Support Wild Whatcom at Fairhaven Gives Back event

Mark your calendar for Thursday, November 17 and the annual Fairhaven Gives Back event. Wild Whatcom is one of the non-profit recipients again this year so make your list and plan to shop Fairhaven November 17th!

How does it work? Well, when you're doing your holiday shopping this year, don't just pay; pay it forward! That's the message of Fairhaven Gives Back

Fairhaven Gives Back helps holiday shoppers support local businesses as well as their favorite local nonprofits with each purchase they make. It's a brilliantly simple idea: When shoppers make a purchase at participating Fairhaven businesses or restaurants, 10 percent of the sale is donated by that business to the nonprofit of the shopper's choosing from a list of Whatcom County nonprofits.

Since the event was first launched in 2013, Fairhaven Gives Back has raised more than $3,500 for local nonprofits. Help make 2016 the best year yet!

Simply come to Fairhaven and look for the "Fairhaven Gives Back" sign in the windows and doors of participating merchants. When you make a purchase you'll be handed a form with local non-profits from which to pick your favorite. 10% of your purchase at each participating shop you patronize will be donated to the nonprofit you select from the list provided. 

CANCELLED due to severe weather and wind warning -- Family Service Party and Gear Swap

Photo Credit: Girls Explorers CLub

CANCELLED!  Unfortunately the major storm moving in is expected to bring gusts of up to 60 mph. For the sake of everyone's safety and well-being, we've decided to cancel this event.  We are looking forward to finding another date, with better conditions, to come together to serve our community and celebrate!  Thank you for your interest. 

Thursday, October 13, 3:00-6:30PM
Squalicum Creek Park

Wild Whatcom has teamed up with the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department to offer a free, fun, and family-friendly outdoor event on this early-release Thursday.

Pitch in alongside your child with shovels and buckets as we weed and mulch around young trees in a new forest restoration from 3:00-5:00PM. All ages welcome. Gloves and other supplies provided.

We'll then celebrate our afternoon from 5:00-6:30PM with a POTLUCK (please bring a dish to share), MUSIC by the marimba band, Kuunga, and other FUN ACTIVITIES! Cups, plates, and flatware provided.

We'll also be holding a GEAR SWAP! If you have unused or outgrown outdoor gear lying around (clothing, equipment, etc.), gather them up and bring them along. No need to bring gear in order to participate in the swap. 

Want to volunteer? Have a question?
Email Wild Whatcom Program Manager, Chris Wiebe, at chris@wildwhatcom.org.

For a Limited Time: Wild Whatcom T-shirts Available!

It's Raining, It's Pouring, Let's Go Exploring...

Have you been wanting a Wild Whatcom t-shirt, but weren't sure how to get one?

Now is your chance!

From today through July 4, 2016, we will be making them available for sale. Quantities are limited.

Youth and Adult (Men's and Women's) T-Shirts

High-quality, sport tech fabric

  • X-Small to Large (Youth Long-Sleeve: S & M only)
  • Blue, Gray, and Classic Wild Whatcom Forest Green
  • Short-Sleeve: $15 each
  • Long-Sleeve: $20 each
  • Cash or checks only (payable to Wild Whatcom)

For questions or to order, contact Rachel Budelsky: rachel@wildwhatcom.org

Boys Explorers Club - Spring 2016 Season Wrap Up

BEC group meeting lakeside during spring 2016 season

Dear Boys Explorers Club Families,

On behalf of the Boys Explorers Club (BEC) mentors, we thank you for a wonderful spring season full of exploration and growth. With 15 groups and 163 boys in our cohort, we are a vibrant, genuine, and powerful force within our community.

Families, your Explorers gave 608 volunteer hours at our Connelly Creek Service Site. Our Four Shields Program participants volunteered 75 hours as Explorers Mentor Apprentices, and our Adult Volunteers gave over 30 hours on outings! The BEC would like to thank Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) and the City of Bellingham Parks Department for all their help facilitating our spring service project. 

Our mentoring team is appreciative of all the support and encouragement we receive from families, and we are grateful for all the time we get with your Explorers. Our staff work hard to bring your children thoughtful and intentional programming. Although there is a great deal of planning that goes into the Explorers Club experience, we find that it's more often our participants' interactions within the natural environment, interpersonal dynamics within the group, and long-term experience with a consistent Explorers Club culture that provides the major lessons and takeaways on our outings. 

As mentors we work to create the space and to hold the container of safety for these experiences to occur. Stan Crow, a mentor, wilderness guide, and former director of Rite of Passage Journeys, described this mentoring style beautifully when he said, “The work of a mentor is in the present moment, exploring actions, behaviors, and feelings in real-time, and always highlighting the power of choice that the youth has in the moment”.

Our aim, much like Stan Crow's, is to be fully present with our explorers while on outings. We seek to empower our mentees when we see moments of character growth and strengthening leadership in them, and to walk along side and encourage them as they overcome challenges and aim beyond the target. 

This spring our mentors witnessed this cohort of emerging males becoming deeply connected with one another in constructive and genuine ways while being firmly rooted in their connection to and stewardship for the land. 

Spring 2016 - Season Highlights

Throughout Whatcom County's lowland forest and shoreline our younger groups:

  • Played games
  • Made group decisions
  • Learned to recognize bird calls and navigational clues
  • Rambled
  • Traversed as they immersed themselves in the diverse landscape from Clayton Beach to north Lake Whatcom

Celebrating the abundance of spring they learned to make nettle tea, feasted on salmon berries and thimble berries, collected cottonwood buds for salves, and harvested cedar and alder for carving wood.  

Our elder Explorers Club groups ventured out to further locations like Lizard Lake, North Lake Samish Trail, and the Deming Eagle Preserve. Here their endurance and backcountry skills were put to the test. These locations provided opportunities for the boys to engage in complex crafts like fire by friction, plaster casting, and tarp shelter work. These boys also gathered beta on a few first time outing locations. Driving up Cleator Road, they explored the upper reaches of Chuckanut Mountain on the Rock Trail. Explorers navigated a massive sandstone ridge line down to Lost Lake, and they found quiet spots along the shore to sit and take it all in. These groups also took time to pioneer the Lookout Mountain Forest Preserve. Climbing high up into the logging lands, the boys explored part of Bellingham's watershed, finding beautiful cascading falls and ample space to work on skills. 

Bringing our spring season to a strong finish, The Daredevil's Club celebrated their time as an BEC group with a graduation camp out at Racehorse Falls while our Four Shields Program ventured out along the Baker River to sleep under the stars nestled in the deep valley between Anderson Butte and Mt. Shuksan.

BEC Spring 2016 season highlights

Announcements

Mark your calendar! The 2016-17 Boys Explorers Club season starts Saturday, August 27! Registration for the 2016-17 season is open for returning Explorers Club participants. This priority window for returning participants runs through Friday, July 15. After that, space will open to children on the Interest List.

New for 2016-17 - In response to feedback, we are switching to a full academic-year registration cycle for Explorers Club and have added an additional outing. This means you’ll now need to register only once for an expanded series of nine (9) Explorers Club outings, running from late August to mid-June. We are continuing with our two-tier tuition option and have both payment plans and financial assistance available. Information about payment plans and financial assistance are available during registration. Please note Explorers Club financial assistance requests are due by Friday, July 15. 

LIBK - Please let us know if your son won't be joining us for our 2016/17 season. Families have always shaped the directions of Explorers Club – we truly want you to LIBK (Let It Be Known) so that we can collaborate more effectively on raising stellar stewards of self, others, and human and natural communities. If you haven't done so, please take a few minutes to fill our parent and youth surveys and have your Explorer do the same. Thanks so much for taking the time to LIBK!

Don't forget! Sign up for our seasonal Wild Connections newsletter. 

Explorers, thanks for a great season!

On behalf of the BEC Mentoring Team,

Steve, Tim, Peter, Brian, Greg, Conor, & Bobby

 

Ms. Holly's Famous Granola Bars

Ms. Holly's Famous Granola Bars

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 9" x 13" pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix the following ingredients:

1 or 2 mashed bananas, depending on size of banana

1/2 cup nut butter or sunflower butter

1/2 cup sugar or maple syrup

Dash or two of sea salt

1-3 Tbs of cinnamon

Add these ingredients:

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)

1/2 cup ground flaxmeal

1/2 cup dried fruit (dates, cherries, apricots, raisins...)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

2 Tbs of chia seeds

3 cups rolled oats (not quick)

Mix all ingredients together until fully incorporated and batter is thoroughly moistened. Spread evenly onto parchment paper, pressing batter firmly into pan for best results. Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cut when cool and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy on a trail near you!