DOVER — Registration has been extended until Friday, Sept. 15, for Delaware’s 2017 Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) program, set for the weekend of Oct. 6-8 at Killens Pond State Park in Harrington.

The 2017 event marks the 19th year that Delaware has hosted the program, sponsored by DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife.

BOW offers a variety of 1.5-hour and 3.5-hour courses taught by volunteer instructors who share their expertise and provide instruction in a safe, supportive and non-competitive atmosphere. The cost of participating in the full BOW weekend is $130, which includes meals, lodging, instruction, and use of necessary equipment and supplies. The cost of participating in only Saturday’s BOW courses is $90, including meals, instruction, and use of necessary equipment and supplies.

Participants can choose from a wide range of hands-on courses during each of the sessions. Included are Orienteering 101, Campfire Cooking, Camping 101, Tree I.D., Intro to Canoeing, Daypacking/Hiking, Invasive and Nuisance Plants in Delaware, Cooking Your Catch – How to Process Your Fish, Intro to Shotgun, Intro to Target Archery, Birding 101, Intro to Fly Fishing, Beginning Freshwater Fishing, Prehistoric Storytellers (a course on Delaware’s horseshoe crabs), Native Landscaping for Pollinators, Boating Safety, Waterfowl I.D., Edible and Medicinal Plants, and Wonders of Wetlands.

A specialty course this year at BOW is a mentored crossbow deer hunt. The course involves learning how to safely use a crossbow, participation in a hunter safety course, and taking part in a mentored deer hunt at Killens Pond State Park. Participants in the hunt are required to have a Delaware hunting license and hunter education certification. Each hunter will be partnered with a mentor who will guide them during the managed hunt.

BOW registrations must be received by Friday, Sept. 15, with registration packets available online at http://de.gov/bow. Please send completed registration forms with payment to: Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife – BOW, 2992 Lighthouse Road, Milford, DE 19963. For more information, contact Lynne Pusey at 302-422-1329 or email: lynne.pusey@state.de.us.

This year for the first time, scholarships are available for the state’s Becoming an Outdoors-Woman event through the Delaware Friends of BOW. To apply for a scholarship, candidates should complete the BOW Scholarship Application form. Deadline for applying is Sept. 15. Once completed, scholarship application forms should be sent to Delaware Friends of BOW, 410 Cornish Road, Harrington, DE 19952.

While BOW is aimed primarily at women, it offers an opportunity for anyone 18 or older to learn skills that allow them to participate in numerous outdoor activities. Since the first BOW was held in Wisconsin in 1991, this exciting international program has expanded to 46 states and seven provinces with more than 80 workshops offered each year. The main goal of the BOW program is to provide women the opportunity to learn skills that encourage and enhance participation in outdoor activities, such as hunting, shooting, fishing, boating, and other activities.