Sunday, November 26, 2017

Pacific Chorus Frogs Complete Navigation Challenge #2 and Build Shelters

In Explorer’s Club, participants are typically given more autonomy and voice than they are used to. Empowering the group to make decisions about where to go and what to do allows the mentors to see what the boys are passionate about and interested in. As mentors, we often find that what we had in mind for the day is not what the boys are interested in so we change our plan on the fly to meet the interest of the group. We call this flexibility our 50/50 principle; plan for a whole outing, and be comfortable with completely changing 50% (sometimes 100%!) of it.
Moving through the western red cedar and western hemlock trees in the Padden Gorge

In order to give an Explorers Club group their own voice, they must first learn how to speak as a unit. The boys know that in order to make a decision about our outing, they must have a consensus before the decision is official. We utilize a collaborate and compromise circle as a tool to help the group make decisions. Making a decision as a group is an important skill to learn early on in Explorers Club because as the groups get older and more mature, the mentors give them more voice and choice during outings.

To reach a consensus, we select a Leader of the Day to make sure that every group member's’ voice is heard and to shepherd the group through the decision making process. During their first year in BEC, the mentors modeled the role of Leader of the Day. Now, in their second year, the mentors have intentionally stepped back from playing the role of Leader of the Day and are allowing the boys to practice their circular decision making skills. Last outing, on Lookout Mountain, they had their first navigation challenge where they had to make many decisions about where to go as a group.  
Collaborating and Compromising at Lake Padden Park. Which way should we go?

On our outing at Lake Padden, the boys were handed their second navigation challenge of the year. As they made their way through the network of trails at Lake Padden, It was great to see the progress that they had made in making group decisions, even since just the beginning our our last outing together! The Pacific Chorus Frogs are still learning for sure, but they are becoming more comfortable with the process and are even starting to use it organically without prompting by the mentors!

We started our outing with a bit of vocabulary practice. What does the word traverse mean? We discovered that it meant that we would be travelling to a new area and would not be returning to our starting point. The boys were quick to recognize that, since we would not be retracing our steps at any point, they would have to be extra attentive to keeping their gear with them and not leaving anything behind as we moved through the woods.

As we made our way up through the Padden Gorge we theorized as to what all of the old concrete structures were in and around the creek. Some of us guessed that maybe they were homes for trolls! Others guessed that they were to control the flow of the creek; even more thought that they controlled the depth of the lake! We will have to come back in a few years as a group and see what we think then.
Troll home?

Padden Creek
Fungi!


It felt good to hike, but our legs were tired and we needed some food and water. We took a break on a fairly exposed hill where the rain and wind started to make us cold. We quickly decided to find a better spot to rest so we went deeper into the woods in search of a calm spot.

We eventually found a patch of forest that was protected from the wind. Even though it was raining, we stayed warm and (somewhat) dry because we were all prepared with full suits of raingear!
Getting a snack, out of the wind!

At this point, our outing became a perfect example of the 50/50 principle in action! The boys were especially excited about building shelters today and the physical labor helped to keep us warm. So, the mentors met and decided that following their energy for shelter building was far more powerful than trying to make the boys continue to navigate around Lake Padden Park.

For the next three hours, we worked together to build two different styles of shelters. The conversation was rich as we discussed the pros and cons of various shelter designs and shared new ideas about what materials to use to build them and how to use them.
Starting with a bed of spring Douglas fir boughs

Y-stick, ridge pole and ribs

The other shelter blended in well with the landscape!

Starting to add our insulating and waterproofing layer.


We fit!

Eventually, our time together was starting to come to a close so we had to stop the shelters where they were and head toward our closing circle. First, however, we had a bit of “show and tell” as the two crews shared the powers and challenges of their respective shelters. The Pacific Chorus Frogs are going to have a head start when it comes time for them to learn the Art of Shelter Building during a later season.
Discussing how this shelter was built and what we would do differently if we were to do it again. The Pacific Chorus Frogs are becoming skilled "debriefers"

Our closing circle held a bit more weight than it usually does. Today, Conor announced to the group that he will no longer be their Mentor at Wild Whatcom. Conor explained to the boys that another opportunity (working as a Montessori teacher in Spokane) had presented itself to him, and that he needed to take that opportunity. There was an initial wave of surprise and sadness that came over the group, that was followed by laughs and appreciation as we honored Conor’s time with us during our Attitude of Gratitude practice in our closing circle. The Pacific Chorus Frogs showed us their growing emotional intelligence as they shared their gratitude for Conor and the time we have spent together.

The Pacific Chorus Frogs are better for having had Conor as their mentor. His playful, curious spirit will live on in this group was we continue to explore together for the rest of this year and for many more to come!

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

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