Service along Whatcom Creek: 4-24-16

The Fiddleheads jumped into high gear this past Sunday for their second outing of the week! The girls showed impressive collaboration, enthusiasm, and Owl Eye vision while cleaning up the litter along Whatcom Creek Trail.

We gathered in front of the totem pole for Opening Circle and shared how each of us felt connected to something in the totem pole that day (the carved eagle, the colors, the shapes, the people who created it). Rebecca then led a round of "on the bus", a fun game that showed the diversity of interests within our group. We then discussed the plan for the day and talked about the importance of the three R's- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! Although recycling is better than throwing everything in a landfill, the reality is that much of our waste as humans ends up there anyways if it's not properly sorted. How can we minimize our trash and reduce/reuse? How can we teach others to practice this in their daily lives?  

Before setting off to pick up litter, we revisited the EC service philosophy explained at our first service project: Our Cups Overflow. To demonstrate this motto, girls called out different basic needs, such as water, food and shelter, while I poured a splash of water into a cup for each basic need. When all of our basic needs were accounted for, I asked the girls to share some things we have in our lives that we don’t necessarily need. The list grew quickly, overflowing the cup as girls shouted out everything from toys, candy, sports, and books to vacation, pets, and electronics. We witnessed just how much our cups overflow, leaving room for us to give back. We discussed how today we would be taking some of our own overflowing cups and pouring them into the cups of Whatcom Creek, the City of Bellingham, and all the animals, plants, and people who enjoy or live in the beautiful area.  

Our amazing EMA, Claire, helped review the Explorers Club mottos “You See It, You Own It” and “Leave No Trace” with the group. We enthusiastically agreed that we would practice these mottos as litter detectives & earth-keepers all day long. As we worked, we talked about how these things get left behind, and how this effects the water, the plants, the animals, and the other people that use this land. What would happen if no one picked this trash up? Where does it all end up after we gather it? Much of it in a landfill. Reduce and Reuse! 

We took a break for lunch after a morning of hard work and trash-hauling. The girls worked on their group collaboration skills during a game of "where's my egg?", transforming into weasels attempting to steal a blue egg from the robins nest without being caught in the action. After some fun play and running around, it was back to work for the litter detectives!

Girls ducked and climbed through the underbrush along the path to pick out things that didn’t belong. These girls worked with exuberance and passion to find and carry heavy and cumbersome trash out of the woods. They cooperated beautifully and consistently with each other to reach difficult-to-get-to items and to carry items together. The girls helped collect a truck-full of trash for the City of Bellingham to haul away!

We ended our day with a meaningful closing circle, offering acknowledgements and gratitude to each other, this place, the plants, animals, and our overflowing cups. 

Motto's especially alive today: Walk your Talk, You See it, You Own it! Leave No Trace, Our Cups Overflow, Collaborate and Compromise, Connect to Protect. 

Words of the Day: Litter scavenger hunt and overflowing cups!

For our full album of the day, click here.