Foundations of Service with the Red-Tailed Eyas

If we had to name three pillars of Explorers’ Club and of Wild Whatcom as a whole, they would be Exploration, Service, and Connection.  Service is at the foundation of all our work.  So, it was a great honor and privilege to greet the Red-Tailed Eyas and to welcome them into our tradition of serving.  These Explorers took to it like morning sun star (Solaster dawsoni) to water.

We began with a little mixer and review of our first skill of camouflage.  A few games of hide with an added twist and in a different location.  Explorers considered what worked in this place and why.  Then we came together and recognized some new faces.  We met Explorers’ Club mentor, Jon-Erik, and Explorers’ Mentoring Apprentice, Kyler, and decided it would be good to teach them our names.  We had another round of name game, but this had a new twist as well.  Do any Explorers remember the names of the animals their friends chose?

After few rounds with plenty of running and laughter, we decided to head up to the stage, have some lunch, and put our minds towards the day.  Service at Larrabee Park.  We took a few moments to consider who lives in this place.  We even recognized, by looking around, that we were right under a bird’s nest.  We then asked the question, do any of these beings ever give us anything?  Answers came flying forth from Explorers: oxygen, food, fun, beauty, wonder, etc.  We then asked what we, as individuals give.  Have we ever given anyone a present?  How did it feel?  Slowly, as we munched away and occasionally got distracted by the train or a passing flock of birds, we unfolded a little story of how everything is connected here, and how we depend on giving.

We then talked about ivy.  Is ivy bad and evil or is it out of balance in this place?  This is a big thought to unpack, and will take many outings to fully process this (maybe many lifetimes), but this Saturday was the day for laying foundations.  So we began this process.

With our food in our bellies and a better idea of what ivy is, what it does, where it grows, and how we can help restore balance by pulling it, we decided it was time for action.  On we went: up the hill and away.  Of course, it wouldn’t be Explorers’ Club if a few games of Hide weren’t called while we walked.  Soon enough, though, we came to a big pile of ivy left from our last group.  We told the story of how this hill looked when Kyler, who was there when Explorers’ Club first started, first came to it.  It was so covered in ivy that we didn’t even know there were rocks and other plants under it.  But now, after many groups have done service there, it is a place that can breathe again.  The few remaining native plants just seem relieved, and the soil seems ready for new seeds.

With enough talking, it was time for work.  We got right down to the business of pulling.  We yanked and tugged and learned new techniques along the way.  We definitely learned the power of many hands together.  Some of those vines were impossible to dislodge with one person, but with all of us together, they eventually came free.  Groans, laughter, panting, playing, and piling up a mass of those green invasives made for a good day’s work.  Check out the video below to see just a part of our “ivy train” at the end of the day.  Check out the pics to see just how much we went through.

Once we had spent ourselves, we realized that there was still time for exploration and enjoyment of this landscape.  It is important, actually vital, once you have served something or someone, to step back and just appreciate.  To celebrate that place or person for who they are and not fix or do anything.  So, we rambled down to the ocean and just enjoyed it.  We scrambled on the rocks and ogled at the wide sea.  Before we knew it, it was time for the final meeting and aCircle of Thanks.  Thanks is a great way to begin and end every day and every endeavor.

So, thank you, Explorers, for a wonderful outing and great service.  Thank you, Larrabee, for being one of the most amazing and inspiring natural communities in our area. Thank you, parents, for your ongoing support.

Don’t forget to check out pics of our outing in the photo gallery.