The Alevin gathered at the Connelly Creek service site excited to see how the land had transformed over the summer. The day was gorgeous. Not a cloud in the sky and the warmth of the morning sun was just starting to creep over the foothills. Giving the boys five minutes to scout the land the mentors asked the group to track what work had been done so far this season and what worked needed to get done today.
Circling back up the Alevin tracked that the Reed-Canary grass had grown through the six inches of mulch they laid last season and the Alders that had been planted were taken over by Morning Glory during the summer. Although there was much work to do they did track that someone had put in a lot of work to unwind the invasive weed from the Alder’s cages and reestablished the mulch rings around them. They also found that each shrub planted last fall had been weeded and staked out.
Checking the back of the site they found the previous weekends service party had made a large dent in the Blackberries by really putting in an effort to remove their roots. I think it is encouraging for the Alevin to witness the efforts of their fellow Explorers. Our service each season is condensed into four weekends in a row, where each group comes to the same site. In their spring 2015 season the Alevin were the first group out to the sight and spent a majority of their time just trying to maintain what was done in the previous fall 2014 season. This outing they would have a chance to make real headway on the site.
The mentors let the group know that the Red-Tailed Eyas and Gray Wolf Pups would both be joining them. It would be the first time three Boys EC groups would work together in one day and it was up the elder boys (the Alevin) to set the example for the younger ones. We needed to think back to our last wilderness outing and bring the same focus and intention to our service work that day. We let them know that although the other groups were only younger by a year or two they would be looking to them for guidance and mirroring their behavior.
Springing into action the group immediately moved to the back of the site to start loping and digging out the massive blackberry patch. Digging blackberry roots is hard work and the boys are becoming quite skilled with their techniques. In the Boys EC if someone unearths a massive blackberry root ball it is tradition to hold it up proudly and let out a cheer. After a solid half an hour of work a majority of the group ran off to stalk the arriving Red-Tailed Eyas.
Calling the group back together the boys returned to their tools. It was then that some of the boys decided to turn their focus to cutting back the seemingly endless blackberry hedge while others kept up their work on the roots of the blackberries that were cut in the previous outing. As the other groups joined in the effort became less focused with a majority of the boys deciding to lop blackberries. As blackberry canes piled up the few boys that were digging roots and trimming the pile for bagging became overwhelmed.
As the situation developed a few of the boys, Alevin included, developed a technique for breaking through the dense thicket of dead blackberry canes by breaking them up with large sticks so they could be raked up. This proved too much for the boys who had a hard time keeping their awareness. With the group at critical mass the mentors called the everyone together. We first addressed the importance of having good intention with your tool. This is something that all the groups know well and should be aware of. We then addressed the larger issue of our lack of focus. Having the group take a look around it was clear that we would have to spend the majority of the rest of the outing cleaning up the blackberries we had just lopped. The teachable moment and take away for some of the Explorers in our discussion was their recognition of two important themes, We not Me and Slow is Fast and Fast is Slow. 
Our haste in lopping a large amount blackberry had left us with the slow work of trimming and bagging. The mentors explained to the group that with so many Explorers it was important that we work as a team and if we all follow our own interests we will work against each other. Being able to recognize the needs of the group over our own was vital to our ability to get our work done and give back to the land.
Refocusing our efforts we bagged blackberries until we ran out of bags and soon after it was time for a closing meeting. Circling up on the grass we revisited our wilderness excursion. We had used our group focus to venture deep in the wilderness safely and responsibly and it was important to recognize that the tools we cultivate in the wilderness translate directly to our lives in the front country.
After a lenghty conversation it is important to recognize the good work that the boys were doing. Although unfocused at times, we got a lot done and are doing the important work of giving back to the land that gives so much to us. We then shared some thanks: we were grateful for our time together, for the opportunity to work with our hands and have a relationship with this little patch of wilderness right in our backyards, and for the amazing weather the day provided. With 1,252 of service hours in the last year there is no telling what we can accomplish this year with our number at 169 strong. Parents thank you for your support and care for our work in the community. It is a pleasure to serve with your boys.
For the more picture from the day please visit the Alevin's photo gallery.
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