Sure, we explore. We climb, scamper, balance-walk across streams, roll in mud, explore caves and the like. These are all important ways to connect with the land, a key element in preparing boys to grow into men who are stewards of the land. And we did many of those things on Saturday, which I’ll get to shortly.
There’s another facet of our work with your boys that involves their learning how to be positive, contributing members of a group. This effort is more subtle than the physical connecting to the land, but no less important. A foundational element of this behavioral work can be found in how we make decisions as a group. In our opening meeting, we designate a Tribal Elder who manages our decision making. Rather than deciding based on majority rule, the Tribal Elder leads us in a process to achieve consensus. This generally favors a leader who lays out options, listens to the group members and helps us reconcile differing views. Group members are rewarded for flexibility and compromise. Quite the tall order for young boys! On this outing, our Tribal Elder was challenged to lead us in this process. Look for this in this report.
Our first decision - which trail to follow. This one proved straightforward; the boys were intrigued by the route to the waterfall, so off we hiked. And my, how our initial decision was rewarded! We soon came upon a lookout spot that presented us with a direct view of a 50 ft. (that’s a total guess - it was pretty high!) aqua-plunge into a ravine. Very picturesque. Of course, before I could settle in to admire this nature splendor, the boys asked to climb down to the creek bed below. A quick check revealed a perfect slip-slide-jump path down to the base of the falls. The mentors decided to encourage free exploration in this delightful spot. Picture boys scampering up hillsides, crossing the creek on moss-covered fallen trees, and sticking their heads under the falls and you have the scene locked in. They were truly in their element.
After a while, we set off to find a lunch spot. The interesting lunchtime conversation ranged from gross food combinations to that day’s Democratic presidential caucus. The details are better left undisclosed. Following lunch, we raised the stakes on Hide!, a favorite Explorers Club game. Rather than a single round of finding boys hiding in the ferns, Incoming involves several rounds. If you manage to avoid detection in the first round, you are called to run in from your hiding spot, tap the seekers outstretched hand and re-hide to an ever shortening time limit. It gets pretty frantic when you have 5 seconds to run past the seeker and dive into a new hiding spot!
Nourished and energized by the game, it was time to practice creating Songlines, a navigational technique developed by aboriginal Australians. Each of two groups crafted directions to their posted bandana by creating a song calling out landmarks to guide the other team to their bandana. They then taught the “songline" (also known as a story map) to the other group for their use in locating the bandana. One group was able to find the prize; the other was thrown off when they keyed on the wrong “Y shaped tree”. We learned a lot about what works and what to avoid when using this technique. Choosing unique landmarks and describing them in detail are learnings that will add texture to their use of more modern navigational techniques such as compass and GPS.
Several of the boys wanted to try this game again; others resisted the idea. Enter the Tribal Elder, who put us in a circle and facilitated a challenging discussion in which consensus proved elusive. Frustration was evident after a while; some boys wanted another round of navigation, then back to the falls. Others preferred moving immediately to the falls. Ten minutes; fifteen minutes; hmmmmmm. Then one of the explorers suggested we create a songline as we walked to the falls. Excellent, creative solution. All agreed and we were off. It took a little while, but it is in just such situations that growth happens. They had to “stretch their edge” to resolve this dispute. The mentors are hopeful they’re learning a skill they’ll use in as adults to build and nurture relationships both personal and professional.
To be honest, except for a few boys, there wasn’t much Songline creation on our walk back, but the more important outcome was the conflict resolution, which they managed well. Another 20 minutes or so at the falls, an opportunity to give thanks in our closing meeting, and we were off to the trailhead. On our way there, we taught mentor Bobby to play a Gray Wolf favorite - “Where’s my egg?”
A beautiful day, lots of exploration, skill development around navigation and some challenging work around working in a group - a full day! Click here for more photos from our adventure.
