Explorers Club Year 1
We look forward to exploring with these groups in Explorers Club Year 1!
Ghost Rainbows | Lunar Rainbows | Sundogs
Standard outings and curriculum are below. Individual Explorers Club group schedules and curriculum may vary based on group needs, mentor discretion, previously canceled outings, group progress with technical skills, etc.
Outing dates, times, and locations for all groups are subject to change.
Skills Focus | Year 1
Safety & Preparedness | Art of Camouflage | Plant Identification | Group Identity | Routines
OUTING 1 | EXPLORATION
For our very first outing together, we’ll meet at Larrabee State Park for a day of games, exploration, and getting to know each other. Explorers’ inspiration, mentors' teachings, and nature's surprises will direct our day’s wanderings. We'll revel in autumn leaves, explore tide pools, and spot crabs, herons, and sea stars. By playing games and following hidden trails, we'll begin to discover all the ways we can explore our connections to nature and one another. Please anticipate packing lunch, a snack, water, and appropriate outdoor gear for EC outings. Please also pack a bathing suit, towel, and closed-toed water shoes for this day.
Larrabee State Park
OUTING 2 | SKILLS
This southside forest has been prime exploring territory for many Explorers over the years. On this autumn day, we'll seek shelter under the fir and cedar canopy, discovering hidden treasures in this 89-acre preserve. Specifically, we aim to find as many cool, weird, and interesting mushrooms as we can! We will spend lots of time getting to know our fungi neighbors and the important role they play in the forest. Additionally, we’ll use this outing as practice for winter: talking about and learning through experience what we need to be prepared to explore outside in the cold and wet season! We'll no doubt learn that exploring and learning can be fun in any weather, as long as we're prepared. Please anticipate packing lunch, a snack, and water for EC outings. As the days grow colder, please also pack appropriate rain and cold weather gear, guidelines for which can be found on the Explorers Club Pack List.
Hundred acre Woods
OUTING 3 | SKILLS
A mixture of towering cedars, friendly ferns, and other native plants, this forest is a perfect spot for natural disguise. We'll begin our practice in the Art of Camouflage by learning about the ways that forest creatures stay quiet and hidden. One game begins with an "H" and it sends everyone flying into the bushes! We’ll also spend time continuing to learn Explorers Club mottos, getting to know each other, and practicing how to be safe while having fun outside! Please anticipate packing lunch, a snack, and water for EC outings. As the days grow colder, please also pack appropriate rain and cold weather gear, guidelines for which can be found on the Explorers Club Pack List.
Whatcom Falls Park
OUTING 4 | EXPLORATION
Get ready for a day full of creative fun, because this outing is all about the Art of Play. We'll dive into much-loved Explorers Club nature-themed games and activities, learn plenty of new ones, and perhaps invent a few as we go. As always, we'll practice leadership skills that build executive function, like active listening and collaborative decision-making (and play itself!) and finish our day tired, full of laughs, and more connected as a group. Please remember to send your Explorer with lots of warm, dry layers and filling food to this outing.
Cornwall Park
OUTING 5 | EXPLORATION
Following in the footsteps of many great natural artists that have come before us, Explorers will spend this outing creating natural art installations in the forest. We will gather dead, down, or brown leaves, branches, stones, and other natural materials along the trail, talk about concepts of beauty, perspective, and art, and each make our own, unique work of art. Some Explorers may choose to make mandalas, while others may build sculptures, and some may even create floating leaf wreaths. There will be no wrongs or rights as we work together to create pieces of ephemeral, natural art. Please remember to send your Explorer with lots of warm, dry layers and filling food to this outing!
lake padden Park
OUTING 6 | SERVICE
Explorers Club (EC) has two official restoration sites that we work on every year in partnership with the Bellingham Parks Department. In the decade-plus that EC has worked at Connelly Creek Nature Area and Happy Valley Park, the landscape of each site has changed dramatically. Explorers of all ages have helped to remove Himalayan blackberries and dig out their persistent roots. We’ve planted over one hundred native plants, shrubs, and trees. Existing plant life has been freed of ivy, reed canary grass has been covered in mulch, and morning glory has been dug out by the root. Explorers have removed hundreds of pounds of trash and hauled almost one hundred yards of mulch.
With the help of Bellingham City Parks and Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA), we are contributing to the very important work of salmon habitat restoration. Salmon are a keystone species of the Northwest, playing important roles in every ecosystem and community they interact with. They are economically, culturally, and spiritually significant to Indigenous Peoples, including our Lummi and Nooksack neighbors. Our restoration work creates a positive ripple effect that is felt in communities beyond just salmon and gives us an incredible opportunity to be part of a legacy of stewardship and protection. Please remember to sign the City of Bellingham Parks Department Risk and Liability release form at drop off.
Connelly Creek Nature Area - restoration areas
OUTING 7 | SKILLS
Trees breathe new life into the air, their roots bind and protect riverbanks, their trunks and canopies create whole ecosystems, and they are utilized to make shelter, tools, and medicines. On this very special outing, the group will begin to learn how to distinguish the five most prominent trees in our area - Alder, Big Leaf maple, Cedar, Douglas fir, and Western hemlock. In outings to come, we will use this knowledge to learn about the medicines, foods, and tools that all come from our friends, the trees.
Fairhaven Park
OUTING 8 | EXPLORATION
There is just so much to see and do during our final outing of the season! Forests to explore, fossils to find, rocks to climb, giant hills of sand to play on, plus all the awesome plants and animals that call this area home. We will meet some new plant and marine friends, play games, and in general, follow our sense of curiosity! Depending on the weather, we may dip our toes in the ocean, so remember to pack a towel, sunscreen, bathing suit, and closed-toed water shoes!