The Grey Fox Kits Serve Connelly Creek with the Alevin

Last Saturday the Grey Fox Kits met to serve at the Connelly Creek Site. As they arrived they immediately gravitated towards the creek. Circling up it was clear which Explorers had already been in the water! With soggy boots and high spirits the Explorers introduced themselves to a new Mentor. Adnan, a climbing guide from the mountainous northern region of Pakistan, has traveled to Whatcom County to study sustainability at Whatcom Community College. Adnan is currently interning with the Explores Club and hopes to gain more insight and experience in the way the Explorers serve and connect with the land. We are grateful to have him in our program and are excited for him to share some of the Explorers Club mentoring culture with the youth in his community.

The boys also welcomed a few returning Mentors, Drew Butler and Soren Brotherton. Soren, the Grey Fox Kits steadfast EMA since the first season in 2012, has been a guiding force and a supreme example of what it means to be a caring male in the world. His dedication through mentorship has resulted in a transformative experience for both the boys and himself. The Mentors would like to honor his deepened service ethic as he journeys through the trials and opportunities of arriving adulthood.

Once the group had greeted each other we oriented ourselves to the land by reflecting back on our navigation of Connelly and Padden Creek. With that in mind the Explorers broke the circle, eager to start their service work. However before they could start the Mentors had one piece of critical information to share with the group. The Alevin Explorers had taken a sit spot with the goal of being close to the trail that led to the site, but camouflaged so that the Kits would walk right past them. The Grey Fox Kits looked around nervously, now aware they were being stalked!

The Mentors challenged the boys to individually find the hidden members. Fox Walking along the Alevin proved difficult to spot. Once we arrived at the site we gave a Crow Call and they came pouring out of the bushes, hardly three feet from the trail!

Grabbing our lunches we gathered in a large circle and introduced ourselves. While the group snacked the Mentors gave a talk about tool safety and usage. Our tools are borrowed from the City of Bellingham as well as the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, so it is very important that we treat them with care so that we can keep using them for seasons to come. This subject of tool usage is especially pertinent for the Grey Fox Kits because they will be learning The Art of Carving next fall. It is critical that they recognize that the difference between a tool and a weapon is the user. The Mentors stressed the importance of meeting the service work with our best intentions for the sake of honoring themselves and the land.

Packing up lunch we hauled over the tools and got to work shoveling a giant pile of mulch the Bellingham Parks Department had left us. It was impressive to watch the boys work as one unified crew. The boys spent a few solid hours mulching over freshly tilled clay and soil, digging Himalayan Blackberry roots, cutting back blackberry canes and hauling them out to the trail, and cutting back the persistent Reed Canary grass. I would like to commend and thank both groups for their strong work digging roots and raking swaths of blackberry canes. This is truly a daunting and arduous task that takes perseverance and patience.

Our aim as Mentors is for the Explorers to gain a deep sense of connectedness and ownership through their transformation of this land, and to realize their power to serve and provide for communities. Our hope is that their long-term investment will instill a life long ethic for commitment and service to their communities. Not out of servitude or duty, but of a realization that we are intrinsically tied to our human, plant, and animal communities, and to serve them is to thrive. Service takes us outside of ourselves while both keeping us humble and providing a wellspring of sustaining gratification.

Calling the group back in the Grey Fox Kits said goodbye to the Alevin and thanked them for their leadership and guidance. Sitting together in the grass the group snacked and rested. A few boys investigated a Cherry Tree next to the grass field and found Tent Caterpillars incased in silk at the end of its limbs. The boys started to hit the silk tents with sticks, trying to knock them off the tree. Recognizing the need to bring the group together the Mentors called a circle below the tree. Drew asked the boys why they were killing the caterpillars. The boys told Drew that they were bad for the trees and needed to be removed. Drew then asked the group if they thought this was right. The group answered that just like killing blackberries to help the land, killing the caterpillars helped the tree so it was right. Asking them to take a good look at the tree, the Mentors asked the group if a few caterpillars were really going to kill the tree. The boys answered no, to which Drew replied that if the tree was not going to die then why did we need to kill them? The group was a little quiet. Drew then explained to them that life does not always have clear-cut answers and it is our intention and discernment that steers us towards just decisions.

After this important conversation the group needed some light-hearted play. Setting up a circle of backpacks and hanging a bandana from a Cherry limb the group played Crows Steal a Jay’s Egg, which the Explorers would be happy to tell you more about. 

Circling up for a closing meeting tired, sweaty, and content the group brought the conversation back to our service day and the transformation that we saw in the land over the course of our spring service outings. The Explorers used intention, focus, and power with the assistance of tools to harmonize with the land, restoring balance.

Sharing apples the Explorers gave thanks for a great day of service, for the ability to use tools, for the service partners who provided them, for all the animals moving through Connelly Creek, and for a chance to get to work with the Alevin and volunteers. The Mentors would like to thank all the parents for your support of the Explorers as they mature and grow. We would also like to give a big thanks to Bellingham Parks and Recreation and Nooksack Salmon Enhancement for their guidance and support of our project. We couldn’t do it without all the support!

Please visit the Grey Fox Kits photo gallery for more pictures from the outing.

BEC Serving Connelly Creek with the Grey Fox Kits

November 9th marked a very important outing for the Grey Wolf Pups. This event was the first time the group served at the Boys Explorers Club Connelly Creek Service Site. It was also the first time some of the Explorers met our newest mentor, Greg Schayes.  I speak for the rest of the mentors when I say that we are truly thankful and grateful to welcome Greg into our mentoring community. We are also humbled by the impact of the boys' work at the site. It is amazing to watch the Explorers’ hands transform the landscape.

As the Explorers arrived, they immediately gravitated towards the creek using their acrobatic skills to cross it. After the group circled up, we shared our names and our favorite bird. Some of the favorites were: the Harpy Eagle, American dipper, Red-Tailed Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, and the Bald Eagle. It was exciting the hear all of the knowledge the boys possessed regarding these birds. Greg shared his favorite bird, the Cooper’s Hawk. He explained that earlier the mentors had followed a set of deer tracks across the creek and up to a patch of Willow and Alder. On a Willow trunk there were signs of a deer scrapping the velvet of his antlers. As we assessed the site, all the surrounding birds started to make alarm calls. Just then a Cooper’s Hawk flew over our heads. At first we thought it might be hunting, but it turned out that a Hummingbird was chasing it. It was impressive to see how the Cooper’s Hawk specifically evolved to fly at top speeds through dense forest. Mentors explained to Explorers that survival in the woods is not always just about physical abilities. This Hummingbird showed tenacity and commitment in the face of challenging opposition. Mentors encouraged the group to use this lesson as a guiding force for that day’s service. Our project was large; we were removing tough invasive species that will continue to grow back. Therefore, we needed to cultivate a resilient and diligent mindset. Through this story the group found their motivation to serve at this site.

Little by little, the Explorers are developing an ethic for the land. They are beginning to understand that their health is directly tied to all living things and that every organism holds intrinsic value and deserves their care. Mentors were also delighted to share with the Explorers that a little way down Connelly Creek, at its confluence with Padden Creek, restoration by the City of Bellingham had been progressing. In 1997, the Padden Creek Alliance was formed, which includes: the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bellingham Parks Department, and local citizen groups.  This alliance is working together to restore the Padden Creek Watershed. In 1997 a tunnel running about 2,300 feet from 17th to 22nd street, underneath Old Fairhaven Parkway, was identified as a major roadblock for salmon. In the past, fish had been stacked at the end of the narrow tunnel while trying to return to their spawning grounds. Just this summer the city began the Padden Creek Daylight Project. This project is currently removing the tunnel and restoring the natural flow of Padden Creek.

After our time of discussion, the group was ready for action. We carried our tools to the service site and played an opening game designed to release some of their abundant energy. In the game, Salmon Oh Salmon, one Explorer is a hungry Black Bear while the rest of the group are Salmon swimming up-stream. The Salmon try to run up the playing field to make it to their spawning grounds while the bear tries to tag them. If a salmon is caught, they turn into a tree.

Once our “squirreliness” was out and we ate lunch, the group walked into our work site to assess where we needed to focus our efforts. Mentors explained to the boys that over the last two seasons the elder Explorers worked on digging out a large patch of Blackberry bushes. Over the course of their past service, the elders learned that if they did not remove the roots the bushes would grow right back. We explained that going slow and doing the work thoroughly the first time was essential to our success. The Mentors used different areas to model the use of various tool: shears for Reed Canarygrass, loppers for large Blackberry stalks and shovels for digging roots. The group revisited our mottos for using tools, A Tool vs. A Weapon and our need to respect the Blood Circle.Grabbing our tools, the Explorers set up stations and began their work.

Groups of Explorers worked together to cut, dig, rake and dump the invasive species. The Explorers found all sorts of gems in the landscape: tires, chicken wire, bottles, kiddy pools, and garden hoses. They were shocked to see how other community members treated the land. After one Explorer unearthed aLong-Toed Salamander and another accidently toppled a small willow, the group realized their need to tread a little lighter. After an hour of solid work, the Red-Tailed Eyas showed up to help us out. Part of the new Boy’s Explorers Club culture is for multiple groups to meet and work at the same site. The purpose is two-fold,  to build relationships between groups and to accomplish a lot more at the work site.  The Grey Fox Kits engaged in leadership showing the other group the work they had done, their tool techniques, and to provide them with inspiration for the work they were performing.

After we got the Red-tailed Eyas involved, the group took a break and had lunch on the grass. As we snacked, the group discussed their need for a new name. As their group culture builds, it is important to formally recognize the transitions and adventures that they have experienced. One way to accomplish this is by choosing a new name. The Explorers suggested, “The Wise Widow Makers”, “Watchful Stormers” and the “Stalking Salamanders.” Since Mentors can only guide the group in this decision, and the boys must decide through consensus, we decided to stick with the “Grey Fox Kits” for now. The group broke the circle with a round of Squirrel Tag and we refocused our efforts by combining forces with the Red-tailed Eyas for a little more service.

We ended the day with a Sit Spot out on the land. It was important not only to connect with the landscape but also to get quiet and listen to it so we would know how best to serve it next time.  Our day of service revealed the power of meeting together as a community and engaging in an active relationship with the land. When we work side by side, we are afforded the opportunity to engage in many powerful conversations and experiences with our peers while rejoicing in the act of giving to all members of our community. In our Circle of Thanks the Explorers were grateful for the opportunity to hone their craft with the tools and for a place to call their own. Greg and I could not be more thankful and humbled by all the Explorers accomplishments and attitudes.  We would also like to give a big thanks Bellingham Parks Department, Nooksack Salmon Enhancement and all the parents for their support, care and partnership.

You can check out more pictures from the outing in the Grey Fox Kits photo gallery