The Roosevelt Elk Calves finished their 2017 season with an
epic day at Clayton Beach. We truly had a little bit of everything on this
outing from exploration, to harvesting and studying plants, to romping around
at the beach on the sand dunes.
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| Investigating the waterfall in the ravine |
We started the day off with an opening circle to set up a
game plan for our outing then trekked down to the gorgeous ravine in the
forest above Clayton Beach. Here we took some time to explore the area through
play while the mentors set up a plant identification scavenger hunt. With the
lesson prepped, it was time for the Roosevelt Elk Calves to get briefed on
their mission. A variety of leaves and flowers and stems from numerous native
plants lay before them on a bandana. Their task was to explore the area in
search of each of the plants and return to duplicate the same pattern of plants
on another bandana. Of course there were some easy ones like Sword Fern,
Western Red Cedar, and others popular plants, but mixed in were a variety of
lesser known plants that were harder to find and pick out the subtle
differences from another plant. Of course a Red Huckleberry looks different
from a Snowberry, but this time of year we can only see their small ovate
leaves and we must understand the difference between “alternate” and “opposite”
growth patterns to tell them apart (ask your Explorer for a pop quiz on this!).
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| A variety of native plants to find |
One plant in particular was hard to find: Thimbleberry. In
order to find this plant, we broke out our field guide and learned about how to
utilize the “ecology” description to get a few hints on where this plant may be
growing. Sure enough, once we trekked down near the clearing beside the train
tracks we found a whole patch of Thimbleberry growing alongside its good buddy
Stinging Nettle!
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| Taking turns talking about each of the plants we found today |
After we discussed the importance of understanding all that
the forest has to offer and the many ways we can utilize the forest for food,
tools, and medicine through sustainable harvest, it was time to head to the
beach. Packing up we cruised down the trail to a low tide! This was perfect for
an impromptu crab hunt where the boys searched for the largest specimens they
could find (the baby Dungeness won). Our attention soon strayed to the large
hill of sand and an opportunistic discovery of a section of plastic siding with
a rope for a handle that someone must have built as a sand sled, or at least
that’s what we used it as! Taking turns we worked through some discussion on
how to ensure everyone got a fair turn and a sand sledding session ensued.
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| Scowering the rocks for crab |
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| Baby Dungeness! |
With just enough time for our closing circle, we gathered
back up and took some time to reflect on our spring season, think about what we
want to do in the fall, and of course share some thanks and eat apples. The
Roosevelt Elk Calves were all thankful for a great day at the beach and
mentioned they want to come back to Clayton Beach in the fall. Additionally we
took some time to reflect on how we developed our own definitions of harvest,
how to identify and collect different plants, collect materials for Atl Atls,
fire starting materials, and minimizing our impact on the land through
sustainable harvesting.
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| Sand sledding on the dune! |
Overall this felt like a complete season; we learned,
we played, we explored, and we grew as a group and as individuals. As a mentor
it is fulfilling to see this group coming into their own, creating a sense of comradery and community
with one another, and channel their exuberant energy into a balance of
developing their wilderness skills and playing together in a natural
environment. Although they likely feel they are “learning” during our lessons
and discussions in circle, they are no doubt learning just as much about
themselves, others, and the environment during their “free play” jumping down
the sand dunes, searching for that monster crab, or scampering around on the
rocks. With a solid season to build off of we can’t wait to see what fall has
in store for the Roosevelt Elk Calves.
Check out the rest of the photos from our outing
here!
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| Playing together on a make-shift driftwood teeter-totter |
