are very few women with disabilities. You seldom see women, in general, out with the guys hunting & fishing; although, I know there are many out there enjoying these male dominated sports. If you do a bit of checking, you can find quite a few women groups devoted to all kinds of hunting, fishing, camping, archery, shooting guns, wild game cooking, bird watching, and almost anything nature related. One of these groups is Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) (www.uwsp.edu/cnr/bow/wihome/index.aspx) which started in Stevens Point, WI, 20 years ago and has since established BOW groups throughout the country. However, there hasn't been much involvement from disabled women.
So I contacted Peggy Farrell, President of BOW-Wisconsin, to see if they would have an interest in helping me develop an outdoors workshop for disabled women. She was definitely interested and that got me very excited for what could develope from this.
We had a marathon of a meeting. Although there are tons of details and planning to be done, the wheels are in motion for a one day outdoors workshop for disabled women in the works for June 2011. I'll keep you posted as plans develop!
