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.
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!
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