Buckin' Babes+
Chainsaw Workshop

Join us for a weekend of empowerment, skill-building, and hands-on experience at Redwing Ranch’s Buckin’ Babes+ Chainsaw Workshop! Designed specifically for women and queer folks, this workshop provides a welcoming and supportive environment to gain confidence using a chainsaw. Whether you're a complete beginner or looking to refine your skills, our all-female instructor team will guide you through everything from saw safety to technical cutting techniques.

Beyond saw skills, we’ll also cover fuel management, defensible space, and strategies for feeling safe and confident in the field—whether you're working on your own land, managing wildfire risk, or stepping into land stewardship.

Overview
A chainsaw workshop for women & queer folks.

About the Workshop

📅 Date: April 26, 2025
📍 Location: Redwing Ranch, Huerfano County, CO

Agenda Highlights:

📌 Friday: Arrival, get situated at the ranch
📌 Saturday: Full-day hands-on instruction with

small group training sessions.
📌 Saturday evening: Goodbyes after an amazing event!

Meals:

🍴Friday: No-host dinner- just arrive & get settled!

🍴Saturday: Breakfast & BBQ lunch ; no-host dinner

🍴Sunday: No-host breakfast, if choosing to stay another night

*No-host meals mean the event will not be providng the meal, but there are cooking facilities in the ranch house to make your own meal, as needed!

What You’ll Learn:

🔹 Chainsaw basics – how they work, safety, and handling
🔹 Hands-on cutting techniques and real-world applications
🔹 Chainsaw maintenance – sharpening, bar oil, fuel mix, and cleaning
🔹 Working with logs, tree limbing, and technical cutting skills
🔹 Understanding fuel management and defensible space for wildfire mitigation
🔹 How to approach chainsaw work with confidence and control in any environment

Who Should Attend?

Anyone who is curious and eager to learn! No prior experience is necessary—just a willingness to get hands-on and learn in a supportive community.

What’s Included:

Experienced instruction from an all-female instructor team
Access to chainsaws, PPE, and all necessary tools
Meals & lodging options at Redwing Ranch - the workshop includes accommodations Friday night lodging and breakfast & lunch on Saturday.
We have 9 beds in shared ranch housing and open camping space for the remaining 3 participants for the Friday night accommodations. Beds will fill up on a first-come, first serve basis unless otherwise specified.
If you would like to stay an additional night on Saturday, please email: info@redwingranch.farm.

Tiered Pricing

"Belle of the Woods " // Tier 1 - $250

Choose this tier if you’re well-established in your ranching or land-based work and have stable financial resources, land security, and food access. By selecting this tier, you’re not just investing in your own education—you’re fueling a more inclusive learning space by helping offset costs for beginners and those with fewer financial resources. Your contribution helps pay skilled instructors, cover equipment costs, and create a space where more women can gain the confidence and technical know-how to handle a chainsaw safely and effectively long after the workshop ends. This tier includes a bed in the ranch house.

"Crosscut Cowgirl" // Tier 2 - $150

Choose this tier if you’re actively growing your ranching or land management skills—whether you’re leasing land, building infrastructure, or balancing a tight budget while working toward financial stability. You’ve got grit and determination, but you know that mastering a chainsaw is a key skill that will serve you for years to come. By choosing this tier, you’re investing in practical, hands-on training that will help you take control of your own land management while also making this workshop sustainable and ensuring our instructors are paid their worth. This tier includes a bed in the ranch house.

"Buckin' Beginner" // Tier 3 - $100

Choose this tier if you’re in the early years of ranching or land stewardship and are working with limited financial resources. Maybe you’ve never picked up a chainsaw, or maybe you’ve used one but don’t quite feel confident yet—either way, this workshop is designed to give you real, hard skills that you can take home and apply immediately, whether it's clearing fence lines, processing firewood, or maintaining your land. This tier offers an accessible way to get hands-on experience in a supportive, women-led space while still contributing to the larger community effort. This tier includes camping on the ranch.

Locals Pass "Homegrown Sawyer" // - $75

Programming & Meals: Choose this option if you’re local or prefer to arrange your own lodging. This pass includes full access to programming and meals, making it a great option for those looking to gain hands-on experience without added travel costs. Whether you’re looking to refine your technique or start from scratch, this workshop will give you practical, take-home skills that will make you more confident and capable in handling a saw safely and efficiently.

Secure Your Spot!

Erin Sheridan

Erin got her start on a logging team in college, where she learned the fundamentals of chainsaw operation, safety, and maintenance. She quickly took to the sport, becoming a serious rookie competitor in the Timbersports world, honing her technical skills in events like crosscut sawing and axe throwing. She later worked on sawyer crews, building shaded fuel breaks, felling hazard trees, and tackling large-scale fuels reduction projects. She also led a sawyer crew on a ranch, improving road accessibility, creating shaded fuel breaks, and enhancing land management through strategic chainsaw use. In addition, she has hosted the Cal Poly Logging Team for workdays, providing guidance on practical chainsaw applications in ranching and fuels management.

Fiona Jackson

Fiona Jackson is the Ranch Manager of Redwing ranch with years of hands-on chainsaw experience in real-world settings. From a stint on a college logging team to an internship on a working ranch, plus farm jobs and ranch work cutting trees off barbed wire fences, she's learned how to handle a saw in practical, everyday situations. While not having any formal training, her experience comes from necessity—clearing downed trees, maintaining fence lines, and keeping operations running smoothly. At Buckin’ Babes+, she’ll be helping participants get comfortable with the basics of chainsaw use and maintenance, ensuring that everyone leaves feeling more confident and capable.

Lou Bean

Lou Bean is a saw crew leader and wildland firefighter from Colorado currently working in the Central and Southern counties. In addition to fire mitigation, prescribed burning, suppression, and burn scar recovery work, Bean is passionate about empowering community members and early career professionals with training and education, both in their work leading saw and burn crews with Southwest Conservation Corps, coordinating the Neighborhood Ambassador outreach program with SPAWP, and volunteering as a structural and wildland firefighter with Chaffee County Fire. Bean studied both Construction Coordination and Environmental Science and completed a thesis on Fire Ecology in the Wildland Urban Interface and has since worked for the National Parks Service and the US Forest Service in addition to their current gigs. Bean also runs The Blaze Project, which designs fire ecology curriculum for classrooms and non-traditional learning environments.

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Victoria Schmalz

Victoria Schmalz lives in Delta County, Colorado with her husband on their 700 acre family farm, where they raise grain corn and pinto beans. When she's not out irrigating, she's usually out playing with chainsaws and driving around the country for her work with STIHL Inc. Her background with chainsaws started as a small engine mechanic working in a hardware store, where eventually she worked her way up through different companies to get where she is now. She enjoys the ability to train others in the industry, and to share her experiences in the agricultural world.

Megan Jackson

Megan lives in Pueblo County with her husband and 3 children on a small hobby farm. When she isn’t chasing her kids or chickens around, she’s chasing cows in her free time for reined cow horse and ranch versatility competitions. Megan has always had a knack for mechanics and started her career as a service coordinator in a small engine shop for a farm and ranch group 10 years ago. A position opened with STIHL Inc. to allow her to continue to grow in her career and she has been traveling the country as a Territory Manager for the past 6 years. Training, providing sales support and building relationships with end users are just a few of the many faucets that being a Territory Manager entails, and she enjoys the ability to bring her knowledge and experience to a career she loves.

"My time spent running chainsaws with Erin was truly invaluable. Not only did I learn how to limb, buck, and fall trees under various conditions, but I also gained a deep understanding of equipment care, maintenance, and the importance of respecting your tools. Erin fosters a great learning environment by breaking everything down into manageable bits and ensuring that no question feels too small. She embodies the philosophy that the best way to learn is to just dive in! The skills I’ve gained are something I’ll cherish forever and am incredibly grateful to have in my back pocket when tackling new challenges in and out of the woods!"

- Nikki Bright