Gray Wolf Pups Splash Along Whatcom Creek

The Gray Wolf Pups spent a few hours playing in Whatcom Creek at Whatcom Falls Park on Sunday, much of that time at the spot a fey of the Gray Wolf Pups had discovered during a previous summer outing. There was a sustained playful skirmish between a few of the boys at the water hole where they would fill up an old water bottle and toss it towards the other team to try and make as big of a splash as possible. The mentors marveled at the boys ability to naturally make up rules and play fairly without ever openly discussing them. Both sides made it clear the intent was not to hit the other with the water bottle, but splash the other team. They even had an invisible line agreed to by both where you couldn’t pass to ensure no one from one team got to close to the other. With a little more than a little creek-side sunbathing and quiet contemplation on a sit spot and a large helping of the familiar exploration, this was shaping up to be an epic outing. A casual observer could be forgiven for smiling and silently noting the harmless innocence of boys playing in a creek. And they’d be right; there was a certain Huck Finn nature to the day.

Scratch the surface, however, and there is much to be examined in addition to the highly valued free play that is immediately apparent.

The Gray Wolf Pups skill for this season is Navigation. Mentor Tim craftily used the boys’ affiliation for the swimming-hole location to challenge them to navigate their way from our meeting point back to that spot. He prompted the explorers to “read the land” as they worked to recall where along the creek their favored spot could be found. Animals, native peoples and explorers all use drainages as navigation aids; on Sunday, the Gray Wolf Pups oriented to the creek’s source (Lake Whatcom) and reviewed notable landmarks such as Whatcom Lagoon and Derby Pond to determine their route. After a short, seemingly aimless wander, we were there! More than meets the eye.

Once there, the aforementioned water bottle skirmish ensued and continued for an hour or more. During that time, there arose a subtle structure to the play. Unspoken rules were referenced to prevent rogue maneuvers and to keep the action fair. Combatants acknowledged unintentional infractions with a quick apology and check on the well-being of the victim of a splash to the face or bonk with a water bottle. Before there were playground rules enforced by adults there was an innate and self-enforced sense of the value of fair play. On Sunday, we saw this ethic in action.

Most important, there is the concern for the boy’s physical and emotional safety. As mentors, we often balance perceived and actual risk. We encourage the boys to stretch their edge, moving out of their comfort zone into a situation that allows them to grow and expand their world. Our preferred situations are ones in which their perceived risk is greater  Again, more than meets the eye.

than the actual risk. On Sunday, as they jumped from rock to rock and tried sliding down the creek rapids, they weren’t thinking about the hazards as much as the mentors were. Their engagement with their environment obscured the risks posed by the creek and rocks. However, having the safety net of the mentors there to watch over them and carefully guide their exploration without diminishing their immersion in play and the natural world enabled them to get lost in the moment while remaining safe.

A silent sit spot provided some needed balance to the sometimes raucous play and our traditional circle of thanks put a bow on the spring season. 

Make sure to check out the rest of the awesome photos from our outing here!

Gray Wolf Pups Learn The Art of Carving at Clayton Beach

Kicking off the Spring 2015 Boys Explorers Club Season, the Gray Wolf Pups reunited for an exciting exploration of Clayton Beach. We gathered in the parking lot before cautiously crossing Chuckanut Drive and escaping off into the safety of the forest. The boys were eager to hit the trail and almost left the mentors in the dust! Nothing a little crow call couldn’t fix. Without missing a beat the boys gathered up and found a nice opening off trail to set up our opening circle.

In our first opening circle of the season we handed out the usual jobs that help us explore; front scout, back scout, tribal elder, medicine man, earth keeper, Totally Terrific Toilet Paper Person (aka TTTPP), Knowledge Keeper, and a few others.  We also got a chance to check out the brand new knives that SOG Knives donated to us! The mentors took a moment to give some thanks for the generous donation from SOG Knives & Tools. Last week SOG donated a set of thirteen high quality fixed-blade carving knives to the EC. On behalf of the Explorers Club the mentoring team would like to thank Chris Cashbaugh and Nando Zucchi at SOG’s marketing team, and the rest of the staff at SOG Knives for reaching out to Lisa Meucci and making this donation a reality.  Thank you for supporting our Explorers. Our cups truly overflow with gratitude! But before we could use the knives, it was clear that the Gray Wolf Pups had way too much pent up energy so it was time for some games.

We played a few rounds of Poison Dart Frog and Head Honcho sharpening our observational awareness before hitting the trail and heading down to the beach to catch the low tide. Quickly making our way down through the forest we soon encountered our second big hazard of the day: the train tracks. Once we were all together and ready to cross the boys made sure to be completely quiet for a few seconds (a rarity in Explores Club) and listen for a train. With the coast clear we crossed and were scampering around on the sandstone rock faces in no time.

At the beach the boys finally had space to let their energy out. Whether it was climbing on the sandstone, stealthily scurrying along the ridgeline, or poking around at the shells and sand dollars, the beach always has something for each boy to get lost in. We spent a good amount of time lost in free play, mixed in a few rounds of Otter Steals Fish, checked out a cool driftwood fort, and culminated with an epic session of pinecone tag that had mentor and explorer alike ducking and diving cones like they were in the Matrix. Finally we had gotten the wiggles out and were ready to trek back up into the woods and begin our journey with The Art of Carving.

About halfway up the trail we revisited a wonderful downed Western Red Cedar that had a perfect chunk of seasoned wood protruding for us to harvest and use for carving. As one of the mentors sawed away the boys gathered up and discussed the importance of tracking your energy while maintaining a calm yet focused demeanor for carving. These boys had already proven their ability to safely use sticks as tools and how to respect blood circles, but knives are so powerful that it takes a deeper, stronger focus than they have ever used in Explorers Club before. Next we covered some of the more basic safety logistics of working with knives; how to properly unsheathe/sheath a knife, how to check your blood circle and maintain awareness of others’, how to hold your knife and carve in a safe and controlled fashion away from your body, what posture and positioning you need to ensure personal safety and safety for others. The Gray Wolf Pups showed a tremendous focus and ability to comprehend the guidelines showing they were ready. Time to get our blades into the wood.

For over an hour the boys sat and carved away chatting amongst one another. Despite the occasional outburst of laughter or flurry of activity, the boys all maintained quality knife safety practices and reaffirmed their readiness for The Art of Carving. The mentors took time to travel around from boy to boy and offer helpful tips and pointers in regards to the greater intricacies of handling a knife and carving. Both were impressed at the explorer’s readiness to learn and eagerness to improve their skills. But alas, some of the boys managed to develop a waning interest in carving and quickly organized a session of Hungry, Hungry Martin. Not all of the boys wanted to play and some remained deeply focused on their carving projects, impressive mental fortitude for boys of their age after nearly an hour and a half of focused carving.

With our blades sheathed and tucked away for the day, carving projects in hand, it was time for our closing circle. The Gray Wolf Pups were reminded by the mentors of the importance of closing circle, and the level of respect and attention they must give to one another as they share their gratitude for the day. Not only is it important to reflect upon our outings and recall what stood out as particularly fun or exciting, but it is also important to express gratitude for those good times in addition to all that allowed for those good times to be had. Gratitude was given to the forest and the beach, the wood from the downed cedar that we carved, the knives that were donated by SOG Knives, the wonderful companions we shared the outing with, and even the apple slices that we were munching on during closing circle. What a wonderful way to kick off the Spring season and exciting journey through the Art of Carving for the Gray Wolf Pups.

Make sure to check out all the other photos that didn't make it in the blog in the Gray Wolf Pups photo gallery!

The Art of Harvest with the Gray Wolf Pups

The day began with coyote up to his usual tricks!  The mentors arrived anticipating the usual crowd of mountain biking enthusiasts at the South Lake Padden parking area, but were stunned to see a huge crowd of folks out for a fund raising ride for Bellingham’s local mountain bike club, WIMPS.  The heroes of the moment were without a doubt the explorers and their families who gracefully navigated the impossible parking lot to join us.

Boys Explorers Club founder Drew Butler joined us for our outing and it was great to have his botanical knowledge along for the day since our focus was on the Art of Harvest.  The boys and mentors conducted a comfortable opening meeting where we distributed the jobs for the day.  The mentors also shared the philosophy of the Art of Harvest with the boys.  We discussed how as explorers we use the idea of “never take more than 10%”.  We use this rule to make sure that we don’t take too much from a single plant or cluster of plants.  This ensures that the plant will provide food for the creatures who live in that forest, and provide the plant an opportunity to reproduce by not taking everything! We also shared how we leave the best so that the future plants might hold similar berries, which is always hard when you are staring at the perfect thimble berry.

Our harvesting in Explorers Club for much of the year has little to do with food plants.  We use plants for making fire, for constructing bow drill kits and, for carving projects.  In the summer we blessed with a bounty of delicious berries, but at south lake Padden they were all a few weeks away from being ripe.  The Boys and Mentors spent time looking at plants that had other uses than just food.  We looked at the Vanilla Leaf and Drew made a point to have all the boys smell it.  As begins to dry Vanilla lead emits a sweet vanilla like fragrance giving its other common name, "Sweet After Death."  This plant, hung in bunches, will help to keep flies and mosquitoes at bay.  We also looked again at how to find Douglas Fir stumps that contain “fatwood” and we tested an extremely wet piece from deep in a muddy rotting stump and it lit with a single match!

With our heads full of new information about plants and how to take responsibly from the land the boys headed off the trail and into a tangled patch of Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar trees.  It was the perfect place to have some more food and water and play a couple of rounds of spiders web!  The boys were eager to show off their sneaking skill and after a long battle with Greg as the Spider they finally defeated him using their strength in teamwork.

With scratches and scrapes we gathered in a final circle to share stories from our game of spider’s web and give thanks.  The boys shared gratitude for the forest for providing a wonderful place to explore and play.  Without a moment to spare we bounded up over logs and around stumps and back to the trail to the parking area. 

Explorers, this blog entry marks the end of the Spring season for the Gray Wolf Pups.  You have been eager and willing to learn about the culture of Explorers Club and time and time again you have shown the mentors that you are a strong group!  The journey continues in the Fall where we will continue learning important skills for traveling in the land.  It has been an honor for the Mentors to serve you this Spring and we look forward to seeing you in the summer either in camps, around town or in the forest!  Thank you explorers so much or a wonderful season! 

Parents, thank you for your support and flexibility.  We know that your son’s lives are busy and we are grateful for the chance to work with them!  Please join the Mentors and all the other explorers for a final gathering at Hovander Park to celebrate the beginning of summer. 

Drew and Greg got carried away looking at plants and playing Spider’s Web and kept forgetting to take out the camera, so there are some photos in the gallery but not very many!  Do check them out here.

If your family needs a good field guide for western plants we would whole heartedly recommend Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast by Jim Pojar and Andy Mackinnon.  It is indispensible and contains a wealth of ethnobotanical knowledge!

Traversing Connelly and Padden Creek with the Gray Wolf Pups

Arriving at Marine Park the Gray Wolf Pups quickly hurried down the beach to look out at the bay. It was apparent that the group had cultivated resiliency over the fall season. Heading straight into the gale they roamed the beach looking in the nooks and crannies in the breakwater. Circling up on the sand the group played a quick name game and revisited some Explorers Club Culture. The Mentors challenged them to remember each one of the group’s very important jobs. As they called out jobs the conversation turned towards the importance of the jobs within the group. An Explorer asked which was the most important job. This was a great time for the Mentors to talk about the importance of circular leadership within our group. We Are All Leaders and our jobs function interdependently with one another. We separate our jobs from ego and authority, filling our roles for the sake of putting forth our best intentions and actions within the group and for the land.

Turning our conversation towards the journey ahead we took a look at a map of the interurban trails that connect Marine Park to our Connelly Creek Service Site.   Learning how to orient the map to the four cardinal directions the Explorers deciphered that they would need to head east and find a safe place to navigate over the train tracks. Mentors cautioned the group that out of all the hazards on our journey road and train track crossings are the most dangerous. Our ability to focus as a group and bring forward the task at hand is critical in these moments.

After crossing the tracks safely one Explorer pointed out what he thought was the interurban trail. The group reviewed the map again and his instincts were correct. Just as we were about to head east a large murder of crows, about fifty strong, flew over our heads. Tracking the Northwestern Crows we could tell that they were alert and on edge. Matt asked the group why crows flock in large groups in the wintertime. The group came to the conclusion that the crows stick together because of predatory risks. Matt explained that crows flock and roost together to avoid predation from raptors, to share information about danger and food sources, and also to find mates. Northwestern Crows are extremely altruistic and loyal. Matt asked the Explorers which other species crow behavior reminded them of. Thinking about it for a while they came to the conclusion that we were very similar. We can learn so much from the other species when we get quiet and observe what the land is telling us.

Turning once again to the Tribal Elder the Mentors asked the group which way we were headed. One of the boys who was familiar with the area brought up the suggestion to follow the trail west towards Fairhaven Dog Park. In our outings Mentors seek to cultivate organizational skills within the Explorers. Touching on the traverse the Mentors told the boys that it had been almost an hour already and we had moved about one-eight of a mile on our two and a half mile trek. The boys decided as a group that we would go and explore west for a little bit and then really focus our hiking for the next leg of the trek. Arriving at the dog park the boys were immediately drawn to the large hill. Like clockwork some called Hide and the group went diving into the Scotch Broom bushes. After playing multiple rounds and almost losing our snacks to some hungry dogs the group was back on the trail.

Although the weather was cold and wet the signs of spring were in the air. As we walked we admired the white flowers and vibrant green leaves of the Indian Plums and pinkish flowers of the Red-Flowering Currants. With some guidance from the Mentors each of the boys sampled a leaf from a female Indian Plum. When eaten and crushed the plum leaves have a strong odor and taste of cucumbers. At this point in the Gray Wolf Pups journey with harvesting it is critical that don’t eat anything before consulting with a Mentor. It is important to be well informed when harvesting wild edibles and also to harvest them ethically. Foraging is a skill that takes time and focus to develop and can deeply connect us to the power of the place and season.

As we hiked the front scout started to hear some commotion in the distance. The group came to find that there was a race happening on the same trail we were traversing. We circled up and decided that we were going to use the race as an opportunity to increase our awareness skills; if someone called runner, everyone had to get to the right side of the trail. Little did the group know that we were going to have to call “Runner!” about every thirty seconds! In the end it was a great chance for the boys to work on group communication and keeping that same focus we used to cross the tracks.

After about a long push the group stopped and rested and snacked. As the cold and wet day started to set in the group began to feel tired and fatigued. Matt and I encouraged the boys to muster their energy. The group rallied and once again started snaking along Padden Creek as it thundered towards Bellingham Bay. Hiking along we came across a section of trees that had been devastated by the recent winter storm. Combing the wreckage the Explorers tracked a sweet smell coming from a downed Cottonwood branch. As the group crowed in someone brushed up against a branch and a plume of pollen was released from the Cottonwood’s catkins.  Investigating further the boys found sticky buds at the tips of the branch. Grabbing some buds the boys squeezed an amber resin out of the centers. Matt and I explained that the resin could be made into a powerful balm often called the Balm of Gilead. This medicine can be used as an extremely powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-fugal, anti-septic, a lesion healer, and cold remedy, among many other uses!

Mustering our strength once again we hiked the last stretch of interurban trail before the confluence with Connelly Creek and Padden Creek. Navigating across Old Fairhaven Parkway we cut through a retirement community, with permission of course, and found a deer trail that led back towards Connelly Creek. Crossing over both Connelly and Padden Creek once more we arrive at our service site. What a trek!

Sitting under the shelter at Happy Valley Park we held a closing circle and gave some thanks. The group gave thanks for the ability to challenge themselves on the journey, for the medicine and food that the landscape provides, for warmth and shelter, and for our ability to muster strength even when we don’t think we have it. We ended our day in the rain playing a few rounds of Salmon oh Salmon.

Now that the Gray Wolf Pups have gotten to know the Padden Creek Watershed they will be able to better serve it at their next outing at our Connelly Creek Service Site. The Mentors are excited to welcome in a second season with the group and want to give a big thanks to all parents and volunteer staff that work so hard to support the Explorers Club. 

For more pictures please visit our photo gallery.