Becoming an Outdoors Woman

Becoming an Outdoors Woman is a hands-on workshop that teaches basic outdoor education courses to women, 18 and older, over a weekend.

In 1991, Dr. Christine L. Thomas, Professor of Resource Management at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, founded the national Becoming an Outdoors Woman program to provide women opportunities to learn skills that enhance and encourage participation in hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities. In September 1994, LDWF offered Louisiana’s first Becoming an Outdoors Woman program. It was a sellout, and LDWF continues to hold a Becoming an Outdoors Woman weekend workshop every year, offering 30 specialty courses in hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities including:

• Live-fire shotgun, rifle, and handgun classes
• Turkey and deer management
• Flyfishing
• Freshwater fishing
• Outdoor photography
• Ecology
• Backpacking
• Outdoor cooking
• Kayaking

The program does not stop with educational courses. Unity and fellowship flourish at a Becoming an Outdoors Woman weekend. LDWF staff and volunteers make sure participants are well fed, entertained, and housed at one of the finest educational camps in the state—Camp Grant Walker 4-H Center in Pollock, Louisiana, just north of Alexandria.  

Becoming an Outdoors Woman is for you if you:

• Have never tried these activities but have hoped for an opportunity to learn
• Know how to do some of these activities but would like to try your hand at some new ones
• Enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded individuals.

Interested in more advanced outdoor educational workshops? Check out Beyond Becoming an Outdoors Woman.

For more information, contact Karen Crabtree at kcrabtree@wlf.la.gov or 318.719.4571

Upcoming Workshop Details

• WORKSHOP DATES:
• March 21-23, 2025

2025 BOW WORKSHOP APPLICATION will be available to download January 24, 2025!  

• You must be at least 18 years old to attend.
• Check-in is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Friday. You will sign up for four 3.5-hour hands-on outdoor educational sessions taught by LDWF personnel and qualified volunteer instructors.
• Accommodations are dormitory-style (bunk beds) with one centrally located bathhouse. You must bring bedding, towels, and toiletry items.
• We will provide meals from Friday lunch to Sunday lunch. At night, enjoy other activities such as outdoor educational programs, bingo, bonfires, and music. If a DJ is scheduled on Friday night, they will play until 11 pm.
• Cost: $250; scholarships are available
• Download and mail in your registration form, with the fee, when registration opens on January 24, 2025. We will process registrations as we receive them until all slots are filled. However, if you have attended more than three workshops (this workshop makes your fourth), we will register you in order of arrival beginning on the Wednesday morning following the opening of registration (provided space is available) unless you are bringing a first-time participant. In that case, we will register you and the new participant together when your applications arrive. Please mail both forms together if possible. Hand-delivered forms will not be accepted.

Scholarship

Liz Barthel Memorial Scholarship

One of the top female bow hunters in the South and a former LDWF employee, Liz Barthel was dedicated to promoting women and children in outdoors activities and was instrumental in establishing Louisiana’s first Becoming an Outdoors Woman workshop. She continued to support each workshop until her untimely death. The Liz Barthel Memorial Scholarship was established to help carry on her legacy by providing women a chance attend a Becoming an Outdoors Woman workshop.

• Eligibility: Low-income women with children under age 18 are be eligible to receive the Liz Barthel Memorial Scholarship.
• Details: The scholarship pays $175 of the $250 registration fee. Scholarship recipient(s) will be responsible for a $75 fee, which they will mail in with their workshop registration form.
• Apply: You may nominate an individual or apply yourself. Please complete all sections of the scholarship application and submit via email to kcrabtree@wlf.la.gov or mail to:
  LDWF
  Liz Barthel Memorial Scholarship
  Attn: Karen C. Edwards
  Post Office Box 276
  Woodworth, Louisiana 71485
  
  We must receive your application at least two weeks before workshop registration opens.

Donate

Monetary

Becoming an Outdoors Woman is a nonprofit workshop sponsored by LDWF. The workshop relies entirely on participant registration fees and donations to operate. We greatly appreciate monetary donations.

All registration fees and donations are placed into the Becoming an Outdoors Woman account operated by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation. We use these funds to purchase new equipment and supplies for 30 different classes, facility rentals and meals, entertainment, and participant “goodies.”

Please make monetary donations payable to: the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation or LWFF, and write Becoming an Outdoors Woman in the memo area. Mail your donation to:

LDWF
Karen C. Edwards
Post Office Box 276
Woodworth, Louisiana 71485

Goods and Services

We also appreciate donations of outdoor equipment for classes or furnishings suitable for women’s outdoor educational workshops. We might also use your donation as:

• A door prize for participants
• A raffle item (note that all monies collected for raffles are spent solely on Becoming an Outdoors Woman)
• A welcome bag item (if we receive 200 or more of an item, we place them in a welcome bag for all participants)

Please mail donations to:
LDWF
Karen C. Edwards
Post Office Box 276
Woodworth, Louisiana 71485

Please place a note on or inside the box that your gift is a donation for Becoming an Outdoors Woman.

After we receive your donation, we will place your name, company, and/or organization on a list that is given to each participant at the upcoming workshop so you will receive recognition of your generous contribution.