Branch Hoppers and Kingfishers Engage in Spring Service at the Connelly Creek Nature Area

The Branch Hoppers arrived at the Connelly Creek Service site drop-off location excited to engage with the project they had been pouring effort into semi-annually for four years. Circling up, the mentors informed the group that we would be headed to a new service location just north of the previous site, but still along Connelly Creek. The boys were a bit shocked that we were moving sites and still felt that we had much more service to do at the previous one. The mentors explained that the parks felt that we had vastly improved the site and wanted to focus our efforts elsewhere. The good news was that we would be headed back to our original site periodically each season with a few Explorers groups to maintain the progress that we had made.

A little disappointed, but excited to see the new site, the Branch Hoppers asked if we had any other groups joining us in service. They were pleased to find that the Kingfishers, who were in their first year of Explorers Club, would be arriving a half hour after them. The mentors took an opportunity to frame our day based around our three group commitments: encourage the heart, don’t waste anyone’s time, and be here now. The mentor’s aim was to empower the Branch Hoppers to treat each other with respect and care through their commitments and for the group to model a strong example for the Kingfishers.

Walking over to the new site the mentors provided some background information. At the previous days service a woman named Wendy Scherrer walked by and shared the story of our Connelly Creek site. Sixty years ago the land along Connelly Creek was cleared by Joe’s Garden for farmland, but proved to have a low yield. In 1986 the teachers and students of the Bellingham Cooperative School along with parents and community volunteers, Nooksack Salmon Enhancement, and the City of Bellingham came together to establish a 24-acre wildlife enhancement effort along Connelly Creek. How wonderful to think that slightly north from our original service site a 32-year long restoration effort, led by children, was taking place simultaneously.

As a mentoring community we are thankful to have Wendy Scherrer in our community and as the saying goes ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. Wendy has poured her time and effort connecting students in Whatcom and Skagit County to the natural world helping to: develop the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) and worked as its Executive Director, co-founded the Environmental Education Association of Washington, the North Cascades Institute’s school field-based environmental education and teacher training programs (including Mountain School), and curriculum guides for fourth through eighth grades including Celebrating Wildflowers, Teaching for Wilderness, and Sharing the Skagit.

Arriving at the service site the Branch Hoppers unloaded the tools and got to work digging Himalayan Blackberry roots. It wasn’t too long before the Kingfishers arrived with a few EMAs from the Red-Tailed Eyas group and after a tool safety demonstration the groups joined forces to extract the Blackberry roots growing in the native plantings. Working side-by-side the Branch Hoppers connected with the younger Explorers.

As we worked the sun broke through the clouds and we peeled off our rain gear and basked in the warmth of the day. I’m not sure if it was a spring rain followed by some sunshine or if it was the fact that we were unearthing many worms, but nevertheless the Red-Breasted Robin calls rang out through the forest. Stopping for lunch we leisurely ate and our conversations wandered. Fueled up we finished out our day by moving an extensive pile of mulch with buckets. Little by little we made mulch rings around the native plants and in the words of the Explorers we were careful to make “doughnut shapes around them, not onion rings”.

Waving goodbye to the Kingfishers the Branch Hoppers commented on their ability as Second and Third Graders to focus and make a solid effort with hard work. Circling up for our closing meeting we circled back to our group commitments. Self-assessing the Branch Hoppers reflected that they had done a great job encouraging the heart while working with the Kingfishers and each other as well as in their time management. The mentors offered a little feedback that some behaviors that might be appropriate for their group might not be well suited for a younger Explorers group, e.g. a harmless gestures meant as a joke, a conversation about video games, or something that they were processing within the inner-dynamics of their school. The elders need to be occasionally reminded that the younger kids are literal and lack the discernment and filter tools that they themselves are developing.

The mentors then told a story of a gentleman who was the Park Steward of the Connelly Creek Nature Area and how sadly over the course of the last few years had suffered multiple strokes and was no longer able to carry on his duties in the same capacity as before. Each time he walked past the Explorers working at the site he would stop and admire their progress and effort. He commented a few times that the Explorers work fills him with hope and joy. Our work carries on a legacy of stewardship and is the definition of what it means to be a community.

Sharing their gratitude the Branch Hoppers were thankful for all our community members who are positively impacted by our service work and to feel ownership in it, for the opportunity to work with younger Explorers, and for the sunshine and their friendship.

For more pictures from our service outing please visit the Branch Hoppers & Kingfishers’ photo album from the day. Thanks!

The Explorers Kick Off Service at Connelly Creek on the Weekend of 10/20 -10/22/17

The beginning of the Boys Explorers Club’s fourth year of service at the Connelly Creek Restoration Site marks an exciting new change in the way we approach service programmatically. With some careful scheduling from the EC Coordinators the Explorers will now have the opportunity to serve at both the BEC’s Connelly Creek site and the GEC’s Woodstock Farm site throughout their 2017-18 EC year. This intentional blending of the BEC and GEC through gender inclusive service outings aims to bring about more culture sharing between programs and relationship building between our participants.

Our first week of service at Connelly Creek brought eight BEC groups and two GEC groups to the site and affirmed for our mentors that this change will be a meaningful one. We have planted the seed and can’t wait to see what grows from it!

Service is a wonderful time to talk with the Explorers about our layers of connection and why we serve. In our closing meetings of each service outing we ask the Explorers whom they are serving when they engage in this work. Here is a list of what the Explorers said in response to this question this weekend:
The community at large for making the park a wonderful place to be and creating clean water for all, the salmon and the rest of the animal community that travel through the site, the trees and plants through diversity and balance of invasive vs. natives, the dirt and bugs that live in the soil we mulch, and ourselves through exercise, togetherness, and the great feelings that comes from giving to others when our cup overflows.

Service is also a time for our Explorers to engage in tiered-mentoring. Our elder groups are often paired with younger ones, which creates an opportunity for the elders to model work ethic, safe tool usage, and engage with youth that they often do not interact with in a leadership role. These mentoring opportunities allow the elders to pass along EC culture and share the exciting skills and outings that they have been on and that younger participants will get to do if they stick with the program. Many elder Explorers have reflected that these opportunities remind them of where they began and how far they have come. 

We would like to thank Bellingham Parks and Rec and the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association for their partnership and for providing EC with the tools, guidance, and support necessary to do this restoration work. Mentors are carful each outing to remind our Explorers that the tools we work with on service projects are borrowed on the contingency that we use them with integrity. It’s also a great time to remind the Explorers that we represent our organization when we work and our actions reflect on it as a whole, which has lead to some powerful discussions regarding the concepts of social capital and intentional community building.

Kicking off our first weekend of service at Connelly Creek our goals were: to orient the GEC to site and the work that had been accomplished over the last three and a half years, revisit and share our culture of tool usage and safety, stomp down the Reed-Canary Grass in our restoration area and then mulch over the top, continue to dig up the Himalayan Blackberry roots near the back of the site and around the perimeter, and weed and mulch the cages where we had planted natives species the year previous which had become overgrown with a noxious weed called Morning Glory.

The Explorers put in a huge effort this weekend and should be proud of their work and collaboration. You will find a short recap from each group’s day below with links to photos of their work at the bottom of each section. Enjoy!

Friday, October 20^th - Townsend’s Chipmunks, Moon Snails, and the Pacific Chorus Frogs:

The Townsend’s Chipmunks (5^th-6^th Grade) arrived at the drop off location to find the Moon Snails (3^rd Grade) also being dropped off. With a look of confusion on both the groups’ faces the mentors gathered them all up and the Explorers introduced themselves by playing a silly game called All My Friends.

After the groups made the walk over to the site and unloaded the tools we circled up for an opening meeting. This was the perfect opportunity for TC to model leadership by explaining to the MS how to use the tools safely and sharing the history of their experience serving at the site. Once the group was oriented they gloved up and got to work on the cage in the middle of the site.

Carefully they worked together to unwind the Morning Glory covering the Red Osier Dogwood, Ninebark, and Red Alders that had been planted in years previous. Their work required a carful eye and persistence, and the Explorers did a great job of modeling our motto slow is fast and fast is slow. One major opportunity in the Explorers’ work at Connelly Creek is that their tasks are not always straightforward and require critical thought. The TC commented on how they had previously cleared the same area they were working on of blackberry and that had given the Morning Glory the opportunity to spread. As they worked together they found the specific tools that worked well for digging the Morning Glory roots and others that helped them unravel the bound vines around the plantings.

The groups paused from their work to greet to Pacific Chorus Frogs (4^th Grade) who they had heard coming from a ways away. Given these youngsters energy the mentors decided that it would be best if they stomped down the Reed Canary grass and shoveled mulch over the top, but not before going over tool safety first!

This proved to be a very useful discussion because after putting in a solid effort moving mulch the boys began to use the sharp Hori-Horis irresponsibly. It was an important moment to group up and talk about staying on task, using the right tool for the job, and respecting the parks tools.

Circling up at the end of the day the groups shared apples, words of the day, and thanks together. Our mentors would like to commend the Townsend’s Chipmunks for the leadership and care the showed the Moon Snails and to all three groups for kicking off service at Connelly Creek with a solid start!

For more pictures from the day please visit this photo album.

Saturday October 21^st – The Banana Slugs, Gray Wolves, Black-Tailed Deer, & Sculpins

The Gray Wolves (7^th Grade) and Banana Slugs (8^th-9^th Grade) arrived at the drop-off location curious as to why the BEC and GEC were at the same location. Circling up the mentors explained the a new change to service outings and front loaded that they were some of the eldest groups in the program and it would be important for them to engage as leaders when the Black-tailed Deer (4^th Grade) and Sculpins (3^rd Grade) groups arrived. It was their role to help the younger groups understand the plan for the day, help them stay on task as they worked, and connect with them as mentors.

It was fascinating watching the elder Explorers interact. The usually outgoing Gray Wolves were a bit introverted as they learned the names of the Banana Slugs and what school they attended. After walking over to the site the Gray Wolves gave the Banana Slugs a tour and the mentors oriented them to the plan for the day.

The Gray Wolves were slated to work with the Black-tailed Deer in the back of the site digging up blackberries and spreading mulch while the Banana Slugs would work with the Sculpins in the cages to continue where Friday’s groups had left off digging up the Morning Glory roots.

The two groups got to work and it wasn’t long after that the Black-Tailed Deer and Sculpins joined. These groups had also brought with them four Explorer Mentor Apprentice from the Red-Tailed Hawks group (7^th-8^th Grade). We were very happy to have them along because the leadership from the elders groups was lacking at times.

The mentors encouraged the Banana Slugs to reach out to the Sculpins through conversation and critiquing of their work. The Sculpins were shy around the elder girls and although they worked alongside each other most of them were hesitant to engage. The Banana Slugs did however do a much better job modeling safe tool usage, staying on task, and putting in effort then some of the Gray Wolves who needed to be reminded that that the Black-Tailed Deer were constantly watching what they did and mimicking their actions.

By the end of our day together five yards of mulch had been spread, many Blackberries had been dug up, the Morning Glory in the middle cage had been completely eradicated, and the Explorers were working harmoniously side by side.  Waving goodbye to the elder groups the younger groups finished their day in a frenzy of mulch moving directed by a few of our EMAs. Way to go crew!

For more pictures from the day please visit the photo album from the day.

Sunday October 22^nd – Branch Hoppers, Storm Wolves, & Pine Martens

The Storm Wolves and Branch Hoppers arrived at the service site impressed with the amount of work that had been done the following day. Circling up with the two groups we went over tool safety and talked about how to best support the younger Pine Martens who were slated to arrive in a half hour. It was these elder groups job for the day not only to work hard and serve the site to the best of their ability, but to also serve the younger group to the best of their ability.

With that the elder groups got to work and the Pine Martens joined in when they arrived. After a half hour or so the middle cage was mulched and sealed and the group split up with most getting to work on the blackberries in the back of the site. The rest opened up the front cage to repair the damage the deer had done and weed out the Reed-Canary Grass around the natives plantings.

This project turned out to be a lot of fun and called for some critical thought and problem solving as the boys tried to rewire the broken sections of fence, drive in repurposed posts, and dig a trench to level it out.

About halfway through our day our group had become quite spread out over the site, allowing those who were self-motivated to connect and engage in their own specific projects and the rest to squirrel out and disappear into the fringes of the site. Calling the group into a big circle the mentors explained what they had been witnessing and called for some refocusing for a strong finish to our day.

We reminded Explorers that with seven explorations per year and only two service outings our work at Connelly Creek was a chance to give back to the land that we have so much impact on. With that the groups refocused and the made a strong finish to the first weekend of service at the site.

Looking around the whole front half of the site had been mulched with the Reed Canary Grass stomped down and covered up, our front two cages were reinforced, weeded, and our native plantings were as best prepared as they could be to weather the coming winter, and a considerable amount of blackberries had been dug in the back of the site.

In our closing meeting we talked with the groups about our motto, our cup overflows, and what service meant personally to each of the Explorers. It was a very fruitful conversation and helped the Explorers recognize that we were able to give because we already had so much that filled our cups.

For more pictures from the day please visit this photo album.

Branch Hoppers, Cave Dwellers and Short tailed Weasels encounter Connelly Creek!

A riparian zone is the interface between land and a river or stream.

"Riparian zones are significant in ecology, environmental management, and civil engineering because of their role in soil conservation, their habitat biodiversity, and the influence they have on fauna and aquatic ecosystems, including grassland, woodland, wetland or sub-surface features such as water tables." (Wikipedia)

Connelly Creek runs along Happy Valley Park as it ambles to join Padden Creek. The section of the park that borders the creek had been treated as a dump and allowed to degrade as Himalayan Blackberry bushes and Reed Canary Grass diminished the biodiversity of the area to almost nil. The result? The human impacts signified by these changes have diminished the creek’s ability to support migrating salmon.

Undaunted by the probability of getting seriously scratched, these Explorers have taken the motto Challenge by Choice to heart as they wrangle blackberry canes into a trash can. 

Enter Boys (and now, hurrah!, Girls) Explorers Club. Beginning several years ago, Explorers began removing trash and blackberries (ouch!) and stomping down canary grass and covering it with bark mulch. We’ve also planted native species, including Alders that will, in time, shade out the Canary Grass. It was sometimes discouraging work as the grass is very resilient and tended to return between our fall and spring (and spring and fall) work parties. The blackberries….well, I expect you know what it’s like dealing with Himalayan Blackberries!

Our Explorers connect with the land in a very real sense, which reinforces the importance of protecting all that nature provides us. (Motto: Connect and Protect)

But the Explorers persisted. And now the progress if readily apparent. The grass appears to be losing its grip and the boys who’ve done this for a few years point out the clear fence that

a few years ago we couldn’t even see amidst the blackberries.

Blackberries are delicious, but the plant is a non-native, invasive character that can change the habitat in unhealthy ways. And, they're tough to eradicate, thanks in part to their robust root structure. Here, Mentor Jedidiah "plays" a large Himalayan Blackberry root.

Amazingly, we’ve made it to the creek. On Sunday, we learned about “cribbing”. The word has a few very different meanings: for us, the focus is the creation of a barrier to prevent erosion into the creek. 

Split logs provided by Bellingham Parks to be used to create a barrier to
hold back the bark we spread to contain the Reed Canary Grass. Note the
engagement!

You can see the creek in this shot. Without the cribbing, the bank,
along with the bark we were about to spread, would wash into the
water, restricting oxygen need by migrating salmon.

Just about finished. This project makes it blindingly
obvious that all things are connected (motto). Disregard
for the encroaching berry and grass robbed this patch of
necessary biodiversity with associated harm to
salmon migration.

The boys were inconsistent in their focus on our task on Sunday, as if often the case. You can usually fire their interest, however, by reminding them what this place was like a few years ago. Like the rest of us, they are gratified by the positive impact they’re having through this important work.

Could it be that Jedidiah's "guitar" wasn't the biggest blackberry
root unearthed this day?

Notice the hard work on many different tasks in the photo gallery. 

The Short Tailed Weasels next meet on May 21 - Locust Beach.
The Cave Dwellers meet again this very soon; April 30 - Fragrance Lake
The Branch Hoppers will have to wait until June 3 - Yew St. Woods

Enjoy! See you on the trail.

Boys Program Summer Camps and Trips registration is open.

Branch Hoppers and Roosevelt Elk Calves initiate Spring 2016 service

You've probably heard it quoted: “Timing is everything in life!” That was certainly the case last Sunday as the Branch Hoppers gathered to initiate the service component of the Boys Explorers Club spring 2016 season at Connelly Creek. Their start time - 10:00 am; April shower (downpour, really!) commencement - 9:50 am. It’s a shame we don’t have a photo of mentor Brian and a succession of parents huddling under a raised minivan tailgate to complete service paperwork in a driving rain. Thank you, parents, for your patience and flexibility through what had to be one of the roughest starts to an outing in some time.

After a short walk to the service site, we found ourselves gawking at Reed Canary Grass as tall as

April showers

mentor Brian (I know, really tall!). This invasive plant is quite the fighter. Each of the last several seasons, we’ve stomped down the grass and covered it with bark mulch. And each time we return, so has the grass. Fortunately, we have more than one arrow in our quiver. The long term solution is to deprive Reed Canary Grass of its much loved sun all year around. So, we’ve planted alder trees that will provide shade when fully grown. Until then, we’re engaged in a tug of war with the grass. 

As we began to dig into the pile of bark mulch provided by Bellingham Parks and Rec (with tools provided by the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, or NSEA), the Roosevelt Elk Calves (REC) arrived as if to bolster our resolve in the face of our wily, stubborn adversary. The REC, 9 and 10 years old, are a bit younger than the Branch Hoppers (BH). This puts the BH in the position of role models for the younger boys, a challenge they accepted with gusto. Before long, shovels were scooping, buckets and even garbage cans full of mulch were being ferried to the newly flattened grass, and rakes were spreading mulch. As one of our BEC mottos emphasizes, “Many hands Make Light Work.”

Lopper brigade

A select crew was also working to cut back and uproot the few remaining Himalayan Blackberry bushes in the “front” part of the service area. It was about this time when a park neighbor came around to thank us for our work and to ask us to leave some of the foliage as a screen for the back of her property. This we were happy to do because we could see how that helped her and because the Bellingham Parks representatives have stressed with us the importance of limiting our efforts to the park boundaries. What at first might seem like a good-hearted deed can, viewed from a different perspective, cause unforeseen issues. In BEC, we endeavor to act with integrity, to “Walk Your Talk” (see Mottos); in this case, we focused on balancing our desire to pursue the grass and blackberries to every corner of that parcel of land with the needs and desires of the park neighbors and the Parks Department. As members of their explorers club group, these boys are practicing behaviors that will serve them well as adult members of our larger society. Everything is connected; sensing the issues and opportunities associated with that relationship is a sign of maturation for these boys. 

Through lunch and water breaks, the BH and REC groups continued to attack the mulch pile. Come

Impressive effort

early afternoon and we realized they were going to deplete the entire heap! Such industry! 

Well, as mentioned above, timing is everything. The shower at the start of the day meant we were working while wet, an additional challenge we accepted in gratitude for the nourishing rain. Now, timing was more in our favor. The bulk of our work was finished with time for some fun. The Branch Hoppers, who you’ll remember had started first, channeled their creative energies to an impromptu game they called “Double spiders web tag”. Think Capture the Flag….and more. What really struck me was their creativity and fun approach. It’s a game that may never be played again, but it looked fun.

Giving thanks!

The Roosevelt Elk Calves turned their attention to the remaining gnarly blackberries toward the back of the site. Even after having worked for a few hours on the mulch pile, the REC continued their enthusiasm for this, one of the most physically demanding tasks in service. In fact, they even figured out how to make if fun by competing for the biggest root. 

Both groups showed once again their positive attitude and inner strength in their approach to this task. The grass and the blackberries are worthy adversaries and neither is very good for spawning salmon. The effort is worthy and your explorers are more than up to the task. Look here for more photos from our outing.