Yellowstone Overlook Field Camp
SEPTEMBER 18TH-22nd
GARDINER, MONTANA
The Setting
Join us for the opportunity of a lifetime at Yellowstone’s Overlook Field Campus for a gathering of Women in Ranching. Our team of facilitators are dreaming big with this event. Anticipate time on the land with Yellowstone staff, participating in activities and engaging conversations with other ranchers, and leaning into the power of community.
If you care about land, believe in the power of community, and can show up in support of female leadership, we welcome you at Women in Ranching.
Agenda
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4-6 PM Check-In & Settle In
6 PM Gather for Group Dinner
7 PM Welcome & Opening Circle
8 PM Bedtime
ARRIVAL
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7 AM Optional Sunrise Guided Body Movement
7:45 AM Build-Your-Own Breakfast
9 AM Departure to Barney Creek Livestock
10am Leadership with the Horse*
12 PM Group Lunch at Barney Creek
1PM Land walk and Ranch Entrepreneurship
4 PM Return to Overlook Campus
6 PM Gather for Group Dinner
7 PM Evening Wind Down
8 PM Bedtime
*Please note: Enjoy hands-on horse work; no riding involved.
DAY 01
DAY 02
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7 AM Optional Sunrise Guided Body Movement
7:45 AM Build-Your-Own Breakfast
9 AM Interactive Culinary Session
12 PM Enjoy Lunch & Leisure Time
2 PM Presentation & Workshop “Leveraging your Story for Grassroots Activism”
4 PM Group Photo & Leisure Time
6 PM Gather for Group Dinner
7 PM Evening Wind Down
8 PM Bedtime
DAY 03
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7 AM Optional Guided Body Movement
7:45 AM Build-Your-Own Breakfast
9 AM Depart for Full Day Yellowstone Forever Tour
12 PM Enjoy Lunch
4 PM Return to Overlook Campus
6 PM Gather for Group Dinner
7 PM Closing Circle Session
8 PM Bedtime
DEPART
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7 AM Sunrise Guided Body Movement
7:45 AM Build-Your-Own Breakfast
9 AM Final Goodbyes & Departure
The Location
An eagle soars eye-level on a snowy November evening, the gold-and-white foothills of Mount Everts rolling in the distance. Adjacent to a snowy peak, steam rises from the Mammoth Terraces. Light reflects off the ground as the sun descends behind the Gallatin Mountains. In springtime the frozen ground gives way to green grass, blue sagebrush, and multi-colored wildflowers. This view—and the property’s prime location at the doorstep of Yellowstone National Park—define Yellowstone Forever’s north entrance residential learning facility: Yellowstone Overlook Kendeda Field Campus.
Like its vista, the history of the Yellowstone overlook campus is expansive. In 2009 Yellowstone Forever’s predecessor, the Yellowstone Association, purchased the 80-acre property during a capital campaign called “Legacy for Learning.” Overlook opened the following year as an educational campus and has been in operation ever since. Three cabins are available to those taking classes, and a fourth houses volunteer caretakers. Additional highlights include a manmade lake, campfire ring, and access to the Yellowstone River Trail.
MEET YOUR
Facilitators
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Amber has been ranching in rural western communities for nearly 20 years with her partner and two children, stewarding Antelope Springs Ranch near Cohagen, MT, comprising 53,000 acres of native grassland. Her passion is rooted in building a future where rural families thrive and all people are empowered and supported in pursuing work that aligns with their passion and purpose. Her time working with NGOs in the Middle East, and six years as an Activity Director in a rural nursing home, have helped her develop a unique passion for creating spaces of dignity, joy, and acceptance. Women in Ranching allows her to center her work with people closest to the soil's surface, creating a network of peers who believe a better future is possible for us all.
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Anica is a first-generation Chinese American. Her family immigrated from Hong Kong to the US in 1992—just shy of her sixth birthday. In the years of growing up in Kansas, where Asians were the minority, food was a means for her family to keep traditions alive and celebrate their Chinese culture. Her love for food, especially meat, led her to the realization that Good Meat was mostly absent from Chinese grocers in America. In 2018, Anica started training as a whole-animal butcher and began her journey into the regenerative meat industry. Learning this craft has helped her to realize just how much work is required to get meat on our plates. It made her think about ingredients differently, the experience of eating food differently, and she was empowered by the control small farmers had over how the animal and land was treated. As a woman working in a male-dominated industry, Anica has found a deep sense of belonging within Women in Ranching. Her hope is to be able to share her butchery skills with other women, and help grow the support system for women in food and agriculture.
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My name is Beth Godbey and I am a mother, wife, rancher, irrigator, hay raker, goat chaser, cow feeder and home coordinator! I understand the importance of women on the land and I am passionate about supporting and empowering all of the many hats we wear. I love the circle gatherings and watching connections form and the beautiful growth that comes with being honored for our work, our dreams and who we are- women in agriculture!
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From my earliest childhood gardens and treetop sanctuaries, to the larger farming and ranching landscapes of my adulthood, the land has called me into a co-creative nurturing relationship to provide nutrient dense food and safe haven for myself and others. I know that empowering women to discover their voice and honor their vital role in agriculture today will have a huge impact on our ability to restore vibrant health to our land, animals, families, and communities.
Bio:
Kathy’s deep love of the land and enthusiasm for nutrient dense, traditional foods propelled her transition from technology into farming and ranching. Starting with just a small homestead and homeschooling her daughters, her land relationship experience includes managing a 250-acre ranch in Texas; developing infrastructure and enterprises for grass-fed beef, grass-fed lamb and native pecans; cow and goat dairying, pastured poultry for meat and eggs, honeybees, fruit orchards and vegetable gardens, composting, and many traditional skills and food preparation methods.
Kathy is a Professional Certified Educator in Holistic Management, Certified Coach, and Master Composter. She has provided support and professional development to regenerative ag educators and consultants across the world, and has personally consulted on both small and large scale farms and ranches across the US.
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What is your connection to land?
I belong to the land. More specifically, my life and livelihood is tied to the Colorado ranch where I raised my family and continue to serve my community. On the land, I have found a way to express my strongly held value of inclusion in ways that extend to people of varying abilities, backgrounds and beyond to livestock, wildlife, and diverse plant life. Within my connected relationship to the land, I have learned to trust myself.
Why do you want to support women’s leadership on the land?
When a women feels that she belongs and trusts herself, the depth and breadth of her impact on her community and the natural world around her are immeasurable. A women who feels seen can better show up to see and support other women, the livestock, the wildlife and the land that surrounds her. I believe the land heals, and we can heal the land, so I want to support women in their leadership on the land as a decision to choose healing and hope.
Experience
Belonging on the Land. Dig deeply into your relationship with self and connection to the land with facilitator Kathy Frisch. This grounding session will explore land stewardship from a life-nurturing perspective with themes of soil health, personal value-based goals, financial well being, long-term resilience, risk management and confident decision making.
A Culinary Session: Culture + Community. Adventure into new culinary territory, exploring culture, community, and self in a butchery/meat-centered group cooking workshop with facilitator Anica Wu.
Mindful Movement Practice. Cheri Trousil has a background in physical therapy and Qigong, and will lead us in movement to discover our center and ground ourselves in the landscape
Standing with Courage. Work skills like self-trust, self-acceptance, self-love and standing confidently in your self-worth.
Partnering with the Horse. Guided, non-mounted work with horses to empower meaningful relationships that you will carry on in your community and out to the broader world, led by Beth Godbey and Cheri Trousil, trained in equine-based coaching and development.
Rest + Relaxation. This time is exactly what you would expect! Go take a walk, sit under a tree with a new friend, nap in the cabin, eat a snack, journal, go take a hot shower, you do YOU!! As women we are often doing for others, take this time and do something you enjoy for yourself.
Fireside Celebration. Amber Smith will lead us in conversations to elevate what each woman is most proud of in her life. These are small group exercises that deepen our skills in active listening and learning how to reflect upon and celebrate the journeys of our peers.
Ranch Host
We’ll enjoy time on Barney Creek Livestock with conversations led by Meagan and Pete Lannan to discuss the relationship between land, profitability and ecosystem health. For next generation ranchers like Meagan and Pete, cowboy skills are not enough to have a sustainable business, it requires business acumen, relationship building and understanding how to care for your land and animals in the best way possible.
Horsework Partner
Abby Nelson of Wide Sky Adventures will be providing horses during or guided horsework.
Scholarship Partners
Full scholarships provided by our friends at the National Young Farmers Coalition and World Wildlife Fund.
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Ticket Structure
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We have a tiered structure for our tickets. Once you arrive at the ranch all food, lodging, education and programming are covered with your ticket. This is an all-inclusive gathering.
All sales are final.
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We fairly compensate our facilitators and educators, including their travel to and from the gathering and pre/post gathering planning sessions. Because we believe that leadership is best highlighted when shared amongst a compassionate team, our facilitator to participant ratio is incredibly low, often 3 participants per facilitator. All food and catering is paid for by Women in Ranching, allowing our participants the privilege of arriving and focusing on their own growth and learning. And typically, our stay at the ranch is generously donated by our hosts. Gathering in person is a costly endeavor, but the community built and the lives changed is worth every effort!
Flight information: Bozeman, MT airport closest option
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Scholarship $250.00
If you are a beginning producer or actively working to find a place in agriculture, we welcome you to apply for a scholarship here.
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Reduced Price $525.00
Reduced price for working ranch participants facing drought, low-market prices for their livestock, loss of employment, or other hardships. We understand the reality of agricultural work and we want YOU to join us.
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Base Price $750.00
This is the price for participants who are paying their own way to gather with us. If you are living on and caring for land and looking for a community of supportive peers, please choose this option.
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Supporter $1,250.00
This option covers the actual cost of these gatherings. If you can afford it, please consider this tier.
FAQs
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It takes a lot of time and cost for us to put together these events (food, facilitators, lodging, travel, etc.)
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Our participants arrive at many different levels of experience. Whether you are a seasoned rancher at the management level, are in a more supportive role, or are just getting started, we welcome you to Women in Ranching.
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If you care about the land, are deeply engaged in rural communities and believe in the power of a supportive community of women, we welcome you.
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We are building a community of peers, and it is necessary for all participants to arrive at 4 pm on day 1. We will leave by 10 am on day 4. The timing is not negotiable. If this gathering doesn’t work for you, keep on the lookout for the next Circle!
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Depending on the location, there are times when beer or wine is available to complement a supper meal. We ask that you not bring alcohol or any illegal drugs with you. Those would be grounds for removal from the gathering.
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Our work with horses is building partnerships, learning about ourselves and learning how to communicate with and be a part of a team. All of this work occurs on the ground only and is non-riding.
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Part of building community is creating boundaries and supporting one another to show up fully. Please find good caretakers for your loved ones so you can arrive and be fully present.
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A tremendous amount of growth occurs when you step into a community of other incredible folks who you’ve not yet met. If you choose to encourage friends to register, it is likely you will not be staying in the same cabin and you will be sorted into different groups for educational sessions throughout the day. Come with a heart to learn and a mind willing to grow and stretch and be challenged.
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