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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’.
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| Fire... |
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| ...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.
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| 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.
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| Just the skeleton of our shelter |
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| 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.
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| 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!
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