Women take to the woods in annual field day

SANDPOINT — Men in beards and flannel, move over — women are headed into the forest for the second annual Women in the Woods Field Day in Sandpoint on May 10.

With a great turnout last year, Idaho Department of Lands staff said they are excited to make this an annual event that teaches women how to use various outdoor tools and educates them about nature skills.

“This opportunity provides a wide range of training geared for women by women foresters to give them hands-on experience, inspiring more active participation in managing family-owned forests,” said IDL public information officer Sharla Arledge.

This event will be run by women foresters from IDL and the University of Idaho Extension, but will also include women instructors from a variety of different agencies.

“We had a fabulous event in April with nearly 30 attendees participating in Women in the Woods Workshop,” said Erika Eidson, IDL forest health specialist and workshop co-host. “Landowners brought in photos of their forest and received personalized management assistance from the fleet of instructors.”

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Pine Street Woods, new topics will be introduced for women to discuss and learn, including forest management and forest ecology. Arledge said the plan is to offer new topics each year to help returning guests get a well-rounded outdoor experience.

Attendees will be in the woods throughout the day, rotating through different exercises covering forest assessment and forestry work on the ground. Field stations will include learning skills like tree identification, insects, disease, tree measurements and markings, how to use forestry tools, thinning and pruning, wildfire safety, understory plants, wildlife habitat, and different soils.

This year, participants may choose to focus on one of the provided areas of education for half of the day that they are the most interested in learning about.

“The field day is another opportunity to interact with professional women foresters on the ground," Eidson said. "We will work in small groups so it’s easy to ask questions and gain confidence in managing family forests."

While there is no official dress code for the event, attendees are encouraged to wear sturdy, comfortable shoes as they will be walking through the woods to each station.

“The weather looks to be perfect at this point in time, with overcast skies, a high of 61°, and only a 24% chance of rain,” said UI extension educator Audra Cochran. “Of course as you know, North Idaho weather can change quickly, so we also recommend bringing jackets, rain gear and sunscreen just to be prepared.”

The Kaniksu Land Trust will be providing lunch for all participants.

Sign up for the event by May 3 at bit.ly/44nLO9J. Registration is $10 per person, which includes a Women in the Woods t-shirt as well as lunch. The Pine Street Woods are located at 11915 W. Pine Street in Sandpoint.

Contact Cochran at audrac@uidaho.edu or 208-937-2311 for more information. Interested individuals with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information or reasonable accommodations must contact Cochran one week prior to the event so adequate preparations can be made.