Explorers Club Year 4
We look forward to exploring with these groups in Explorers Club Year 4!
Peppered Moons | Questionable Rock Frogs | Tree-Ruffled Liverworts
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 4
Art of Carving | Shelter Building | Medicinal Plants | Team Building
OUTING 1 | Team Building
Our first outing of the year will be all about reconnecting as a group, diving into leadership activities, and exploring the nature that surrounds us. There will be plenty of opportunities for free exploration, games, and socio-emotional skill-building. We will also revisit activities, tools, and language that we’ve worked on in the past to strengthen our inter/intrapersonal communication and problem-solving skills. Make sure to pack your nature journal and maybe a bathing suit, towel, and closed-toed water shoes.
Clayton Beach
OUTING 2 | SKILLS
Today we will tap into the universal childhood passion of fort-building, but with a twist. Instead of blankets and pillows, we’ll be using what dead and downed materials we can find in the forest. With some finessing, we’ll learn to harness the love of fort-building and turn it into a helpful survival skill. This day will also teach us the power of teamwork, showing us what strength lies in our group when we work together. And, of course, there will be plenty of time for exploring and games to get us back in the groove of the Explorers Club.
Hundred ACre Wood
OUTING 3 | SKILLS
Whatcom Falls Park is the crown jewel of Whatcom County’s urban parks. With spectacular sandstone formations, awesome waterfalls, and a gorgeous second-growth forest, we’re bound to have a truly epic day of exploring. If the group is ready, we will also embark on a very special skills journey: carving! This skill requires lots of demonstrated patience, safety, and body awareness skills, but the rewards are worth it. Once we find a good spot for our basecamp we will take the momentous step of responsibility into knife usage. Please make sure that your Explorer has watched the Knife Safety video before this outing.
Whatcom Falls Park
OUTING 4 | EXPLORATION
In the fall, we learned all about how to make a shelter with debris found in our forests. On this day, we’ll continue diving into our skills theme of shelter-building by learning how to tie different types of knots and how to pitch a tarp. As always, there will be lots of time for games, challenges, and free exploration. Don’t forget that our first level of shelter is always our clothing. So don’t forget to come prepared for a PNW winter day with rain gear and warm, dry layers!
Yew Street Woods
OUTING 5 | Skills
Explorers know that plants give many gifts, providing food, clothing, tools, and medicine. As we ramble and roam throughout the forest, we'll discover some of the powers of plants to heal (and harm). Part of our time will be spent making a simple, yet ancient skin salve called the Balm of Gilead and perhaps also some forest tea. Each Explorer will come home with their own small jar of salve that can be used as chapstick, lotion, or sunburn cream. Please make sure that your Explorer packs an empty mug for tea and let us know if they have any known allergies to cottonwood, beeswax or soywax.
Whatcom Land Trust Homestead
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 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.
Connelley Creek nature area - service sites
OUTING 7 | Exploration
We'll head northwards this day to explore a coastal gem of Whatcom County. Point Whitehorn is nestled right below Birch Bay State Park and is home to heron, otter, and herring. From the shores, we’ll see views of the Cascades and San Juan Island. If it’s low tide, we may be able to walk to the mudflats and if it’s high tide, we’ll wiggle our toes in the Salish Sea. But mostly, we'll run arms wide and feet flying into expanses of sand and sea, driftwood and round rock, exploring our way around this beautiful beach. Be sure to pack closed-toe water shoes, a towel, sunscreen, a swimsuit, and extra water.
Point Whitehorn
OUTING 8 | EXPLORATION
Previous Explorers have made the momentous journey along the Salish Coast between Clayton Beach to Larrabee State Park and it is now time for our group to do the same. We'll embrace the low tide and get around a few jutting bluffs first thing. Once around the corner, the group will enter a rare section of wild space that is sheltered within the map of civilization. The route along the coast is so seldomly travelled by humankind that we’ll be bound to spot numerous eagles, crabs, herons, and seals. This day is unlike any of our other outings due to the challenging nature of rock scrambling and mentor guided climbing. It will require our Explorers to maintain a backcountry mindset as we move Slow and Low over the slippery, barnacle covered sandstone. It is very important to wear good hiking or walking shoes and may be helpful to have rubber gardening gloves to prevent barnacle cuts. Please pack closed-toe water shoes, a towel, and a bathing suit.