Outing on the Nooksack River: 6-10-16

Joy. Joy and connection. Joy and connection, riverside fires, long check ins, icy cold dunks, and bus-singing. Joy in rain and water, connection with nature and one another. A perfect Explorers' day.

What more can we say? The Banana Slugs have evolved to represent the best of EC: deep, heartfelt, trusting connection with one another; unrestrained joy in nature; curious and compassionate; stellar stewards; making memories together to last a lifetime.

Sunday was a combination of all of the above, as all embraced the exploring spirit to explore connections to oneself (digging deep into their personal stories/confusions/joys at check in); to one another (listening so well to one another, and giving such supportive feedback, and finding joy together in skipping, splashing, jumping, discovering); to nature. 

We opened our day with a discussion of the Nooksack - where it comes from, its importance to this place, the different forks and braids, and how dynamic it is. We used the river as a metaphor for our lives and for our group's dynamics. This led to a really powerful conversation around our group's dynamics, and how we can open up space for the introverts in our group to speak up. We talked about how to invite new ideas, listen, and really challenge ourselves to be both introverted and extroverted at different moments throughout the day. 

From there, we loaded onto the bus and headed to Mosquito Lake Rd. We arrived at the river, and immediately girls started looking for ways to cross the side channels of the Nooksack, and within a few minutes a number of gals had rolled up their pants and put on water shoes to simply plow through the river rather than attempting to stay dry. We worked together to make decisions on where to explore and practiced listening and coming to group consensus. 

We worked our way up river to a sandy bank and decided to have a fire. We gathered dry, down sticks, and practiced building a fire in wet weather. After our fire was going, we had a longer check in where girls shared what part of the river they were at this point in their lives. Some girls were in eddies, others working through some rapids, and others floating calmly down the stream. 

After a reflective Peaceful Place, it was time to head back for our closing circle. We ended our day by reflecting on the season past, brainstorming the multiple aspects of nature that we connected to. Each girl became a part of nature: rocks, slugs, mud, sunshine, cedar tree, etc, all connected to one another in the Web of Life. We discovered that as humans, we are also an important part of this web, and though sometimes we affect the web in a negative way, there are those of us that are there to serve with integrity to help pick up the pieces and to rebuild the web back to life. We talked about how the Banana Slugs made a difference this season - sharing stories from the HELP project, Bellingham Community Meals, and Animals as Natural Therapy.