Playing Hard at Galbraith Mountain

The Kingfishers know how to burn some calories!  This last outing was a testament to the energy of nine & ten-year-old boys.  That being said, the Explorers are also showing us that they can handle a little bit of structure in their day, as well.  And as our games progress in difficulty, the boys are keeping pace.

Starting off from the North Galbraith Mountain trailhead, we opened our day in the usual manner with an opening circle.  This one went pretty quickly since the group was unanimous in wanting to play some Spider's Web.  We also had a chance to hand out our jobs and go over each role in a little more detail.  All that handled, we headed down the trail to the pump track up in the woods.

Getting ready to hit the trail

Staying off the newer runs, we had a blast running wild on some of the older tracks.  Sadly, our camera couldn't keep up with full-speed Explorers, but the blurriness gives you a sense of how fast these guys are!  While most of the group was running wild, we had a few Explorers engaging in a bit of engineering by building an elaborate dam across a run-off stream.  Eventually, most of the group ended up pitching in and Kingfisher Lake was born!  It was a lot of fun observing the teamwork that went into that little project.  Before leaving, the boys trenched out a couple of outlet runs for the water to drain out of the pond and ease our level of impact on the site, which was great.

New land speed record?

Catching some sweet air!

Heading further west, we arrived at an awesome little valley that we often visit with Explorers.  There is heavy vegetation and a nice stream running right down the middle.  In other words, a perfect spot for Spider's Web!  After a quick review of the rules, the Kingfishers were off and running (or hiding).  As always, this game teaches the boys some valuable lessons in terms of teamwork, stealth, strategy, and playing with honor.  Our debriefing afterward was full of lessons learned and a ton of excitement!

Heading in to play Spider's Web

The hike back from that spot is always a bit of a challenge with all the elevation gain after a long day of running.  So, if your Explorer seemed pretty worn out when he got home, that's why!

The pace was a bit slower on the way back...

Looking forward to the next adventure!

Be sure to check out the rest of the photos from our day here.

The Kingfishers Discover the Joys of Spider's Web at Whatcom Falls Park

Working with our youngest groups can be a ton of fun.  Everything we do is new and exciting for the Explorers, but some activities just seem to be even more fun than most.  One of these is "Spider's Web", a game that requires stealth, teamwork, and a willingness to crawl on your belly through everything the forest has to offer.  Based on our observations of the group so far, the mentors decided that the Kingfishers were ready to learn...and we had a blast!

At our opening circle, the boys showed some good progress in understanding the basics around effective communication.  We're taking less time with distractions and gaining the benefit of more time to explore!  From there, we moved north to check out the fish hatchery on our way to the woods.  All the pens are full of rainbow trout right now, so we had a chance to check them out a close range.

Meeting some rainbow trout.

There are a million of them in there!

Our next stop was the bridge at the falls, which was particularly impressive that day due to the high volume of the flow.  The water was really crashing down!

Whatcom Creek was running hard and fast!

So cool...

Moving downstream, we followed the creek to another spot that Explorers love, an area full of fallen trees.  The boys spent quite a bit of time free-exploring the area, playing "Hide", balancing on the logs, and playing a game of "Nature Scavenger Hunt".  The scavenger hunt was a fun way for them to learn more about Douglas Firs, Huckleberries, Western Cedar, and Sword Fern.  And, all the games of Hide we played really helped them prep for the upcoming game of Spider's Web.

Bouncing on "The Trampoline Log".

Kind of like spotting a bear cub in the wild, right?

Getting ready to start the scavenger hunt!

Plant identification is a team sport.

Heading off the beaten path, we worked our way further downstream to a spot where very few people go...and it's a perfect set-up for Spider's Web!  After covering the rules and boundaries and placing our "web" and "food source" bandannas, we jumped right into our first game.  Mentor Joey was the "spider" trying to spot all the rest of the group who were "flies".  The object of the game is for the flies to sneak from the "web" to the "food source" and carry it back to the web without being spotted by the spider.  If a fly gets spotted, he or she has to go back to the web and stay there until waved off by a live fly.  Joey gave the boys a good challenge, but all that practice in hiding payed off - the flies won!  Everyone had so much fun, we ended up playing another round before gathering back up for closing circle.  In sharing our Attitude of Gratitude, we heard a lot of "I'm thankful for Spider's Web!".

Climbing all over the hemlock tree that would later become the "web" in Spider's Web.

The Art of Camouflage on display as the boys go over their strategy.

There was a whole lot of sneaking going on as the "Flies" worked their way around the "Spider".

Captured flies wait at the web for someone to wave them off.

When it was all said and done, we had some tired Kingfishers on the walk back to the parking lot.  But, these guys wouldn't let that stop them from having a bit more fun mugging for the camera on the way back...

Goofballs...

Be sure to check out the rest of the photos from our day here.

The Kingfishers Learn about Layering at Chuckanut Creek

A rainy and saturated outing is something of a right of passage for all of our new Explorers Club groups. Sometimes, the mentors call these “Be Prepared days” because they highlight the importance of being prepared so well These wet, soggy outings almost always provide a us with two special opportunities. First, they allow us to learn about and practice layering and staying dry in a wet forest (as our Northwest forests so often are).  Second, they provide the group with a shared challenging experience, and that shared experience helps the bonds of connection within the group to grow stronger.

We started our outing as we always do, with an opening circle. This space allows us to check in with the group and share our intentions and desires for the day. Based on this input, we work together to make a basic plan for our day. It is also the time when we pass out the jobs that we carry with us on every outing. By distributing these amongst our packs, we are able to carry all of the gear that we need without someone being stuck with carrying it all.

We also took time to have a discussion about how we can give ourselves the best shot at staying dry during our exploration. We agreed that staying dry was necessary for staying warm. We all decided that today we would make an extra special effort to keep our waterproof layers on and to be careful not to slip into any water.

After our opening circle, we set out to Cougar Rock, our first destination of the day. On the way there we marveled at gushing mountainside streams, examined some interesting fungi and played a few games of Hide. The hike did a good job of warming us up, and when we got to the rock, we all took some water and had a snack to keep our internal furnace’s roaring.

Taking a moment to examine this waterfall closer

We took time here to partake in one of our favorite activities: free exploration! Especially because it is our first year, and for many of us, the first chance to really take some time and explore off trail, we appreciate slowing down and wandering through these woods. Some of the discoveries we made near Cougar Rock include a big, orange mushroom growing out of the base of a huge Douglas fir, a fallen log that is now a tunnel you can crawl through and even some deer tracks.

Arriving at Cougar Rock

After a couple more rounds of Hide, we packed up and began our walk down to the creek. It felt good to move again and take moments along the way to notice and investigate all of the the trailside treasures we found.

Playing Hide!

We eventually found our basecamp down on the banks of Chuckanut Creek. After scouting for any remaining spawning chum salmon (our efforts did not yield any confirmed fish sightings) we set up a tarp that the mentors had brought. At this point in our day, some of the Kingfishers had wet layers under their rain jacket and they were beginning to get cold. Now, with the tarp up, we had a dry space to replace some of our soaked under clothes with dry fleece layers and wool socks.

Much appreciated refuge from the rain

We were lucky to run into a Girls Explorers Club group down at the creek. We shared our tarp shelter with them and in return, they taught us some fun, big group games that served the double purpose of providing lots of fun while warming us up at the same time!

Playing games with the Fiddleheads, a GEC group

Using our thumb-o-meters to share with the group how warm/cold we were

Eventually, the time had come to gather for our closing circle and wrap up our day with our Attitude of Gratitude practice. We shared thanks and apples and made our way back to the parking lot to meet our guardians and their warm vehicles.

The Kingfishers don't mind a little mud on the trail. In fact, they love it!

To see the rest of the photos from our day, click here.

The Short-Tailed Weasels and Kingfishers Remove Invasive Plants at Woodstock Farms

The Short-Tailed Weasels formulate an attack plan while Conor shows them what initiative looks like

The original inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest utilized the sea to gather (and sometimes farm) food as well as for transportation.  At some point in time, the native people who lived near these beaches were forced out of the space that we now call Woodstock Farm. They were no longer able to live here like they had since time immemorial. Then, in 1905, Cyrus Gates established Woodstock Farm by constructing some buildings and clearing the land to plant food and raise animals. Cyrus Gates was a local businessman with a particular interest in conserving public places. He lead the creation of Larrabee State Park, Arroyo Park and Fairhaven Park. In 2004, the City of Bellingham acquired the property and now manages it in order to preserve its historical importance while at the same time conserving and restoring the patches of wild space on the site.

Today, the Short-Tailed Weasels and the Kingfishers would add their own legacy to this piece of  land by participating in some invasive species removal. Woodstock Farm features heavily wooded areas as well as some Garry Oak meadows. We spent the day removing Himalayan blackberry, holly and herb Robert (aka stinky Bob!).

An EMA helping on of our younger explorers remove invasive weeds

On the hunt for sharp, invasive holly plants

A cool beech tree was a perfect spot for our backpacks

Going for the holly root...

...and its out!

Another stubborn holly root 

Taking breaks is important (and fun when you get to climb around on glacial erratics)

We can't NOT take pictures of bugs

We also got to have a couple of EMA's (click here for a description of our EMA program) along with us today. These veteran explorers from some of our older groups did a great job of modeling work ethic and helping the mentors keep everyone safe when using tools.

Our wonderful EMAs for the day!

In EC, we utilize lots of wild spaces and parks in Bellingham to learn, play and sustain our emotional and physical health. With this understanding, we appreciated the opportunity to give back to the woods that provide us with so much.

To see the rest of the photos from our day together, click here!

The Kingfishers Romp in 100 Acre Wood via Fairhaven Park

The Kingfishers met for their first outing EVER together with Wild Whatcom last Saturday. As they arrived, they took some time to recognize faces that they had met before and to say hello to new faces. Some of them recognized each other from school; others of us had shared time together at other Wild Whatcom programs in the past. As we waited for all of us to arrive we shared anticipation and excitement about what kinds of things we might find in the woods today.

This excitement turned into real energy as we left the parking lot at Fairhaven Park and headed toward 100 acre wood. The mentors taught us how to play Fire in the Forest and we all took turns being the ‘cougar’.

Fire...

...in the Forest!

It was important to get some jitters out in the field before heading into the woods, mainly because to start our day, we needed to have an opening circle. At opening circle, we have a chance to check in with each other, review where we were on our last outing, and take some time to set intentions and make a plan for the day. It is also where we pass out our group jobs for the day. And, since this was our first outing together, we would need to go over some important safety (both physical safety and heart safety) rules and expectations. Needless to say, it was a long circle and it required some serious effort for us to maintain focus. After taking some time as a group to identify the important safety hazards that we would have to navigate, we broke circle and made our way into 100 Acre Wood.

We had to take a detour to avoid some trail maintenance that was happening

There are a few traditions in Explorer’s Club, and one of those is that every group spends their first outing at 100 Acre Wood. These woods provide opportunities for exploration, playing games, practicing our Earth Skills, meeting many of our favorite native plants and even seeing the tracks and sign of some of our larger mammalian neighbors like bobcat, deer and coyote!

We traveled to the heart of the woods to a clearing where we set up base camp. Here we allowed our inner vision and curiosity guide us to colorful patches of fall fungus, moss covered logs and dense salmonberry thickets. A few of us enjoyed some focused shelter building time while the rest decided that their bodies needed to move. They decided to organize a game of their own version of tag.

Just the skeleton of our shelter

After we had covered our ribs with duff

At our opening circle, we introduced our Earth Skill for this season, which is the Art of Camouflage. In EC, we utilize games that channel child passions in order to learn and practice new skills . One of these games is the fundamental game in all of EC and it is called Hide! We enjoyed finding challenge as a hider as well as during our turn as the seeker. We also got to practice using our Owl Eyes during a game of camouflage gauntlet.  We will continue to practice the Art of Camouflage throughout this fall season by utilizing other games and activities while always circling back to the basics.

Glen shows us where one of the elusive pipe cleaners had been hiding during our "camouflage gauntlet"

We finished our outing as we always do with a closing circle and an Attitude of Gratitude. This is a special circle that helps to deepen the bonds of community between the boys as they get to share something that they are grateful for and listen to others with their hearts. During this circle, we shared thanks for games, the woods, and also for our new community; the Kingfishers!

After closing circle it began to drizzle, so we took a moment to put on our rain gear before heading out of the woods. Exploring year round in the Pacific Northwest can often be a wet affair. Gaining some experience using our rain gear and being comfortable in the rain seemed like a fitting way to conclude our first EC outing together.

To see the rest of the photos from our day, click here!