The Short-Tailed Weasels Explore Group Dynamics and Skills at Stewart Mountain

The Short-tailed Weasels arrived at Stewart Mountain to find the Cave Dwellers group already there. Looking around a few of the STW’s recognized some members of the other group from outside of Explorers Club. After playing a fun ‘get to know you’ game the mentors talked about their plans for each of the groups’ outing. A few of the boys recognized that both groups would be working on similar skills during the day and asked about running a joint outing together.

Nominating a Leader of the Day to help facilitate the discussion the boys quickly realized that there were strong opinions on both sides and the decision was going to be a difficult one. The process was made more challenging by some members of the Short-tailed Weasels who had become overwhelmed and bored and as a result derailed our discussion by either drawing attention to themselves or talking over those who were trying to actively pursue collaboration and consensus.

After a solid fifteen minutes of discussion the group decided that even though they were working on the same skills and were only a year apart in age, it was better that they played a game a of Spider’s Web together and then went their separate ways. It was disappointing for the mentors to watch the boys come close to inclusion, knowledge sharing, and togetherness, but in the end for them to feel like their groups were in different places. However, one of the joys of Explorers Club is that we learn experientially over many outings and it was our role as mentors to hold to their decision.

Brian let out a crow call after setting up a game course in a dense grove of second growth Western Hemlock and Cedar and the boys disappeared in the ferns.

The game lasted for about forty-five minutes and provided just the right amount of challenge and redirection. The two groups followed the rules with honor and got caught up in the spirit of play. Calling the game at our allotted time we circled back up to debrief.

The mentors highlighted how the power of play had brought us together. To further reinforce this concept a mentor shared a story about the Northern Ireland Conflict where Nationalists (mainly self-identified as Roman Catholic) and Unionists (mainly self-identified as British or Protestant) waged guerrilla warfare against one another over differences in whether Northern Ireland should belong to Ireland or England for nearly thirty years. 3,500 people were killed in the conflict and many neighborhoods and families were left with deep scars and hatred for one another.

An Outdoor Professional from the region started a surfing program for children from both sides of the conflict. Through a medium of play and adventure they created strong friendships and goodwill amongst the younger generations. The boys seemed to internalize this mentoring message and the STW waved goodbye to the CD as they circled up to make a plan for the rest of their day.

Turning to the Leader of the Day the group needed to decide how to fit in eating their lunch, finding a location to work on some knife sharpening and tarp shelter making skills, and also provided a container for some free exploration. Once again some of the Explorers started to derail the group using sarcasm and humor about the process along with interjecting other subjects that were off-topic and disruptive. The boys were looking for the mentors’ edge and had found it. Getting triangular with the group the mentors asked the boys why they thought their behavior was appropriate and if they really wanted to participate. The mentors also let the group know that we purposefully choose to engage in this work bringing intention and care to each outing, and we expect the boys to be present and engaged.

With their plan in place the boys headed down to Lake Whatcom to eat their lunch and then hiked up the Chanterelle Trail in search of a quiet place off-trail to engage in skills. Taking out a knife sharpening kit and the resources to make a tarp shelter the STW’s energy calmed down and the mentors were able to get strong focus from the group. A portion of the group worked on tarp shelters learning to: carve tent pegs, how to tie a tarp knot, the proper height to raise the shelter to, and how to get a clean smooth shelter surface to fend off rain using 45 degree angles and taught lines attached to the tarp’s grommets.

Adam provided some hot chocolate on his jet boil stove while he worked with a few of the boys on knife sharpening. The group harmoniously worked away following their interests. Circling up for a closing meeting we debriefed the second half of the day highlighting the mentors ability to pass on knowledge, skills, and give more autonomy and responsibility when the groups demonstrates that they are ready for it. Sharing our thanks and some apples the group suffered more interruption and again needed to be reminded of our behavioral expectations for our meeting time.

The Short-tailed Weasels’ group work needs improvement and one hundred percent focus and engagement from its members in order to thrive. Fortunately mentors and Explorers alike are given the gift of time in this program and the STW will have the chance to try again after our holiday break. Adam and I are thankful to work with your sons and for your commitment and support for the program. We see opportunity in the group’s challenging dynamics and look forward to tailoring our next few outings to help facilitate their capacity for leadership and engagement.

For more pictures from our outing please visit the Short-Tailed Weasels’ photo album from the day.

Finding Balance in the Yew Street Woods

The Pacific Northwest has thrown us some interesting weather this fall, and our Explorers Club participants have proven to be resilient adventurers.  We have had some outings cancelled due to some fierce winds, but the Short-Tailed Weasels were able to sneak in a great trip to the Yew Street Woods just before another storm cycle broke over Bellingham. 

Learning some neighborhood trails

The Yew Street Woods is a fairly new site for Wild Whatcom, and the drop off point and trail access are a little bit separated.  Luckily we had some awesome participants that lived in the area.  They were able to take us on some neighborhood trails that brought us right to our trail head.  From there we hiked out the power line trail, and found a perfect space to set up our base camp.  

Hiking on the power line trail

The Short-Tailed Weasels are working on shelter building as their earth skill this season.  A little bit of friendly competition is a great way to build teamwork and keep focus.  The participants were separated into two groups.  Each team was tasked with building a debris hut in an allotted amount of time.  The teams worked great together.  Many hands make light work.  The Short-Tailed Weasels proved themselves to be hard workers with innovative ideas.  When it came time to add the top debris layer, I witnessed both groups using branches as a rake to gather the big leaf maple leaves that blanketed the ground.  The final test was to have one of the participants get into their shelter while one of the mentors poured water over their structure.  Both teams constructed shelters that were stable and kept out most of the water.  

 

Our shelter training was a huge success.  The Short-Tailed Weasels were on task and focused.  This left us plenty of time for free exploration and games.  We circled up and talked about what they wanted to do with the remainder of their day.  It was an awesome exercise in “Collaborate and Compromise.”  Not all of the participants wanted to due the same thing.  After some debate the group came to a consensus.  Half of our remaining time would be used for capture the flag, and the last half would be used to explore some rock formations that we found on our hike in.  

gathering debris

Our game of capture the flag was played with honor.  The playing field was challenging but fun, and the game ended in a draw.  We hiked out through a marshy area in the bottom of a little draw.  It was good practice in route finding through thick underbrush.  The participants then explored a ridge and watched some mountain bikers building jumps.  Our outing ended with a respectful closing circle and a short hike to meet up with their rides home. 

putting together the bones of a debris hut

The Short Tailed Weasels are focusing on shelter building this year, but like every trip, there is so much more happening.  I was impressed with the work ethic, teamwork, and ingenuity shown in our shelter building competition.  The group is learning to talk through differences in a respectful way and decide as a whole what to do next.  They had fun playing games as well as embodied an explorer’s mindset.  Thanks Short-Tailed Weasels for a well balanced outing.  Please check out the rest of the photos from our outing here.

Short-Tailed Weasels and Kingfishers Remove Invasive Plants at Woodstock Farms

The Short-Tailed Weasels formulate an attack plan while Conor shows them what initiative looks like

The original inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest utilized the sea to gather (and sometimes farm) food as well as for transportation.  At some point in time, the native people who lived near these beaches were forced out of the space that we now call Woodstock Farm. They were no longer able to live here like they had since time immemorial. Then, in 1905, Cyrus Gates established Woodstock Farm by constructing some buildings and clearing the land to plant food and raise animals. Cyrus Gates was a local businessman with a particular interest in conserving public places. He lead the creation of Larrabee State Park, Arroyo Park and Fairhaven Park. In 2004, the City of Bellingham acquired the property and now manages it in order to preserve its historical importance while at the same time conserving and restoring the patches of wild space on the site.

Today, the Short-Tailed Weasels and the Kingfishers would add their own legacy to this piece of  land by participating in some invasive species removal. Woodstock Farm features heavily wooded areas as well as some Garry Oak meadows. We spent the day removing Himalayan blackberry, holly and herb Robert (aka stinky Bob!).

An EMA helping on of our younger explorers remove invasive weeds

On the hunt for sharp, invasive holly plants

A cool beech tree was a perfect spot for our backpacks

Going for the holly root...

...and its out!

Another stubborn holly root 

Taking breaks is important (and fun when you get to climb around on glacial erratics)

We can't NOT take pictures of bugs

We also got to have a couple of EMA's (click here for a description of our EMA program) along with us today. These veteran explorers from some of our older groups did a great job of modeling work ethic and helping the mentors keep everyone safe when using tools.

Our wonderful EMAs for the day!

In EC, we utilize lots of wild spaces and parks in Bellingham to learn, play and sustain our emotional and physical health. With this understanding, we appreciated the opportunity to give back to the woods that provide us with so much.

To see the rest of the photos from our day together, click here!

The Short-Tailed Weasels Collaborate Beside Caves on the Rock Trail

The Short Tailed Weasels arrived in a convoy for the first outing of the fall season. We gathered together for opening circle and after meeting new group members and going over our plan for the day we headed down the Rock Trail. Our focus for the day would be shelter building, however in the end we would learn our true lessons would be learned on another topic. 

Checking the map for information to help our outing

Heading down the trail the group was tasked with searching out “natural shelter” as in any emergency, finding a shelter that is already build for you is much quicker and easier than constructing one of your own. Further down the trail we found a series of caves that offered up plenty of natural shelter. One of the caves in the sandstone cliffs was even big enough to fit four Explorers!

Hiking beside the sandstone cliffs

Clambering into caves!

Seeing how many Explorers can fit in the cave

 Transitioning to the second half of our outing we circled up to plan what to do. We would need to focus on shelter building, however afterwards we had the option of either playing Spider’s Web or trying to hike down to Lost Lake. As the group tried to deliberate on what to do, we revisited the “four C’s of decision making”; circle, collaborate, compromise, consensus. First and foremost we needed to circle up and focus ourselves on communicating with one another. Next we took time for each person to share what they wanted to do. The upcoming step of compromising was where we faced our challenge for the day. 

Hanging out to eat lunch

With about half of the group wanting to play Spider’s Web and the other half wanting to go to Lizard Lake, we hit a sticking point in our decision making. After much deliberation and discussion the majority of the group began leaning towards Spider’s Web, however a couple group members were still not satisfied with the plan. Although most of the time outside of Explorers Club, decisions like this are made by a democratic vote resulting in a majority rules scenario. However, this often leaves a group polarized and at least a few members, if not half of the group, unhappy with the decision made. In order for a group to agree with a decision in its entirety, a consensus must be reached. This is not easy, and we asked a lot of the Short-Tailed Weasels to come to a consensus, but through determination and thoughtful compromise we finally arrived at a consensus. We would have a brief shelter building lesson followed by a game of Spider’s web and a strong intention of returning to the Rock Trail in the spring time to hike down to Lizard Lake. 

Transitioning to learning how to construct a model debris hut

Although the process of reaching a consensus is often painstaking for both Explorer and Mentor alike, the resulting group morale and lessons learned in communication, leadership, and creative thinking to arrive at a compromise were well worth the lengthy time in circle. Not only did this group get a chance to play games and practice their shelter building, but they took a big step forward in their ability to function as a whole and arrive at decisions that everyone can agree upon.

Proud shelter builders. Next we will see how they do constructing full size shelters!

Check out the rest of the photos form our outing here!