1.27.08 - Women's Wilderness Institute: A different approach to outdoor rec

Colorado DailyTuesday, January 27, 2009
by Doug Bonham

Women's Wilderness Institute: A different approach to outdoor rec

BOULDER, Colo. - In a place as associated with outdoor recreational activities as Boulder is, it's little surprise that there are plenty of opportunities to get involved and many places to learn outdoors skills.

However, a Boulder-based group is filling an even bigger niche in the local outdoors scene.

Entering its 12th year, the Women's Wilderness Institute is a nonprofit group that brings a unique twist to outdoor education for women and girls.

On courses ranging in length from single days to entire week-long treks into the outdoors, the institute takes a different approach to teaching outdoor activities -- they focus on what women want.

"For most women stylistically, the preference is to have things broken down into a bit more bite-sized chunks," programming director Jody Radtke said. "We're really trying to tap into individual learning styles as well as the general nature of a woman's learning style."

This focus is what makes the group unique.

The institute utilizes an all-female staff both in the administrative office and with its instructors in the field, and courses are limited to 10 participants and two instructors -- which makes such outdoor activities as rock climbing, mountain biking and backcountry hiking more approachable to women.

"We break it down into steps," marketing director Wendy Gruenberg Wray said of the teaching philosophy. "We'll progress and build and provide reinforcement and practice throughout the day."

Wray said the courses not only teach skills, but also symbolize overcoming challenges; this is true in both the women's courses and the programs for girls, specifically 12- to 18-year-old girls.

"We teach a lot of these skills, and they end up being representative or metaphoric of other things in life," Wray said.

The girls' courses were the original foundation of the institute, and Wray said they remain incredibly important to the group's mission.

"In the big picture, we can change the world by putting more girls out in the world that feel great about themselves," Wray said. "Just because of programs like this and programs that are popping up in the schools, girls are feeling so much better about themselves."

The institute has an impressive array of outdoors gear at its disposal, which women and girls on courses can borrow, providing a wider group the opportunity to experience the outdoors and lowering the cost of entry. The institute provides need-based scholarships for the girls' programs; Radtke was proud to say that they have not turned a girl away in 12 years.

The program is growing yearly. Radtke said that the amount of programs has doubled at the institute in the last five years, while Wray added that a record-high 465 women and 165 girls will go on programs this year.

"It's been really fun to watch the growing desire for all women's and girl's programming," Radtke said. "We've just been continuing to challenge ourselves to meet that growing need."

While the Women's Wilderness Institute may be continuing a long tradition of women treading into new fields, there's an even more basic reason why people keep signing up for their programs: they're fun.

"Bottom line, these courses are really fun," Wray said. "This is a great way to spend the summer."