Spring observations from Diablo Lake
March 19: As we reach the Spring Equinox in the upper Skagit Valley, we have experienced our first days of over 60 degree weather, along with seven …
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Blog Archive
Mountain School @ Home: Lesson 1 – Sit Spots
Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We …
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Happy 30th Birthday Mountain School!
2020 marks the 30th anniversary of Mountain School! Over the past 29 years, more than 30,000 youth from Northwestern Washington State have traveled up the Skagit River on Highway 20, past …
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Washington State prioritizes getting kids outside!
Covid-19 forces Environmental Education Centers to refund $4M to Public Schools Residential Environmental Education programs in Washington collectively serve over 50,000 Washington school kids each year. Our programs …
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Tips for social distancing and the outdoors
Suggestions for practicing social distancing in the outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic Pay very close attention to your health and how you’re feeling. No matter how tempting …
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a poem for these times
What if you thought of it as the Jews consider the Sabbath— the most sacred of times? Cease from travel. Cease from buying and selling. Give up, …
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Guidelines for informal gatherings of children and youth while schools are closed
School closures have been announced by the state, but parents still need to work and students still need safe and enriching spaces to spend their days. The …
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Washington’s rivers, salmon and orcas need protection from Canadian mines
Good fences make good neighbors, wrote Robert Frost. Border walls aside, that remains true of Canadian mines upstream of Washington waters. We love our Canadian neighbors and …
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Concrete students get immersed in mountain science at Snow School
One morning in mid-February, eighth-graders from Concrete caught snowflakes on their tongues and took a few falls as they learned how to walk with snowshoes strapped to …
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Treaty of Point Elliott 165 years later
Last month was the 165th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Point Elliott signed between Governor of Washington Territory and 82 different tribal leaders, including …
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