The Barred Owlets Weather a Storm at the 100 Aker Wood

The Barred Owlets arrived at the 100 Aker Wood and quickly circled up under a tree. What started off as a drizzle quickly turned into a deluge and the group was forced to run across the grass field to the cover off an awning. Under the shelter we had our opening meeting. The mentors explained to the group that the 100 Aker Wood had been a stomping ground for the Boys EC since its inception six years ago. After handing out jobs, Brian and I talked to the group about the importance of Being Prepared. Having the right gear on a day like that is critical and makes the difference between having a great outing and being wet and miserable. However, having the right gear is only the first step to thriving on the cold days. Knowing how to use the gear is just as important. As mentors we did our best to remind the boys that keeping your rain jacket zipped up and having a hood over your hat keeps your head dry, both very important.

Once we were prepared and the jobs had been handed out our Front Scoutstepped bravely out from under the awning and the rest of the group followed out into the storm. Heading into the 100 Aker Wood we passed by a Bald Hip Rose thicket and a huge mud pit. Earlier, our volunteer for the day, Patrick Hutchins, was talking about how much he liked mud and he got his wish! Heading up the hill and into the forest we were grateful to have partial cover under the canopy of the Douglas and Grand Firs. Soon we came a junction in the trail. The group circled up to make a decision about which way to go, but it was clear that we needed to get warm first. Partnering up we locked arms with one another and moved them back and forth as fast as we could while stomping our feet. The mentors call this activity the 30 Second Freak Out. After we got warm we played a few rounds of Hide. The Barred Owlets are getting much better at the skill of camouflage, as the seeker in the game it took me awhile to find them.

Once we had taken some self-care the group circled up again and discussed their options. After some debate the group decided to head east and then try to loop back around to the other trail. It is an edge for the Explorers to set their own personal wants and needs and compromise with the group, but they are getting better. The storm was really the one who helped facilitate this group decision. The more some Explorers dug their heels in the colder the group got. As mentors we could try and convey to the group that lack of compromise only wastes their time, but it is much more powerful when it comes from teachers with natural consequences.

Navigating through the 100 Aker Woods is a lot like following a mazing. There is a myriad of trails that snake in and out of one another. The Explorers learned to track the landmarks and to leave trail markers when they came to junctions. Finding a dense Cedar grove the mentors set up a tarp shelter and the group huddled under it while we ate our lunch. As the Explorers refueled our two Explorer Mentor Apprentices, or EMA’s, for the day Jackson Perkins and Evan McNamee told the group of their backpacking adventure in the Chuckanuts last summer. While on the backpack a rare summer storm blew in dropping the temperature and raining almost four inches in two days. The story was one of learning to survive and working together to make it through the experience. None of the Explorers had tents, only tarps like the ones we were currently under.

After the story the group was inspired and we left the shelter of our tarp to play a game called Tree Tag. In Tree Tag one person is “it: and another calls out different types of flora and fauna, and the group has to run to those in order to stay safe. The boys must have played this game for an hour straight! On days like that it is often the work of the mentors to give up what they have planned for the day and just try to stay active and warm.

While boys darted from Cedar to Sword Fern, Jackson and another mentor set up a different activity called Camouflage Gauntlet by taking pipe cleaners and hiding them just off the trail to display the different forms of camouflage. Gathering the group together we lined up single file and tried to use our best Owl Eyes to spot as many as we could. While some Explorers were waiting to go they started playing a little rough with one another. This has been an issue for the Barred Owlets. Learning to respect each others space and listening to one another is the only way the group will create a comfortable space in which the boys can learn and grow. This is an edge Brian and I have been working on with the group. Be sure to remind your Explorers of respecting each other’s space and listening to one another’s requests. We talked about as a group about the word Escalation and how to identify it, recognize it, and call it out so that situations can be defused.

Once everyone had gone through the Camouflage Gauntlet the mentors took the group back through and talked about each one; finding that camouflage could be utilized through color, shape, location, direction, and distraction. Just as we wrapped up it was time to start heading back. By then the rain had all but let up and the group rejoiced. Packing up the tarp and gathering our soggy backpacks we navigated back to Fairhaven Park using the cardinal directions as our guides. We made sure to honor the group decision to take the loop trail back to our original junction.

As we came out of the woods onto the grass field the sun burst through the clouds and we circled up under some Cedars, basking in the heat. As the steam rose off our jackets in the closing circle the boys gave some thanks and shared a snack. The boys gave thanks for the opportunity to share the day together, for food and warm drinks, for shelter, for the rain and challenge, and for the opportunity to explore and play games in the 100 Aker Wood. The mentors would like to thank the Barred Owlets for their courage in weathering this storm. It is experiences like these that will bring the group together and transfer into valuable life skills. The mentors would also like to thank the Patrick, Jackson, and Evan for being such great mentors. It was vital to have extra hands and eyes to help guide the boys through the day. 

For more photos from the day please visit the Barred Owlet’s photo gallery. 

Vespula Veterans Serve Connelly Creek with the Barred Owlets

Serving the land is a critical component of the Boys Explorers Club.  Service is an act of humility and the land demands that—ask any of the boys who were on our “mellow” backpacking trip to the Lilly and Lizard lake this summer.  In Boys Explorers Club we often use the land more than other folks traveling in our area.  We leave the trail to seek deeper connection to the place where we live by studying the abiotic and biotic elements in the landscape.  We leave the trail to practice sit spot, and play games that teach us to move quietly through the land and pay attention.  Our service outing is a way for us to repay the land and our community for the gentle impacts we do make.

Steve and Greg spent quite some time discussing how to best prepare the Vespula Veterans for working with the younger boys—The Barred Owlets.  Though the age difference between the two groups isn’t vast, they are in very different places in they journey with Explorers Club as well as their broader lives outside.  So when all of the Vespula Veterans had arrived we quickly gathered and headed to the service site.  Steve and Greg presented the work that needed to be accomplished before the Barred Owlets arrived and tasked the Vespula Veterans organize and run our opening meeting.  They quickly dispersed and got to work.  They organized the tools and gathered in a circle to both discuss how they would present tool safety to the Barred owlets as well as listening to Greg and Steve present so background and useful tools on working with the age group that the younger boys were in. 

The Vespula Veterans have become very efficient at group work.  They have a healthy balance of keeping our circles light and fun but also getting the work done and being willing to struggling with things that are more complex or difficult to discuss as a group.  Because of this efficiency the Vespula were able to hide and ambush the younger boys.  This has become somewhat of a tradition at this point.  It provides the older boys with an opportunity to see how well they can camouflage themselves and the younger boys (who arrive an hour later) a chance to see how well they are paying attention to the land.  For the first time the older boys remained completely undiscovered!  It was also a sneaky way for Steve and Greg to disguise a 25-minute sit spot!

With both groups together the Vespula presented how to safely use tools and set our collective service team up for a good day of work.  Our tasks at the service site remain the same as last season.  We are trying to get the Reed Canary Grass under control by promoting the growth of Red Alder trees, and various native shrubs such as Willow, Red Osier Dogwood, and Hardhack to create shade and eventually displace the Canary grass.  We are still digging out Blackberry Roots and spreading much and wood chips to aid in this process.

The Vespula and the Owlets worked side-by-side getting the work done.  This service day was very focused in where we applied our efforts compared to other service days in the past.  The boys were focused and their efforts digging, cutting and hauling were tremendous.

At 3:15 Steve and Greg called the Vespula Veterans out of the service area and we headed to a different part of Connelly Creek a couple of minutes away.  This section had been restored about 10 years ago and is free of the invasive species that are in our service site.  Under the shade of alders we held our closing meeting.  Once the apples were sliced we were able to give thanks and then hold a discussion about the day.  Steve and Greg wanted to hear from the Vespula Veterans about their experience and asked “What surprised you the most about working with the younger boys?”  There were many rich comments.  Some were surprised at the Owlets strong work ethic.  Some were surprised by the inability to ignore the machete that was “off limits” to them.  One sibling was surprised (and apparently relived) to discover the typically rambunctious behavior of his younger brother was not present in Explorers Club.  Our conversation was rich especially given that this has been the first opportunity for the Vespula Veterans to take on their EMA (Explorers Mentoring Apprenticeship) work as a whole group.  At our next two outings Greg and Steve will be making space at our opening meetings to hear and EMA stories or puzzles so that the mentors can continue to support the growth of the Vespula Veterans in their Four Shields Journey.

Our day concluded with a look ahead to our upcoming outing on Sunday, October 12^th.  We will be piling aboard Stubbs and heading to Hovander Homestead Park to meet community member Time Flores who will show us some ancient hunting tools and offer us the opportunity to learn how they work.  If you still have your atlatl from the summer backpacking trip bring it along.  If you left it behind, or accidentally put in the fire like Greg do not fret as there will be many to share.

As always thank you Vespula Veterans for your hard work helping to restore balance to the land, your compassion for the younger boys and your willingness to take on all the leadership roles we have thrown at you.  It is such a pleasure to work with you and I am glad to joining you again so soon.  Finally thanks again to the parents and families that support all of us in this work.  Steve and Greg feel so fortunate to be working with your sons and appreciate your trust!