BEC: Four Shields and Mentor Training- The Art of PLAY!

Mentors, volunteers, and mentoring apprentices gathered for our first outing of the season this Sunday. The sky dumped cold rain, and the forest floor held onto patches of slushy snow. The Indian plum leaflets seemed at a standstill as the winter world seemed reluctant to loosen its hold. All that being the case, the bravest and most playful of us showed up, ready for action.

With Marcus far, far away, and one more member down, the group was small but full of spirit. Once we had all gathered, we made our way into the woods and began the journey of play. Hopefully, all of you actually watched that Ted talk. Play is not a luxury. Play is absolutely essential for health; it is one of the highest learning states; it is one of the greatest indicators of species intelligence that we can identify. The dearth of play in the adult world is increasingly being recognized as a root of disease and malady in our culture. So strange that we have to convince ourselves that it's okay to play. So wonderful that we are finding that we actually have to play in order to be whole.

It's almost not worth writing how we started our outing. If you can’t guess by now what the first game was, then it might be time to work on pattern recognition and observation as well as playfulness. Yes, we did indeed start with a game of Hide!. Instantly, everyone got wet as we dove into patches of the slush and lay their hoping not to be seen.

As we reconvened, it became apparent that we needed to make some decisions efficiently. We discussed the best ways to go about this, pointed out some principles of emergent leadership, came up with a clear goal, and reached decision. The first mission was to scout out a good area to play a game that we had never played before: three-team Capture the Flag. We set our minds to game design as we considered the landscape, and soon recognized a good natural landmark that would serve as the center of our landscape circle. We hiked in and found an amazing, large burned out cedar tree in the middle of some fascinating territory.

Setting our backpacks down, we decided on a process that would expeditiously set up the game and make the essential decisions needed in order to play. This all happened collaboratively and emergently, and we were sure to take time to recognize how the group process was working. While this outing was very much about play, it was also apparent that group process, leadership, landscape relationship, and mental simulation were all essential aspects in the creation of a successful endeavor. We marked out the area, chose the teams and the roles, and prepared to play.

As a few people paused to snack, the first snowball was thrown. Spontaneity is one of the most valuable attributes of playfulness. It gets us out of our ruts, gets us to allow for redirection of our efforts, and teaches us how to do so gracefully. With a burst of smiles, grins, groans, and exploding slush, we broke out into a full on snowball fight. This lasted for quite a while. A unique treat in the Bellingham area.

After some time we reconvened, and here, too, we took a moment to debrief that spontaneous outbreak of play. Very interesting how we communicate in such situations. So much nonverbal communication and navigation of changing relationships happens in these little games.

But that was enough talk, and it was time to try out this new challenge. We got all set up, and the teams were in place. Kyle played an essential role in being the official snowballer. He was the wild card, and this turned out to be one of the best innovations we had come up with.

A lot could be said about this game, but if you really want to know what it was like, please go out there and play! You will not be disappointed. Contact us if you're curious about the roles we created.

When we had finished playing, we had time to eat some food and just hang out and talk. We were graced with the presence of a barred owl and a raven, and took a little bit of time to search for these residents. Upon returning, mentors inspired the group to try to build a fire. Greg showed us all how to identify fatwood, a potentially life-saving source of fire in these wet woods. Once we had gathered enough, with some flint and steel and some hemlock twigs, we had the recipe for fire in the wettest conditions. With a little craftsmanship, skill, and perseverance we were graced with the heat of a fire lit solely by the sparks from flint and steel.

This was a perfect ending. We shared a circle of thanks, gave thanks the land and each other, and then went about quenching our small fire and doing our best to leave no trace.

Much thanks to everyone involved in this amazing outing. Much thanks to all the volunteers, all the Firestalkers, and to all the mentors. Much thanks to all the parents for your enduring support. Much of thanks to the barred owl and the raven, the old doug fir stumps, the snow, and the slender twigs of the western hemlock.

Don't forget to check out pics from the outing. Firestalkers, if you're interested in Wednesday outings this season, please send us an e-mail. Also, don't forget to check out the Pasayten Wilderness backpack coming up this summer.