ASCEND: Finding Your Outdoor Community: How Women Build Confidence Together (Ep 748)
Ducks Unlimited Podcast
Ducks Unlimited Inc.
4.9 • 599 Ratings
🗓️ 12 February 2026
⏱️ 56 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Discover how women find belonging, mentorship, and confidence by stepping into the outdoors together.
Host Bethany Beathard sits down with Jess Rice, founder of WildHERness, a women‑centered outdoor community built to empower beginners and seasoned outdoorswomen alike.
Together, they explore what community really means for women entering the outdoor world—breaking down barriers, building skills, and creating friendships that change lives. From learning to hunt or kayak to embracing homesteading and conservation, Jess shares how shared experiences help women grow stronger, braver, and more connected.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why women thrive when they learn outdoor skills together
- How Wilderness creates accessible, authentic adventure for every woman
- What mentorship looks like beyond hunting
- How shared first‑time outdoor experiences deepen confidence
- The role of conservation, motherhood, and mental health in outdoor life
- Practical ways women can find or build their own outdoor community
WildHERness - INSTAGRAM
WildHERness - WEBSITE
Subscribe and join this exciting journey to explore, learn, and grow together in the outdoor world.
Join the Ascend Instagram community at @duascend and http://www.ducks.org/ascend.
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Send feedback: DUPodcast@ducks.org
SPONSORS:
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Whether you're a seasoned hunter or just getting started, this episode is packed with valuable insights into the world of waterfowl hunting and conservation.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Can we do a mic check, please? |
| 0:01.8 | Everybody, welcome back to the Ducks on the podcast. |
| 0:06.0 | Welcome to the Ascend podcast, a podcast by and four women in the outdoors. |
| 0:12.1 | Every episode delivers real stories, practical how-toes, and a welcoming community to help you start, sharpen, or rediscover your passion for the outdoors. |
| 0:21.3 | Authentic women, real stories, Outdoor Adventures, Ascend. |
| 0:25.9 | Presented by Ducks Unlimited, the leader in wetlands conservation. |
| 0:30.9 | Your next adventure starts here, the Ascend podcast. Send Podcast. |
| 0:44.5 | Don't forget to rate and review the Ascend podcast. |
| 0:48.7 | It's the best way to grow the podcast and help other women discover the next step on their outdoors journey. |
| 0:50.8 | All right, guys, today we're diving into all things community. |
| 0:54.6 | Women don't even go to the bathroom on their own. |
| 0:56.4 | Why are we going to go into the outdoors on our own? |
| 0:58.6 | Let's talk about learning, growing, and educating one another. |
| 1:02.5 | You guys aren't going to want to miss this episode. |
| 1:04.5 | Let's talk community. |
| 1:05.7 | I'm your host today, Bethany Bethard, and we are talking about a topic that is close to my heart and probably a lot |
| 1:12.9 | of women community is something so special. And so I have a really good guest today. This is going to talk |
| 1:20.1 | all about community. That's actually kind of a foundational member of the women community in the outdoors, |
| 1:26.7 | someone that a lot of people know. And so |
| 1:29.1 | Jess Rice, will you please introduce yourself how you founded Wilderness and, yeah, how you got |
| 1:37.3 | started in the outdoors? Thank you for having me, Bethany, and those are awfully kind words to be |
| 1:42.0 | saying. So I appreciate those as well. |
... |
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