By Denny Bromley, with Elspeth, William, and Jonathan

Today, on the first day of July, the students of Salish Sea Sciences practiced their inner poet and tested their endurance on two hikes.

After the usual breakfast (no more birthdays) students practiced writing poetry outside. The poems could be about anything and had no required structure. Many students wrote about nature, but many students also wrote deep reflections on power and the ease of abusing it. Ian’s poem, “Grassy”, was highly intellectual and incredibly sophisticated prose about “that stupid thing that won’t go away”. Later, some of these poems were shared in a circle.

After poetry, students embarked on a hike to climb Mt. Grant, a local biopreserve. As far as mountains go, this was a bit close to a steep hill, but it still had a lovely view at the summit. Many islands and the ocean were visible over a beautiful canopy of evergreens covering the mountain’s slopes. The hike up took a journey through gorgeous old-growth forests, and Shauna (our guide at the time) showed us how to read the landscape and to see how environmental sustainment had impacted the forests. Later, students went on another hike around Lake Zylstra, a manmade lake in the center of the island. We counted birds and enjoyed the scenic views as we did a full loop of the lake.