Medicine Club Traverse: 9-18-16

Navigating the
Medicine Club patch

It was SO wonderful to spend this beautiful autumn day with the Silver Salmon! These girls brought their adventurous spirits armed with their abundant nature knowledge to successfully lead us on our off-trail trek down to the water and back, smiling all the while and filling the air with laughter.

There is a reason this is one of our favorite outings – it's jam-packed with all the best elements of an Explorers' day: route-finding, reasonable risks, the need for collaborative decision-making, unexpected encounters with natural elements (fields and trails, downed trees, water, mud, dense forest, myriad plants, etc...), a walk through a beautiful old farm, vistas of islands, and more. Below are some highlights of our day:

* Checking in with ourselves and our group as we Widen Our Circle to include new members of the Silver Salmon, Ruby, Billie, and Eva, and visiting Spotted Owl, Hailey!

* Immersing ourselves in the earth skill of Navigation all along our journey, pausing to establish cardinal directions, and repeatedly checking in with them ("Where do you think we'll end up if we keep going this way?" "Which way is the sea, and what direction is that?" "Which way is Mud Bay and what direction is that?" "Which way do you think we should turn to get to Chuckanut Drive", etc...), helping the girls practice navigational awareness all along the way. Later in EC, we'll tie this in to an awareness of life direction, paying attention to the choices we make that determine where we're headed.

* Learning about the wonders of Devil's Club (and renaming it Medicine Club, due to its innumerable uses): as blood sugar regulator, skin infection fighter, tattoo maker, lice controller, deodorizer, and much, much more. Like nettle, misunderstood Medicine Club has a bad reputation solely due to its effective defense mechanism. It asks for respect, and in return offers many methods of healing and support. In learning about Medicine Club, we also learn about people. Do we know any people with sharp, spiny aspects? Are we quick to judge them? Very likely they have many wonderful aspects, just beneath the surface, like Medicine Club.

* Doing S.T.O.P. risk assessments all along the way, traveling slowly and with awareness as we navigated through salmonberry, nettle, blackberry and "medicine club". We called attention to the different plants around us, and tested the girls' naturalist knowledge by asking them to identify many plants, to differentiate them from Medicine Club. Watching girls travel through this medicine club patch was inspiring; they were calm, focused, aware, and attentive as they walked through. A few girls were nervous about entering the patch at first, but with much support from their Silver Salmon friends, stretched their edge and were able to move through their perceived fear. This practice and habit of awareness is an important skill to cultivate, in forest travel and in life. 

* Making collaborative decisions all along the way, practicing the art of listening to everyone's opinion, then coming to consensus about what can work for all.

* Watching these girls explore and joyfully play in the receding tides and glorious mud of Chuckanut Bay. Goodness they had fun!  Some girls literally dove headfirst into the mud (check out the video of Gracyn in the photo album!) while others accessorized with mud face paint.

* Enjoying the pastoral peace at Woodstock Farm, and learning about the generosity of its founder, Cyrus Gates, who donated land for Larrabee, Arroyo, and Fairhaven Parks, Chuckanut Island, and many other green spaces in Whatcom County. Thank you Mr. Gates! And thank you too to the Mamosee people who occupied this land before, and who were the ultimate preservationists. 

* Playing a loooong and looovely game of Spider's Web!  We decided that Rebecca is the sneakiest bug, and EMA Ani is the best spider as she gave us many chances to escape the web. ;)

* Peaceful Place on a beautiful bluff overlooking the Salish Sea, blessed by the warm sunshine and the bright colors of our day.

* Thoroughly enjoying each other's company, stretching our edges, collaborating and compromising, and, at the end of the day, enthusiastically appreciating one another and all the gifts in our lives through a circle of thanks. Some things these gals are thankful for: trees, Explorers Club, medicine club, sunshine, mud, friends and family, one another, Cyrus Gates, games…

EC Mottos especially alive today:

* Safety First
* Be Prepared
* It's About the Journey, Not the Destination

* We, Not Just Me
* Leave No Trace
* Collaborate and Compromise

* Widen Your Circle
* Stretch Your Edge
* Challenge By Choice

* Get Dirty!