With ominous clouds sailing about, Matt and Greg greeted the arriving Gray Wolf Pups. Explorers slipped and tripped along the banks of Connelly Creek until eventually everyone had gathered. Our service outings this season have paired younger groups with older groups of explorers. This has lead to many exciting opportunities for mentoring within the groups as well as a new game that takes Hide! to the next level of challenge.
Our opening meeting was short and Greg and Matt took the opportunity to discuss the service outing with the boys. We recalled how the Explorers had spent their last outing traveling the length of Connelly creek from the beach at Marine Park all the way to the service site we were about to walk to. The mentors explained that before we were off to do service we would have a challenge in the form of a new game. The Gray Wolf Pups were informed that along the trail to the service site the other group, the Vespula Veterans had taken a sit spot with the goal of being close to the trail, but remaining hidden from the Gray Wolf Pups. Our challenge was twofold: first we had to locate the hidden members of the Vespula Veterans and second each member of the Gray Wolf Pups had to try and do this as an individualchallenge. The hard part is always not telling the other members of the group where folks are hiding! By the time both groups had gathered for an opening circle all the explorers had learned a bit more about stealth and observation!
The combined group of boys and mentors gathered in a large meeting to eat lunch, hear about tool safety and usage from the Vespula Vetrans, and come together in community to serve the land. A quick round of names revealed a volunteer mentor named Adnan, a visitor from Pakistan who is studying at Whatcom Community College, had joined us to learn more about Explores Club and help us serve the land. It’s always a privilege to have volunteers join us in our work. The motivation to get to work was strong and after the comedic skits of service tools do’s and don’ts we were more or less prepared to get started. 
Over the course of the next few hours the boys did a tremendous about of work. The wall of Himalayan Blackberry has been pushed back nearly to the property line of the park. Bucket after bucket of canes were clipped, raked, and hauled out to the trail. Another group worked on digging up the blackberry roots. Each root presented its own challenge as it twisted and wound through the thick clay soil. Another group was focused on planting willow and dogwood cuttings. These explorers removed the mats of canary grass and then mounded mulch around the cuttings to protect the new plants. Finally a small team of boys cut back the reed canary grass freeing some of last year’s plantings from the threat of shade!
After three hours of combined work, the Vespula Veterans said fair well and left for their closing meeting leaving the Gray Wolf Pups on their own at the service site. Matt and Greg decided it was the perfect time for a break and solicited the explorers to play the new game, which we are still in the process of naming (it’s a lot like camouflage gauntlet but with people instead of pipe cleaners). The group split in half and we each took turns hiding and seeking.
After everyone had gotten a chance to hone both their steal and observation skills, Greg and Matt took the boys to the other side of the park where similar service work had been done 10 years ago. This restored site had no blackberry, very little canary grass and lots of dense shrubs and small trees. After a brief discussion of what our service site might look like in 10 years, Matt felt inspired to become a opossum and disappeared on hands and knees into the dense shrubs. Without protest the Gray Wolf Pups followed. We wound around clumps of Pacific Ninebark and Hardhack. We scrunched under prickly spruce boughs, and climbed over fallen Alder trees and through willow roots. We finally emerged onto the banks of Connelly Creek to have our closing meeting. We gave thanks for the land and the chance to play. With a final stalk out of the willow thicket we returned to haul the tools from the service site and meet the awaiting parents, muddy and wet, but happy!
Explorers thank you for your hard work and spirited play! The land is looking better! Parents thank you for your continued support of the work that we do with your sons. We couldn’t do it with out you. Be sure to check out photos from the day!
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