Explorers Club Year 6
We look forward to exploring with these groups in Explorers Club Year 6!
Kokanees | Orb Weavers | Petrichors | Whistling Marmots
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 6
Wilderness Travel | Carving Technique | Reflection | Communication
OUTING 1 | Skills
To begin our year, we will head to a patch of urban wilderness on the north side of Bellingham. On this outing, we will have the opportunity to get to learn more about one of our most useful local plants, stinging nettle, and one of the most invasive, English ivy! We’ll begin our nettle cordage projects on this outing but will need to let them cure over the year. After harvesting + processing nettles, we’ll move on to ripping out English ivy and testing our hands at basket making. Don’t worry if this is tricky at first, this is a skill that takes practice! On our last outing of the year, we will utilize the nettles that we harvest this outing to create our own cordage. Please bring garden gloves if you have them.
NorthRidge Park
OUTING 2 | SKILLS
This journey along Chuckanut Ridge is a fantastic hike through the heart of the Chuckanut Mountains. Along the way, we’ll practice our hiking skills, review trail etiquette and navigation, witness fantastic views, and revel in the abundance of a healthy forest. There is nothing quite like traipsing through a natural setting with a group of close friends to revitalize the soul. We should cover four miles or so, so eat a big breakfast, pack a hearty lunch, and wear good footwear.
Chuckanut Ridge Traverse
OUTING 3 | Exploration
Have you ever seen a Douglas fir whose canopy reaches the clouds? Or needed ten people with their arms stretched wide to hug a Western Red cedar? Today, we’re loading up on the trusty Wild Whatcom bus to meander our way to a seldom-explored part of the North Cascades. There, we’ll find mammoth trees that have been alive since the invention of the printing press, the sacking of Angkor Wat, and the start of the Incan Empire. These elders of the forest are some of the last surviving old-growth hemlocks and cedars in our area and as such, our time here will be spent in reverence and respect. We will be working with some of these trees’ descendants on this day to carve our own butter knives and take another step in completing our hand-carved camp cutlery sets.
North Fork Nooksack Natural Research Area
OUTING 4 | EXPLORATION
Birch Bay is the northwest edge of Whatcom County and the United States. This coastal state park is a beautiful place to observe eagles, heron, and seals. We'll spend the day practicing our fire-building and carving skills and exploring this site that has seen human habitation for thousands of years. The goal of this day will be to start (and maybe finish?) carving spoons. We’ll use a method that involves coal blowing to create the spoon's basin. The motto Slow is Fast will be very important on this day, as spoons are a difficult tool to carve and will often split if the coal is blown too hot.
Birch bay StATE PARK
OUTING 5 | EXPLORATION
On this outing, we’ll continue moving through the Chuckanuts and enhancing our skills in wilderness travel. This time, the group will be hiking one of Bellingham’s favorite and most challenging trails, Pine and Cedar Lakes. We’ll test our hiking skills and use the motto, Slow is Fast and Fast is Slow, to make our way up this truly iconic Bellingham trail. There are plenty of time-honored trail games that we can employ to keep our legs and minds moving. Make sure to eat a big breakfast and pack a good lunch, warm layers, rain gear, and wear hiking shoes!
Pine and Cedar Lakes trail
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.
cONNELLY cREEK Nature Area AND hAPPY VALLEY PARK
OUTING 7 | Exploration
Ready for a walk down memory lane? Today, we’ll revisit an old favorite outing and employ several well-honed naturalist skills with the hopes of eating plenty of wild edible plants! After gathering Big Leaf maple blossoms, nettles, and dandelions (Art of Harvest and Plant ID), we will use backcountry cooking stoves (Art of Fire, Expeditionary Behavior) to prepare these wild foods in a sweet way - fritters! Please send your Explorer with an empty mug for forest tea!
Hundred Acre Woods
OUTING 8 | Skills
To bring our year full circle, we’ll end where we began. The fresh nettles we harvested and processed at the beginning of the year are now dried, cured, and ready to be twisted into strong and durable rope. What this cordage can be used for is up to the Explorers’ imagination! We hope that this process of creating something from harvest to finished product will be a powerful experience of mindfulness, accomplishment, and tangible connection to nature. In tandem with our usual routine of free exploration and games, this will be a perfect way to round out our penultimate year in Explorers Club. Please pack closed-toe water shoes, swim attire, a towel, and sunscreen.