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Inspiring environmental stewardship through education, exploration and connection since 1986.
⬇️ 🌲Help youth Take Root & Rise - DONATE TODAY🌲 ⬇️

Discover more inspiring reads at Nature of Writing

Discover more inspiring reads at Nature of Writing events in Seattle & Bellingham this Fall! http://ncascades.org/now

Upcoming Events
📚 Sept 18: "Dancing to the Ticking of the Doomsday Clock" with Rena Priest
📚 Sept 23: "Feathered Forest: Aloft with Birds in Ancient Trees" with Marina Richie

Check out this Great Horned Owl spotted by Eric El

Check out this Great Horned Owl spotted by Eric Ellingson. Hoo doesn’t love owls?! Here’s owl the fun facts you need to know.

🦉 Many owl species have asymmetrical ears, with one ear opening higher than the other. This helps them determine the direction and height of sound.

🦉 Owls don’t have eyeballs, they have eye tubes. Their tube-shaped eyes are completely immobile, providing binocular vision which fully focuses on their prey and boosts depth perception.

🦉 Contrary to popular belief, owls can’t rotate their heads 360°, but they can rotate their necks 270°. A blood-pooling system collects blood to power their brains and eyes when neck movement cuts off circulation.

🦉 Owls are zygodactyl, which means their feet have two forward-facing toes and two backward-facing toes. However, unlike most zygodactyl birds, owls can pivot one of their back toes forward to help them grip and walk.

🦉 Not all owls hoot! Barn Owls make hissing sounds, while the Eastern Screech-Owl whinnies like a horse.

🦉 TLDR: And perhaps the cutest and best fact about owls is baby owls are called owlets. 🥹

📸: Eric Ellingson

Ready to experience the wonder & beauty of the Cascades in person? Enjoy 40% Fall Base Camp stays in celebration of our 40th anniversary! Book today: ncascades.org/basecamp

Fall is approaching—a great time to reconnect with

Fall is approaching—a great time to reconnect with and give back to the landscapes we love!

Sept 12 | FOREST BATHING at St Edward's State Park
Sept 16 | FIRE ECOLOGY of Western WA (online)
Sept 19 | GLACIER ART at Artist Point
Sept 25 | FALL STEWARDSHIP WEEKEND at the Environmental Learning Center

🍂 Sign up & discover more ways to get outside with us this Fall at https://ncascades.org/signup/calendar

NOW HIRING! Up to $1200 bonus & low-cost housing a

NOW HIRING! Up to $1200 bonus & low-cost housing available for positions on our Kitchen Team!

Work in the heart of the North Cascades, helping prepare and serve delicious meals at the Environmental Learning Center in North Cascades National Park. You’ll be part of the team that fuels environmental education and outdoor adventures for students, families, and visitors from around the world—all from our lakeside campus on Diablo Lake.

This is a great opportunity for someone looking for a seasonal experience in the mountains, with potential for longer-term opportunities.

BONUS PAY — UP TO $1,200!
$400 in your first paycheck
$400 at a mid-season date
$400 in your end-of-season paycheck
Low-cost housing available.

👉 Learn more and apply at ncascades.org/jobs

We love us some North Cascades alpenglow! Ever won

We love us some North Cascades alpenglow! Ever wonder how it works? So glad you asked.

🌄 Alpenglow, from the German word alpenglühen for “Alp glow”.

🌄 Alpenglow is the reddish glow often seen on the summits of mountains just before sunrise or just after sunset.

🌄 Unlike the direct sunlight around sunrise or sunset, the light that causes alpenglow is reflected off airborne precipitation, ice crystals, or particulates in the lower atmosphere. These conditions differentiate between direct sunlight around sunrise or sunset and alpenglow.

Have you ever seen this optical phenomena? 🙋🏻‍♀️

📸: @skandog

The Nature of Writing Speaker Series is back for a

The Nature of Writing Speaker Series is back for another season! This series brings community together in conversation to celebrate the creative minds illuminating the natural world with the turn of a page.

This Monday, Sept 7 the Institute and Third Place Books welcome author & journalist Miriam Horn with her new book "Homesick for a World Unknown"—a vivid and captivating account of the adventurous life of field biologist and wildlife convservation pioneer, George B. Schaller. In this riveting portrait, Horn captures the seventy years Schaller spent living among wild animals in the world’s remotest regions, forever altering how we see—and save—the natural world.

📚 RSVP today and discover more Nature of Writing events at http://ncascades.org/now

The Nature of Writing Speaker Series is back for a

The Nature of Writing Speaker Series is back for another season! This series brings community together in conversation to celebrate the creative minds illuminating the natural world with the turn of a page.

This Sunday, Sept 6, the Institute and Village Books welcome author & journalist Miriam Horn, with her new book "Homesick for a World Unknown"—a vivid and captivating account of the adventurous life of field biologist and wildlife convservation pioneer, George B. Schaller. In this riveting portrait, Horn captures the seventy years Schaller spent living among wild animals in the world’s remotest regions, forever altering how we see—and save—the natural world.

📚 RSVP today and discover more Nature of Writing events at http://ncascades.org/now

“To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us

“To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.”~Terry Tempest Williams

🌲 The Wilderness Act passed in 1964 and turns 62 today!! Wilderness designation not only protects wild landscapes, but protects thousands of years of humans residing on the land and strengthens the connections people have to the land.

🌲 94% of North Cascades National Park is designated wilderness. The goal of the Wilderness Act designates areas to preserve and manage for future generations to use who seek solitude, retrospection and primitive recreation.

🌲 Although Wilderness is a federal designation, the word can evoke thoughts, feelings, & emotions for many.

What does wilderness mean to you?

📍Ancestral homelands of the Nlaka’pamux, Upper Skagit, Swinomish & Sauk Suiattle people
📸: @lostinwashington

🫍 ONLINE CLASS ALERT | Wed, Oct 7 | Drawing & Pain

🫍 ONLINE CLASS ALERT | Wed, Oct 7 | Drawing & Painting Orcas

Join artist and educator Sara Shimazu for an online workshop exploring the beauty & biology of our region’s resident and Bigg’s (transient) killer whales.

We'll begin with an introduction to the physiology and identifying features of these iconic marine mammals before learning how to sketch their majestic forms. Then, bring your drawings to life with watercolor as Sara demonstrates techniques, offers personalized guidance, and answers questions to help us gain a deeper appreciation for the whales that call the Salish Sea home.

🫍 REGISTER TODAY at https://ncascades.org/signup/programs/drawing-and-painting-orcas-online

art by Sara Shimazu @hysazu

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