Holy Cow - the Red Foxes are in middle school! Seemingly overnight the Red Foxes went from slug-obsessed, fort-building, young explorers to slug-obsessed, fort-building MIDDLE SCHOOL explorers. My co-mentor, Margot, asked at one point during the day, "Do the girls usually just want to chat like this and not follow our plan?" I replied with a sigh and head shake, "Yes." Often when groups hit middle school, they quickly transition towards more time spent exploring the social aspects of Explorers Club than the environmental and naturalist themes we try to present. At EC, we embrace this transition. It is amazing to see groups develop into cohesively bonded cohorts brought together by a unifying love of the outdoors and shared goofy, soggy, and game-filled experiences. This transition may mean a little less time is spent on the history of a place, the medicinal uses of a specific plant or the environmental impacts of certain actions and more time spent on conflict resolution, how to act with integrity when surrounded by peers, and how to manage changing bodies, relationships, and emotions.
We started our day by loading onto the bus, and heading north to Cherry Point. Upon our arrival, we spent some time discussing the history of Cherry Point. We talked about the complexities of human development, the environment, sacred lands, and the creatures that live in this part of the Salish sea. We also spent a little time talking about the connections between Cherry Point and the Standing Rock protests in North Dakota.
After our discussion, the girls quickly branched off to beach comb, bury themselves in pebbles, swap 6th grade stories, swim, jump rope with a bull kelp, and build forts. We spent the majority of our day playing and giggling together in this spectacular place.
Later in the day, we all came back together to perform a stakeholders skit where the girls each took on a role in the ongoing Cherry Point debate. We had a heron, a BP executive, a Bellingham local, a member of the Lummi tribe, a cedar tree, herring, an eagle, and a coho. Each girl represented a different voice, and through this exercise, we were able to discuss and uncover some of the complexities of the development and halting of development at Cherry Point.
After more connecting, swimming, and laughing, we loaded back onto the bus and headed back to town. We ended our day with an attitude of gratitude. Girls were thankful for one another, a trusting group, protesters, and Cherry Point!
No comments:
Post a Comment