A return to work.

JANUARY 2010

A very happy New Year to all the John Muir students and a very successful year it may be for you all.
The current batch of inclement weather that has caused so much trouble all over the country was responsible for the delay in starting the work in the forest. Last week saw the two groups, Tuesday and Thursday, having to spend the day examining the structure of snow and ice crystals from the front of a speeding sledge! It was a great example of what an extreme environment was and what the consequences to adapting to life in such a climate could be. A real living lesson!
The second week of term when the snow cleared enough for the Tuesday group to get to Grizedale; unfortunately the snow still lay thick in the woods preventing us from doing any hard physical work but the opportunity was seized for the candidates to use the Log Cabin to have a natural classroom session.



The theme was native species of fauna that inhabit the woodland of Grizedale Forest. the group also learned about the differences between a temperate climate, a tropical climate, and polar climate. It was a good productive session, the animals the group chose were the red squirrel, a red deer and a mouse.

One of our students, Denver, is ready for his sharing so the other three, Holly, Ethan, and Jordan were helping him with this by offering advice about what to say and how to pass on the enthusiasm that he shows for the work that he has been doing. This is also part of the mentoring role that Holly and Ethan have adopted as part of their Explorer work.

The Bendrigg Trust group were also delayed in their return to work but they were thrown into the deep end when they did get back this Wednesday, 13th January. They were given the task of gritting 300 metres of hill to ensure their minibuses would not get stuck or slide off the road.





After their hard work on the 'hill' they were given the opportunity to rest and drink lots of tea before they were given the task of clearing the car park of the frozen snow.

The Sharing

A group of Discovery candidates have recently undergone perhaps one of the most stressful parts of the award.

Dragging themselves out of a warm, cosy, comfy, bed to get showered: putting on their Grizedale clobber, and eating their breakfast while the other students at school are still only dreaming about getting up is tough.

Getting the van loaded with all the tools they think they may need for the mornings work in the rain and wind is tough.

Getting out of the warm bus with Alexander Burke singing 'Hallelujah' is tough.

Working for 21/2 hours with rain dripping down their back is tough.

Having the well earned cup of tea with water dripping from their noses turning their tea from luke warm to cool is tough.

To do this week after week in the unfriendly months of late Autumn and early Winter is tough.

But to stand in front of unfamiliar faces and be able to talk about their experiences in the woods and on their Duke of Edinburgh Expeditions is very tough!

They managed it well, entertaining the residents for 40 minutes with their tales of high adventure and derring-do on their various exploits. They were able to tell of the things they had learned and how they felt about their adventures.

Well done on completing the difficult part with confidence. The residents are looking forward to the nex opportunity to hear about your adventures.

"....the rain was beating down while we were sheltered by the tree. A strong breeze was blowing, and although cold it felt welcoming and inviting after the hard digging. The forest was huge and we feel small. It's like we were the only people in the world. The wilderness does that. It makes you feel unstoppable, sure, but it also puts you in your place, like there is more to discover just round the next corner. It's a fantastic feeling."

Ethan, Tuesday 24/11/09.
The Ridding Wood Trail
Grizedale Forest.

A mixed bag.

It has been a damp week in the great outdoors and the activities of the candidates for the JM awards had to be put on hold due to the rain and the flooding. Tuesday 17November 2009 was the exception. The Conserver candidate, and the two Explorer candidates successfully helped to remove and replace a damaged wooden boardwalk on the Bogle Crag Trail in Grizedale Forest with the help and advice of Mark.

The task was part of a forest maintenance, and conservation project, to provide a safe means of negotiating a boggy patch of land on the trail for people who are exploring the wild places of Grizedale Forest. It was a good task for them for a number of reasons,
1) They worked well as a team, each doing their own thing but contributing to the whole job,
2) The group had a look of knowing what they where doing,
3) They were able to work under a time constraint and not get bothered by having a 'foreman' badgering them.

Bendrigg Turst was cancelled: working in the forest where the ground is expected to be wet, muddy, and boggy, and any footprints that may be left behind will add to the ambiance of the woodland environment is one thing, but working on a neat lawn where there is more of a need to take a bit more pride in the look of the grass is not best suited to the stormy conditions that prevailed on Wednesday.

Waking up to the continuing storm on Thursday morning filled me full of excitement. Being out in the raw elements of nature is a fantastic experience. To feel the wind blowing you about, and to be wrapped up in waterproofs as the rain tries its best to find a way into your coat, is a great way to start the day. Unfortunately the weather denied us the opportunity to enjoy what it had to offer as it seemed to have become bored of playing a game and had suddenly turned serious.

However Friday proved to be a good day. The rain held off, the Conserver candidates were on good form and were all set to give a talk about their experiences Discovering, Exploring and working towards conserving the wilderness to a willing audience at the Abbeyfield residential home in Kirkby Lonsdale. They told of their experiences on the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expedition in the Yorkshire Dales. The residents were entertained with one of them asking it she could join them on their next adventure!

Nature stirs under her duvet.

When my lift came this morning to take me to work I didn't realise that I would be in for such a treat. I knew that the night had been stormy, prompting me to stop my Ipod that was playing 'Thunderstorms' and listen to the real thing, but I hadn't realised that nature had really had a restless night and had put many a ripple in her duvet.

The river at the bottom of the road was just awesomely scarily high and fast! It was replying to the rippled duvet by letting everybody know that it did not like to be disturbed. Irritated, angry, tetchy, and perhaps just a little bit excited at the power that had been awakened.

The roads themselves were complaining of being disturbed and let all know about it by allowing huge great puddles, some of them like small lakes, gather in the dips and hollows that normally stay hidden. They were waiting for us to see what we would do, if you listened closely enough to what was going on above the wind and rain outside, you could hear them laugh behind their hands, the ripples on their surface like their shoulders shaking with silent stolen laughter.

Natures duvet is big and when she stirs beneath it the ripples stretch a long long way.

Life working on Conservation projects can be physically, as well as mentally, draining. It takes a particular type of person to become a John Muir candidate to work through the different levels of award in all types of weather.

"I know this looks like it should be easy, but I didn't sleep well last night and the rain seems to be running down my back!"

Shane, Tuesday 10/11/09