It was SO wonderful to spend the day with the Trilliums! These girls brought their adventurous spirits armed with their abundant nature knowledge to successfully lead us on our off-trek journey to Teddy Bear Cove, braving the cold and the dark, smiling all the way.
There is a reason this is one of our favorite outings: it's jam-packed with all the best elements of an Explorers' Day: route-finding, reasonable risks, the need for collaborative decision-making, unexpected encounters with natural elements (wind, fields and trails, water, mud, dense forest, etc...), a walk through a beautiful old farm, vistas of islands, and more.
Highlights of our day:
• Spending an hour in our gathering meeting, checking in with one another about how our life is changing as summer turns into fall.
• Collaboratively deciding on the "challenge by choice" of route-finding our way to the Mud Bay trail through dense forest (there was an option to take the more direct route of the Interurban Trail, but no one voted for that!). Using our safety awareness to move cautiously off trail, avoiding the the spikes of Devil's Club as we walked through the forest.
• Immersing ourselves in the earth skill of Navigation all along our journey, pausing to establish cardinal directions, and repeatedly check in with them ("Where do you think we'll end up if we keep going this way?" "Which way is the sea, and what direction is that?" "Which way is Teddy Bear Cove and what direction is that?" "Which way do you think we should turn to get to Teddy Bear Cove", etc...), helping the girls practice navigational awareness all along the way. Later in EC, we'll tie this in to an awareness of life direction, paying attention to the choices we make that determine where we're headed.
• Learning about the wonders of Devil's Club (and renaming it Medicine Club, due to its innumerable uses): as blood sugar regulator, skin infection fighter, addiction destroyer, energy giver, and much, much more. Like nettle, misunderstood Medicine Club has a bad reputation solely due to its effective defense mechanism. It asks for respect, and in return offers many methods of healing and support.
• Doing S.T.O.P. risk assessments all along the way, traveling slowly and with awareness as we navigated through salmonberry, nettle, and "medicine club". This practice and habit of awareness is an important skill to cultivate, in forest travel and in life.
• Had lunch at Woodstock Farm, embracing the wind and the rain. Played Skunk and Spray to warm up our chilled bodies.
• Making collaborative decisions all along the way, practicing the art of listening to everyone's opinion, then coming to consensus about what can work for all.
• Enjoying the pastoral peace at Woodstock Farm, and learning about the generosity of its founder, Cyrus Gates, who donated land for Larrabee, Arroyo, and Fairhaven Parks, Chuckanut Island, and many other green spaces in Whatcom County.
• Peaceful Place on a bluff above Woodstock Farm, watching the eagles soar above the bay.
• Thoroughly enjoying each other's company, stretching our edges, collaborating and compromising, and, at the end of the day, enthusiastically appreciating one another.
EC Mottos especially alive today:
* Safety First
* Be Prepared
* It's About the Journey, Not the Destination
* Leave No Trace
* We're All Teachers
* You See It, You Own It
* Collaborate and Compromise
* Stretch Your Edge
* Expect the Unexpected
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