Salamander Efts Build A Shelter While Building Work Ethic

On a gorgeous spring day the Salamander Efts met up for their final outing of the spring season. After gathering together and catching up we hit the trail and trekked up into the horse trails behind Lake Padden. Stepping off the trail in a clearing we had our opening meeting and discussed our skills focus, where we’ve gone so far this season, and what we wanted to spend our time doing on our outing. With some time spent this season on Tracking and Bird Language, we began shifting to our skills focus for the fall; The Art of Surviving. 

Reviewing “The Rule of Threes” we discussed how someone can live three minutes without air, three hours in inclement weather, three days without water, and three weeks without food. The first pertinent skill we felt like focusing on was building a shelter. Although our clothes are our first line of defense against bad weather, our ability to construct a shelter to keep ourselves warm and dry could be the difference between life and death.

Trekking straight up the hill we got far enough off trail to find a location that could handle the impact of constructing a shelter. First we spent some time scouting the area to see where would be best for building a shelter. Taking into account hazards, resources, and convenience we picked a spot and got to work. Well, we tried to get to work. Tossing a few big sticks up on a couple of logs, the boys thought they could just stack up a shelter and be done. Not so. The Salamander Efts seemed to really struggle with coming up with a legitimate structural plan for their shelter beyond building a “fort” in the woods. After letting the boys struggle for a while, and seeing a pretty low level of motivation to get things rolling, the mentors stepped in. 

Re-assessing our situation we started from square one. First we got a structural plan in place, next we took inventory of our resources and began sawing out Y-Sticks and ribs out of fallen branches and downed trees. Despite more structure and planning, the work ethic and motivation was just not there. It became clear that these Salamander Efts will need a more realistic survival scenario to spark a sense of urgency to fuel them to exercise a quality work ethic. This was unfortunate after a strong service outing of quality work ethic and leadership with the younger group.

With the mentors stepping in, things started coming together. Utilizing cedar roots as cordage, the shelter grew into a solid structure that could support a strong roof with sufficient debris for waterproofing and insulation. Running out of time it was clear if this was a survival situation we would be in trouble. The shelter did not get completed and the boys didn’t seem to really care. As they grow older they will begin to understand that practice is what will make or break application of these skills in a real situation. 

Finishing up we debriefed our shelter building, ate some food, and hiked back down the hill away from the swarming mosquitoes and down to the lake. Along the way we found a variety of edible berries that we munched on. Red Huckleberry, Salmonberry, and Indian Plum were all on the menu. Finally we got to the water for a quick swim before returning to the dog park for pick up. All in all this was an outing that was challenging for the mentors and a wake-up call for the boys that we have a ways to go before they could comfortably survive an emergency in the woods. This will be a great outing for us to revisit in the fall as we begin our true journey into the Art of Survival. 

Not only will these Salamander Efts be trying to learn the primal skill of survival, but the Salamander Efts will be one of the eldest groups in Boys Explorers Club this fall. They will be embarking on the journey of becoming Explorer Mentor Apprentices where they will have the opportunity to come out and volunteer with younger groups, learn from the mentors, and get a chance to practice what they learned about mentoring with the younger group. This opportunity will further emphasize the importance of the Salamander Efts growing, maturing, and not only having a strong work ethic for themselves, but to lead by example and demonstrate to the younger groups what a work ethic looks like and why it is important. Perhaps this incentive will help provide the push to get the Salamander Efts focused on what it means to buckle down and learn a skill, do some service, or just take advantage of the five hours, once a month, four times a season, where they get together and explore the land and learn from the mentors. Only time will tell, but the future holds a bounty of opportunity for these boys and we all hope the Salamander Efts take full advantage.

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

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.