It’s a good thing that the Daredevil’s Club and Vespula Veterans combined forces to do restoration work at Little Squalicum Creek. Together, Explorers logged over 30 hours of service by spreading mulch throughout the watershed and collecting a lot of trash, including 10 old tires! Under direction from the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) and City of Bellingham Parks and Recreation we practiced the Explorers Club motto, “Many Hands, Light Work.”
The day started with an urban exploration from Squalicum Park to Little Squalicum Creek. If not for this walk, we wouldn’t have passed the small pond and discovered the tires and trash that we eventually cleaned up.
Veterans meshed well with Daredevil’s Clubbers and it didn’t take long for boys to connect with one another while doing service. We made new friends as we took turns loading up sleds full of mulch and delivering them to other Explorers who made “mulch donuts” around the various native plants near the creek.
Explorers even worked side-by-side with theGirls Explorers’ Club and teamed up with Western students and other volunteers! As such we strengthened connections to the greater Bellingham community.
After mulching we hung out in the NSEA vehicle for our lunch break and even managed to fit in a game of Hide amidst all of the volunteers and busyness around us.
Then we went to work collecting trash. We carried out containers full of invasive species that other volunteers were cutting. Explorers also had the urge to get the tires we saw earlier and sprinted over to the small pond. They kept tire after tire rolling from the pond to the trash collection area. Ask your Explorer about the work he did and see what he remembers the most!
When the truck full of trash was full, we cleaned up our tools and then gathered our backpacks. With so much service under our belts we needed to unwind and played two rounds of Hungry, Hungry Marten. Explorers ran around in the park and got to enjoy the space that we had just spent two hours serving. It is important for us to care for the natural world; equally, we should celebrate our environment and play in it too!
We walked back to Squalicum Park and fit in another opportunity to Hide. Eventually Explorers took to the enormous mulch piles and rolled down them. The big mounds provided a good space for Daredevil’s Club Explorers and Vespula Veterans to bond with one another. We had to literally pull Nate (VV) and Solstice (DDC) away from each other at the end of the day!
Explorers, Thank you for your commitment to service during this last outing. The work we did together made a tremendous impact on our natural world. Good job for another successful and fun season!
Thank you, Parents, for your support and encouragement. Without your help we wouldn’t be able to build these connections and do so much good for our community.
We look forward to seeing you at the Winter Solstice Gathering on December 23rd and at Baker Lodge on February 22-24.
In addition, you will soon receive a letter about signing up for Spring Seasonand information about Summer Camp dates.
Please check out the photo gallery (connected to the Vespula Veterans page) for many great pictures from this final outing of the season. See you around town!
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