Nature with nurture
Who says day camp is just for kids?
Not Sarah Blevins, program specialist at East Dundee's Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation.
On Sept. 8, Blevins, along with wildlife and nature experts from Kane and DuPage counties and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will welcome women to the foundation's third annual Beyond Becoming an Outdoors Woman program, at the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation property, on Route 25 north of I-90 in East Dundee.
The daylong event at the 1,224-acre wildlife center will include workshops on archery; bird-watching; backpacking; gun safety; using maps, compasses and global positioning systems; nature photography; fishing; plant folklore; and outdoor survival skills.
The event runs from 8:30 a.m. to outdoor supper at 6 p.m. Those who can't get enough of the great outdoors are welcome to stay overnight for stargazing, a night hike and a tent campout.
The foundation will provide equipment for the workshops. Tents are also available upon request.
"Women should dress to be outside, and bring a sleeping bag if they're planning to camp," Blevins said.
Both experienced and novice outdoorswomen ages 14 and older may attend, but the campout is limited to participants 18 and older. Female instructors will teach most of the workshops.
"We hope that creates an openness to ask questions," Blevins said.
"Sometimes, if your husband, boyfriend or kids participate in any of these activities they assume you know more about it than you really do.
"But here, there's no such thing as a dumb question."
The popular event draws participants who return each year, Blevins said. New workshops for 2007 include kayaking; "Lake to Plate," which teaches participants how to clean, filet and cook fresh-caught fish; wreath-making; and outdoor survival skills.
What makes these workshops unique is that they are taught from a woman's perspective.
"With backpacking, for example, women have different issues than men do, being away from modern conveniences," Blevins said.
Instructor Valerie Blaine, nature program manager of the Kane County Forest Preserve, said her course on plant identification and folklore honors a long tradition.
"In almost all cultures, the knowledge of plants has passed from generation to generation through women," Blaine said.
In indigenous and European cultures, she said, women grew and collected plants and herbs for food, medicine and fabric dyes.
Blaine will lead a hike through the McGraw property and discuss the uses of the native and non-native plants growing there.
Among them are motherwort, which was used to ease childbirth and aid lactation; white snake root, used for snakebites; and wild carrot, better known as Queen Anne's Lace.
The native plant, known for its lacy white flower, has an edible root and an interesting story.
"There's a little red flower in the center of the cluster that a lot of people don't notice," Blaine said. "The story is that Queen Anne was tatting her lace, pricked her finger with the needle and a little drop of blood fell on the lace."
Rhamnus cathartica, also known as European buckthorn, is a non-native medicinal plant turned invader.
"It was used as a cathartic to clean out the system, and it has the same effect on animals, who chow down on the berries then distribute the seeds all over the place. It was a good thing that got out of hand," Blaine said.
Registration for Beyond Becoming an Outdoors Woman, which closes Sept. 6, is limited to the first 60 people. Plenty of spots remain, though the kayaking workshop is full. The $75 fee includes four activity sessions, use of equipment, meals and snacks, optional camping and more.
For more information, call (847) 428-2200.
If you go
What: Beyond Becoming an Outdoors Woman program
Where: Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation property, on Route 25 north of I-90 in East Dundee
When: 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sept. 8
How to register: Cost is $75 and deadline is Thursday. Call (847) 428-2200
Info: Visit www.mcgrawwildlife.org/res/bowbrochure2007.pdf