Putting Life in Perspective

Day 4 at Mission:Wolf

Introduce who Jeff is? PICTURES

     Six AM wake-up, quick breakfast of oatmeal, and in the van, rolling out by seven. Once arriving we split into the same groups as yesterday and switched roles. My group now was in charge of morning feed while the other group went to continue putting up the posts we started the previous night. 

     Morning feed is far different than the big feed. Each wolf is fed a specific ratio of vitamins and meds mixed in with kibble and some cooked meat. In classic Linfield style, we created an assembly line that had grown very efficient by this time in our trip. I was in charge of scooping kibble while others were crushing pills and cutting and measuring the meat. Once that was all done and placed in the individual bowls we headed out to the enclosures and each took a turn feeding the wolves in groups of two. Alexis and I got to feed Orion and Soliel. All we had to do was dump the rations into buckets and toss them into the enclosure at the same time to minimize fighting. It wasn’t nearly as graphic as the big feed. 

     We then joined the rest of the Linfield crew and finished putting up all the posts. Once that was finished our day eased up. Since we didn’t get to a lot of topics our first day during the Q and A, Jeff (an outdoor educator volunteering) took time to sit aside with just our group to talk specifically about sustainability. This talk lasts well until lunch and even then everyone’s minds are still spinning and the talk turns into a lunch conversation as well. Kent arrived and added even more valuable insight to the topic and we ended by Jeff reading a poem by Windlebury. 

Friendly log rolling competition while we waited for the tools

     We went so in depth and had so many theories and opinions flying around the room that it’s hard to type up everything that was discussed. So here’s some brief points we ended up discussing:

• Mission:Wolf never intended to be sustainable. When Kent decided to go through with his plans, he decided to do it right. 
• Everyone in the valley has to use solar panels if they want power. 
• They planned to utilize wind power but the noise upset the wolves and guests
• Sustainability = being responsible for actions and understanding the consequences
• just switching out lightbulbs and other small things help but aren't truly sustainable
• people want fast and easy solution
• Land management - government has control and has throughout history
• First few steps to sustainability:
• Commitment as a culture to change
• Become an example for others/other nations
• sometimes we need radicals to allow people to feel normal by participating in the movements.

     Once Kent finished up his points on our conversation, he took our group on a private wolf visit without the other school. We visited Farah again. This time, Farah decided to be mischievous and stole a water bottle. Once she had her prize to play with, she paid no attention to us so we moved on. We then got to visit two new wolves, Orion and Soliel. These two wolves were on a completely new spectrum from the wolves we’d been visiting. For one, they were much more timid. They were also very sleepy since they had just had their big feed the day before. So we got a brief hello then they went to sleep right in front of us. 

Farah just before she found her prize

Orion

Soliel

Orion - He was being so photogenic

     That was the end of our visits for the day. We then got to utilize the cement we unloaded the previous days. Mission:Wolf is currently in the process of adding more solar panels to their facility. So we helped place the pole for these solar panels. What’s so amazing about this is that when we go back (something I most certainly intend to do) we will always be able to see the work we’ve done. Up until then, most of our work was something that wouldn’t always be seen for a long time. The wood would be used, feedings are everyday occurrences, and while the horse pasture will remain, it was more out of the way and not in the main part of the facility. 

     Once the new solar panel pole was placed, with perfect measurements I might add, we congregated to the patio and played another round of hackey sack while some last day paperwork was filled out. As it happens, our group put in a collective 360 hours at Mission:Wolf! The staff also said we were one of the best groups to have, and that just meant so much to us all. They were impressed on how prepared we were not only weather wise but also in the months of preparation and research we had been doing beforehand. They also said we so efficient they were scrambling to find jobs for us to do. Knowing that we were able to make such a huge impact in such a short time is an incredible feeling. It was a bittersweet ending to our last day at Mission:Wolf. We were going to Kent’s farm the next day to work with the horses but it was the last day we were on the actual site with the wolves and staff. 

     

Game of Hackie Sack

Our finished rain barrels from a few days earlier

     However, the night was far from over. We invited some staff members to come over for dinner - homemade pizzas, snacks, cake, and music! It was a fantastic, fun filled night and we partied it up since it was not only our last night but Lexi’s birthday as well. Jeff and Collin are both amazing musicians so we found some guitars and a piano and they played for us all night. 

     Once our bellies were full, we sat down and did our reflection from the evening graciously lead by Jeff. It was a very emotional time as we all realized just how big of an impact this place has had on us. At the beginning of the trip Kent had said that Mission:Wolf benefitted people far more than the wolves. At this point, we all understood what he meant. Robin, who came to volunteer all the way from the UK, said that Mission:Wolf puts life in perspective and it certainly does.

     Needless to say, none of us were thrilled with having to go back to a school where this experience and values are not going to be fully shared. We were all touched in similar and in very different ways. I know I’ve continually repeated myself, but I don’t know how to explain this change, this experience in the correct words. 

     By the time the evening began to settle down, it was nearly midnight. We ended the night on a high note as Jeff sang us a few of his own songs. It was hard to fall asleep after such a roller coaster of a day. Luckily, we were able to sleep in a little since we didn’t need to be at Kent’s farm until nine and it was closer to Hermit Basin by a good half hour. 

Lexi, Kaleigh (my RA's) and I before we left