Salamander Efts introduce the Pine Martens to Service with BEC

Bright fall colors are not just for leaves; slime molds too!

Exploring is what we do in BEC, and we are constantly grateful for the wild spaces that we get to play, romp, grow and learn in.  We are all earth keepers and we work hard to Leave No Trace while we are out in the woods.  But, try as we might, it is impossible for us to explore in these places without leaving some sort of an impact. So, through our service outings, we can give something back to these woods that we need so much and take so much from.  

Putting in some good work on the Reed Canary grass.

Last Saturday the Salamander Efts and the Pine Martens met at our BEC service site in Happy Valley Park on Connelly Creek.  Once per season, each BEC group gets to spend one of their outings working to further the restoration of our service site at Connelly Creek.  This gave the older group of the day, the Salamander Efts, a chance to share their knowledge of service work and this site with the younger group, the Pine Martens, who were having their first service outing ever.

Older boys get a chance to be leaders to some of the Pine Martens

Being that this was the first BEC service outing of the season, we had some "cleaning up" to do, namely removing the reed canary grass.  We have been battling this invasive grass at the site for a while now and it consistently proves itself to be a worthy adversary.  In light of this, we took extra care to remove the roots of each stalk of grass.

Connor (mentor) clearly approves of the work getting done today!

As we were working diligently to remove the grass, we were excited to find a couple different types of slime molds! These organisms were once thought to be in the Fungi kingdom, but it has since been discovered that these are not true fungi. Their bright colors were striking to behold and we appreciated seeing them active at our service site.

More slime mold colors!

Along with good work, our day also allowed us with some time for play in the form of a few games of Fire in the Forest out in the field in the middle of the park.  We got to stretch our legs and move our bodies during this welcome break from the relatively tedious work of pulling grass roots.

The boys enjoy a well earned break to rehydrate and nourish their bodies.

By the end of the day, we were able to get a lot done. In addition to pulling up reed canary grass, we freed some of the young native plants that we planted previously on the site from strangling vines including ivy and blackberry.  It was encouraging to see the Salamander Efts come into a leadership role not only by teaching the boys about tool safety and technique, but also by modeling teamwork and a good work ethic.  The progress that these boys made pulling grass laid the foundation for the rest of the service outings this season where other BEC groups will work to spread mulch over the areas where we pulled out the grass in an effort to eliminate it once and for all!

Freeing the cages from vines.

Lots of grass removed; look at all those bags of grass and roots!

Make sure to check out ALL of the photos from this outing by clicking here.

Salamander Efts and Cave Dwellers Learn About Service

The meticulous process of root removal

As a small crew of Salamander Efts arrived at the Connelly Creek service site they immediately noticed the progress that had taken place already this season. It is pretty incredible how big of an impact a bunch of Explorers can make on a landscape when they are motivated. The big key here is; motivated. With only three Salamander Efts present it was going to fall on them to really push themselves and set an example for the younger group, the Cave Dwellers, who would be arriving shortly. After walking around the service site and seeing where our efforts would be best suited for the day, the Salamander Efts picked up some tools and got to work.

Immediately the mentors noticed a lack of effort and motivation from the boys. Understandably, hard work removing thorny blackberries and digging up stubborn root balls is not something most boys their age voluntarily get excited about doing. That being said, it was important for us to revisit why we were doing this work and dig deeper into the greater context of service to unearth the motivation that would sustain our efforts. What a great time for the Cave Dwellers to arrive! After the groups met up and went over where to focus our efforts for the day the mentors led a conversation while we snipped blackberries and dug up roots.

So many bags of Himalayan Blackberry... in one day!

Our discussion began with the intention of mitigating our impact from exploration off trail. Hiking off trail and sustainably harvesting natural resources is an important part of being an Explorer so of course we needed to give back to the land. So often we trek and tromp through natural landscapes and inevitably leave some sort of impact. Doing service is a way for us to compensate for some of our negative impacts on the landscape while we are off on our explorations. Second, we must recognize the importance of giving back to our community. Many of us have lived our whole lives in the community of Bellingham and have benefited a lot from a fairly progressive and active community that continually strives to improve itself. One of those improvements is the Padden Creek Daylighting Project.  This project has been in the work for a long time and is finally coming to fruition opening fresh opportunities for fish migration to return to Padden Creek and the adjoining Connelly Creek where we are doing our work. If we can repair the riparian zone beside Connelly Creek we can provide an optimal environment for wildlife, including the beloved salmon, to return to areas where they have been absent for far too long. This is most definitely a big picture context that can sometimes be hard to grasp when you are sweating buckets, getting pricked by blackberry, and just can’t seem to yank that root out of the ground. However, if we can remember why we are doing all this hard work and tap into that ever elusive motivation, there is a wealth of energy and enthusiasm that will surge within each and every Explorer.

Nothing like shoveling mulch to build character!

The third reason we do this work may not be as immediately pertinent as the first or second, at least right now, but in the future it will be paramount. At this age, most Explorers enjoy a relatively comfortable lifestyle of school, home cooked meals, and aside from the few chores here or there and some homework, there is not often an opportunity to truly build work ethic and wrestle with what work ethic means to each Explorer. Work ethic is defined as: a belief in the moral benefit and importance of work and its inherent ability to strengthen character. Again, this is one of those big picture concepts that often is difficult to grasp at the age of an Explorer, but sometimes the mentors like to think that we plant seeds. Perhaps we never get to see those seeds come to fruition, and maybe they never do, but at least a seed has been planted. If an Explorer can see the change they affect upon the landscape of Connelly Creek throughout the seasons of hard work, then they may grow to believe that they have it within themselves to affect change through hard work. If they can gain this wisdom then the sky is the limit for what they can accomplish in their lives. Our hope is that through service they may harness this locus of control and begin applying it throughout their lives.

Now THAT is a root ball!

It was clear today that these boys were beginning to tap into their locus of control, harnessing motivation, and turning that into hard work on the ground, in the present. The Salamander Efts teamed up with the Cave Dwellers and despite their small numbers they affected tremendous change upon the landscape. Gigantic root balls were dug up, copious amounts of Himalayan Blackberry were eradicated. A large grove of Willow was liberated to bask in rays of sunshine for the first time in years if not decades. Today the Salamander Efts and Cave Dwellers not only helped mitigate our impact upon the greater landscape of Whatcom County, nor did they just continue to drastically improve riparian habitat for a hopefully resurgent salmon population in the future, in fact these Explorers did something much more. Digging deep down, deeper than that pesky blackberry root-ball, they delved deep within themselves to harness their locus of control and channel their rambunctious energy into a strong work ethic. The best part about it is they didn’t even know what they were doing, that they were building this work ethic or harnessing their locus of control. However, to any outward observer, witnessing a group of motivated and hardy Explorers tearing up roots and ripping out blackberry with a zealous energy, there was clearly something greater taking place and manifesting within each individual. This is why we do service. These Explorers are our future and after a powerful day like today it is clear that our future is bright.

Check out the rest of our photos from our outing here!

Service outing with the Salamander Efts and Black Tailed Deer

Exploring is what we do in BEC, and the majority of that exploration is off-trail. Exploring off-trail allows a deeper connection to our natural habitat as we share space with all kinds of forest dwellers.  Magical fungi, towering Douglas firs, loud Douglas squirrels and inconspicuous owls are just a few of the beings that we come to know through our romping. Even though we do our best to Leave No Trace, we undoubtedly have an impact on the forested areas that afford us fun, peacefulness, and learning opportunities. Our service outings allow us to give back to the Earth that gives us so much. 

This was a combined outing; the older Salamander Efts took a leadership role and oriented the first season Black Tailed Deer to our service site. In our opening circle, the Salamander Efts demonstrated how to safely use clippers, loppers, shovels, and rakes. We understood the risks that these tools had, but recognized that being intentional with them would allow us to get lots of work done at our service site.

The first of two tasks was clearing blackberries and removing their frustrating root wads. We became skilled at using loppers and clippers to remove the big vines and then used the shovels to dig up their roots. We had fun trying to see who could dig up the largest root.

The second task was to mulch the newly cleared areas so that no Reed Canary grass would sprout in the blackberries absence.  We learned that Reed Canary grass is an invasive species that grows especially well in streamside habitats. The fast growing grass chokes out slower growing native vegetation such as Nootka Rose and baby Western Red Cedar. The mulch we laid will stop the growth of this grass and allow our newly planted native plants to grow into maturity and shade out the invasive grass on their own. We discussed that we are helping this land heal itself; just get it started and the forest will begin to thrive again.

As we cleaned up our tools and took off our gloves, we recognized the need for play, so the Black Tailed Deer got to play a few rounds of Deer Oh Deer. Even after a day of manual labor, playing games allowed us to tap into unknown energy reserves as we raced around the field trying to avoid becoming a cougar snack.

Of course this is BEC, and the day wouldn’t have been complete without a lesson form the land. This lesson came in the form of an uninhabited paper wasps nest. We got to examine the papery structure of the outside and look at the perfect honeycomb pattern on the inside where the larvae hatch. In deciding whether or not to take this treasure home with us, we decided that since this nest came from this forest, we needed its nutrients to remain in this forest so that they could nurture the plants and animals that live in and near Connelly Creek. Together we separated the nest and spread it about the service site.

To see more photos from the day, click here.

Serving Connelly Creek with the Salamander Efts and Barred Owlets

The headline might read “Connelly Creek Restoration Work Continues Apace”. Because it does, in part thanks to the efforts of the Salamander Efts and Barred Owlets on Saturday. Reed Canarygrass was “walked down” (it turns out the grass cutting we did in the fall was misdirected effort that actually encouraged growth!): bark mulch was shoveled, hauled and spread over the flattened Canarygrass: Himalayan blackberry was clipped and hauled off. TheConnelly Creek restoration site (see Happy Valley Park on the map) is better off for the strong effort put forth by these two Explorers Club groups. Service is an integral part of the Wild Whatcom mission. This work is a good thing and would make a nice story in the local newspaper.

At Wild Whatcom, we expect and strive for more, however. And for this outing, the deeper story is more nuanced. So let’s look past the headline by reviewing my admittedly arbitrary benchmarks for a service outing. 

Focus/hard work - Once I’ve seen three 60 - 80 pound boys struggling under the weight of a trash can full of bark mulch, I can’t easily question effort. However, pull the camera back during the outing and the boy sitting in a tree comes into the picture, as do the boys battling each other with bark chips as projectiles. Much work was done but the effort was inconsistent across the members of the Salamander Efts and Barred Owlets and rippled unevenly across the afternoon. 

Teamwork - I bring you back to the three boys carrying the loaded trash can. Two boys couldn’t carry that can, nor could the three of them get it to where it was needed without active communication. Likewise, a sole explorer couldn’t have dismantled a roughly 10 by 10 foot section of blackberry on his own. The mentors saw many examples of excellent teamwork throughout the afternoon. We were especially proud to observe the older Salamander Efts modeling good work habits for the Barred Owlets. 

Initiative - There’s a small ditch that bisects the work site about 3/4 of the way back. Thanks to explorers’ efforts over the past several years, most of the blackberries have receded to beyond the ditch. At one point a few hours into the outing, I jumped (ok, stepped) across the ditch to check on the blackberry work, only to find 3-4 explorers slicing through thorn-thrusting vines with the intensity of a family of beavers in spring. Rather than cut across the front of the infestation, they were tunneling from two directions and working back through the segregated area to clear a small room size area in a single effort. Nice work! I’m sure the two boys sitting along the creek, Huck Finn style and out of sight, would agree that the blackberry ravaging boys were making a real difference.

Task completion - Those who were part of the initial effort to restore Wild Whatcom’s Connelly Creek service site to ecological balance tell me the area was all but covered with invasive plants, such as Himalayan blackberry, and human trash (broken bottles, discarded beverage cans, car parts, piles of nails, and the like) when they first arrived. Well over half has been cleared and native trees and shrubs planted. Even since I joined the effort in the fall, the improvement is dramatic. Saturday’s work pushed this effort forward. It is gratifying to see the progress: these explorers are to be congratulated. 

Integrity/Honor/Respect - More could have been done on this day, however, with greater focus and discipline. There was too much squirreling out; too often did I turn to see bark being hurled at another; too often were individuals content to allow others to carry the load. I, for one, was disappointed.

Of course, what is life if not a succession of trials offering lessons and the chance to do better next time? The boys are young. This is the time for them to learn the satisfaction that comes from performing well and honorably. We’ll be back at this soon with more opportunities to help carry the heavy trash can and cut the irascible berry bushes. 

And, no doubt, I’m right in there with the boys. I can think of several times during the outing where a guiding word from me might have encouraged an explorer to lend a hand rather than squirrel out or start a bark battle. Fortunately, I get to put my lessons to work soon as well. Life is forgiving in that it offers second, third and, sometimes, fourth chances. Now there’s something for which we all can be grateful!

The Salamander Efts get back to it on Saturday, May 30, with an exploration of Blanchard mountain's alternate incline trails. Click here for the schedule.

The Barred Owlets pick up their water curriculum on Saturday, May 30 as well, when we traverse from Marine Park in Fairhaven to the Connelly Creek location. You'll find that schedule here.

Finally, check out the photos from our service work here (Salamander Efts) and here (Barred Owlets). See you out there.

Salamander Efts at Connelly Creek: Serving the land and mentoring younger boys

Spitting rain threatened to make our day wet and challenging. Fortunately the smiles that the Salamander Efts brought with them warded away the clouds and the sun came out! The day took a U-turn when Matt showed up to fill in for Greg, who had to take his truck to rescue Steve and the service tools. No wonder it’s hard to remember all of the mentors’ names; we are always interchanging with one another :)

The Connelly Creek site in Happy Valley Park is part of a partnership with theCity of Bellingham Parks and Rec Department. We’d like to thank Rae and Ellen for their hard work guiding us and providing us with mulch, plants, and debris removal. Another important partner is the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) who provides us with many tools and guidance as well. Thanks Phoebe for helping to coordinate our project days. It’s nice to have a community of groups and people who support our commitment to serving the land!

Explorers learned the tasks for the day: trim reed cannarygrass, dig blackberry roots, and lop away blackberry stems... AND lead by example for the Branch Hoppers who would arrive an hour later.

We decided that the best way to start the mentoring example would be to stalk and sneak up on the younger Explorers! Efts hunkered down while the Branch Hoppers got settled into place. Dave lured them past our hiding spots and we stayed as camouflaged as possible. In the end, very few of us were detected… well done Salamander Efts! You learned from older mentors too; remember how the Firestalkers snuck up on you at our first outing last fall at Fairhaven Park? Who knew that mentoring could come in the form of fun!

Younger and older Explorers introduced themselves to one another and then we were all introduced to healthy habitat on the other side of the park. With that example, we realized that we had our work cut out for us. Explorers, do you remember the name of at least two plants we saw in the healthy habitat? How about the “blue” tree?

We ate lunch while mentors demonstrated how NOT to use tools. It’s a good thing they were joking otherwise they might be a few fingers and teeth short. Then we reviewed how to safely use the tools and we got to work.

These pictures and the photo gallery will tell the rest of this story but the best thing to do would be to revisit the area with your Explorer so he can guide you along the work that he did. The sooner you get out there, the more prominent the changes will be when you return next time. With 10 groups visiting this season, we could make quite an impact.

Highlights include: Removing more car parts, digging up huge blackberry “heart” roots, freeing a tree completely of the blackberry that had overtaken it, learning the names and building mentoring relationships with member of the Branch Hoppers.

Thanks for your great work, Salamander Efts!!! You set a strong precedence for other groups who will be serving this season. Parents, thank you for supporting these Explorers and for giving them the chance to serve the land with us.

Next outing will be the last one of the season… May 17th. We’ll meet you at Clayton Beach parking area for a long overdue exploration! Let’s make it an effort to play Spider’s Web, OK?

Serving Connelly Creek with the Salamander Efts and Barred Owlets

The headline might read “Connelly Creek Restoration Work Continues Apace”. Because it does, in part thanks to the efforts of the Salamander Efts and Barred Owlets on Saturday. Reed Canarygrass was “walked down” (it turns out the grass cutting we did in the fall was misdirected effort that actually encouraged growth!): bark mulch was shoveled, hauled and spread over the flattened Canarygrass: Himalayan blackberry was clipped and hauled off. TheConnelly Creek restoration site (see Happy Valley Park on the map) is better off for the strong effort put forth by these two Explorers Club groups. Service is an integral part of the Wild Whatcom mission. This work is a good thing and would make a nice story in the local newspaper.

At Wild Whatcom, we expect and strive for more, however. And for this outing, the deeper story is more nuanced. So let’s look past the headline by reviewing my admittedly arbitrary benchmarks for a service outing. 

Focus/hard work - Once I’ve seen three 60 - 80 pound boys struggling under the weight of a trash can full of bark mulch, I can’t easily question effort. However, pull the camera back during the outing and the boy sitting in a tree comes into the picture, as do the boys battling each other with bark chips as projectiles. Much work was done but the effort was inconsistent across the members of the Salamander Efts and Barred Owlets and rippled unevenly across the afternoon. 

Teamwork - I bring you back to the three boys carrying the loaded trash can. Two boys couldn’t carry that can, nor could the three of them get it to where it was needed without active communication. Likewise, a sole explorer couldn’t have dismantled a roughly 10 by 10 foot section of blackberry on his own. The mentors saw many examples of excellent teamwork throughout the afternoon. We were especially proud to observe the older Salamander Efts modeling good work habits for the Barred Owlets. 

Initiative - There’s a small ditch that bisects the work site about 3/4 of the way back. Thanks to explorers’ efforts over the past several years, most of the blackberries have receded to beyond the ditch. At one point a few hours into the outing, I jumped (ok, stepped) across the ditch to check on the blackberry work, only to find 3-4 explorers slicing through thorn-thrusting vines with the intensity of a family of beavers in spring. Rather than cut across the front of the infestation, they were tunneling from two directions and working back through the segregated area to clear a small room size area in a single effort. Nice work! I’m sure the two boys sitting along the creek, Huck Finn style and out of sight, would agree that the blackberry ravaging boys were making a real difference.

Task completion - Those who were part of the initial effort to restore Wild Whatcom’s Connelly Creek service site to ecological balance tell me the area was all but covered with invasive plants, such as Himalayan blackberry, and human trash (broken bottles, discarded beverage cans, car parts, piles of nails, and the like) when they first arrived. Well over half has been cleared and native trees and shrubs planted. Even since I joined the effort in the fall, the improvement is dramatic. Saturday’s work pushed this effort forward. It is gratifying to see the progress: these explorers are to be congratulated. 

Integrity/Honor/Respect - More could have been done on this day, however, with greater focus and discipline. There was too much squirreling out; too often did I turn to see bark being hurled at another; too often were individuals content to allow others to carry the load. I, for one, was disappointed.

Of course, what is life if not a succession of trials offering lessons and the chance to do better next time? The boys are young. This is the time for them to learn the satisfaction that comes from performing well and honorably. We’ll be back at this soon with more opportunities to help carry the heavy trash can and cut the irascible berry bushes. 

And, no doubt, I’m right in there with the boys. I can think of several times during the outing where a guiding word from me might have encouraged an explorer to lend a hand rather than squirrel out or start a bark battle. Fortunately, I get to put my lessons to work soon as well. Life is forgiving in that it offers second, third and, sometimes, fourth chances. Now there’s something for which we all can be grateful!

The Salamander Efts get back to it on Saturday, May 30, with an exploration of Blanchard mountain's alternate incline trails. Click here for the schedule.

The Barred Owlets pick up their water curriculum on Saturday, May 30 as well, when we traverse from Marine Park in Fairhaven to the Connelly Creek location. You'll find that schedule here.

Finally, check out the photos from our service work here (Salamander Efts) and here (Barred Owlets). See you out there.

BEC: Salamander Efts on the Connelly Creek Traverse

When mentors planned this outing originally, we thought that it might make for a nice adventure in potentially colder spring temperatures. As it turned out, however, the sun came out and it was a gorgeous day as the Salamander Efts gathered at Marine Park to start the Connelly Creek Traverse.

It was apparent that we should have changed the outing at the onset, and spent all day lounging near the coast because the day had a hint of summer expansiveness that was not conducive to “completing” a traverse, or anything. Nevertheless, the boys stretched their edges to balance fun and exploration with the outing’s focus of reaching the Boys EC service site in Happy Valley Park.

After reviewing names and welcoming mentor Greg back into the fold, we embraced the spring warmth. Explorers threw rocks, basked in the sun, and ran around the beach at Marine Park. We finally garnered momentum and began the two and a half mile trek by checking out the Great Blue Heron rookery adjacent to the water treatment facility. We counted a dozen birds and nests atop the grove of tall, skinny Red Alders.

We pushed onwards until we had a nice view of Bellingham Bay before having lunch. Boys ate, joked, and laughed. Some slept and others continued their carving journey from last outing. Once again, we got the gears moving slowly and found the interurban trail which was to guide us for the most of the rest of our outing.

Some games of Hide kept us occupied as we passed 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th streets. We learned to identify plants as we walked. Please ask your Explorer if he remembers the three trees (Western Hemlock, Douglas Fir, and Grand Fir) we found along the first part of our route.

Then came some coincidences. Dave had everyone practice what to do when bicyclists approached and everyone moved to the side. He called out “Bicycle!” and then three riders appeared from around the corner looking rather shocked at having been called out without being seen.

The next occurred when boys and mentors explored a gorgeous plant with pink tubular flowers. Ribes sanguineum is one of the first blooming spring plants and is connected with a unique pollinator. Ask your Explorer if he remembers the coincidence and what that pollinator species is!

We identified Indium Plum, the leaves of which your Explorers may tell you smell like cucumber when crushed. Its drooping clusters of 5-petaled white flowers are yet another sign of this primary bloomer. We walked upcreek in the shade of giant Black Cottonwood trees, all the while tracking the route of the salmon.

Indeed one of the objectives of this outing (yup, we do have some goals in mind :) ) was to connect Explorers with the service work they will do next outing. By tracing the salmons “steps” up to Connelly Creek from Bellingham Bay, we hope that the boys will see how vital their service work is to the salmon, the watershed, and to our community. Habitat restoration will lead to clear, clean water upcreek that flows and weaves through the entirety of Happy Valley and Fairhaven to the ocean.

We played some games to quicken the pace and then took a long break for water, food, and to practice skills. Greg created an ember, and then a fire by using his hand drill which impressed some Explorers. You too can do this, boys, if you practice! Practicing the Art of the Carving can lead you to this Art of Fire too. And sure enough boys cleared space for blood circles and safely carved. The first blood of the season was drawn when one Explorer nicked the tip of his finger while using his edged tool. The lesson here: stay focused, don’t rush, and watch your work.

The last stage of the day was finding Padden Creek after it crosses under Old Fairhaven Parkway. We wandered through thickets of salmonberry and blackberry and marshy footing as we arrived to the confluence of Padden and Connelly Creeks. At this juncture we held closing meeting, shared apples, and participated in a Circle of Thanks.

As we ambled through the rest of the riparian zone we came to the Connelly Creek bridge and considered, albeit briefly, the habitat downcreek versus upcreek of the bridge. We have a lot of work to do to help this habitat, Explorers. Uncharacteristically, we arrived to our parents right on time. What an outing- we managed to balance our wanderlust with a focused intention!

Thank you Explorers for such a strong presence today. You are growing faster than we can keep up but we have intention for the rest of the season- service, carving, and Spider’s Web. Parents, thank you for encouraging these boys and supporting our traverse by driving to two different locations. The journey was only doable because of your help!

Please see more pictures from this outing in the photo gallery. We look forward to seeing you at the next outing from 11am-3pm on Saturday, April 26th.