Program teaches camping and outdoor skills

Delta Digital News Service

Friday, Mar. 13, 2024

By Avery Jones | Editor

JONESBORO, Ark. – Women in the Woods, a new outdoors program hosted by Lake Frierson State Park, recently started in February. They will meet every first Sunday of the month (except for April due to the eclipse). Their most recent meeting was held on March 3 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Lake Frierson State Park. 

Each meeting focuses on a different outdoors skill. The first meeting, originally planned for February 4 but postponed, was about backpacking. This most recent meeting taught Dutch oven cooking. Future events will teach foraging, fishing, kayaking, canning, geocaching, horseback riding, and camping.

According to Cathy Combs, the park superintendent at Lake Frierson State Park who arranged the event, the purpose of Women in the Woods is for women to “grow their roots” at the park. 

“The entire series aims to grow closer to the park, grow friendships with friends new and old, and grow outwards towards adventures that can be found in other parks in our area,” Combs stated.

She and other employees at the park wanted to start programs that are geared towards certain groups. They typically host several programs that are open to everyone in the Jonesboro and Paragould communities. 

The wide variety of their activities is meant to be an example of the diversity available at not only Lake Frierson, but also other parks across the state. They also hope to foster community connections.

The events are free to attend, and there’s no limit on attendance, unless supplies are being provided in which case there’s a small fee and a limit on the number of attendees. The Dutch oven class had a limit of fifteen people and cost $15 due to the Dutch ovens and food being provided.

The series is planned to end in November, but it will return next year. They might change some activities depending on which were the most popular, but the essential concept will remain the same.

According to Combs, this event is specific to women because there’s a large network in Northeast Arkansas of women who enjoy outdoor activities and are looking for activities to do and to make new friends. 

“This is really just the park opening up its doors and saying, hey, our backyard is your backyard,” Combs said. “Come hang out, have fun, try something new, and then make new friends.”

However, Combs emphasized that women are welcome at all events held at the park, and there are also several events for other demographics. In addition, if someone has an idea for an event, they can call the park, and it will be taken into consideration.

When determining what activities should be included in this event, the park sent out a survey to the community asking what outdoor activities women would be most interested in learning. From the results, they chose the activities that had the most votes for Women in the Woods.

“It was really important that everything that we chose not only fit in with the resources that we had here and in our area, but also what people were wanting to explore for themselves,” Combs said.

At the Dutch oven cooking class, the women made chili, broccoli cheddar soup, soda bread, cornbread, and dump cakes. The class was full with at least fifteen attendees. None of the women who came were familiar with Dutch oven cooking, which is partially why they wanted to participate.

Ali Smith, who was there with her mother-in-law, had never been to Lake Frierson before and only heard of it because she was invited to the Dutch oven class. However, she and her mother-in-law love doing outdoor activities, and Smith was excited to visit a park she had never been to before.

“I’m not much of a cook, but I was down to come along to see basically the lake because I’ve never been out here before,” Smith said.

Kim Quinn and Tammy Stevens are also both outdoor enthusiasts and enjoy activities like hiking, kayaking, camping, and biking. They’re familiar with Lake Frierson, as well as many other state and national parks. They attended because they were interested in learning about Dutch oven cooking.

Laura Newberry, another attendee, is also an outdoorsy person and goes to Crowley’s Ridge State Park every day since it’s near her house. She wanted to come to the Dutch oven class because she wants to be more prepared.

“I was planning on doing more camping, so I was like, this’ll be great,” Newberry said. “And I might be by myself sometimes, so it’d be good to know.”

Martha Bunch isn’t usually an outdoorsy person, but she wants to be. She’s also always thought that food cooked directly over a fire looks very appetizing, so she wants to find out and be able to do it herself.

“I’ll be booked camping most of the time completely by myself, and I’d like to have the confidence to do what I need to do,” Bunch said.

“I think it’s great that they’re doing it for women only because it’s not as intimidating to come to something if you know that it’s just going to be women,” Stevens said. 

“We’re a community, too,” Newberry added.

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