Women tackle outdoor life;

PUBLICATION: The Chronicle-Herald
DATE: 2004.10.12
SECTION: NovaScotia
PAGE: B1
SOURCE: Truro Bureau
BYLINE: Cathy Von Kintzel
PHOTO: CATHY VON KINTZEL / Truro Bureau Julie Towers, left,
ofShubenacadie instructs CATHY VON KINTZEL / Truro Bureau Three bows
were in a row as Enid Schaller of
ILLUSTRATION: Tamara McFarland of Timberlea in hunting with dogs during
aBecoming an Outdoors Woman weekend in Pictou County.; Halifax took a
shot at archery and bow hunting at an outdoors women’s weekend in Pictou
County.

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Women tackle outdoor life; Participants get down and dirty while
learning fishing, hunting, survival skills

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SUTHERLANDS RIVER – Just the idea of becoming an outdoors woman conjures
up images of getting wet, muddy, dirty, sweaty and exhausted.

Pleasantly, the reality of a weekend away with other nature-loving women
is a tad more civilized and a whole lot of fun.

For proof, look no further than an enthusiastic Enid Schaller of
Halifax, who spent Saturday morning learning how to use a bow and arrow.

A day earlier she learned how to safely handle, store and shoot a rifle
for the first time.

“It was powerful, very loud and a little scary,” she said, digging into
her pants pocket to retrieve four gold-coloured .30-30 casings. “You’re
very cognizant that you’re holding a weapon in your hands.” Some
participants joked they’d save the casings to make necklaces.

Ms. Schaller just wanted to hang on to them as a souvenir of her
achievements.

“We all felt a sense of accomplishment,” she said, sitting down on the
grass to chat with her new-found friends and wait for another turn to
shoot arrows at balloons.

A majority of the 41 participants in a three-day Becoming an Outdoors
Woman weekend at the coastal Scotia Glen Camp in Sutherlands River,
Pictou County, were being exposed to some activities for the first time.

The women paid $199 each for three days of accommodations and meals, and
selected four courses from a list of 28, including fly fishing and
tying, hunting with dogs, outdoor cooking, sea kayaking, canoeing,
wilderness navigation and survival, trout fishing and hiking.

The trademarked program, which has been offered in various parts of Nova
Scotia since the late 1990s, involves provincial departments of natural
resources, agriculture and fisheries, the Office of Health Promotion,
plus the Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers and Hunters.

Susan Hruszowy, an outdoor recreational specialist for the province and
co-ordinator of the weekend event, said there are good reasons for the
government to support the program.

“We have a mandate for healthy lifestyles,” she said while walking
toward a picturesque river surrounded by a tapestry of fall colours. “We
try to encourage people to be active. Also, they’re learning things here
that they can take home and engage their families in.”

Ms. Schaller, who always had an interest in hunting, said she intends to
pursue more instruction in bow hunting and archery, and would probably
get her hunter and firearms safety courses.

Overall, she described the weekend as tiring but invigorating.

Not everyone intended to take up hunting or fishing after the weekend.

Some preferred to shoot with cameras or just wanted to dabble in a few
new activities without having to go to the expense of buying equipment
and then finding out they don’t like it.

Marla Webber of LaHave, Lunenburg County, spent her first day on a
nature and photography hike but also thoroughly enjoyed bow hunting. She
and her husband can see a day when their children, ages eight, seven and
three, will leave home and they’ll be looking for things to do together.

“It’s another way to connect with my husband,” who does a bit of
hunting.

“A lot of people have said they started going for nature walks with
their husbands and it evolved from that.”

In trying to create a supportive, non-competitive environment,
organizers select the best locations and people.

Many of the instructors are also women but not exclusively.

“We choose the best instructors, the ones who can teach in a comfortable
way,” Ms. Hruszowy said.