Welcome to "The Forest Hotel"! Around the corner, you'll find playground and soon after, "Slug Mania!", also known as the "Hidden Hospital" (greenroof and all!) and way over yonder lies an unnamed but well-constructed one-bedroom dwelling. Further south is the "Zen Den", a roomy debris hut and meditation space with great views of the forest. A new subdivision has been developed in Fairhaven, using sustainable "green" construction methods and materials. No, these state of the art residences are not for sale, BUT! they are open for viewing in the Hundred Acre Woods. The talented architects and construction crew? The Red Foxes!
We began our day in opening circle debriefing the many nuances of our last adventure to Cherry Point. We then wandered into the forest and the girls led us to their desired shelter-building destination. We discussed the realities of wilderness survival after reading a short story in Tom Brown's Field Guide called "Ask The Squirrels", which had many wise teachings from Grandfather (and the squirrels) about how to construct a functional debris shelter. It was time to get to work!
Our first focus was to put on shelter eyes, dispersing throughout the forest in search of nooks and crannies that could be or become a shelter for different sizes and types of animals. After some great collaboration and problem-solving about effective group sizes, techniques, locations, job allocation, etc., our community dwellings sprung up from the forest floor. Within a few hours we had four deluxe shelters! On this chilly day, building shelters kept us warm and busy, just like the squirrels! After lunch (complete with hot tea!), the girls put final touches on their shelters and we took a home tour of each shelter, assessing each on their ability to withstand wind and rain, retain body heat, and remain safe from any nearby blowdowns.
With the bit of time remaining, we played a group game of Spiders Web and then closed our day with an Attitude of Gratitude before blowing our thanks to the forest and saying goodbye to out debris shelters. For now, the shelters stay standing in the 100 Acre Woods, but this will be a site and a topic we revisit with this group, discussing the value of Leave No Trace and what this means for things like shelter construction and other skills' days.
Our words of the day? shelters, spiders web, slug mania!
Next time you take a walk through the Hundred Acre Woods, see if your own "shelter-seeking eyes" can detect these artfully constructed debris huts- they are truly impressive, and almost invite one in to spend the night...
EC MOTTOS that came into play today: Many Hands Make Light Work, All Things Are Connected, LIBK, Be Prepared, Get Dirty! Leave No Trace
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