Outing to Cherry Point: 9-24-16

Our gathering circle brought a careful consideration of seemingly disparate items on the ground before us: shells, sea water, a magazine photo of a cruise ship on the ocean, a cell phone, a photo of a beautiful seaside home, water bottles and plastic gadgets, stuffed otter, heron feather, lump of coal, chiton. What do these things have in common? As the girls pondered this, we added more items from their packs: sunglasses, water bottle, one girl's backpack. After some consideration and some great connections made, we shared the idea that these things share their use of the sea as a resource: for transportation, survival, as a garbage and sewage repository, for views, for a home. We wondered if all these uses are compatible. Most concluded they are not, that something(s) has to compromise in these relationships, to give, or go, when another demand takes precedence.

We returned to this theme of compatibility and compromise throughout the day, as we boarded the bus and headed north to 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.

As the specialness of our presence on this controversial beach began to sink in (ask your gal what "controversial" means), the ST's stewardship spirit took over. Immediately after stepping off the bus, with no prompting, several began picking up trash that lay scattered all over the beach. It was pretty awesome to see this automatic response to seeing litter – rather than glancing away and running to play, these girls truly understand our ethics of Leave No Trace and You See It, You Own It. As we walked down-beach, we pondered why this trash was left, and discussed a myriad of topics, while others ran ahead to investigate beach forts. 

Many girls were quickly immersed in renovating an existing fort, and some discovered a hollow log that could be crawled through. 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.

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). 

Using this spark, we acted out the Web of Life that exists on this beach and in this sea, becoming 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. The Swallowtails met this critical thinking exercise with curiosity, passion, empathy, pause, and grace. The drama was enacted again in play through our game "Oh Herring!"

To top off our day, we all found our Peaceful Places and gazed out at the gulls feeding, imagined the herring swimming beneath the sea's surface, felt the sun on our face, the wind on our cheeks, and took in this vibrant, diverse beauty. 

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. 

Our words of the day? "Cherry Point, Loraxes, Fun in the Sun!"

You may view the slideshow from our day here. 

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