Though this urban trek took us out of the woods and onto pavement, it had all the elements of an adventure: enthusiastic and curious participants, a complex historical and modern story, fascinating intersections of human and natural constructs, games, lessons in empathy and more. We say The Trail is the Teacher, and this creek greenway through the city was no exception.
All of our outings seek to ground us in a sense of place. In this case, it was Maritime Heritage Park, formerly a forest so thick it was difficult to walk through, beside a beach unfilled with fill, and a creek teeming with salmon. As we set the tone for the day, we traveled between past and present: we went back to the Salish fish camp on the bay, "seeing" men in canoes, fishing with their nettle nets, women and girls picking berries, the surrounding forest teeming with life: fox, bear, cougar, mink, beaver, countless birds; understood the impact of Roeder and Peabody's choice of the falls as the site for their mill, bringing dramatic changes, including a new town called Whatcom; heard about the march of progress, human ingenuity causing numerous degradations to the creek and bay. We came to the present, and saw the juxtaposition of streamside restoration and continued degradation, of visible efforts to shift past wrongs, and also problems that persist. Beside the displaced creek we saw evidence of displaced persons, and spoke of how to project love and compassion their way rather than fear and judgment.
Here were some of the gifts of the day:
• Discussed the value of commitment and Walking Your Talk in showing up to GEC on a rainy, blustery day.
• Observed native plants along the trail, many of which were planted by the Bellingham community (and GEC girls!) for river restoration.
• Told the story of the Salmon Woman, Raven, and Little Bear at the Salmon Woman totem pole, discussing lessons about abundance, greed, and consequences.
• Discovered many hazards on salmon's journey: litter in the river, churning waterfalls, pollution, an artificially straightened creek, pipelines, and other myriad impacts of the city.
• Met up with the GEC bus, Moose, to mimic salmon being bussed over a dam – in our case, we were bussed through the most urban aspect of the stream's journey.
• Engaged with the salmon art, mostly sculpture, all along the trail. Reflected upon the inscription from one particular sculpture: "Our Simplest Wisdom is to Follow the Sea-Bright Salmon Home."
• Began to understand the creek's history by playing Oh Salmon!, which highlighted the impacts on salmon and their needs (food, water, shelter) over time.
• Asked questions with no right or easy answer: What is progress? Is it good or bad? How can our generation impact the lives of salmon and beauty of areas such as Whatcom Falls Park? How is everything connected? What can we learn from the past? Why are salmon important? How can things that seem good become bad, and vice versa?
• Worked to navigate our way along the trail using map, trail markers, common sense, local knowledge, and trail tracking games!
• Learned about many of the human characters who have shaped the creek's journey: the native inhabitants, Roeder & Peabody, the Ladies Cooperative Society, The Whatcom Park Club, the advocates for creek straightening to prevent flooding, and discussed how we can continue this great work and advocacy.
• Began to understand how All Things Are Connected by playing Oh Salmon!, which highlighted the impacts on salmon and their needs (food, water, shelter) over time.
• Had a great time tracking (and tricking) one another as we played the Tracking Game.
• Experienced the changes in landscape along the way as we discussed changes over time all along Whatcom's journey, ending with the familiar comfort of the forest ecosystem in Whatcom Falls Park.
- Enjoyed a Peaceful Place by Duck Pond at Whatcom Falls Park before heading out on a mystery bus ride!
- Shlepped our soggy selves into a Chris's garage for a quick break with homemade hot cocoa and popcorn. We retold the story of our day and passed on lessons we had learned from our journey.
- Ended our day with a circle of thanks, reflecting again on the words of the Lummi people: "Our Simplest Wisdom is to Follow the Sea-Bright Salmon Home." How does the story of our day tell the story of history, change, the circle of life, of salmon, and what can we learn from this journey?
Finally, a contribution from a past GEC girl, now 15, who wrote this short poem throughout the day while walking this same route along Whatcom Creek:
Life and Death
Everything struggles to survive.
Though some things live and some things die.
Even though there may be strife,
It all makes the circle of life.
If some die, yet others live,
feeding upon what the dead bodies give.
Death makes life and life makes death.
So close your eyes and enjoy your breath.
Our words of the day? "Rain, Salmon, and Stories!"
You may check out the (very minimal!) slideshow from our day here
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