Our final days of Wild Ways were blessed with beautiful weather and a cool night. We spent our morning together in the field playing games and reminiscing on everything we had learned and accomplished over the spring semester. Up at camp we had some time to settle in, set up tents or bedrolls and spend quality time together chatting and playing. After a short sit spot we all circled together for some honoring. Each person in turn received a gift to acknowledge their year with us as well as kind words from their peers/teachers honoring the qualities and growth that we have seen in each other.
We then proceeded to the beaver swamp for a final challenge. Students found themselves a spot along the edge of the swamp, blindfolded themselves, and had to follow the beat of a drum deep in the swamp to find the instructors. To make the challenge a little more interesting they carried two eggs which they were instructed to protect as they made their way through the swamp. When all had arrived, circled in water up to their knees or waists the blindfolds came off.
After rejoicing and story sharing, the most common feedback was that if anything, it should have been more challenging. That drive for challenge, exploration, and pushing their own comfort zone is something we greatly respect about this group of teens. We split from our challenge for a camouflage game. After covering themselves in mud, the goal was to cross from one end of the swamp to the other without being caught by the staff. Students had many tactics of doing so. Those that had successfully protected their eggs were allowed to use them as a projectile to “stun” the staff before being caught. When we all emerged there were big smiles, chilly teens, and many cries of “Can we go to the pond now?”
After time to wash off and rest for a bit we moved into dinner prep. The pizza oven was fired up, our cookfire built up to develop a great big bed of coals, and veggies and beaver meat were prepped to be cooked up. We all filled our own tinfoil “hobo dinner” to cook over the coals to our own taste. DInner was lively and camp was joyful as we waited for food to to cook. Dinners were spilled and dinners were shared. We played cards using a handmade deck of birch bark playing cards brought in to meet a challenge set over a year ago!
To finish off our night we played two games of nighttime Capture the Flag. The forest grew completely silent as the light faded and everyone melted into the landscape. The silence was broken now and again by shouts and crashing feet as someone made a dash for a flag or had their cover blown. We returned to the fire exhausted and happy to share laughter and stories from the game. Everyone quickly made for bed in their tents, hammocks, or on the ground around the fire circle.
Morning was calm, the early birds went out with chickadee for a bird sit. The other quietly gathered around the fire one by one huddles in blankets and talking in hushed tones. As breakfast began, the volume rose until we were again boisterously laughing and talking around the fire. The rest of our morning was leisurely. We had a circle in which we shared a few words to describe our own relationship with the natural world. The answers were heartfelt and lighthearted; it was beautiful to hear what they had to say. Answers included teacher, companion, calming, nurturing, muddy, and sticks (several times). Then we packed up and spent the last of our time together around the stream before parents arrived and it was time to say goodbye.
We are excited to see many of you over the summer, next fall, and if neither of those again in the future. Thank you for making this a fun and memorable year.
—Raven (Black Walnut), Lauren (Painted Trillium), Mary (Chickadee), Quinn (Hawkmoth), and Matthew (Red Oak), March 23, 2022