Townsend's Chipmunks Continue to Carve

The Townsend Chipmunks met on this drizzly late winter/early spring day having been robbed of one hour of sleep by daylight saving time. Fortunately, any of the fatigue that this caused disappeared as soon as we took our first few breaths of fresh, cool forest air. We were excited to check out some shelters that we had built here on a previous outing. We were also eager to continue practicing safe knife techniques that we learned about on our last outing.

Practicing safe knife usage

At Lookout Mountain, cedars, Douglas firs, hemlocks, maples, and alders reach high into the canopy while vine maple, grand fir and indian plum form the understory. The abundant nurse logs and stumps provide a perfect growing substrate for young hemlocks and huckleberry. We felt lucky to be able to have a pretty healthy patch of woods in which to play, learn, and deepen our relationship with the natural world.

As with most of the BEC outings at Lookout Mountain this winter/spring, the first order of business was to check out the deer carcass that was found earlier this winter. It has been interesting to visit the carcass and see it in varying degrees of decay. We noticed that only a few of the bones remained, including most of the spine, and these bones had been picked clean. We also observed that in the absence of rotting meat, the smell really wasn't so bad.

Not much remains of this deer, the forest has distributed its energy and nutrients back into the ecosystem

After finding the shelters that we wanted to check on, we set up camp and had some time for free play and exploration. After this, we began our first carving project in BEC: chopsticks! All of the BEC groups that learn carving start with this simple yet challenging task. Carving chopsticks provides lots of practice with some of the basic carving techniques while at the same time introducing us to the patience, calm and attention to detail that any carving task requires. The mentors were happy to see us respecting our blood circles and generally having good intentional focus surrounding carving. We look forward to having a completed set of chopsticks by the end of this spring season!

The chopstick blanks that Tim harvested for us today

As growing children, we are constantly in a state of learning about the outside world as well as our own selves, or, our 'inside world'. Learning about ourselves includes recognizing the feelings that we are having and acting on those feelings in increasingly healthy and responsible ways. Today, many of us found ourselves feeling antsy and restless during our closing circle of thanks.  There are many times that we are allowed to be silly and loud and goofy in explorers club, but during our sharing of gratitude is not this time. Today, we had to be reminded that, even though we may feel the urge to blurt out distracting comments or have side conversations with our fellow explorers, we need to be intentional about holding our focus during circle. We were reminded that this is because when we are in circle, we acknowledge that this is a time to speak from the heart and seek to listen. Listening to each other is the foundation on which we build respect in our community. It is arguably the most important thing we will learn to do in Explorers Club. We look forward to holding circle many more times during our tenure with BEC and getting the opportunity to practice our intentional listening skills.

We finished our day off with some practice using an atlatl (a primitive hunting tool) that Tim had made. We realized that this was something that didn't come automatically and it gave us lots of respect for those humans who relied on this kind of tool in order to eat and survive.

Practice with an atlatl

Overall, we had a great (and mostly dry) day that included some great carving practice, a discussion about personal management and a few games mixed in as well! Be sure to check out the rest of the pictures from the outing here.

Townsend's Chipmunks Delve into the Art of Carving

The Townsend’s Chipmunks met up at North Galbraith Mountain for a highly anticipated outing. Not only were we returning to the location of our first outing together in the fall, but today we were going to delve into the exciting world of carving and all the responsibilities that accompany learning how to safely handle and use a knife. Starting things off we hit the trail and made our way back to the bike jumps where every group of Explorers can’t help themselves but take a few runs on an imaginary bike leaping from jump to jump. With our wiggles out it was time for opening circle to discuss a plan for the day, divvy out jobs, and introduce our volunteers for the day to the group.

With that out of the way it was time to head out through the deforested land, harvesting carving materials along the way, and setting up base camp in a small stand of preserved forest beside the stream.

Gathering up for opening circle

Trudging through the recently deforested landscape being developed

Taking some time to discuss "widow makers" and other hazards of the forest

Inspecting the stump of a once mighty Western Red Cedar

While the group knocked the rust off of their shelter building skills constructing a debris hut, one of the mentors pulled aside pairs of Explorers for an introduction into carving. Working closely with two Explorers at a time ensured proper oversight and critique while the boys situated themselves properly to begin carving. With a small, fresh branch of Big Leafe Maple, each Explorer was tasked with removing the bark, carving a pencil point, a flat point, and learning how to accurately cut a segment of the branch off. All these skills incorporated deep and shallow cuts, a couple different carving techniques, and the ever vigilant mentor reminding the Townsend’s Chipmunks to maintain safe positioning of body, hands, and blade as different cuts promoted the temptation to lose sight of safety in order to get better leverage, angles, etc.

Beginning to carve making sure to always cut down and away

Continuing to work on cleaning off all that bark!

Remembering to make sure we cut out in front of our bodies and not being tempted to bring the knife in closer for better leverage.

With everyone getting a chance to be introduced to the basics of carving, it was time to check in on the earth shelter and transition to the end of our outing. After a damp and drippy morning, the sun had come out to dry and warm the forest. Spreading out the Townsend’s Chipmunks took fifteen minutes for a “sit spot” where everyone takes time to reflect on the outing and observe the natural world in solitude under the guidance of a few rules: Solo, Still, Silent, Safe, and focusing on observing with our Senses. This time offered the opportunity for mentors and Explorers alike to reflect on the big step forward the group took today in learning carving. Not only does this mean the Townsend’s Chipmunks will be able to utilize the incredible versatility of a knife as a tool to aid our explorations, but the group will now, and forever, be held to a higher standard of maturity and responsibility. Despite the playful nature of this group, there is no doubt they are eager for greater responsibility and today they proved they were up for the task. After taking this big step we can’t wait to see how this group continues to grow and develop over the spring season as they demonstrate a greater level of responsibility and maturity while carving that will hopefully begin to permeate throughout other aspects of our outings, group dynamics, and development as individuals both in and out of Explorers Club. 

Gathering in the sunshine for closing circle after a peaceful sit spot

Make sure to check out the rest of the photos from our outing here!

The Townsend Chipmunks Explore an Icy Arroyo Park

Ice!

Last Saturday, the Townsend Chipmunks met for their first ever winter outing together. We have seen how our favorite ecosystems and places look during fall, spring and summer, but this was our first chance to see what the Chuckanut Creek ecosystem looks, smells, sounds and feels like during the icy grip of a winter freeze.

Frozen Chuckanut Creek!

The most obvious (and most fun) part about exploring during winter is all of the ice! As explorers, we are usually itching to get onto the trail and into the woods as soon as possible but today none of us could resist the temptation of playing on the completely frozen pond at the edge of the parking lot. Thankfully, this pond was frozen solid all the way through so we were not worried about the ice breaking and getting our feet cold and wet for the rest of the day. We spent time here slipping, sliding and investigating the interesting patterns that the ice made when it froze.

Ice is way to much fun

After finally pulling our attention from the ice we were able to have an opening circle and set an intention to travel to a cool spot and have enough time to play spiders web and get back to the parking lot on time. However, as it often goes in BEC, the forest had a different day planned for us.

Only a short way up the trail, we came across a waterfall that was still flowing but was covered with all different kinds of ice. This scene immediately captured our imagination and we couldn't help but get close to touch, break, hold, and look through these beautiful and odd-looking ice formations. We discussed our theories as to how and why certain shapes and kinds of ice existed at different places in the stream. It was hard to pull ourselves away from this wonder but as the first shoe was dunked into the water, the mentors knew that we had had our fun here, and that staying any longer may have resulted in some cold and uncomfortable explorers.

Cool ice formations

We moved further along the trail and noticed even more types of ice. We saw ice that grew up and out of the soil in the form of columns that looked like mini skyscrapers. We noticed that areas on the trail that looked like wed mud were actually frozen and held the tracks of animals who had passed weeks before when temperatures were above freezing. In one frozen mud pit we identified the tracks of humans, domestic dogs, and deer!

A rare sight in Bellingham, ice in Chuckanut Creek!

We eventually found our way to the fallen tree bridge that we used to access the other side of Chuckanut Creek and get to our spiders web spot. A mentor scouted the condition of the log bridge and found it to be a little slick but safe for careful passage. We went one at a time across the bridge so that we could pay full attention to how and where we placed our feet on the way across and with this intentional focus we all made it safely across.

Crossing with care

We were close to our spot now and trekked up a huge hill that warmed our bodies and reminded us how hungry we really were. After a quick lunch and some hydration (some of us had hot chocolate!) we again set off to look for more winter wonders in these woods. We had fun building bridges across frozen creeks and making neat sounds with frozen sticks.

Making a bridge over a small stream

At this point, we realized that our day together was already coming to a close and that we would not have time to play spiders web. While this was disappointing, we were grateful at the end of the day for having gotten to come out in winter and see all of this special, seasonal phenomena. We ended our day, as always, with apples and gratitude in the forest. Afterward, we made quick time back to the parking lot where we met our parents who would take us home to warm up after a day of exploring out in the cold.

Playing Through the Cold at Lake Padden

Carrying momentum from a highly productive outing of shelter building the weekend prior, the Townsend’s Chipmunks met up at Lake Padden for a well-deserved games day. Despite chilly temperatures and a dampening drizzle, the Explorers brought just as much enthusiasm and energy as ever. Chatting about our day the mentors made sure everyone knew this day would not only focus on playing games, but more importantly providing the Townsend’s Chipmunks with the opportunity to prove their growth in group decision making. Coming to a consensus as a group of unique individuals is a difficult proposition on a sunny summer day, let alone a hand-numbing, nose-dripping, Pacific Northwest day of cold and wet.

Planning where to go for our outing

Our first task of the day was to figure out where to go, but before we did that the mentors had the group make an agreement that would help them work together in circle. The Explorers came up with three ways they agreed to help; listen closely to the Tribal Elder, be cooperative and not counter-productive, and focus on one variable at a time. With that taken care of we picked to hike to the Big Fallen Tree on the dog off leash trail. Not only is this a fun hike, but everyone had a great time meeting a number of playful pups that couldn’t pass up a posy of Explorers eager to pet them. Along the way we stopped to explore a pond of standing water that upon further investigation was frozen just below the water’s surface! Next we ate some food, drank our hot beverages, and headed off to find a place to play games.

Exploring the pond

Collecting sheets of ice

We even made an ice ornament with the help of  a cedar root

Arriving at the Big Fallen Tree, we circled up again to decide where to play our games. Sticking to our agreement we made sure to pick on variable, make a decision, then move on to the next variable. Additionally, despite a few reminders from mentors, everyone did a great job being extra cooperative and listening keenly to the Tribal Elder. Finally we came to a consensus on where to play our game, and that our game would be Spiders Web! This is a classic Explorers Club game and we even had the joy of introducing this game to two of our groupmates. Navigating off trail we set up the playing field, tuning into the terrain and hazards amongst the landscape. Hazards were a big theme of our day; from the cold and wet, to widow makers, to what to do when you get lost. We sometimes say that the natural world is the best teacher, and today the subject matter was quite pertinent. 

Holding focus in circle to come to a group consensus

Peaking around a tree in the midst of a game of Spider's Web

After a lengthy game of Spider’s Web, sneaking through sword ferns, traversing the terrain, but ultimately arriving at a stalemate, we all had a blast and took a moment to reflect on our game through a debrief of what went well and what we would have done differently if we were to play again. With just enough time for a quick hike out and closing circle, we set off to be reunited with parents. In our closing circle everyone shared something they were thankful for, a highlight of the season, and something they are looking forward to next season. Everyone had a great time thinking back to our shelter building outings at North Galbraith and Lookout Mountain and our service outing helping put of fencing and plant trees at Connelly Creek. A games day at Lake Padden was the perfect finish to our fall season. Looking ahead to the winter and spring, almost every Townsend’s Chipmunk said they wanted to learn how to carve. This was not the original plan for the spring, as the mentors wanted to really solidify our shelter building skills, but it is tough to fight a groups inspirations and we may just have to reconsider whether or not this group is ready to carve. The mentors told the Explorers that if they brought their A-Game to their winter outing; demonstrating safe tool use, strong focus, and treating one another with the utmost respect, then perhaps the skill focus for spring time could be shifted to The Art of Carving. The Townsend’s Chipmunks made a big step as a group this season demonstrating their shelter building abilities and developing group comradery. They answered the call this time, but will they prove ready to kick it up a notch and begin carving? I guess we will just have to wait and find out.

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