Common themes throughout our camp were:
· Core routines
of circles, sit spots, games, and naturalist activities.
· Engagement
with group processes and our motto ‘collaborate and compromise’.
· Opportunities
to unplug and decompress through extended free play and self-directed
leadership.
· Time spent learning
to use the three tools of the circle in the group decision-making process: our ears to listen to one another, our
eyes to bring our focus towards what was going on in the circle, and our
hearts to share our truths and encourage one another
· Learning
to play with honor and integrity
· Having
fun and building friendships
· Deeply
connecting with the some wild spaces just outside of Bellingham
Below
is a day-by-day snapshot of our week together. For more pictures from the Foothills
Explorations Camp please visit this photo album. Thanks
again for your support and participation in the program.
Monday, August 15th – 100 Acre Wood
We began our week together exploring a track of wild land right in
Bellingham’s own backyard. Once we had all arrived the group said goodbye to
the parents and headed into the woods to get to know one another by playing a
name game. Looking around the circle the boys asked who the older kid was in
the group was. Jordan introduced himself and explained that he was part of a
program called the Explorers
Mentor Apprenticeship Program and would be joining them for the
duration of their camp to better understand what it means to be a mentor.
Once we were acquainted the mentors asked the boys to sit for what
would be the first of many circles during our three days together, and explained
that in order to explore safely we need to bring our focus towards our plan for
the day and orient ourselves to our current location by asking a few important
question.
Together we asked each other: What are the hazards of this
location? What animals might we find? How should we treat our fellow group
members? What can we do to respect the place we’re in? What do you do if you
get lost? What is our plan for the day?
By the end of our meeting the boys were ready to move. The group
hiked along until we arrived at the first junction in the trail. The boys
stopped, unsure which way to go.
With some collaboration and
compromise the group decided to follow the North trail. Arriving at another
junction the group quickly realized that the 100 Acre Wood is a maze of unmarked
trails and that there would be a lot of decisions to make. Around the next bend
the boys discovered a great location to learn a game called Hide! This game came with the
opportunity for the boys to learn the basics of what our mentors call the Art of Camouflage.
After lunch the mentors felt the need to move, so we played a few
rounds of a game called Cougar Stalks
Deer down the trail. In the game there is a deer that has to try and out
navigate the cougars using stealth and stalking. The cougars can approach the
deer, but if they are seen moving they get sent to the back of the line.
The boys struggled with the challenge brought up by what would be
one of our major themes for the week, playing with honor. In our Boys Summer
Camps we learn to engage with others in games by giving each other our best in
the spirit of healthy competition. Consequently we learn to hold to the rules
and live with the game’s outcomes. The group struggled with the difficulty of
being called back to the end of the line over and over again.
Feeling our group cohesion tanking we ended our game and grabbed
our packs in route to Hoag’s Pond on the other end of the park. Along the way
we feasted on the ripe blackberries and inspected the sap bubbles on a downed
Grand Fir.
Arriving at the pond the boys explored the Pond Lilies in search
of frogs and Salamanders. By the time we made it halfway around the loop trail
it was time to do an activity that would be a core routine for our camp, a Sit Spot.
Together we went over the five S’s of a Sit Spot: Safe, Still, Silent, Solo, and Senses. Spreading out
along the trail the boys got quiet and listened to the Marsh Wren and
Red-Winged Blackbirds in the Cattails. Calling
the group back together for a closing meeting the boys were asked to describe
one thing they heard on their sit spot and share on thing they were thankful
for in a practice we call our attitude of gratitude.
Tuesday, August 16th – Lake Padden
Arriving at the baseball field the boys were excited for another
day of exploration.
In our opening meeting we went over the same questions we had addressed
the day before and the boys struggled to find the focus to be present in the
circle. After twenty minutes we had our plan and broke our circle to play a round
of Cougar Stocks Deer in the tall
grass along side the field. The boys insisted that Jordan be the deer and with
some great teamwork the cougars chased the deer up into a tree and he became
cougar breakfast.
Heading out on the South Lake Padden Trail we played a few rounds
of Hide and snacked on some food. A few of the boys were concerned that we were
eating too soon in the day but the mentors encouraged the boys to eat when they
were hungry. In our program the boys
learn to listen to their bodies and respond to their basics survival needs of
food, shelter, and water.
Peeling off the trail in a nice open section of the forest the
group came across a very poorly built Earth
Shelter. Circling up the group asked each other if they could amend the pan
for the day and spend some time building shelters. With a bit of group process
and facilitation from the mentors the boys decided to work on shelters for a
few hours, then play games and eat, and finally end the day swimming at the
lake.
The boys formed three groups and got to work on some shelters.
Together they learned to only harvest downed materials for building and
experimented with different materials and structures.
After an hour and a half of solid focus they stopped to hydrate
and eat some lunch. Once we were fueled up the boys went back to working on
their shelters, but the mentors asked them to hold to the plan they had
created. The group toured each shelter while the mentors critiqued their work.
Before we headed to the lake the mentor wanted to play one last
game called Fox Feet. In the game a mentor
blindfolds himself and sets his keys in front of him. The boys have to use
their best sneaking abilities to retrieve the keys, but if the mentor hears
them and points at them they have to start over.
The boys did a great job using their Fox Feet to move quietly, but again struggled with the weight of
being called back. The mentors encouraged the boys to play with honor and asked
the group to think back to earlier request to play an advanced game called Spider’s Web. The mentors told the group
that if they were able to show that they could play with honor throughout the day
there would be a perfect place to play the next day at Clayton Beach.
With great attitudes the boys worked through the challenge and
made a strong finish to the game. As we were packing up the boys
unintentionally aggravated a Bald- Faced Hornets nest and two of the boys got
stung. Ouch! On our way to the lake we searched for a plant called Broadleaf
Plantain. Successfully locating it the boys chewed up the leaves and spit them
into the bee stings. Slowly the pain diminished and the boys did a great job
staying calm.
Arriving at the lake the boys spent the rest of the time swimming
and covering themselves with grey clay they found on an eroded bank. We circled
up on the grass and gave thanks to close our day.
Wednesday, August 17th,
Clayton Beach
Arriving at the parking lot of Clayton Beach the group quickly
circled up for an opening meeting. The mentors noticed the boys were becoming
more used to the process. Going over our questions for the day the mentors
pointed out two safety issues of this location: crossing Chuckanut Drive and
the railroad tracks. We would need to bring our best group focus to safely
navigate these hazards.
Once we were safely across the road the mentors led the group to
one of their favorite spots to play Spiders
Web. Circling up the boys learned the rules of Spider’s Web. The goal of this game is for the Spider to capture
all the flies on the web before the flies get the food source and bring it back
to their base. The boys struggled to focus during the explanation and mentor
reminded them of the responsibility and focus needed for an advanced game.
Our first round lasted for a half an hour and ended with a team of
boys crawling through the Sword Ferns and using a relay system to bring the
food source back to the base. Asking to
play again the boys wanted to have one of them be the spider instead of one of
the mentors. The mentors agreed, but only under the condition that the group
played with honor and had two spiders. The group agreed and the game commenced.
After fifteen minutes the spider’s won and an argument ensued. Circling back up
at our packs the mentors revisited the rules we had agreed upon and our commitment
to accepting the outcome of the game with grace and humility.
Heading down the trail we passed through an arroyo of Red Alder, Sliver-Beaked
Hazelnut, and Salmonberry before crossing the tracks. Stepping out onto the
beach the boys scattered everywhere and the mentors called the group back in to
set some boundaries. For over an hour the boys climbed the sandstone and
explored the shoreline and tidal pools. Through their exploration the boys
found gastropods, crabs, calms, seaweed, and sand dollars. As we explored a
North wind kicked and the boys played in the wind waves.
This free exploration time was a powerful moment for the mentors to
realize that sometimes we need to step out of the way and let the boys follow
their inspirations and discover what the land has to teach.
Gathering back up on the rocks the mentors encouraged the group to
move down the beach because the tide was coming in and it would be much easier
to travel on the beach than to navigate the rocks at high tide. We traversed
down the beach until we came to a nice sandy spot. Sending the group out on
their last Sit Spot the boys laid
back on the sand and listened to the sound of the waves against the shore and
Bald Eagles calling out as they scanned the shallows for Sculpins. It was a
powerful moment of connection for the boys.
Coming back in the grouped circled for our last attitude of gratitude. Sitting on the
beach with the Chuckanut Mountains at our back and the Salish Sea on our
horizon the boys gave thanks for: wind, water, food, Earth Shelters, free
exploration, the friends they had made throughout the camp, the Salish Sea, for
Spiders Web and Hide, and for the opportunity to spend three uninterrupted days out
on the land with each other. What a great close to our three days together.
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