The Gray Wolf Pups arrived at the Fairhaven Park ready for a day of exploration and adventure. It not only marked the groups first outing, it was also their first experience in the Boys Explorers official stomping ground the 100 Aker Wood. This diverse patch of wildland holds a rich cultural history for the Explorers and is the space that we come to practice and hone our Earth Skills.
The Gray Wolf Pups said goodbye to their parents and we quickly circled up in the grass field to play a Name Game. Circling up in Explorer’s Club is a very important tool that mentors hand down to the Explorers. The circle seems rudimentary in its design but holds so many different meanings in the Explorers culture. We circle up in a group to: bring our minds together, give thanks, tell our stories,speak our truths, and reflect on our experiences. A circle also models our equality, inclusion, and common ground that we strive for as a group. We not only hold a physical circle but we apply it to our group dynamics. On Saturday the Gray Wolf Pups were given a chance to practice circular leadership amongst their peers. We are all leaders in Explorers Club, and all bring to the table different styles of leadership.
The Explorers started to come out of their shells as we bonded over our mishaps while trying to learn each others names. After the game was over the group’s energy was quite high so mentors decided to harness it with another game called Squirrel Tag. We chased each other around the field as we embodied some animal forms that many of the Explorers know well, the squirrel and the dog. Leaving the field we headed into the 100 Aker Wood to explore one of the Mentor’s favorite spots, a valley laden with Sword Ferns, Hawthorne, and Snowberry. Hiking along the group had trouble staying together at trail intersections and mentors knew we needed to have an open meeting to discuss the way we explore as a group.
On our explorations each group member has an important job that holds its own unique function within our group. These jobs create interdependency within the group and the land that we explore in. They also help us to stay safe on our outings. Circling up, Greg and I introduced the important jobs of the Front Scout and Back Scout. These Scouts keep the group together while we hike and scan for hazards and curiosities. After going over a few more jobs and risk management points the group was ready to dive into the skill of the day, camouflage. The Art of Camouflage starts with one of the most quintessential Explorer’s Club games, Hide! Framed through many rounds of Hide we learned how to blend into our surrounding utilizing: shape, size, color, light and shadow, movement, and sound. While crouching behind and under Snowberries and ferns we broke up our human shaped image using intersecting lines and disappeared into the landscape. As Greg scanned for hiding Explorers they soon realized that it was not only their image that gave them away; any rustle in the bushes or cracking of sticks would alert Greg’s super senses to the location of an Explorer.
It was at this moment that the Explorers realized they would not only need to camouflage; they would also have to be stealthy. While Greg set up our final activity of the day I demonstrated a new animal form of the Fox that embodies stalking and stealth. I challenged the group to try and Fox Walk past a blindfolded Explorer without being pointed at. This challenge proved to be very difficult, but as it is with most skills, Slow is Fast and Fast is Slow.
As we practiced and ate some food we didn’t notice the large predator that was stalking us until he was quite close. After we flushed Greg out from the bushes he lead us up to the ridgeline of the valley where he had set up an activity called the Camouflage Gauntlet.
Greg had carefully hidden pipe cleaners throughout a trail that ran the backbone of the ridgeline. Each of these pipe cleaners modeled the different forms of camouflage we had experimented with during our games of Hide. The Explorers had to use their awareness to spot as many pipe cleaners as they could while they Fox Walked down the trail. Fox Walking is not only good for sneaking but it is also could for slowing down and becoming aware of what is around us. It helps us to recognize and appreciate the wonders of the natural world. After walking through the gauntlet twice the group was sure that they had found all 16 pipe cleaners. It turned out that Greg had hidden twenty pipe cleaners! Wow, the Gray Wolf Pups and this Mentor have a lot more to learn about camouflage.
We ended our outing by once again coming together in a circle for a closing meeting on the sunny ridgeline. In the Boys Explorers Club it is tradition to end our day with a group snack and what Mentors consider to be one of the core practices and mottos of our culture, the Attitude of Gratitude. Explorers and Mentors show this appreciation by engaging in a Circle of Thanks where each individual has the opportunity to share what they are thankful for. The group gave thanks for: getting to explorer the 100 Aker Wood, having friends and family, playing games, eating food, and for the land that sustains and feeds us. Mentors would like to thank all the parents for their logistical work and support and to the Explorers for their cohesion as a group and willingness to step out of their comfort zones.
You can check out more pictures from the outing in the Gray Wolf Pups photo gallery
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