Outdoor Life With Tess Maune: Oklahoma Group Dedicates 20 Years To Introducing Women To The Outdoors

Oklahoma is seeing a trend of more women in the outdoors. The National Wildlife Federation says women are the fastest-growing demographic in hunting and fishing.

Southwick Data shows in Oklahoma between 2011 and 2021 there was a 44-percent increase in women buying hunting and fishing licenses. A group of Oklahoma women has spent the past decade introducing other women to the outdoors.

“I want to encourage whatever outdoor activity it might be,” said Leann Bunn, a naturalist at Tenkiller State Park.

A picture of her as a little girl shows her love for the outdoors started when she was a little girl, fishing in a creek with her mom.

“You can just see her dress and her shoes and I'm sitting there looking at whoever's taking the picture and I have sunfish in my hand, so it's no wonder I'm doing what I do. It's just really no wonder,” she said laughing.

Leann has dedicated much of her life to helping introduce other women to the outdoors. 22 years ago, she created the Oklahoma Women In The Outdoors Tenkiller chapter, which is part of the National Wild Turkey Federation. It started small with eight women learning some basic outdoor skills and it's grown to a four-day event in the fall with close to 200 women and up to 30 classes.

The WITO Tenkiller event offers introductions to all sorts of outdoor fun, like canoeing, camping, deer hunting, hiking, fishing, blacksmithing, repelling, canning, and basket weaving, to name a few.

“I loved it. I loved every minute of it -- being outside and all the things that I learned,” said Rhonda Stanley.

Stanley went to her first WITO event 18 years ago with her daughter. She's been back every year since and now teaches a soap-making class.

“It offers so much to the ladies. There's so much out there for women,” WITO board member Lisa James said.

James has been a part of the Tenkiller WITO chapter as an instructor for 20 years. Her specialty and passion are fly fishing.

“Women a lot of times won't try things like this because they think they can't do it or they think, 'no that's a man's sport' or something. And I want them to know and I want to spread the word that it's not,” said James.

The outdoors gives something different to everyone – a sense of calm and a connection with nature.

“You're standing in the water, you're watching nature, you're hearing it, you're seeing it, you're smelling it... it surrounds you,” James said.

For some being in the outdoors is about family traditions.

“When my granddaughter was 14, she started coming... so now it's me, my daughter, and my granddaughter,” Stanley said.

And for others, the outdoors brings back special memories, maybe even of the moment that made you who you are.

“My mom took me to the woods, my mother did, and I want to empower other women to do the same,” said Bunn.