Vespula Veterans were full of energy when they met for their second outing of the season at Fairhaven Park. Following a dark evening outing, this sunny day was the bright contrast and a ripe time for learning about this season’s Earth Skill: Water.
To start the day, however, we played a communication game. In this effort we learned that there are different ways to communicate including: how we speak, hand gestures, eye contact, and body language. Through this fun introduction Explorers considered how they spoke with others and how others spoke with them; we recognize that communication can affect our feelings and thoughts, so we must be deliberate in our interactions.
Mentors saw that Vespula Veterans were still full of spark so we played a sequence of games including Ankle Tag, and Four-legged Tag. Though boys were getting worn out with the activity, they still mustered enough energy to get back into the 100 Aker Woods.
We had a meeting to introduce us to the Earth Skill Journey of WATER. Matt told us a story about Swimmology. Ask your Explorer if he remembers the moral of the story!
In the first activity, boys learned about the single most important aspect of water: Protecting Potable water. They had to transport a full cup through a Hawthorne maze and fill up a container. Second, they had to find potable water and bring it back to the meeting place. Explorers gathered various shades of water as we looked at all of them. Some boys learned how to guard their water as mentors "accidentally" knocked over unattended cups. Gotta keep it safe, boys!
Steve shared a strong personal story about water contamination while traveling in India. Please ask your Explorer if he remembers Steve’s story about drinking apple juice in a small mountain town and how water functions in our body.
As we passed the large Western Redcedar, Vespula Veterans paused, shared slight trepidation, and then shared the story of how they got their group name! Vespula is the genus name of social wasps, about which this Club knows a lot. Here’s a question for you that your Explorer might be able to answer: Are wasps more aggressive in the spring or fall? Why?
Suddenly Dave pointed at Landon and yelled “Deer” at which point he took off into the forest. Other boys ran after him, because, as default, they were all cougars! Mentors were slightly concerned that Explorers might be lost forever, but they all filtered back slowly as we crow called for their return.
We gathered at a trail junction and everyone was inspired to play Spider’s Web. They boys set up the game and the madness started! Actually, the game was pretty still as the Spiders kept the flies very attached to the Web. Frustrated flies eventually made their complaints heard and we ended the day with a meeting to discuss some rules and guidelines for Spider’s Web.
Though it might seem as a rough ending to the outing with boys irritated and trying to figure out what is fair for Spiders and Flies, mentors see this as a great opportunity for the Vespula Veterans. For such a tightly-knit group flare-ups and disparities in opinion are inevitable. It is our communication with one another that makes all the difference.
We have space to practice the mottos likeCollaborate and Compromise, Let It Be Known, It’s All a Part of It, and The Only Way Out is Through. What makes us mature and develop into responsible people is our ability to speak our truth, to listen compassionately to others, and to practice finding a trail that we all want to hike together. Vespula Veterans are laying the groundwork to become engaged and active citizens.
This was confirmed during our closing circle as we all spoke about the game. We incorporated an Attitude of Gratitude and united together as we gave thanks in our closing Circle of Thanks, despite our earlier differences. Thank you Explorers for being brave and venturing into the realm of communication. Your efforts now will make you stronger men in the future.
Parents, thank you for supporting your Explorers as they mature. Please look at the photo gallery to see more pictures from this outing. We’ll see you on Sunday, April 28th to celebrate Gus’s birthday and for our service outing at Happy Valley Park.
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