To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight.
And find that the dark too blooms and sings,
And is traveled by dark feet and dark wings."
Indeed, we discovered some of the magic and mystery of both the turning time of twilight and the dark after dusk, by exploring sans light but with the support of one another.
Rather than share the customary narrative of our time together, we thought we'd give you a sneak peek into some of the behind-the-scenes work we do to prep for our outing days. We always spend thoughtful time crafting a place-based curriculum for each outing. While we do print and bring these outing plans, we operate on the 50/50 principle: part of the outing honors the plan, and part of it always honors the teachable moments and girl-led explorations. Sometimes the ratio is 80/20, other times 10/90. Being fully present means being flexible and aware. So, without further ado, below was our plan for this outing. We followed much of it, and followed other in-the-moment learnings and inclinations for the rest. Perhaps it can be a starting point to conversations with your explorer!
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Materials to bring: headlamps - candle lantern - cups, cocoa, stove, pot - extra layers (fleece, rain jackets), objects for “Blindfold Caterpillar”, long rope
3:50-4:00 Girls arrive! Buddy up and do a be prepared check on one another.
Mentor 4:05-4:20 Arrival game: BAT & MOTH (bandanna)
4:20-5:00 Opening Circle
- Mentor - Reflections on last outing, Shelter Building? Tell LuLu about it
- Outing plan - We’ll be exploring along Whatcom Creek, setting out together to "know the dark" and discover its many gifts. We'll reflect on our dominant sense of sight and then prepare to activate other senses as we move together from dusk to dark, the sound of Whatcom's noisy waters always by our side.
- Mentor- Does anyone remember what “Whatcom” means? The Place of Noisy Waters. The creek comes from Lake Whatcom, which originally was called The Tear of the Mountain.
- We are diurnal animals - we’re mostly active during the day. What senses and skills do you think diurnal animals need to be particularly strong to be active in the daylight? Sense of sight, hearing, camoflauge so not seen and eaten, speed… What other diurnal animals can you think of?
- Mentor- What are some names for THIS time of day? Twilight, Dusk. Also called Crepusculur (Latin word for twilight). It’s the turning time, the no longer and the not yet. Where else in life does this come into play, “crepuscular” times of life, when we’re straddling two worlds, time periods, experiences?Being on the cusp of childhood and adolescence, someone who is dying but not yet passed, straddling seasons (like right now, fall to winter), being engaged but not yet married, being in between when making a decision. Crepuscular also refers to the time just after dawn.
- Mentor - What are some crepuscular animals? Brainstorm! Skunks, fireflies, deer, dogs, cats, rabbits, jaguar, rats, tigers, bear, moose, some bats, hamsters, bobcats. This is a safe time for them to be active, to either avoid their predators or to find their prey. Most big cats are crepuscular… why is that? They have vision that improves as it gets darker while their prey’s vision decreases.
The time of day an animal is active depends on a number of factors. Predators need to link their activities to times of day at which their prey is available, and victims try to avoid the times when their principal predators are at large. The temperature at midday may be too high or at night too low, so for many varied reasons, crepuscular activity may best meet their requirements by compromise. Some creatures may adjust their activities depending on local competition.
There’s a very smart reason for picking these dimly lit in-between hours to be active: crepuscular critters are avoiding predators. Many predators are most active at the peak hours of daylight and darkness, so animals like rabbits which are a prey species for countless carnivores, are active during twilight hours when predators are already tired from a night of hunting, or are just waking up. Plus, it’s tough to see during these hours, a fact that gives prey species an added edge in hiding from or escaping predators.
In hot areas, there’s another reason for crepuscular activity: it allows animals to be active when the temperature is most reasonable. Desert animals can escape the heat of midday and the chill of midnight by being active at dawn and dusk instead. And some species may shift from being nocturnal or diurnal to being crepuscular due to environmental factors such as competition with other species — for example, some owl species may be crepuscular to avoid competition with other raptor species — or disturbance from human activity.
- Mentor Nocturnal animals are primarily active during the night. Examples of nocturnal animals? Owls, cats, ferrets, rodents. Nocturnal animals are usually more vulnerable to predation, so keeping active only during the night makes them somewhat "invisible"(mice). Nocturnal predators usually have a sensitive sight and/or do not rely on visible light to see(infrared vision). They can also have very well developed senses of smell and hearing.These animals are usually appropriate for pet owners who stay up late, and are ready to provide for them then. Usually you could only stay up late if you wake up late, which is quite a common trend. So a small number of these animals may prove to be surprisingly appropriate pets for some! (more info about different nocturnal animals at bottom of plan).
Mentor - What skills and senses (adaptations - explain what this is) are strong in crepuscular and nocturnal animals? Excellent hearing (notice cat’s and deer’s big ears), eyes more sensitive to light, sense of smell (rat has the best smell of any animal, except the African elephant. Rats possess 1,207 olfactory receptors, whereas dogs, often employed as scent trackers, have only 811)
- While we can’t take on those senses in one night, adapting ourselves with the skills of jaguar, bat, owl, we can learn to be comfortable in the night, even though our dominant sense is dimmed. Vision is just one way of knowing - dimming it opens up to other ways of knowing.
Take a stand up break from discussion and play the ADAPTATION GAME using nocturna/crepuscular animals (if it’s too dark at this point, play this next time or go to an area with more light and play it)
REGROUP and finish council:
Mentor Stretch Your Edge. Because we’re losing/dimming our dominant sense by exploring at night, it might bring up some edges that you didn’t know that you had. We will work through them together and as a group…
Mentor Briefly explain Comfort Zone - Challenge/Growth Zone - Panic Zone using concentric circles with ropes, backpack, or on paper. Best to do it on the ground so kids can step into each zone when mentor gives examples. Eg. “Place your foot in the zone that is a match for you with this scenario”: 1. Backpacking overnight (most feet go in comfort zone), 2. Backpacking for 10 days (some stay in Comfort Zone, most move to Growth Zone, others to Panic), 3. Backpacking for 4 months. Mentor can go on with many examples, eg picking your nose, getting on an airplane, exploring at night in the pouring rain, dissecting a frog, building a house, etc… etc…
ASK: How can we support each other moving into Challenge Zone? How can we LIBK if our edge is stretched too far (or we want to stretch it more)?
What are the risks of hiking at night? How can we lessen those risks? Buddies. LIBK. S.T.O.P Risk Assessments. Helping maintain body safety and heart safety. Use owl eyes. Howl if separated from group! Mentors: keep group close together
Before we go: Engage in a short discussion about introverted/extroverted tendencies and the space that gets filled by Raven voices, and how the Deer Ears in the group need an open space in order to step into it. Remind to consciously leave that space open - respecting the pause; in some case, Ravens may wish to use their voices to invite Deer Ears into that pause to contribute. Also mention Wolf Communicators, those who straddle between Ravens and Deer.
EXPLORE 5:00-7:40
Participant-led exploration along the creek trails - let’s see what emerges!
-As dusk becomes dark, stop and read:
* To Know The Dark (W. Berry) Read with feeling
“To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.”
*What does this poem mean to you?
*Why are we not using lights tonight? What do you see in the dark when you travel with light? How does it affect your night vision (experiment with this)? When we let our eyes adjust to darkness, we can actually see better, more comprehensively!
- Dinner Find a sweet spot for this. Use candle instead of headlamps.
- Explain why pirates wear patches: http://mentalfloss.com/article/52493/why-did-pirates-wear-eye-patches
- Consider reading the Wolf’s Eyelash. Tie this into inner wisdom, & motto Let That Quiet Voice Inside Be Your Guide. http://goldenillustration.deviantart.com/journal/also-The-Wolf-s-Eyelash-by-C-P-Estes-227709608
POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES
Facilitate 3 activities where sight will be taken:
- Trust walk with mentors using a rope. Allow time for them to experience w/o sight the way of the creek
- Trust walk split group, “Blindfolded Caterpillar” (sit group in circle with bandanas & pass nature/non nature sensory items around circle, about 10 items)
- Buddy Trust walks
GAMES - Sleeping Miser / Firestalk / Silent Drum Stalk (if we find an appropriate spot)
Peaceful Place by creek (15-20 minutes + debrief by candlelight)
7:00-7:15ish Walk back to starting point
7:20-7:50 PM Closing Circle need about 25 minutes for Closing Circle this last day of season
How has it felt to be without your most dominant sense? What lessons has nature and the darkness taught you that you’ll take home with you tonight?
Revisit Comfort Zone - Challenge/Growth Zone - Panic Zone and ask them to show which zone they were in before the outing, imagining the outing and night exploring, and which zone they’re in now about night exploring.
Today, we’re going to appreciate all the aspects of Nature we connected to this spring through our EC Motto: All Things Are Connected (explain this motto a bit, and the web of life – everything is connected to everything else. So everything we do affects other things).
Remember outings this season (for each outing BRAINSTORM on everything we’ve connected to, directly or indirectly. Everyone pick one thing – different from others - that we connected to this season (again, you don’t have to have had a direct experience w/ it to have connected to it). Have girls go around in a circle and say what they are.
Leader holds ball of string and passes it to someone else and speaks of their connection. Following girls say what they are, and pass it to the next person, who says what she is and that she’s connected to the thing before, eg “I’m alder and I’m connected to salmon”. On it goes, till later girls are saying everything before, eg “I’m nettle and I’m connected to banana slug, rose hip, water, deer, fir tree, salmon, alder.” Last person (who also started) names all the things she’s connected to. String, criss-crossing, makes the Web Of Life.
Point out that when one thing is affected in this web, all other things are affected, and that humans have a particularly strong affect on the web (due to their adaptations of complex brain and opposable thumbs!). GEC is a big project about strengthening the web (everyone can pull on their part, making the web stronger), but some human actions and choices can really weaken the web (make all parts of the web weak and limp). Suggest that each girl keep one hand on the web while putting the other on the shoulder of the girl next to them. We're also about strengthening the web of connection between each other, practicing collaborative decision making, respectful communication, and building a circle of trust. Again, what GEC motto does all of this reflect? All Things Are Connected
* Words of the Day? Knowing the Dark, Welcoming the Water
- Aimee
