About VOW and Doe Camp

Vermont Outdoors Woman (VOW) is a volunteer, member-driven, non-profit organization that facilitates access to a broad range of outdoor resources and services to women. Through generous sponsorships from local and nationally based businesses and organizations we are able to accomplish the following goals:
  • Provide quality outdoor recreation-based learning experiences at reasonable prices.
  • Help build participant self-confidence in a safe and friendly atmosphere.
  • Connect with others with similar interests for encouragement, networking, and new friendships.
  • Encourage a strong, well-informed voice in the management of natural resources.
  • Foster a lifelong interest in outdoor activities.
  • Expand knowledge of the natural world and our place within it.

History
Employees at Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department came up with the idea of a statewide organization for women in 1995 during their first Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) weekend. They realized that there was a need more than the BOW clinics could offer, and Vermont Outdoor Women got its start in 1996. Immediate success made it obvious that additional help was needed to run the organization. Enter Vermont Outdoor Guide Association (VOGA), a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to the support and promotion of outdoor professional leaders and educators. At the encouragement of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, VOGA reorganized the understaffed Vermont Outdoor Women into a division of VOGA. With a membership of 150 businesses and several sponsors, an advisory board, and a full board of directors, VOGA prepared to launch the new Vermont Outdoors Woman. The newly-created team organized the first Doe Camp, a weekend retreat for adventurous women, in 2000. Since that new beginning, VOW has run over 35 retreats at various locations around Vermont.

Doe Camp? 
​Doe Camp provides seasonal educational and skill building programs in virtually all outdoor activities, including: archery, firearms safety, hunting skills, fishing, horseback riding, orienteering, GPS, canoeing & kayaking, snowshoeing, search & rescue, wildlife photography, snowmobiling, ATV safety, rock climbing, winter camping, wilderness first aid, self defense, mountain biking, wild medicinals & edibles, forestry, and more. Two seasonal weekends: Fall Doe Camp and ​Winter Doe Camp
 Women fishing
​