Pinewood, SC – The South Carolina Waterfowl Association’s Heritage Program located at 8444 Old River Road Pinewood, SC hosted a Women’s Wilderness Weekend for 30 participants on the weekend of April 29-May 1, 2022. The Heritage program is hosted at the Nation’s largest Wildlife Education Center operated by the South Carolina Waterfowl Association and our Education programs serve over 15,000 campers, families and students annually. (www.wildlifeedcenter.org)

This weekend session provides an opportunity for women (ages 18 and over) to become more engaged in the outdoors in a safe, comfortable environment. With 19 participants in its inaugural year, the program nearly doubled in size with 30 participants in 2022. With exciting outdoor activities and highly trained professional instructors, next year is expected to be even bigger. It was an action-packed weekend, with activities including canoeing, archery, 5 stand, fishing, ornithology, herpetology, DNR Deer hunting Seminar, night shoot, wild game cooking seminars, and a campfire. The expert instructors for the weekend were Newman Landa, our Level 4 Archery Instructor and John Higgins who designed the Coordinated Shooting Method (CSM) and is an internationally respected shooting sports instructor. Dan Hieronymus (professional wild game chef) was our expert chef for the weekend.

One of the great memories made during the weekend included Mary Jane Morgan who had never caught a fish before. She was one of the participants at Camp Woodie’s 2nd annual Women’s Wilderness Weekend. She pitched a plastic zoom bait towards some reeds at the edge of the Bullington Pond. Within a matter of seconds, she successfully landed a largemouth bass, her first fish ever. Mary Janes will now fish for life. Mission accomplished.

“The South Carolina Waterfowl Association exists to enhance and perpetuate South Carolina’s wildlife heritage through education and habitat conservation. Our education programs pass on the hunting and fishing heritage to the next generation. This weekend definite accomplished our mission.” says DuValle Elliott, South Carolina Waterfowl Association’s Chief of Education Programs, “These weekend programs are a great opportunity to showcase our Wildlife Education Center and demonstrate our proven, innovative programs as well as our capabilities to serve our participants both youth and adults. We appreciate the opportunity.”


For more information, about the South Carolina Waterfowl Association’s Heritage Program contact Elizabeth Eberhart heritage@scwa.org (803 460-8525) or visit wildlifeedcenter.org/heritage-events/ .