A display of prayer flags hung in the Hunnewell Town Forest by two local Cub Scouts in April has elicited a response far beyond what the two boys expected.
Noah Hutchinson and Matthew Blanchard, from Den 6 of Pack 22, tied a rope between two trees near the Oak Street entrance to the forest and hung squares of colored fabric on which they had written inspiring quotations in Sharpie. With their mothers, Annie Hugo and den leader Jessie Newton, they left a pile of fabric squares, clothes pins and markers inside a lidded box, with a note that invited woodland walkers to add prayers of their own.
The journey from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts passes through three years of Webelos. The word Webelos is an amalgam of We Be Loyal Scouts. In order to move into Webelos 3, the boys needed to fulfill a requirement called Duty to God. “Neither family is very religious,” said Newton, “so we learned about the six most popular religions, one of which was Buddhism.” Noah had been to Tibet and had seen Buddhist prayer flags hanging across the passes at Mount Everest. “It was inspiring,” Noah said.
Traditional Tibetan flags use five colors: red to represent fire, green for water, yellow for earth, blue for sky, and white for clouds. Buddhists say that when the wind blows through a flag, it carries the prayer of that flag on the breeze. Many of the flags in Tibet become faded and torn as prayers are released. The Cub Scouts used four colors: red, yellow, blue, and green.
Since hanging the flags above the snow on April 2, the display has grown from one rope to nine strings full of flags spanning over 90 feet. “I enjoyed watching people just come here and put up flags,” Matthew said. “We did not think it was going to be this wide. We brought more rope and more clothes pins.” People outside the scout troop have anonymously contributed fabric, rope, and clothes pins to keep the prayer flags growing.
Newton and the boys visit the flags in the forest once a week to monitor its progress and to remove any flags that contain expletives or otherwise violate the spirit of the project. In five months, they have removed about ten. The majority of the flags contain hopeful sentiments in the form of quotations, religious expressions, expressions of love to people or animals who have passed on, drawings, and implorations to care for the earth, for ourselves, and for each other. “Take time to be still,” someone wrote.
The experience of encountering prayer flags at Mount Everest and in a glade at Jiuzhaigou was profound for Noah. He said, “I felt like people were really trying to make a difference in the world. They were following their religion even though some people want to destroy their religion. Some people tore down the flags but they put them back up. They keep going, keep rebuilding, and keep practicing their religion.”
The Scouts brought the essence of that peace to the forest, in what has become an area of inspiration, expression, and community collaboration. Matthew said, “It shows that people care about the forest.” Following the installation of the flags, the Scouts each received a pin signifying completion of the Duty to God requirement. The pin shows a dove flying in front of the sun.
The Cub Scouts plan to remove the flags before winter, to respect the limits of human growth and to maintain harmony with the Hunnewell Town Forest committee, who has appreciated the project so far.
If you would like to visit the flags, enter the Hunnewell Town Forest from the Oak Street parking area, walk down the path past the bench to a clearing where several paths radiate outward. To your right you will see the colorful flags extending through the trees.
Issue Date:
October, 2017
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