Sheltering at Point Whitehorn; 12/2/17

Let’s start at the finish. Before boarding the bus to return from our outing to Point Whitehorn on Saturday, Mentor Brian asked the quite chilled Jumping Mice to form a circle, except for two boys who’d been taken aside and given the following instruction — “Your job is to try to get into the circle.” The circled boys were told that the two boys had been told that their job was to try to get into the circle. The activity began. 

The two “outliers” approached the circle somewhat aggressively, trying to find weak points at which to penetrate the circle. Meanwhile, the circled boys locked arms, bracing for the attack. About 30 seconds later, one of the “outliers” was in the middle; the other was still struggling to gain access. At that point, the mentors stopped the activity.

When the boys had disentangled, Mentor Brian asked a simple question of the outliers — “Is there a reason why you didn’t just ask to be allowed to join the circle?” And the corresponding question was directed to the circled boys, “Is there a reason you didn’t invite them in?”

This activity goes to the heart of one of the things we’re working on with the Jumping Mice - focusing on and attending to others. According to an Explorers Club motto, “We work on widening our circle of connection with others, focusing on including others and mixing up our known circle to connect with all. In this way, groups often form a special kind of kinship over time.” (Motto - Widen the circle)

In my view, that kinship has yet to form for the Jumping Mice. There are friendships, to be sure, but the group identity that would compel Explorers to put aside their desire to horse around in favor of supporting fellow Jumping Mice in the construction of a driftwood shelter (our task for the day) simply wasn’t there. Neither was the individual focus mentors look for as a sign that Explorers are ready for bigger things such as carving (which they’ve begun to request). 

There are indications we’re getting close. Earlier in the outing, we tried another team focused activity (Helium stick) in which all the Jumping Mice had to lower a stick, which was resting on one outstretched finger from each Explorer, to the ground without any finger losing contact with the stick. This is much harder than my description would indicate, but the Jumping Mice nailed it first try. I’ve seen this activity done a few times and never have I seen a group succeed the first time they do it. 

Mentor Glen and I saw also moments of curiosity and concern for other individuals on the outing. And we should write off some of their distraction to the natural playground that is Point Whitehorn and to the cool, wet weather (check out how dark the pictures are!). Whereas I’m grateful for the life-giving rain, I will also attest to the penetrating cold and wet we felt on Saturday. As I imagine you realize, it makes everything a bit more challenging.

And speaking of challenging, our next outing offers another opportunity for team effort. We’ll traverse from the Clayton Beach parking lot to the Larrabee boat launch. Lots of forest and beach hiking and a rascally tide with which to contend. Here are the rest of the photos from our Point Whitehorn exploration. 

Jumping Mice Hone Their Focus to Construct Shelters

The Jumping Mice arrived at North Lake Whatcom Trailhead on Sunday for their second outing of the fall 2017 season. We gathered up, had our opening circle, and hit the trail. Our goal was to find a good location to practice our shelter building skills and perhaps play a round or two of Spiders Web.

Checking out the newly finished Chanterelle Trail and the new signage

From the start of the outing the group was energized and eager to hike up the trail in order to begin our work on shelter building. We finally found a place that fit our criteria for shelter building (ask your Explorer if they remember what to look for!) and settled in for some lunch. Transitioning into shelter building, we split into two groups and began construction of debris huts. This “competition” was a not only a good way to brush up on our shelter building skills, but each group had to work together as a team in order to complete their shelters in time.

Creating the framework (two Y-Sticks and a Backbone)

Adding all the Ribs

Gathering debris to pile on top

Finished with debris (for today, a legitimate survival shelter to keep warm in would require 2-3 feet of debris to properly insulate)

Throughout the day, the group boiled over with energy that made it difficult to focus in circle and listen to one another as well as the mentors. Although the energy made sitting in circle a practice in patience, it also provided an opportunity to learn how to demonstrate respectful listening and create a safe place for all voices to be heard.  We had a discussion around the importance of listening to one another and learning how to balance letting your energy out through playfulness and focusing your energy in order to listen in a thoughtful and respectful way.

Gathering up after discussing the importance of respecting one another

Done with shelter building, time to celebrate with Spider's Web!

Despite the drizzly weather and distractible energy, the Jumping Mice were able to focus their energy into the construction of two solid debris huts, an exciting game of Spiders Web, and a genuine circle of thanks at the end of the day. The progress this group made from the beginning of the outing to the end was substantial, and it is clear they are well on their way to not only becoming competent shelter builders, but thoughtful listeners as well.

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

The lower mandible of a raccoon or possum that was found while collecting building materials

JM Squires Lake; 9/15/17

Welcome back, Jumping Mice families, for the third year of Explorer’s Club. We had a little turnover in the roster but most of the group remains as it was in 2016-17. 

One roster change of note is in the mentor ranks. I guess we kinda knew that Jedidiah was destined for grander things…he has moved on to lead tracking expeditions down toward Seattle (I think). In his place - presenting Adam! Your Explorers were very welcoming to Adam as they were to other changes in their group. A good thing, this embracing attitude! (motto- Widen the Circle)

Friday’s outing had a number of firsts. Along with Adam’s debut, the Jumping Mice also took their first ride on Merkel, one of Wild Whatcom’s two trusty buses (the other is Moose - you may also have heard of Stubs; it was retired a few years ago). It was a pretty quick run down to Squires Lake and your boys comported themselves well. 

In the early 1900’s Victor and Luia Squires purchased a large
tract of land, including the small lake, from Bloedel
Donovan Timber Company. Several generations of
Squires lived and worked the land until 1960. 

Once there, we scrambled up to the lake where we held our opening meeting. Our focus was our skill for the year - shelter building. Adam talked through the essential elements of an earth shelter (also known as a debris hut). He and I learned that the Jumping Mice already have a good knowledge of the materials needed and the process for construction. 

Now we get to enjoy it as Squires Lake. Here
the boys spot frogs.

While a promising start, we’ll need to wait for their October 1 outing at Stewart Mountain to see their “stuff”, as we were unable to access our planned work site above the beaver pond - too much underbrush and too little time to bushwhack through it. 

Leading the way?

So we turned to our budding navigator - a new job we’re piloting in the Jumping Mice -who directed us to a prime Spider’s Web spot. It was game on! The Jumping Mice asked eagerly for a mentor to play the Spider because “he’s fair”. We agreed this time, but soon an Explorer will fill that role. Having peers on both sides of the contest tends to stretch the boy’s edges (motto- Stretch Your Edge) by stressing their sense of honorable play. Many an Explorer’s cry of “not fair” has led not to lasting conflict but to constructive agreement. 

Ask your explorer to identify this plant.

Our game and closing meeting complete, we hiked around the lake and back to Merkel. A short return trip brought us a final first for the day. The 15th was a “Purple Friday” for Bellingham Public Schools but a normal school day at Samish Woods. We arrived to wade right into the pickup line with many Samish Woods parents! They were gracious as usual. And we at Wild Whatcom have learned our lesson. (motto- Turn Problems into Possibilities) Subsequent “Purple Friday” outings involving a bus ride will likely follow a different schedule. Stay tuned for further word.

Looking for a great spot to give thanks in our closing
meeting.

The Jumping Mice next outing is Sunday, October 1. Check the full schedule and the rest of the photos from our outing.

Tracking, discovering, playing: The Jumping Mice command Lookout Mountain

They’re closer than we realize, watching us as we amble through their space, being careful that we’re not there to do them harm. Mostly, we don’t notice them. But if one slows down and observes carefully, it’s quite possible to see the signs of their presence. 

The deer had clearly climbed this hill, so
off the Jumping Mice went to learn more.

We wanted to finish up our Tracking and Bird Language season strong, so Mentor Joey and I decided to stack our outline with activities (mostly games) that involved the “Six Arts of Tracking” (from Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature). 

The Jumping Mice are learning that "Fast is slow and
slow is fast" (BEC motto). That is especially true with
tracking.

When we detect signs of a deer, squirrel, salamander, etc., asking Who, What, Where, When, Why and How (The Six Arts of Tracking) is our template for successfully learning more. Thus, the outing outline focused on these six questions and related activities. 

We talked about naming the ravine we
found, (Jumping Mice ravine). It appeared
that it'd been some time since the last
Homo Sapiens had been by. 

Well, I’m here to tell you that we didn’t do a single one of those activities! And for all the right reasons. Our first objective was to find a track, after which Joey and I would talk about the questions to ask and…..blah, blah, blah. What happened when we found the deer tracks in the mud was SO-O-O much more valuable! The Jumping Mice immediately began following the tracks up a hill and along a ridge. They were on fire with curiosity and questions (some of which actually mapped into the Six Arts). The mentors had trouble keeping up with the Explorers’, both physically and intellectually. It was fun and, for me at least, memorable. And when a person experiences with his or her whole being, the lesson is more likely to be internalized. 

Down we went, amid mosses, a stream, and lots of
curiosity.

It’s funny — the Boys Explorers Club mentors build outlines around a flow that places the “work” early in the outing, followed by celebration and reflection. We put that flow aside for the Six Arts approach described earlier. However, after all the excitement of tracking the deer, we explored a little and found a spectacular ravine that provided the space for free exploration, just the thing to balance the more intense activity earlier. Ironically, while we were relaxing a bit, Mentor Joey spied a raccoon spying us from a near hill. He and a few of the boys quickly switched into tracking mode, but were unable to pick up the “scent”, as it were.

This mud pit provided the spark to a wondrous tracking
adventure.

We finished with a few games of Spiders Web, the only game we played all day! I’m confident the Explorers learned both the technique and the thrill of tracking. I know that Joey and I learned once again that sometimes the best mentoring involves setting the stage and getting out of the way.

Next time, for Spider's Web, CAMO!

This outing completes our 2016-17 Jumping Mice year. With two full years under our belts, we can begin to expand our focus by exploring new places and new skills, all the while revisiting what we've accomplished in years one and two. I'm excited to reconvene in September to amble further down the trail. Have a great summer and I hope to see some Jumping Mice in Wild Whatcom's summer camps. Check out the rest of the photos from Sunday's outing at Lookout Mountain.

Jumping Mice put an exclamation point on spring service!

I’ve been writing blog posts about our service work for a few years now. After that much time, it begins to feel repetitive to write about uprooting Himalayan Blackberries and stomping down and covering the Reed Canary Grass with bark. In fact, until this season, it has been primarily the same work each time (I’ll explain it a bit why the work was a little different this time).

Notice the Reed Canary Grass? I didn't think so! (Of course,
it'll come back...but less seems to come back each season.)

So let’s refresh our thinking about why we do this work. Two Explorers Club mottos will help here. The first: All things are connected. "If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you'll come to understand that you're connected with everything." – Alan Watts 

On our outings, we point out and experience these connections as much as possible. In the course of our exploring, we come to realize that all things really are connected — mosquitoes and streams, cows and the Salish Sea, litter and otters, the skies over China and over us — and that all our actions have an impact.

We probably should've put more tiers of cribbing. Live and learn.

Notice - “all our actions” have an impact. The actions of others have caused significant degradation to a section of Happy Valley Park. We have committed ourselves to restoring the habitat for the sake of the mosquitoes, people, cows, the Salish Sea, otters and of course, salmon. Yes, the work is difficult and repetitive, but the positive impact is great.

The second motto: Connect and protect. When we’re exploring and playing games in the forest, we impact the land. We do this in service to what we perceive to be the higher goal of connection. "If we want children to flourish, to become truly empowered, then let us allow them to love the earth before we ask them to save it."-David Sobel 

I'll bet your Explorer can tells you the steps to place cribbing
in securely.

However, we do impact the land. So we work to restore it as a way of balancing the damage we do and because when we connect we recognize the need to also protect.

In Sunday’s case, we also got to learn a new technique involved in restoring riparian habitat. You see, we reached the creek this season! Years of hard work have produced visible, tangible results. It has also changed the work. On Sunday, we did little weeding and no bark shuttling. Instead, we built “cribbing”, or barriers to retain the soil and bark in place and not in the stream, where it degrades the water quality on which salmon rely.

Ask your Explorer for the 3 C's of a high quality salmon stream.

Connection happens when we're engaged directly
with the land.

Mentors and Explorers alike are learning as we go through this restoration process. Your boy’s work was inconsistent on this final service day of the spring, but when it came time to depart, each Explorer and mentor was able to see the good work he’d done — on Sunday and over the two years the Jumping Mice have been shouldering their share of the burden.

To give you an idea of the progress - here's a boy from another
group working on the Reed Canary Grass 3 years ago Compare with the
photo from Sunday below.

Blackberry - again, three years ago.

This was taken Sunday. The section of fence you see was
"discovered" in the midst of raging Himalayan Blackberry!

We meet again on June 4 at Lookout Mountain Forest Preserve. More photos here.

The Jumping Mice hike the Rock Trail to Lost Lake

A significant aspect of what Explorers Club mentors emphasize, especially for the younger boys such as the Jumping Mice, involves paying attention. We encourage them to tune in as we walk through the forest. Hear that bird chatter? Does one call sound different from another? 

Your boys are learning about the five different bird languages - Song, Juvenile Begging, Companion Calling, Aggression and Alarm. Paying attention to the differences in calls can be important in the wild. For instance, noticing an alarm call from the trees could alert you to the presence of the predator you're tracking (or avoiding!).

Bird language and tracking are complementary pursuits. Hearing a bird call or noticing scarring on a tree should prompt us to ask a few key tracking questions:

• What happened here?
• What does that tell me?
• What does that teach me?

These are the elements we're working on with the Jumping Mice this season. Sunday's outing offered the mentors opportunities to introduce and discuss these points, and in the best way possible. Rather than listening to me talk, the land was the teacher. 

Our exploration of the Rock Trail began at its highest point It quickly winds around to the east side of the mountain and heads down along some amazing rock formations which are, at a few points, penetrated by caves. These caves are growing very rapidly (in geologic time) in a process described here. As far as the Jumping Mice were concerned, of course, they were cool to explore and to see how many boys could fit into each one (Sunday's record: six boys and one mentor). 

As we headed further down toward Lost Lake, we found ourselves noticing places where animals might set up a den or stalk prey. Around Lost Lake, we explored what could be the world's biggest root ball and, thanks to our sharpened observation skills, noticed scat that, with the help of mentor Jedidiah, we determined was evidence of a Snowshoe Hare which was probably watching us as we played.

Mastering observation on the trail has many benefits in everyday life. In a few years, we'll ask your Explorers to expand the scope of their observation, attention and tracking to many more aspects of their lives. At this age, it can be a challenge to just notice that someone else is speaking so as not to interrupt in one's eagerness to share some nugget. We start where they are and hope to guide them toward being authentic men. One step at a time. 

Check here for all the photos from our Rock Trail outing.

Time to switch to our seasonal service work. Next outing: 

Sunday, May 7th, 9:30am-1:30pm

Service: BEC Connelly Creek Restoration Site, Happy Valley Park