Tired of the Pandemic?

By Natalie Downey

Nature is medicine. It’s a well-known fact that spending time in the outdoors has many physical and mental benefits and can improve a person’s quality of life. A local organization called Women’s Initiative for Learning and Discovery (W.I.L.D.) is giving women the opportunity to make spending time in nature a regular part of their lives.

W.I.L.D. is a nonprofit organization formed and led by Sanna Moravek, a California native who has settled here in Columbus. With a lifelong passion for the outdoors, Sanna started W.I.L.D. to help local women learn outdoor skills that they can practice and put to use on their own in the wild.

W.I.L.D. regularly hosts clinics, classes, and trips. Clinics are free and focus on teaching outdoor skills that women may not have been taught as little girls. Topics for clinics include things like building and cooking over a fire, wilderness first aid, what to do when you encounter wildlife, and how to purify water. After clinics, trips are planned which give the women a chance to put the skills they’ve learned to use.

W.I.L.D. has taken trips to Florida where they kayaked with manatees and wild monkeys, to the Appalachian Trail where they hiked through miles of wildflowers as tall as themselves, to the Nantahala River where they whitewater rafted together, and to many other beautiful places. Trips range in difficulty levels from beginner to advanced, and W.I.L.D. also takes day hikes from time to time.

For those who are new to camping or want to try out gear before buying, W.I.L.D. offers rental equipment and the use of gear is free for anyone who goes on a trip with the organization, for that specific trip.

A wide array of outdoor gear from camping stoves to sleeping bags is also available for sale at the W.I.L.D. office.

W.I.L.D. has something to offer any woman who is interested in the outdoors, whether she is brand new to the wild or a lifelong lover of nature. But W.I.L.D. is about more than just outdoor education and camping trips. There is a sense of empowerment that comes from being able to start your own fire, and there is a deep camaraderie that forms amongst a group of women who have backpacked and camped together. While lessons are learned and skills are honed, friendships are formed. And that is how lives in our community are made just a little bit, or maybe a lot, better.

Although the pandemic has caused several planned W.I.L.D. trips and events to be put on hold, with the proper precautions, W.I.L.D. is looking forward to adding trips and events back onto the calendar in the coming months. For more information about W.I.L.D. visit the facebook page: “WILD - Women’s Initiative for Learning and Discovery.”