The Roosevelt Elk Calves arrived to Lookout Mountain on a
snowy Saturday. With plenty of energy buzzing around the group as they hurled
snowballs at one another it was difficult for the mentors to gather enough
focus on developing a game plan for the day. After some time the group’s energy
settled down and we decided to hike back in to check on our old debris shelter,
continue developing our definition of what harvest means, learn some new
harvesting techniques, and maybe even play a game or two!
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| Gathering snow for a snowball |
Hitting the trail we hiked by snow covered Sword Ferns
appreciating the peacefulness the white blanket brought to the forest. Passing
by a familiar location the boys remembered jumping down a hillside on their
last outing and just had to do it again. While letting the boys play for a bit,
the mentors paused the game and had everyone take note of the impact they were
leaving on the hillside. Lucky for us we were off the trail, not near a stream
or water source that could be further impacted by erosion, and the impact we
had wasn’t going to damage any of the trees or plants nearby. That being said,
we made sure to take note of what sort of impact a group of Explorers can truly
leave, and decided to be more mindful in the future before getting lost in play
and disregarding the trace we may be leaving.
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| Hope you brought your boots! |
Heading deeper into the woods we stopped to look at an old
deer skeleton the mentors knew had been decaying just off trail for the past
few months, then set off for the location of our old debris shelter. Once we
arrived we settled in and began exploring, playing games with friends, and working
on the debris shelter. But before we got too lost in what we were doing we
gathered up for a decision making circle where after ten minutes of goofing
around, the mentors really called upon the boys to tap into their ability to
focus and make a decision. The Explorers were reminded that one day they would
be grown up and in charge of making the big decisions that impact our society
and environment. With the pep talk out of the way the group got it together and
we were off onto the rest of our outing.
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| What remains of a young deer. Chewed off ribs and nose of skull suggests feeding by coyotes. |
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| Working on the debris shelter |
After romping around a bit more through exploration and free
play, the outing naturally transitioned to learning about harvesting fire
materials. First the Roosevelt Elk Calves learned what Western Hemlock was and
how to identify it. Next we found where we could find dry, dead hemlock
branches for our kindling. Finally, we found a small, dead tree still standing
and well off the damp ground to saw into smaller chunks and then baton with our
knives into manageable firewood. This all took up the rest of our outing and
with a quick closing circle where we gave some thanks and ate some apples we
were finished for the day. Hiking out the mentors appreciated the way this
group rallied to focus and make the most of our time together. They
transitioned seamlessly from play to focused learning and skills building and demonstrated
an ability to get it together when asked of them. We will make sure to remember
this for the future as this group continues to dig into the Art of Harvest and
what harvest, and our relationship to the natural world, means to them.
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| Learning how to use a limbing saw to cut up sections of the dead tree |
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| Full bundle of Western Hemlock branches for kindling |
For more photos form our outing check out the
photo album!
