Preface: Confused on why there's no pictures? We had a night outing, and we just couldn't let the flash ruin our night vision! Hope these words paint a picture instead :)
To go into the dark, to get to know the dark... Quite a feat for any person. Our Silverwing Bats proved yet again that they have a strong connection to the natural world, a deep excitement about Stretching their Edge, and felt at home without light as we played, walked, and and explored through Whatcom Falls Park at night.
Mentors' intention for the day was to help the girls build trust: with their mentors, with a partner, with their group as a whole, and with themselves. Our means for building this trust was the loss of our dominant sense, eyesight. Our bandannas were on and off again and again, as we consistently lost our sight and were forced to trust those around us.
To begin this theme in our day, we played a game of Bat and Moth. The hungry bats used echolocation (clapping) to find the fluttering moths. Let's just say, humans have a hard time being bats, but the moths were munched. We also talked about other creatures that utilize other senses as their dominant sense. See if your daughter can remember any of these crepuscular or nocturnal animals we discussed. After a quick check-in and opening circle where we discussed trust, our senses, and the impending darkness, away we went!
Grabbing a rope for assistance, Jess and I walked the blindfolded Bats through the parking lot and down to the bridge overlooking the large, rushing falls. The girls leaned against the railings, feeling Whatcom Creek's mist on their faces, and the overwhelming noise of the falls. Removing their blindfolds, the girls were astonished. We took some time to enjoy the peaceful nature of the "noisy waters" aka Whatcoom (a native term for the creek), and met again for our next challenge.
From there, we became a chain of blindfolded creatures, having to communicate verbally to keep our whole team safe. We wound around, ducked, crawled, and stepped over large obstacles as a sightless team, and found ourselves sitting in a circle. From there, Jess passed around a variety of materials, some yummy, some super smelly, some soft, smooth, rough, or bumpy. One by one, the girls passed the objects around, using all senses but their sight to determine what they were holding. Many girls dipped fingers into sticky honey and tasted happily :)
In all this talk and practice in trust, we refreshed ourselves on what our "safety net" is. Check in with your Bat to see if she can explain to you what a safety net is, and who/what helps make up hers. We acknowledged our gratitude for having a safety net present in our lives, joining together to watch the setting sun turn the sky a fiery pink. "We are so lucky", we exhaled together.
Our final exercise in the trust sequence was to walk on the rope line, but alone this time. We strung the rope between trees, and asked the girls to safely follow the rope from one end to the other, working around trees, taking bends around corners, and trekking down little hills (although, with a blindfold, even a small slope seems huge!). The girls removed their blindfolds at the end to realize that darkness had really begun to set in.
We embraced the dark, with no headlamps. Allowing our eyes to adjust to the darkness, we walked freely through the forest, and found a perfect snacking spot. In small groups, the girls ventured down with Jess to a lovely sit spot overlooking a bend in the wild creek. Each girl came back feeling simultaneously excited and refreshed. We ate dinner, chatted, and had connection time-- something the Bats seemed to be needing.
As it became truly dark, we decided to play a game. None of us had ever played this game before, and we spent an hour working out the kinks, while collaborating and compromising. The gist: A seeker stands in the middle of a circle, with a "fire" (headlamps in our case) illuminating their circle. Their job is to find the creatures hidden in the forest, who are attempting to sneak into the circle and win the game. If the seeker saw or heard a sneaking creature, she yelled "Stop the game" and her Fire Keeper would walk, with her direction, to the spot she thought the hiding girl was, and directed the Fire Keeper to shine their light. If girls were caught, they came to the circle and waited for the flash of a "firefly" (a headlamp") to allow them to go hide and try again. The girls (and mentors) loved this game! It was so great to get the Bats deeply excited in the art of play, which as I'm sure you all know, can seem to get lost in both adults and children. What a joyful time.
We took a quick solo hike back to the bridge where we began, where we held a Closing Circle. Reflecting on the season past, we created the Web of Life from things in nature we'd connected to this season. We agreed that humans are connected to every aspect of this web, and have tremendous power to impact it in both positive and negative ways. This underlines our GEC motto All Things Are Connected, and helps us understand that whenever one thing in the web is altered, it affects all the other aspects. We reiterated that GEC is all about strengthening the web of life, as well as the bonds between each other, and invited all Bats who wish to continue to be part of that to return in the spring.
Another great season with the Silverwing Bats! Excited for another great one come Spring!
-Hannah
