Little Squalicum Beach Park 6.11.2106

For our final outing of the season, the Spotted Owls met at the north entrance to Little Squalicum Beach Park.  The weather was blustery and soon most everyone was pulling out additional layers! Nice work Spotted Owls in being prepared.

We needed to move!... so headed into the park, and into the large meadow where tall grasses and numerous trees provided some shelter from the wind.  Here we enjoyed some rounds of Spider's Web, and several versions of a group challenge called ants on a log.

This challenge allowed the girls to explore communication styles as well as how to support one another in a common goal.

Now warmed up, we sat in a loose circle and introduced our theme for this outing; the history of a place through story telling.  We began by sharing some of our own stories: who we are and things that matter to us, where we come from, and mostly,  how the school year has been significant.  I am always amazed at the innate ability that children have to sense each others needs, and to know the right timing for certain conversations.  I will just say that we talked a lot about friendship and boundaries and compassion and empathy.  And,  I would invite you to check in with your daughter at some point about this conversation.

We were able to make a connection to the story of this particular place; once teeming with life and providing for native peoples to the area.  We talked about changes that happen when new people arrive to area, and when progress takes place.  Lying on our backs and looking up at the trees waving in the breeze we shared how this place went from a forested area with wetlands and a creek supporting salmon to somewhat of a wasteland riddled with tunnels from digging coal and finally the site of a creosote factory.  These conversations are so powerful and allow the girls to grapple with what it means to connect to protect, and how progress can also change things drastically for multiple parties concerned.

We decided it was time for the beach so we packed up our things and off we went.  The girls found a great spot where mud and crabs and water and downed trees kept us happy and curious the rest of the day.

Our final circle would be to share our connections throughout the season in an activity called the web of life.  The girls share their connections to nature, to one another, and to that which brings them joy.  We had a short conversation about how connections are weakened and strengthened, both on a global level in reference to nature, and on a personal level as it related to their previous conversations about friendships.  Wow, these girls are full of wisdom!

With that it's back to meet parents; and, a wrap for the season.  On behalf of all the mentors who have worked with your daughters, and all of the GEC family, thank you!  We truly appreciate your support of your daughter as it relates to us...and we recognize and honor your support of your daughters desire to be involved in this group.  Have a fabulous summer.

More photos here

Words of the day:

Service with Washington Trails Association: 5-1-16

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.

We gathered for our check-in, sharing our names and how we have been.  This was mostly to introduce everyone to our intern, Brooke! We then gathered around in council and met Kathy and her dedicated crew of volunteers who have taken many a day out of their busy schedules to Walk Their Talk and work to create and improve trails all over western Washington.

After learning about how to safely handle the multitude of tools provided, we grabbed shovels, Pulaskis, saws, clippers, and hoes, capped our eager heads with some fancy hard hats and made our way to the trail (we learned that girls with hard hats and tools grow about 3 inches in pride and confidence).

 We split into groups to become rotten bridge destroyers, ivy pullers, wood/rock haulers, rotten wood hiders, and the mud diggers. Girls worked hard prying away rotten wood and finding places for it to rot peacefully in the forest. Others hustled along the path hauling wood and rock for bridge building. A lucky group lived up to the motto "Get Dirty" and with muddy paws dug through the dirt to get a foundation for the new bridge started. All along the way, the WTA volunteers acted as our teachers, guiding us in instruction and supporting our efforts with smiles and stories.  Lots of work done with lots of collaboration between the Spotted Owls and the amazing WTA volunteers, a 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.

At our post outing-meeting mentors agreed: those committed, hardworking, joyous, bright Spotted Owl girls left us feeling energized and inspired! We spent our day giving back to Larrabee State Park and the trail that our adventuring feet have traveled upon often, collaborating with the Washington Trails Association and its volunteers to pry away rotten bridges, haul rocks, pull ivy and dig through dirt to set the foundation for a new bridge. 

The Red Foxes not only spent the day diligently at work, they also filled it with lots of laughter, mud-painted faces, and dandelion fritter feasts. Workers young and old had smiles stretched across their faces as they sawed, shoveled, tugged, and hauled.  As our time together came to a close (we had to literally tear some girls away from the work they were THAT dedicated), we gave thanks to nature, the trees, the WTA, and to each other for filling our day and our hearts with so much inspiration and joy. A truly wonderful and inspiring day!