Fiddleheads Service at Connelly Creek (BEC site) 10/3/15

This tall gentleman is Steve Keller. He serves Wild Whatcom as the Program Coordinator and mentor for the Boys Explorers Club. Our day in service today was spent on land that has received over 3000 hours of service in the boy's hands before us. It's a special site that the BEC adopted nearly 3 years ago, supported by the City of Bellingham's Greenways Coordinator, Rae Edwards. Here's the link to see how they've transformed this area over time, deepening relationships to the land and reclaiming habitat for other species. There are now salmon coming back to this creek! Progress as a result of some very hard work, yay.

This outing was an excellent reflection of the Explorers Club mottos: Collaborate & Compromise, Stretch Your Edge and Widen Your Circle, as both Girls and Boys were going to be present and work together as a habitat team today. A few girls LIBK'd their unfamiliarity with boys, and were reassured that boys are people too (like dads). : )

Steve welcomed us to this site along Connelly Creek and gave us an in depth tour of the land. He showed us the progress the boys have made and shared the many learning opportunities that happened along the way. We learned from Steve which plants grow best in sunshine, which in shade. A big lesson was to dig up those blackberry roots, folks. It's the only way to get them out of there for real. After discussing whether invasive plants are "good" or "bad", we decided that they're in the wrong place and they take over. "Bully" plants? After an effective tool demo, we were all set to move mountains of mulch and reclaim this area for salmon.

Memorable moments of the day:

• A team of Tree Tenders mulched baby trees that the BEC planted a season or so ago. Lots of Reed Canary grass pulling and huge buckets of mulch redistributed in this role. We constructed stick cages around these babies to support and protect their growth. Grow trees, grow! 

• Hordes of girls attacked Blackberry Town with vigor. A few Fiddleheads really took this job seriously, working with persistence and commitment to making the area a better place for salmon. Blackberry removal is difficult and strenuous work, and some of these girls took it as a personal challenge to Stretch their Edge and weather the pokes and scratches. Their preparedness (rainpants on) was an asset to them today!

• The "Rootball Hall of Fame". Seriously, there were some MONSTER root balls placed in a tree for admiration. We were constantly amazed at the size and gnarly shapes of the roots of Himalayan Blackberry. No wonder they are so successful.

• Snacks happen. Physical work requires that you have gas in your engine. The Girls LIBK'd their snack and hydration needs and took breaks.

• Working with these boys was inspiring! We widened our circle when the boys joined us after a couple hours, reinvigorating our team with their physical energy. The job brought these groups together and they worked alongside and together to serve this land. Nice collaboration, folks!

• How many rounds of Decomposition Tag can a group of tired girls play? Ask your daughter, this mentor thinks we did at least two invigorating rounds. Hint: These girls love to play. 

• Great words of gratitude. Thanks to our sturdy and kind EMA, Lily for her coyote leadership and positive attitude all day today.

Words of the day: Root ball blackberry mulching at Connelly Creek!”

Link to our photo album of the day.