As mentors debriefed an excellent outing under drizzly, dripping Douglas firs at Fairhaven Park, we reflected about the true meaning of a Scout. It’s one of our most coveted “jobs” during BEC outings. In part, I think, because boys don’t have to carry any physical items. Also because they have the authority to be first, or the last—order matters so much to young people!
Daredevil’s Club Explorers may now start to realize, however, that the Scout has a much heavier burden than books or first aid kits. They are responsible for carrying the safety of the entire group. Often mentors play this role but our hope is to transfer this understanding and responsibility to the boys. They are pre-disposed to serving one another as evidenced in our service outings; being Scout for the group is the truest essence of service and safeguarding the well-being of the group.
Boys also learned this important phrase, “Everyone is safe and nobody was hurt…” So I’ll continue this blog post the same way. Everyone is safe and there is no cause for concern.
Five days before the outing, we received a link to this article that describes a recent danger found in Bellingham public parks. Though we often pick up trash during our outings, we were told to be aware of taped-up plastic bottles because they might contain hazardous materials.
So when we came across one, we were not keen to pick it up like we normally might have. Instead, we stopped our activities and shared about the danger with everyone so that no one would touch it AND that we would recognize this hazard in the future.
The next step was to alert the authorities. So we called 9-1-1 and boys were eager to hear how to speak with the emergency dispatch. What troubles me is that there was an aura that calling the authorities is a faux pas and should only be a last ditch resort. Whereas we shouldn’t bother the 9-1-1 dispatch with everything, it is crucial that we feel comfortable calling for help. I truly hope that boys got that point. We can call for help, declare our needs, and be served and protected by our community, in this case the Bellingham Police Department. Our group is no different: the Scout’s job is to recognize threats, alert the community, and move everyone to safer space.
At that point we moved to another place, well away from the potential threat, to finish our camping skills practice. Fortunately we were still able to watch as the various police units showed up to assess the risk and dispose of the item. How neat to see that HUGE Hazmat vehicle show up and the protective gear donned by the hazmat officer!
More impressively was the incredible progress we made with our camping skills too. EVERY boy knows how to set up an MSR white gas stove. EVERY boy (even our Branch Hoppers substitute) used a lighter and successfully ignited the stove. EVERY boy gained confidence in their “fire” ability. This builds on last season’s fire-by-friction skill as well as the recognition that boys can use a lighter. One year ago, boys learned how cold it is in the dark and rain when we can’t start a fire so it’s good that they all were able to use the lighter in the cold, damp, spring conditions.
EVERY boy had a chance to practice setting up a tarp shelter. Not everyone took advantage of it, but there will be more opportunity in our next outing as we hope to set up three different types at our service site. We saw the ease in tying and synching-down the taut-line hitch knot and saw how it is the best knot for tarp-tying. Please look at the link with your Explorer(s) and encourage them to practice tying this knot. For extra practice, you can send them outside with cordage and a tarp as it gets dark to see if they can set it up a structure. If it’s raining they’ll get extra credit :)
EVERY boy saw how easy it is to setup and use our new gravity water filter. It is so calming to know that we can go backpacking with these guys this summer (or in future years) and that we will most likely not come out with Giardia!
Mentors agreed that this outing was very successful. We took full advantage of each teachable moment and boys stayed committed to the hard skills required for over-night camping. In the end, we are happy with this introduction to “triangular leadership.” We mostly encourage “circular leadership” as boys are younger in order to encourage collaboration and compromise.
However, with the arriving adolescent behaviors in the DDC Explorers, it is vital that they begin to understand how to be more directive to others, how to take directives from others, and when this style is effective. This is what we mean by triangular leadership. In the safety situation with the bottle, in lighting a stove properly, and in setting up the water filter and tying-up tarps properly, the triangular leadership model made sense. To be a good Scout, a critical skill is being able to discern when to encourage collaborative leadership and when to command a directive, triangular approach.
To the Daredevil’s Club families: thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to be mentors for your sons. It is an honor and a privilege that we greatly respect. We are constantly scouting for their safety and will continue to do so. Our hope is that they will grow up and scout for the younger people in their communities. We’ll keep passing down the skills the best we can.
Please see more pictures from this outing in the photo gallery. We’ll see you on Saturday, April 25th at Connelly Creek at 11am for a day of service and big-brother-like mentorship.
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