Mentors here at Wild Whatcom are connection lovers. And we're not talking about the internet, but rather the connection that happens in realtime, between humans interacting with their physical environment. This type of connection was really strong during our service project last Saturday with the Washington Trails Association (WTA).
The WTA builds and maintains trails over the entire state of Washington, and their volunteer trail maintenance program is among the largest in the nation. They log more than 105,000 volunteer hours statewide each year, and over 2500 volunteers giving back to the trails they love. Our group hiked in over a mile with tools, hardhats, and full packs to work on a section of the trail to Fragrance Lake.
Highlights from the day include:
* Gathering in the sunny c-c-c-cold and sharing an honest update about life's changes.
* Finding the zen of log-peeling. Some of the girls used draw-knives to peel the outer layers of bark and cambium from the massive cedar logs that became part of the cribbing supporting our section of trail. Removing these layers lets the moisture escape the wood and keeps it from decomposing too quickly.
* We learned the art of communicating as a team to maximize safety and efficiency while working together to reshape a trail that is regularly flooded, cleaning out a culvert, and sawing a large log that fell in a windstorm and was blocking the trail.
* A lunch time check in on the bluff looking over the sea and islands, sharing honestly and listening from our hearts about our lives and challenges.
* The joy of setting up and operating the zip-line to transport buckets of rocks and soil down the slope to help build up the trail. The girls and a funny WTA volunteer set up a call and response system when the zip line was sent down and up using fast food jargon.
* Celebrating the fantastic crew of older seasoned WTA volunteers who were open-hearted, generous in their teachings, and made this day one of beautiful connection between young and old, tool and task, girl and group, and the empowerment of giving back to nature.
Towards the close of our the day we shared our practice of Attitude of Gratitude and stood together with our WTA crew as each shared something they were grateful for today. We have a motto, Our Cups Overflow, that describes that feeling of many blessings that we carry over into our service days, and it literally felt like our cups had created a river of overflow today. While basking in this river of gratitude, we each shared our thanks for things like the sun, the company of one another, love and loss, meaningful work, strength, service, Explorers Club and WTA.
Reflecting on the season past, we ended our day by creating the Web of Life from things in nature we'd connected to this season: cedar, birds, rain, sun, Salish Sea, fog, strength, stone, and more. We agreed that humans are connected to every aspectof this web, and have tremendous power to impact it in both positive and negative ways. This underlines our GEC motto All Things Are Connected, and helps us understand that whenever one thing in the web is altered, it affects all the other aspects. We reiterated that GEC is all about strengthening the web of life, as well as the bonds between each other, and invited all Flying Squirrels who wish to continue to be part of that to return in the spring. We hope they will!
Our words of the day? Trees, Trails and Turnpikes!
We hope you'll get a chance to look at the slideshow from our day here.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Whatcom Creek Wander: 10-31-15
Though this urban trek took us out of the woods and onto pavement, it had all the elements of an adventure: enthusiastic and curious participants, a complex historical and modern story, fascinating intersections of human and natural constructs, games, lessons in empathy and more. We say The Trail is the Teacher, and this creek greenway through the city was no exception.
All our outings seek to ground us in a sense of place. In this case, it was Maritime Heritage Park, formerly a forest so thick it was difficult to walk through, beside a beach unfilled with fill, and a creek teeming with salmon. As we set the tone for the day, we traveled between past and present: we went back to the Salish fish camp on the bay, "seeing" men in canoes, fishing with their nettle nets, women and girls picking berries, the surrounding forest teeming with life: fox, bear, cougar, mink, beaver, countless birds; understood the impact of Roeder and Peabody's choice of the falls as the site for their mill, bringing dramatic changes to Whatcom; heard about the march of progress, human ingenuity causing numerous degradations to the creek and bay. We came to the present, and saw the juxtaposition of streamside restoration and continued degradation, of visible efforts to shift past wrongs, and problems that persist. Beside the displaced creek we saw evidence of displaced persons, and spoke of how to project love and compassion their way rather than fear and judgment.
Here are some of the gifts of the day:
• Began to understand the creek's history by playing Oh Salmon!, which highlighted the impacts on salmon and their needs (food, water, shelter) over time
• Saw (and picked up) lots of litter
• Discussed the value of commitment and Walking Your Talk in showing up to GEC on a rainy Halloween day.
• Discovered many hazards on salmon's journey: fish hooks, churning waterfalls, pollution, an artificially straightened creek, pipelines, and other myriad impacts of the city
• Witnessed the challenge of living without the basic need of shelter in seeing temporary homes constructed of cardboard boxes, old tents, bushes
• Met up with the GEC bus, Moose, to mimic salmon being bussed over a dam – in our case, we were bussed through the most urban aspect of the stream's journey
• Asked questions with no right answer: What is progress? Is it good or bad? How can we consider the next seven generations in how we live and act? What are our preconceptions of others?
• Engaged with the salmon art, mostly sculpture, all along the trail. A favorite was the large bell with the inscription: Our Simplest Wisdom is to Follow the Sea Bright Salmon Home.
• Experienced the changes in landscape all along the way as we discussed changes over time all along Whatcom's journey, until finally entering the familiar comfort of the forest ecosystem in Whatcom Falls Park
• Learned about many of the human characters who have shaped the creek's journey: the native inhabitants, Roeder & Peabody, the Ladies Cooperative Society, the advocates for creek straightening to prevent flooding, Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, the White City Amusement Park at Silver Beach, the victims of the pipeline explosion, & all of us who live, work and play near the Sound of Noisy Waters (Whatcom)
• Reflected on the circle of life and how nothing really ever ends, but continues on, regeneration, and how those who have passed on become nurse logs for what comes after. This is true for salmon, trees, water and everything in nature. In our human realm, those who die can become nourishing nurse logs of inspiration, fundraisers, humor, memories, poetry, wisdom and so much else. Not gone, still going.
Our words of the day? "Sharing Stories and Service with Love"
Finally, a contribution from a past GEC girl, now 15, who wrote this short poem throughout the day while walking this same route along Whatcom Creek:
You may check out the slideshow from our day here.
All our outings seek to ground us in a sense of place. In this case, it was Maritime Heritage Park, formerly a forest so thick it was difficult to walk through, beside a beach unfilled with fill, and a creek teeming with salmon. As we set the tone for the day, we traveled between past and present: we went back to the Salish fish camp on the bay, "seeing" men in canoes, fishing with their nettle nets, women and girls picking berries, the surrounding forest teeming with life: fox, bear, cougar, mink, beaver, countless birds; understood the impact of Roeder and Peabody's choice of the falls as the site for their mill, bringing dramatic changes to Whatcom; heard about the march of progress, human ingenuity causing numerous degradations to the creek and bay. We came to the present, and saw the juxtaposition of streamside restoration and continued degradation, of visible efforts to shift past wrongs, and problems that persist. Beside the displaced creek we saw evidence of displaced persons, and spoke of how to project love and compassion their way rather than fear and judgment.
Here are some of the gifts of the day:
• Began to understand the creek's history by playing Oh Salmon!, which highlighted the impacts on salmon and their needs (food, water, shelter) over time
• Read the lessons in the Salmon Woman totem pole, about abundance, greed, and consequences.
• Saw (and picked up) lots of litter
• Discussed the value of commitment and Walking Your Talk in showing up to GEC on a rainy Halloween day.
• Discovered many hazards on salmon's journey: fish hooks, churning waterfalls, pollution, an artificially straightened creek, pipelines, and other myriad impacts of the city • Witnessed the challenge of living without the basic need of shelter in seeing temporary homes constructed of cardboard boxes, old tents, bushes
• Met up with the GEC bus, Moose, to mimic salmon being bussed over a dam – in our case, we were bussed through the most urban aspect of the stream's journey
• Asked questions with no right answer: What is progress? Is it good or bad? How can we consider the next seven generations in how we live and act? What are our preconceptions of others?• Engaged with the salmon art, mostly sculpture, all along the trail. A favorite was the large bell with the inscription: Our Simplest Wisdom is to Follow the Sea Bright Salmon Home.
• Worked to navigate our way along the trail using map, trail markers, common sense, local knowledge, and trial and error!
• Experienced the changes in landscape all along the way as we discussed changes over time all along Whatcom's journey, until finally entering the familiar comfort of the forest ecosystem in Whatcom Falls Park
• Learned about many of the human characters who have shaped the creek's journey: the native inhabitants, Roeder & Peabody, the Ladies Cooperative Society, the advocates for creek straightening to prevent flooding, Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, the White City Amusement Park at Silver Beach, the victims of the pipeline explosion, & all of us who live, work and play near the Sound of Noisy Waters (Whatcom) 
• Reflected on the circle of life and how nothing really ever ends, but continues on, regeneration, and how those who have passed on become nurse logs for what comes after. This is true for salmon, trees, water and everything in nature. In our human realm, those who die can become nourishing nurse logs of inspiration, fundraisers, humor, memories, poetry, wisdom and so much else. Not gone, still going.
• Had a great time tracking (and tricking) one another as we played the Tracking Game.
• Ended our day with a Circle of Thanks, powerful in its simplicity as we each paused to give gratitude to those who have come before, for the patience of nature, to Explorers Club for shaping us, trees, and our great good fortune. speaking of the seventh generation principle;
Our words of the day? "Sharing Stories and Service with Love"
Finally, a contribution from a past GEC girl, now 15, who wrote this short poem throughout the day while walking this same route along Whatcom Creek:
Life and Death
Everything struggles to survive.
Though some things live and some things die.
Even though there may be strife,
It all makes the circle of life.
If some die, yet others live,
feeding upon what the dead bodies give.
Death makes life and life makes death.
So close your eyes and enjoy your breath.
You may check out the slideshow from our day here.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Service for Mollywood Avian Sanctuary: 10-10-15
One GEC girl described the atmosphere at Mollywood Avian Sanctuary well when she poetically stated: “This place is its own world of sounds.” A world of sounds indeed! Imagine over 150 parrots, mostly cockatoos, squawking and screeching for your attention, and you have some idea of the audio chaos that we were fortunate to take part in last Saturday afternoon.
Mollywood was founded by Betsy and Nate Lott, whose love of the companion birds led to their unforeseen care-taking of hundreds of birds who have been abandoned, abused, or neglected by their owners. Taken from their native habitat in the jungles of Indonesia and South America, parrots are the third most popular pet in the U.S. and can be found in 17.3 million homes. Unfortunately most parrot owners aren’t aware of the effort and commitment needed to effectively care for these birds, resulting in 85% of them being given away within the first 2 years (parrots can live to be 80 years old! Betsy's oldest bird, Grampa, is 73). This highlights the need for committed and compassionate people such as Betsy, who tirelessly work to provide shelter and sanctuary for these lively and lovable birds. Betsy volunteers day in and day out to care for these birds, forsaking a paying job and virtually all of her free time (she's had one vacation in the past ten years, and it took 6-8 people to fill her shoes!). She relies on other volunteers, such as the energetic hard-working Flying Squirrels, to help maintain the sanctuary and ensure a healthy and hospitable environment for the birds.
The Flying Squirrels really lived up to the EC mottos of Our Cups Overflow, Everyone Helps, Walk Your Talk and Get Dirty as they ambitiously and diligently cleaned out the debris and food discards from under the cages and swept up huge, heaping piles of wood pieces, bird seeds, paper scraps (parrots are by nature messy birds - it's how they help revegetate the jungle) and put them into the garbage. Imagine a room packed with 50+ birds, all talking (and screeching) at once. The girls tackled the work and managed the noise with enthusiasm and a positive attitude. Smiles and laughter were frequent as we cleaned and swept, all the while talking to the birds, who were whistling at us, calling names like "Pretty Lady! Pretty Lady!" asking "How Are You?", bouncing up and down (one bird kept whispering "I love you" to us as we cleaned its cage). Soon the girls had transformed five rooms into a clean, spotless sanctuary. The Flying Squirrels were so efficient that Betsy repeatedly remarked how much more effective and organized we were than her long-term adult volunteers. That is pretty terrific representation of Wild Whatcom and GEC! 
We enjoyed the final half hour meeting some of the friendlier birds. The girls took turns holding some very adorable cockatoos, including Picaba, who LOVES attention and affection. We even witnessed one dancing bird, who rocked out to a song on another volunteer's phone. We came to Mollywood committed to serving and making a small difference in the lives of these birds and their caretakers, but walked away with so much more. We truly felt the pleasure that comes from sharing our work, time, and effort with those that deserve it the most, and all were in a bit of awe at Betsy's commitment. How great for us to meet two women bird-volunteer-mentors over the course of our time in GEC (Betsy and Tricia Otto at Agate Bay Preserve). For more information about this wonderful organization, please visit their website at: www.mollywood.org
Our words of the day? Selfless Squawking!
EC Mottos especially alive today: Safety First, Walk Your Talk, Expect the Unexpected, Our Cups Overflow, LIBK, You See It You Own It, Many Hands Make Light Work, We're All Teachers, Collaborate and Compromise
You may check out the slideshow from our day here.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Hiking Blanchard Mountain: 9-20-15
One of the many gifts of teaching outdoors is that we can use whatever nature offers as part of the lesson of the day, which inevitably becomes part of the lessons of life. Skies are not always sunny. Uphills challenge us. Discomforts must be acknowledged and overcome. Our mental attitude largely determines our life experience. There is no where else to be, really, than in the present moment. The trail is the teacher. Expect the unexpected.
These gifts were present throughout our really wet and rainy day as we explored our connections to each other, the rainforest we live in, and to the inner and outer strength of our bodies.
Girls were giddy with love and connection when we gathered, and we took that happy energy onto Stubbs and headed south to Blanchard Mountain. We also discussed the Ten Essentials in some depth, and agreed that yes, they are essential even for a day hike (and talked about why that is).
Once at the Samish Overlook, with its sweeping views, we took shelter from the wind to check in. As we get older in GEC, these check ins become longer and more complicated - because the life of an adolescent is inevitably somewhat more complicated than that of a child. We are learning to listen with heart and space, to allow for whatever wants to emerge in these check ins, to trust one another.
Trauma is tricky, and real, and some of our Flying Squirrel girls have been experiencing it these weeks: we set out on the trail dedicating our hike to the fullness of living that Izzy's dad Greg Jones embodied, and with manifestation and sending out of strength to Laura Osterloh as she battles cancer. Building adventure and strength: here we go!
And there we went, across and up to the Oyster Dome, on a trail that tested with its root-ridden ascent through wet - up to the clouds we went, for a spectacular view of... clouds. This really is one of the best-earned views in Whatcom County, but this rainy day was more about celebrating the rain forest than sunshine and viewscapes. Some of us were challenged by this steep trail, others bounded up in long-legged leaps; others were challenged by the rain trickling down their neck and cold and clammy clothing, others reveled in the rain. Like life, we all greet every completely differently!
After lunch under a great big tarp, we set out along a much more level trail for Lily Lake, practicing gratitude that rain has finally returned to a place that sorely needs it. We continued to check in with one another and our map/navigation tools along the way, passed by Lily Lake due to time constraints, and met up with Max's Shortcut and Larry Reed Trails to descend down, interrupting our progress for a spontaneous and short dance party, and lots of silly and serious conversation.
We arrived back to our starting point, with a group leap of success and gratitude, and chose our words of the day: Hiking Through the Rainforest for Laura and Greg!
Mottos especially alive today: Be Prepared, The Trail is the Teacher, Expect the Unexpected, Be Here Now, Safety First, Turn Problems into Possibilities, Grasp the Nettle, All Things Are Connected.
You may see the slideshow from our day here.
These gifts were present throughout our really wet and rainy day as we explored our connections to each other, the rainforest we live in, and to the inner and outer strength of our bodies.
Girls were giddy with love and connection when we gathered, and we took that happy energy onto Stubbs and headed south to Blanchard Mountain. We also discussed the Ten Essentials in some depth, and agreed that yes, they are essential even for a day hike (and talked about why that is).
- Navigation (map and compass)
- Sun protection (sunglasses and sunscreen)
- Insulation (extra clothing)
- Illumination (headlamp/flashlight)
- First-aid supplies
- Fire (waterproof matches/lighter/candles)
- Repair kit and tools
- Nutrition (extra food)
- Hydration (extra water)
- Emergency shelter
- Communication (emergency communication device)
Once at the Samish Overlook, with its sweeping views, we took shelter from the wind to check in. As we get older in GEC, these check ins become longer and more complicated - because the life of an adolescent is inevitably somewhat more complicated than that of a child. We are learning to listen with heart and space, to allow for whatever wants to emerge in these check ins, to trust one another.
Trauma is tricky, and real, and some of our Flying Squirrel girls have been experiencing it these weeks: we set out on the trail dedicating our hike to the fullness of living that Izzy's dad Greg Jones embodied, and with manifestation and sending out of strength to Laura Osterloh as she battles cancer. Building adventure and strength: here we go!
And there we went, across and up to the Oyster Dome, on a trail that tested with its root-ridden ascent through wet - up to the clouds we went, for a spectacular view of... clouds. This really is one of the best-earned views in Whatcom County, but this rainy day was more about celebrating the rain forest than sunshine and viewscapes. Some of us were challenged by this steep trail, others bounded up in long-legged leaps; others were challenged by the rain trickling down their neck and cold and clammy clothing, others reveled in the rain. Like life, we all greet every completely differently!
After lunch under a great big tarp, we set out along a much more level trail for Lily Lake, practicing gratitude that rain has finally returned to a place that sorely needs it. We continued to check in with one another and our map/navigation tools along the way, passed by Lily Lake due to time constraints, and met up with Max's Shortcut and Larry Reed Trails to descend down, interrupting our progress for a spontaneous and short dance party, and lots of silly and serious conversation.
We arrived back to our starting point, with a group leap of success and gratitude, and chose our words of the day: Hiking Through the Rainforest for Laura and Greg!
Mottos especially alive today: Be Prepared, The Trail is the Teacher, Expect the Unexpected, Be Here Now, Safety First, Turn Problems into Possibilities, Grasp the Nettle, All Things Are Connected.
You may see the slideshow from our day here.
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