Bear Creek Explorers Begins Again

It was hard to believe last Wednesday morning that the day had finally arrived. After a year of discussing, planning, website building, marketing, buying a new van, emails, phone calls, liability forms, insurance payments, billing, and bookkeeping- at last, I had a group of kids who wanted to join me for weekly full-day adventures in the woods! I’ll admit that when running this business is mostly interacting with social media and creating class registration forms that no one signs up for, I can start to wonder if it is all just a waste of time. But last week was a beautiful reminder of why all that backend stuff is worth the slog. Learning with kids in nature is so fulfilling.

Still, here I was on day one, about to pick up five kids I barely knew and drive them out to the Bear Creek Wilderness. I was a tiny bit nervous, despite the good vibes I got about this group from our meet and greet the week before. Pick-ups went smoothly, and then right from the start nature came in to help break the ice. About halfway to Bear Creek, someone noticed that there was a praying mantis just hanging out right there in the car!

The day before I’d been out to Bear Creek to meet a friend and wildlife biologist to check on a rare native plant community that grows in the wet meadow, collect some seed, and take a soil sample. I also had to set up for our first-ever adult weekend retreat that happened last weekend. No doubt this little guy climbed in the car while we were unloading tables and supplies. Lucky for them we could offer a ride back home the very next day.

After the mantis hissed at both kids brave enough to pick them up, we located a stick and relocated them to the meadow.

I warned the kids that the first day would have a disproportionate amount of listening to me talk, as I had to go over all the basics and safety plans. They understood and hung with me as I taught them the signature Bear Creek howl and we ran through various emergency scenarios and how we’d work as a team to get everyone to safety. Someone asked a question about the backswimmers in the pond, and I couldn’t resist showing off their magic trick as we sat in a circle discussing.

When trapped in a small body of water or on dry land, these incredible creatures can dry off their wings and fly back to the pond! Sure enough, as we talked the one we’d captured took flight and plopped themselves right back into the water.

I forgot to get a picture, but we learned the essential skill of checking the rain gauge, which we will do each week. We discussed long-term ecological research and that we’ve been collecting precipitation data for four years. Our data is shared with a community of citizen scientists on a website called CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow Network) and our station number is OR-LA-231: Goldson 1.2 WNW. The discussion included measurement accuracy, fluid volume measurements, and how to read the meniscus. There was 0.20″ of water in the gauge, and they recorded that data in their first entry in the BCW field notebook.

Next on the field science agenda for the day: the Meadow Knapweed Experiment. If you’ve been following along, you know the previous BCE group worked very hard last year to test different treatment methods for controlling this invasive plant. I wanted to introduce this new group to the experiment and challenge them with a map-reading task.

I could talk for hours about this project, but I did my best to keep it short since we’d already had so much talking. Understanding what a 1-meter plot square was essential, however, to the task at hand.

The challenge came about because the previous week I couldn’t find plot #5. We’re switching out the colored flags for flat plot makers, so our experiment can survive the annual mowing of the meadow. After explaining the basics and handing them a few copies of the map showing the locations of all the plots, I sent them off to see if they could find it.

It wasn’t easy, and took a few attempts and working towards a deeper understanding of how to read the map.

But at last, just as our bellies were starting to rumble, we found it! We replaced the flags and put away the supplies to head into the woods for lunch.

Another discovery was made, in keeping with the theme of praying mantis- a mantis egg sack on one of the flags!

We circled up under the trees and while they ate I read them one of my most favorite nature stories. This book was given to me by a good friend when I started Wild Alive Outside, and it cuts to the heart of what I feel about nature connection written more beautifully than I ever could.

After lunch was sit spot time. I suggested the meadow since soon the vegetation will be cut and it will feel like a different world. I enjoyed my ten minutes of quiet tucked deep in the tall grasses.

Next, we were off to the village for a discussion of knife safety and the basic skill challenge of making a stake. Everyone did well and I told them they’re all welcome to bring their own knives starting next week.

Finally, at last, just a little bit of free time. They only had about twenty minutes, but the group immediately chose to start working on one of the partially built forts nearby. This is a structure the BCE OG started years ago and was later worked on during No School Day Adventures and summer camp.

I can’t wait to see where this group takes it!

It’s hard to imagine a better group of kids or a better start to this new season of BCE. This week we’ve got big plans for a grand adventure… not something I’d attempt with any group of kids! But I’ve got a feeling they are up for the challenge.

It’s a little hard for me to believe that the magic of BCE held beyond our first amazing crew- but I think we have the land to thank for holding this space for us all to learn and grow. I’ve got a really good feeling about this group and the adventures we will have together this year!