Woodswomen, Inc. [1] was a nonprofit organization focusing on education and adventure travel operated by women, for women out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, from 1977 to 1999. Woodswomen was one of the first adventure travel companies serving exclusively women and served more than 8,000 women and 1,200 children in its tenure. [2] It has been referred to as the 'grandmother' of women's outdoor adventure groups. [3]
The name 'Woodswomen' was first used in 1977 when Judith Niemi, Elizabeth Barnard, Shirley Helyer, and Trudy Fulton organized a Boundary Waters Canoe Area trip for women. [3] Though these three women are generally credited with the initial organization, they maintain that it was founded organically. This means that each woman has her own Woodswomen history and no one person started out to make a business out of adventure travel for women. [4] For example, Judith Niemi's personal Woodswomen began when she decided that women needed an organization that would run outdoor trips solely for them, following a trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, where she saw no other women for two weeks. [5]
In 1980, Woodswomen launched a women-and-leadership course which turned into a well respected leadership program that trained many women who led Woodswomen trips and trips for other companies. [3] Woodswomen was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1982. Also in 1982, the organization coordinated and sponsored an expedition commemorating Mina Benson Hubbard's 1905 George River trip in Labrador, Canada. A seven-member expedition team traveled for four weeks on a 200-mile journey following Hubbard's route.
In 1985, Kathy Phibbs opened the Northwest office of Woodswomen and served as its director. Two years earlier, she had organized the first meeting of Women Climbers Northwest (WCN) in 1983. [6]
In 1987, Denise Mitten secured a grant from the Emma B. Howe Foundation and started the Women and Children Bonding in the Outdoors Program. Expanding their reach, in 1989 Mitten answered a request for proposals from the Minnesota Department of Corrections and secured funding for the Wilderness Experiences for Women Offenders Program. [7]
In 1990, Woodswomen sponsored the 100th year Commemoration Climb of Fay Fuller's assent of Mount Rainier, Washington. Kathy Phibbs and several other women led the climb which included over 30 women, many wearing dresses, and one woman who completed the climb with an artificial leg. [6]
In 1992, Woodswomen started Minnesota Youth Outdoors programs for lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth, who participated in a series of one to two day trips. Woodswomen guides and "adult supporter team members hope that sense of self and success will help gay and lesbian youth negotiate a time fraught with difficulties." [8]
In 1993, Woodswomen had 59 domestic trips and 11 international trips ranging from cross-country skiing in Minnesota to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. [9]
Woodswomen closed its doors in 1999. Its mailing list was passed on to Marian Marbury, who went on to found Adventures in Good Company.
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Woodswomen's mission was to "offer supportive and challenging learning opportunities for women and for women and children to help foster individual growth, responsibility, and relationship skills." [10] Woodswomen was set up with feminist and environmentalist ideals in mind, such as empowering women and protecting the environment.
Woodswomen was an organization that pioneered several programmatical aspects of adventure therapy and adventure education.
Judith Niemi explained part of Woodswomen's philosophy as, "not worrying about competition, achievement, ego. Especially not thinking we are conquering nature." [12] Many people go into the wilderness with the mindset of "conquering the great outdoors." Woodswomen trips worked to counter that mindset and instead learn through nature, getting to feel comfortable, and ending up feeling blissful, in the outdoors. [13] The idea was that it was not important how far you went, how fast you climbed, etc., but rather what you saw, what you experienced, what you did. [14] Guides completed extensive training and emphasis was placed on leadership styles. Woodswomen directors would look for "alternatives to hierarchical leadership and centralized authority," working to have everyone participate in decision-making. [4]
Especially in the early years of Woodswomen (1970s and '80s), many women did not have strong outdoors skills because they had not been given the opportunity to learn them. This led to women on outdoor trips being marginalized for their lack of skill and not getting the opportunity to learn. When men on trips would teach women some skills, it would be condescending and hierarchical, and women would get frustrated when they didn't get it right away.
"When women learn from women, they take more credit for learning," said Elizabeth Barnard in an interview. [5] Traveling with other women also gets women out of passive roles they may take at home and on trips with men, where they may be marginalized in favor of having the supposedly stronger and faster men do the job. When men are not around, it's impossible for women to fall into gender roles in terms of the tasks they perform and the skills they must learn. [15]
In addition to learning new skills and becoming comfortable in the outdoors, one of the main results of Woodswomen trips was increased self-esteem in participants. [12] Women coming back from trips reported an increase in confidence, saying things like "now I know I can go for that job promotion." [5] Woodswomen affiliates conducted research over the years about the outcomes of trips, and how empowered women felt by them. [10]
Woodswomen Inc.'s primary function was to offer adventure travel trips for women.
In 1993, Woodswomen ran 70 trips in 8 different countries, and upon its closure in 1999, Woodswomen had served over 8,000 women and 1,200 children through its outdoor adventure programs. [2]
The trips focused on activities including biking, rock climbing, backpacking, cross country skiing, kayaking, canoeing, whitewater canoeing and rafting, winter camping, sea kayaking, snorkeling, SCUBA diving, mountaineering, horse packing, llama packing, wild ricing, and dogsledding. [16] [4]
Woodswomen guides completed an extensive guide-training program, focusing on leadership styles and group dynamics. Hollis Giammatteo, writing for Ms. magazine, took a leadership course that included climbing Mount Adams in Washington state. According to Giammatteo, Denise Mitten refined Woodswomen's acclaimed leadership program, creating a style stressing ethical and inclusive leadership.
For Woodswomen guides, leadership was viewed as a role that encouraged appropriate participation, not as a characteristic of a personality type. The rigid idea of goal-setting and the language of right and wrong were removed. Woodswomen guides, for example, would avoid words that connoted domination, such as 'attack the trail,' 'summit assault,' or 'conquer the mountain.'" Rather, they would say things like "'run the rapids,' 'climb the mountain,' or 'let's start hiking.'" [9] Giammatteo wrote that Mitten taught the hostess concept, meaning that one guides in areas in alignment with one's ability. Just like one would throw a party in a place where one is comfortable and know where things are, ones leads trips in an areas where one is comfortable. [9]
Woodswomen ran a number of special programs along with the adventure travel trips. One, called Minnesota Youth Outdoors, was a program which served gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth and allies. Minnesota Youth Outdoors ran one and two day trips to various locations in Southern Minnesota, giving participants opportunities to go rock climbing, canoeing, skiing, and hiking.
Trips were designed to expose LGBT youth to the outdoors and to provide them with positive interactions with adults, potentially leading to higher self-esteem, a greater affinity for nature, and hope for the future. [8] Wilderness Experiences for Women Offenders was another of Woodswomen's special programs. Through this program, women felons would go on three-day outdoors trips, gaining confidence, and trust in themselves and other participants. [9] Another program was called Women and Children Bonding in the Outdoors provided opportunities for low-income women and their children to experience outdoor activities. This program was designed to expose inner-city women and their children to outdoor activities; in the process women and children would gain self-respect, the courage to accept challenges, cooperation skills, and respect for nature. [7]
Woodswomen affiliates taught various classes and workshops about the outdoors at colleges and schools around the Twin Cities metro area, in subjects ranging from log-cabin building, Minnesota ecology, feminism and ecology, botany, the history and literature of women and living in the wilderness, first aid, knots and ropes, bike touring, kayaking, bird watching, orienteering, working consciously and conscientiously with women in the outdoors, and camping with children. [12] [15]
A Scout is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section. Scouts are organized into troops averaging 20–30 Scouts under the guidance of one or more Scout Leaders or Scoutmasters. Troops subdivide into patrols of about 6–8 Scouts and engage in outdoor and special interest activities. Troops may affiliate with local, national, and international organizations. Some national Scouting associations have special interest programs such as Air Scouts, Sea Scouts, outdoor high adventure, Scouting bands, and rider Scouts.
NOLS is a non-profit outdoor education school based in the United States dedicated to teaching environmental ethics, technical outdoor skills, wilderness medicine, risk management and judgment, and leadership on extended wilderness expeditions and in traditional classrooms. It was previously known as the National Outdoor Leadership School, but in 2015, this label was retired in favor of the independonym "NOLS". The "NOLS" mission is to be the leading source and teacher of wilderness skills and leadership that serve people and the environment. NOLS runs courses on six continents, with courses in a variety of wilderness environments and for almost any age group.
Sigurd Ferdinand Olson was an American writer, environmentalist, and advocate for the protection of wilderness. For more than thirty years, he served as a wilderness guide in the lakes and forests of the Quetico-Superior country of northern Minnesota and northwestern Ontario. He was known honorifically as the Bourgeois — a term the voyageurs of old used of their trusted leaders.
Northern Tier High Adventure is a collection of high adventure bases run by the Boy Scouts of America in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of Minnesota, Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park and Canadian Crown Lands, Manitoba's Atikaki Provincial Wilderness Park, Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, and points beyond. Northern Tier is the oldest of the four National High Adventure Bases operated by the Boy Scouts of America; the others currently in operation are Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, Florida Sea Base in the Keys, and The Summit in West Virginia. The oldest, largest and most prominent of the Norther Tier bases is the Charles L. Sommers National High Adventure Base. Central to its programs is trips into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) and Quetico Provincial Park
Outdoor education is organized learning that takes place in the outdoors, typically during school camping trips. Outdoor education programs sometimes involve residential or journey wilderness-based experiences in which students participate in a variety of adventurous challenges and outdoor activities such as hiking, climbing, canoeing, ropes courses and group games. Outdoor education draws upon the philosophy, theory, and practices of experiential education and environmental education.
Okpik, pronounced as is the Boy Scouts of America cold-weather adventure program created by their Northern Tier High Adventure Bases at the Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base in Ely, Minnesota.
Scouts BSA is the flagship program and membership level of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) for boys and girls between the ages of typically 11 and 17. It provides youth training in character, citizenship, and mental and personal fitness. Scouts are expected to develop personal religious values, learn the principles of American heritage and government, and acquire skills to become successful adults.
The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) is an amateur athletic association with its national office in Canmore, Alberta that has been a focal point for Canadian mountaineering since its founding in 1906. The club was co-founded by Arthur Oliver Wheeler, who served as its first president, and Elizabeth Parker, a journalist for the Manitoba Free Press. Byron Harmon, whose 6500+ photographs of the Canadian Rockies in the early 20th century provide the best glimpse of the area at that time, was official photographer to the club at its founding. The club is the leading organization in Canada devoted to climbing, mountain culture, and issues related to alpine pursuits and ecology. It is also the Canadian regulatory organization for climbing competition, sanctioning local, regional and national events, and assembling, coaching and supporting the national team.
Camp Widjiwagan is a YMCA camp based on Burntside Lake near Ely, Minnesota, United States.
Big Cove YMCA Camp or Big Cove, is a residential camp for children aged 6–16 located in Sutherlands River, Nova Scotia. The camp is the oldest residential camp in Canada, founded by what is now called the YMCA of Greater Halifax/Dartmouth in 1889. It is located on a 100-acre peninsula on Merigomish Harbour in Pictou County.
An outing club or outdoors club is a student society centered on outdoor recreation. Outing clubs provide their members with the planning, training, access, and equipment necessary to enjoy these activities.
Wilderness Canoe Base is a Christian youth camp that borders the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on Seagull Lake near the end of the Gunflint Trail, about 50 miles from Grand Marais, Minnesota, USA. The camp hosts canoe camping trips and work-service trips for youth during the summer as well as retreats for all ages year round. Part of the camp is on the northern half of Fishhook Island and another tract resides on nearby Dominion Island. It has been under the management of Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp, Inc. since 2002.
Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activities can include fishing, hunting, backpacking, walking and horseback riding — and can be completed individually or collectively. Outdoor recreation is a broad concept that encompasses a varying range of activities and landscapes.
The Blue Ridge Mountains Council is a Boy Scouts of America council located in Roanoke, Virginia, that serves Scouts in southwest and south central Virginia. The Blue Ridge Mountains Council owns and operates the Blue Ridge Scout Reservation in Pulaski County, Virginia, the largest Council-owned Scout reservation in the United States. The council's Tutelo Lodge is part of the Order of the Arrow.
High Adventure Bases of the Boy Scouts of America are outdoor recreation facilities located in several locales in North America operated by the Boy Scouts of America at the organization's national level. Each facility offers wilderness programs and training that could include wilderness canoeing, wilderness backpacking trips, or sailing, and provide opportunities for Scouts to earn the 50-Miler Award. These bases are administered by the High Adventure Division of the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Calvin Rutstrum was an American writer who wrote fifteen books, most relating to wilderness camping experiences and techniques. Most of his books were written at his cabin on Cloud Bay, Ontario.
"His wilderness experiences begin just before WWI and span the modern era including the environmental movement of the late 1960s and 1970s. He published his books starting in 1946 and continued to publish right up to near his death in 1982. ...Throughout his life he lived many experiences and held several jobs.....his writing skills were primarily self-taught from reading....Many of these jobs he held just long enough to set himself up for some time in the wilderness. Many of his wilderness years were spent wandering the Canadian Shield or the Boundary Waters area of Minnesota on long canoe, walking, or sledding trips. Over the course of his life he also maintained or built several residences-Canadian and Minnesota cabins, a Marine-on-St. Croix home and a New Mexico ranch home."
The Philmont Leadership Challenge is a seven-day adult leadership training program of the Boy Scouts of America. It is intended for adults who have completed Wood Badge and is held once or twice each year in the back country of the Philmont Scout Ranch.
Andre-Francois Bourbeau is a noted Canadian survival expert and professor emeritus at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Bourbeau co-founded the survival skills Outdoor Adventure Program at that university and taught there for more than 30 years. The students at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi have affectionately given Bourbeau the nickname "Doc Survival" due to his skills.
Justine Kerfoot was a writer and outdoors-woman who moved to the Boundary Waters in 1927 and helped establish the Gunflint Lodge and the overall Gunflint Trail area. She was the author of two published books and co-authored a third. She also wrote a “On the Gunflint Trail” column that ran weekly for 42 years in the Cook County News Herald.