Exploration to Cherry Point 9-25-16

The Dragonflies' first outing of the season was full to the brim with connection, learning, and exploration.  As girls arrived, we studied various objects placed on a bandanna: a shell, heron feather, bottle of seawater, litter, water bottle, jacket, picture of a cruise ship, stuffed toy otter, and tried to figure out how all of these things were connected.  The girls were quick to catch on- all of these things compete for the resources of the ocean ecosystem, whether that be for transportation, survival, as a garbage and sewage repository, for views, or for home.  With those connections and impacts in mind,  we hopped on the borrowed bus, 'Tom the Beluga' (thanks Explorations Academy!), and headed north for a day on the shores of Cherry Point, a spot that could provide us with some answers... and some more questions... and mostly an example of how the questions and answers exist more in the grey areas than in the black and white.  

Our goal for the day was to understand the story of Cherry Point in a deeper way through exploration and discussion.  This expansive bay is home to herring, red tailed hawks, sea stars, crabs, gulls, and salmon, and is also the proposed site of the Gateway Pacific Terminal.  Here are some highlights from our sunny day on this beach that feels the tug and pull of many users:

• Getting stuck on a forested road en route to Cherry Point by a looong train pulling many cars full of oil, coal, grain, and other resources.  Good thing there wasn't anyone behind us, and we could back Tom the Beluga all the way up to the main road! 

• Exploring and playing all along the beach.  The group Collaborated and Compromised to decide how they'd like to spend the day.  A few girls wandered down the beach with Stormie, and came back with stories of blackberry face painting, stone identifying, and what you can learn from nature when you listen.  The rest of the group set up base camp with Lauren, played many games, went swimming, and refreshed their carving skills.  Throughout this time of exploration and play, the girls found deep connection with what exists presently at Cherry Point. By connecting with a place through imaginative play, the Swallowtails created a lasting bond with this special place that has been slated for some dramatic change. 

  

  Playing a favorite DF teambuilding game: Ants on a Log

• Revisiting the Earth Skill of Carving.  We brought the chopsticks and other carving projects that the girls started way back in the Spring, as well as the Chuckanut sandstone the girls had gathered from Clayton Beach.  This is a skill that can always be practiced- all you need is a sharp locking knife, a piece of wood, and some time and space to focus on your handiwork.  Safety First!

• Discussing the impacts of coal and the realities of our coal usage.  As we ate lunch, we discussed coal: what is it (plants in a changed form), why do humans want it (energy!), what journey does it take from the ground to the Puget Sound and Salish Sea. What role does Cherry Point play in the coal drama? As we sat with the weight of all we had seen and learned about the past, present and future of Cherry Point, we came to the empowering realization that change, though it can be a mixture of many feelings (including mad and sad), is something that we each can play an active role in and help direct. In EC we work to Build Bridges Not Walls, and this means finding peaceful and meaningful ways to live out personal truth through our actions. This looks different for each person, and we brainstormed concrete ways for each of us to Be Part of the Solution in meeting both nature's needs and human needs and desires. We discussed ways to minimize our impact through present-free birthday parties, donations to charitable organizations, or reducing the amount of plastic "stuff" we buy and do not need (reduce, reuse, recycle, and refuse).  

  

  The beautiful Sea Witches of Cherry Point!

• Acting out the Web of Life present at Cherry Point!  We became the plant life (over 161 species at CP), the micro-organisms and macro-invertebrates, the herring and smelt, grebes, eagles, salmon, orca, and humans. This improvisational skit prompted us to muddle through and discuss the gray areas of the local environmental drama surrounding this beautiful stretch of beach, as we contemplated the connections between the clothes on our backs, the iPhones in our pockets, the coal in the train cars, the plans for changing the beach at Cherry Point to a shipping terminal, the herring in the bay, the eel grass they swim in, the nearby oil refinery and aluminum smelter, runoff from farms and homes upstream, the eagles and orcas' needs, and more. 

Chipmunk (as a herring) feeling
the effects human usage at Cherry Point

• Connecting with the other-than-human communities even deeper with a game of "Oh Herring!"  The Dragonflies met this critical thinking exercise with curiosity, passion, empathy, playfulness, and grace.

• Gazing out at the gulls feeding, watching a family go crabbing, imagining the herring swimming beneath the sea's surface, feeling the sun on our face, the wind on our cheeks, and taking in the vibrant, diverse beauty of Cherry Point during a long Peaceful Place.  

  

  Madrone sharing a poem
  she wrote during Peaceful Place

All in all it was a day full of exploration, discovery, connection, contemplation, and joyful sunshine-soaking with this wonderful group of girls (who are bonding more and more), and those sentiments were summed up by all in our closing Circle of Thanks. Laughter and songs rang out of the bus windows as we drove back to Bellingham – another day lived fully, beautifully and with purpose in the company of inspiration and connection-making. 

Check out our photos from the day here!

EC Mottos that came into play today: All Things Are Connected, Safety First, You See it You Own It, Leave No Trace, Widen the Circle, Build Bridges Not Walls, Collaborate and Compromise, LIBK, Connect and Protect.