Roosevelt Elk Calves, Jumping Mice, and Townsend's Chipmunks Team Up for Service at Connelly Creek

The Roosevelt Elk Calves, Jumping Mice, and Townsend’s Chipmunks teamed up for a big day of service on a St. Patrick’s Day Saturday. Gathering together at our Connelly Creek Service Site in Happy Valley Park the Roosevelt Elk Calves started things off by helping to prep the site by moving the tools and doing a walk through with the mentors to learn what tasks we would be working on for the day. When the Jumping Mice showed up and started their tool use demonstration, some of the Roosevelt Elk Calves got excited to put on a “skit” to liven things up. After we reviewed safe tool use we teamed up and began working on our projects for the day; planting native species in two new caged areas, removing any remaining blackberries, and mulching, mulching, mulching. The Roosevelt Elk Calves and Jumping Mice were well on the way to getting the first plants in the ground when the Townsend’s Chipmunks showed up.

Getting some native plants in the ground!

Without hesitating that Townsend’s Chipmunks jumped right in to the work. Taking on planting the remainder of the native species in the Red Alder grove, the Townsend’s Chipmunks enjoyed some guidance from a few enthusiastic Roosevelt Elk Calve master-planters. With most of the native species in the ground it was time to transition to moving mulch. Sometimes there is just a desire to do simple work that takes some extra elbow grease. The three groups teamed up and put their noses to the grindstone and began moving mulch faster than all of Mickey’s broomsticks helpers in Fantasia. Before we knew it the mulch pile was almost gone. While the mentors were trying to figure out what else to do we had a surprise visitor; Monica from the Bellingham Parks Department!

Working hard to finish up the last of the planting

Moving mulch!

Taking a break to play some games

Taking part in the pilot Poop Patrol project with Bellingham Parks

Playing "Toss the Turd" !

Taking a break to eat lunch and play a few rounds of "Fire in the Forest” the three groups got a chance to relax and recuperate for a strong finish. Setting our eyes on the remaining mulch the Roosevelt Elk Calves broke from the rest of the group to participate in Monica’s pilot “Poop Patrol” program that will focus on educating Bellingham residents on proper care and disposal of pet waste. Participating in a few educational activities like the “Turd Toss” where the Explorers got to toss bags of fake poop in a trash bin for a prize and the “Poop Patrol” where the Explorers fanned out across the park to flag any piles of dog poop, we had a lot of fun and learned a bit at the same time. With over 20,000 dogs living in Bellingham producing over 15,000 lbs of pet waste a day, it is an ever growing concern that without proper care we could begin compromising the water quality of our local watersheds. Armed with fresh knowledge and feeling satisfied in accomplishing all our tasks for the day at the service site the Roosevelt Elk Calves, Jumping Mice, and Townsend’s Chipmunks went home with smiles on their faces and a solid day of work to hang their hats on. 

Make sure to check out the rest of the photos from our outing here!

Explorers Club Finishes Strong for Our Final Week at Connelly Creek

Connelly Creek Restoration Weekend Report: October 26th, 28th, 29th

Note: Since there are three days of outings in this report feel free to jump down to your Explorer's outing if you don't feel like reading the rest of the report.

Also, check out the photo album with all the photos from our service outings here!

Thursday, October 26th - Mountain Goats, Woodland Caribou, Stinging Nettles

 

Learning how to properly plant our native plants

Kicking things off early we had three groups come out on Thursday and get to work after a day at school; the Mountain Goats, Woodland Caribou, and Stinging Nettles. Although it was a change of pace for these groups, who were all on their second ever Explorers Club outings, all three groups took on the task in front of them and put in a solid day of work. With our first outings setting the tone of fun, playfulness, exploration, and plenty of games, our service outings proved to be different. Instead of romping around the forest, working on restoring our Connelly Creek service site in Happy Valley Park allows us to make up for some of the impact we create by exploring off trail, building shelters, and the other activities we value that inevitably leave some impact on the areas we visit. Additionally, this specific restoration area has been adopted by Explorers Club four years ago and ever since we are the only groups that have worked at this site. It was exciting to see new groups carry on this legacy and do so with energy and enthusiasm.

Everyone enthusiastically digging in the mulch pile

Our day started off by getting to the service site, learning how to safely use our tools, and getting a planting demo by a member of Bellingham Parks. The tasks for the day were to plant a variety of native plants (Salmonberry, Ninebark, Red-Osier Dogwood, Spruce), remove some invasive plants to prep for more native planting, and of course spread a huge pile of mulch! Each group worked together to motivate one another and get the jobs done just in time for the outing to end.

Taking a break to play a big game of Fire in the Forest!

With light fading, we held closing circles for each group and started our walk back to meet parents. The mentors were impressed to see all three new groups come together and, despite having been at school all day, they brought a strong focus and willingness to take on the tasks presented to them. It is exciting to see these new groups get their first service outing under their belt as they have a bright future of making a big impact in the future. One of our mottos is “many hands makes light work” and with everyone chipping in this saying came to fruition making this a fun and memorable day.

Finishing off the mulch pile as the sun sets

 

Saturday, October 28th - Cave Dwellers, Red Foxes, Roosevelt Elk Calves

On a sunny morning, three groups were slotted for working at our Connelly Creek restoration site; the Cave Dwellers, Roosevelt Elk Calves, and Red Foxes. This was the second day of outings where we had two Boys Explorers Club groups and a Girls Explorers Club group working together. Although Connelly Creek has historically been where the boys have done their service outings, it has been so much fun welcoming the Girls Explorers Club groups to this restoration site. Not only have the girls brought with them a strong work ethic and willingness to take on new tasks, but it has been a pleasant surprise to see how many of the GEC and the BEC know each other from school or other walks of life. It is always exciting to see how strong and diverse our community truly is and having these connections persist from school to Explorers Club and back again is something special for the mentors to see.

Working together to plant native species

Jumping into our work for the day, we toured the service site and determined what tasks needed to be accomplished that day. We still had some native plants to plant in our caged areas, some removal of Reed Canary Grass, plenty of digging up Himalayan Blackberry Roots, and of course a huge pile of mulch to spread. Each group split up into thirds to work at one of the three designated work stations. The first group was cleaning up a caged area and prepping it for natives to be planted. The second was scouring the area for blackberries to dig up before mulching, and the third was working on prepping the furthest back cage for planting (the cages are important to keep the abundant deer from eating our young native plants!). It was fun to see the three groups mixing and mingling as they worked and watching the different personalities interact with one another was a treat for the mentors.

Making a big dent in the mulch pile!

After a solid day of work; native plants planted, blackberries dug up, and the entire mulch pile spread across the service site, it was time to call it a day. Each group held a closing circle and shared what they were thankful for with one another (we call this our Attitude of Gratitude). Walking back to meet parents it always feels good to reflect on all the work that was accomplished. With all of our groups working together there was a lot to be thankful for; teamwork, helping Connelly Creek, building work ethic, interacting with peers outside of school, getting our hands in the dirt, and having fun throughout everything.

Victory! Removing blackberries is tough work.

 

Sunday, October 29th - Jumping Mice, Trilliums, Barnacles

With the clear and warm weather carrying on throughout the weekend our groups for Sunday were primed for a strong finish to our weekend of restoration at Happy Valley Park. The Jumping Mice, Trilliums, and Barnacles all showed up eager and ready to get some work done. Having a Boys Explorers Club group (Jumping Mice) and Girls Explorers Club group (Trilliums) out on the same day was fitting as the Barnacles are the first ever gender inclusive group! This was the Barnacles first ever service outing, so it was great to have BEC and GEC well represented to show them the ropes.

Showing off a trophy root from lots of hard work digging

Trekking over to Happy Valley Park, the Jumping Mice and Trilliums were hard at work while the Barnacles walked through the Connelly Creek service site to learn about what work had been done in the past, what our tasks for the day were, and to learn a bit about why we are doing this work. Not only are we trying to give back to the land that we have so much fun playing on during our exploration outings, but everyone is working hard to restore the riparian zone of Connelly Creek so one day we will see salmon return to this little creek in south Bellingham.

Pulling off Morning Glory from the Willow grove

Today was our final day of work at this site until we return in the spring, so it was important for us to have a strong finish. Our tasks for the day were moving mulch and cutting back the Himalayan Blackberry that was invading a grove of willows. From the very start it was clear these groups were interested in putting in a good day of work. This isn’t always the case, but when we paused to play a big game together halfway through our day, there were multiple Explorers who claimed they would prefer to keep working! Although we stopped to play our big group game anyway, this exemplified the hard work ethic that these groups brought to finish our fall service work at Connelly Creek. The one thing that really stood out, however, was the way these groups made work fun. A big reason why they didn’t want to play a game was because they were making their work a game! If these Explorers can remember how to do this later in their lives they will no doubt be happy and hard workers, capable at accomplishing whatever tasks they set their minds to.

Finishing off the last of the mulch pile!

Jumping Mice, Storm Wolves and GEC Swallowtails advance the restoration of Connelly Creek service site - 10/29/16

“What happens when we’re finished?” Great question from an Explorer during a service outing last weekend. There is a “Groundhog Day” element to this work. Each fall and spring, we uproot blackberry bushes and stomp down and cover the tall grasses. It was very prescient of that Explorer to pick his head up from the work to look at the big picture. The answer, which we do well to keep in mind, is that the work is finished when the ecology of the site is restored to balance, at which time it can manage its flora and fauna without our help. When that happens, there will be other important projects for the Explorers of tomorrow to tackle.

That’s a long way off, however. As noted in the BEC motto, "It's about the journey, not the destination". Fortunately, we have a plan, thanks to the leadership of Bellingham Parks, that involves removing invasive, non-native Himalayan Blackberries and shading out the sun loving invasive, non-native Reed Canary Grass. This fall, we’re continuing to wrestle the blackberries into submission (motto - Grasp the Nettle...err, blackberry) and covering the Canary Grass with bark mulch. We’re also planting native alders and plants such as Ninebark to provide the aforementioned shade. Thanks to the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Assoc. for the use of their tools in this work.

Getting down to work.

A first for the Connelly Creek service project - the Swallowtails, a Girls Explorer's Club group, were one of three groups working last Saturday

Himalayan Blackberries produce delicious fruit....AND grow deep roots that are tough to dig out.

Gotta move that bark to cover the Reed Canary Grass

Last year, we planted native species and put a wire fence around them to keep out the deer. Unfortunately, it doesn't deter the blackberries. Two of the GEC Swallowtails spent most of the day cleaning up this important patch.

Here's that patch all cleaned up....nice work, girls.

Hard work and rain can't dampen their spirits...

New life

I don't think that's what we had in mind.

Just as important as restoring the habitat along the creek is Wild Whatcom’s interest in providing the space for your Explorers to practice, as David Brooks put it in The Road to Character, “…the virtues of people who are inclined to be useful but don’t need to prove anything to the world: humility, restraint, reticence, temperance, respect and soft self-discipline.” Given that both endeavors are bigger than any of us, the scene has undoubtedly been set; your Explorer’s mentors are ever grateful for the opportunity to work with these wonderful kids in this meaningful undertaking.

A thousand thanks to mentors Hannah and Lauren and all the Swallowtails for pitching in with grace and ardor. Let's see if we can do that some more!

Photos of wet kids doing good work! The Storm Wolves next gather on Sunday, November 20th, for an exploration at Racehorse Falls. Details here. Next up for the Jumping Mice is an exploration of Arroyo Park via North Chuckanut Mountain Trailhead on Sunday, December 4th. Their schedule page here. The Swallowtails' schedule shows that they continue with service on Saturday, November 19 at the GEC Service Site.