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Recent Articles

¡La Escuela de Montaña cumple 30 años!: Actualización de plan de estudios para mejor servir a los estudiantes y maestros
Reflections on the Connections Program
Dec 2020-Jan 2021 Photo Round-up!
North Cascades Institute & Connections on National Public Radio
Mountain School at Home “ACHOTUS” Ep4: J.D. Ross

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ncascades

Connecting people, nature and community through education since 1986. #ncascades

In celebration of International Women's Month in M

In celebration of International Women's Month in March, @teresabaker11 has partnered with amazing women and outdoor organizations for a virtual women's outdoor summit. The event is geared toward cisgender and transgender women, as well as people who experience gender discrimination in their outdoor professional and personal lives. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Registration is now open and free for anyone who would like to attend the three day virtual event starting March 11. All people are welcome who are comfortable in a space that centers the experience of women. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Highlights of the event include an opening message from @repdebhaaland, panels and workshops led by @jennybruso, @browngirl_green, @cerowastecindy and keynotes from @intersectionalenvironmentalist, @finneysmojo & @xicanaafuera. Land acknowledgements from @jalyn.gough⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We've put a link in our bio for registration details and schedule of events. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Who's thinking of attending?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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📸: @teresabaker11

Watercolors are a beautifully unpredictable medium

Watercolors are a beautifully unpredictable medium. In our upcoming 2-hour virtual workshop with environmental artist and writer Claire Giordano, you can learn how to use it to create beautiful North Cascades scenes like the one shown here! From making expressive skies, to shortcut techniques for painting trees and rock, Claire will simplify the complexities of watercolor with easy to follow steps that embrace the natural tendencies of the medium. And by utilizing a single pigment of color, she will help us explore the stunning ways watercolor can capture light and shadow.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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March 13 at 11 AM: Watercolor Mountains in Monochrome⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Learn more and sign up at ncascades.org/classes. Can't make the date? Register for the class and we'll send you the recording afterward to watch when it works for you! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Are you @youth_leadership_adventures alumni? Sign up for FREE by calling 360-854-2599⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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📸: Claire Giordano

Mountain Monday trivia: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🏔 Considered one of the most remote and rugged mountain ranges in the North Cascades with few trails ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🏔 Located on the ancestral homelands of the Nlaka’pamux & Syilx tmix (Okanagan) people ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🏔 Named for its resemblance to a certain type of fence ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🏔 Some peak names include Terror, Fury, Inspiration & Challenger ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🏔 The rock is biotite gneiss, formed by metamorphism of sedimentary and volcanic rocks about 100 million years ago.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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What North Cascades mountain range am I?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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📸: @mitchpittman

Please enjoy this quiet (and chilly!) moment captu

Please enjoy this quiet (and chilly!) moment captured at the Diablo Lake Overlook by program instructor Alexa. Just around the bend from our Environmental Learning Center, this overlook is a popular stop for stretches and snacks along the North Cascades Highway portion of the Cascade Loop—which was very recently designated as one of 184 National Scenic Byways. Congratulations @cascadeloop! 🥳

The three dominant peaks shown in order are Davis, Pyramid, and Colonial. Be sure to check on seasonal closures of North Cascades Highway 20 when planning your own visit!

📸: Alexa Brandt

📍Ancestral homelands of the Upper Skagit, Nłeʔkepmx Tmíxʷ, Swinomish, Syilx Tmix (Okanagan) & Sauk-Suiattle peoples⠀

North Cascades Institute is seeking candidates for

North Cascades Institute is seeking candidates for YOUTH LEADERSHIP INSTRUCTORS to lead teens in wilderness backpacking and camping courses in the North Cascades. Our @youth_leadership_adventures program hosts courses incorporating outdoor skills and service work as well as curriculum in natural and cultural history, climate change and solutions, leadership, and community engagement. YLA Instructors facilitate learning while acting as role models and guides for students in an inclusive environment that celebrates diverse life perspectives and experiences. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Are you passionate about contributing to a mission of inspiring environmental stewardship through transformative learning experiences in nature? Go to ncascades.org/careers for the full job description and apply before MARCH 19!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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📍Ancestral home lands of the Upper Skagit, Nlaka’pamux, Sauk-Suiattle & Swinomish peoples

Black researchers, activists, inventors & naturali

Black researchers, activists, inventors & naturalists in STEM: Henrietta Lacks⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🧬 In 1950 at the age of 30, Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer. While undergoing treatment, a doctor took a biopsy of her tumor without her knowledge. Where cells taken from other patients died, Lacks’ cells continued to reproduce. Although Henrietta Lacks died in 1951 of cervical cancer, she lives on through her cells known as HeLa.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🧬 For over 60 years, Lacks’ cells have been used to study bacteria, toxins, drugs, viruses, and hormones’ affect on people. Her cells have been commercialized and have advanced vaccines, medicines, and are used in in-vitro fertilization.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🧬 The Lacks’ story highlights the racial inequities in health care. It wasn’t until 20 years after Lacks’ death her family learned her cells had been taken and had produced millions of dollars for medical researchers who patented her tissues. The family was never compensated. Additionally, for decades after her death medical researchers continued to use Lacks’ name and publish her medical records without consent in the name of, “medical advancement”.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🧬 To learn more about Henrietta Lacks, her story and her impact, please visit: hela100.org (link in bio)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Created by the Thurston ECO Network Subcommittee

Tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. we have the rare honor and o

Tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. we have the rare honor and opportunity to be joined in virtual conversation with member and elder of the Upper Skagit Tribe, Scott Schuyler.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The Upper Skagit Tribe are ancestral inhabitants of the region known as the North Cascades, though their tenure here long precedes this name. The Upper Skagit are still active here to this day, involved in management processes and traditional ways of life. We hope you’ll join us to hear Scott speak about the history of the Tribe, the ways they interact with the landscape, and how climate change is affecting their lifeways.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Feb 19 at 6 PM: The People of the Sacred River—The History of the Upper Skagit⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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To sign up, CALL 360-854-2599 before 12:30 p.m. on Feb 19. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Can't make the date? You can still register and we'll send you the recording to watch when it works for you!

@youth_leadership_adventures alumni can sign up for FREE by calling 360-854-2599.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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📸: A historic view of the Upper Skagit River, ancestral home land of the Upper Skagit Tribe. Photographer unknown.

Owls are pretty neat. You can tell these are North

Owls are pretty neat. You can tell these are Northern saw whet owls by the way they are. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Fun facts: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🦉Saw whet owls are one of the smallest owl species in North America. Adults are 6.7-8.7 inches long ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🦉Northern saw-whet owls have a round, light, white face with brown and cream streaks; they also have a dark beak and yellow eyes. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🦉The northern saw-whet owl makes a repeated tooting whistle sound (too-too-too). Some say they sound like a saw being sharpened on a whetstone.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🦉Northern saw-whet owls have porphyrin pigments in their flight feathers. When exposed to a UV light on the ventral side of the wing, the feathers will fluoresce a neon pink. This is used in order to estimate molt and age in adult northern saw-whet owls.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🦉The fledglings pictured here were seen at the North Cascades National Park Newhalem Visitor Center. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Have you ever seen or heard a northern saw whet owl?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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📸: @realchriswilliams⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
📍Ancestral homelands of the Nlaka’pamux, Upper Skagit, Sauk Suiattle & Swinomish peoples

We recently enjoyed this inspiring essay at orionm

We recently enjoyed this inspiring essay at orionmagazine.org, “9 Rules for the Woke Birdwatcher” by J. Drew Lanham, sharing how to appreciate birds and humans with your “feel guide” instead of your field guide.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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1. Lower your binoculars. See bird and person in the full context of their being, feathers or skin. We all share the same air, same water, same earth, and same fate in the end. Don’t just list and be done.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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2. Leave your assumptions behind. Don’t make snap ID decisions on birds or humans. A murmuration wheeling across a purpling sky may appear to be a single being but is in fact a collection of countless individuals in one movement. Admire the whole. Respect the one.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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3. List your privileges. Know your range. Can you wander like a warbler without wondering who’s watching you with suspicion?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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4. Be bold. Speak up. Identify racism as you would call out a crow among snow buntings. Silence lets the oppression grow unchecked.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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5. Let history guide you. John James Audubon didn’t care about Black human lives. Harriet Tubman knew the woods and wetlands well—she even used an owl call to identify herself to freedom-seeking souls. Let her be your wild-bird liberty-loving hero…”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Go to orionmagazine.org for the full essay.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
📸: Bisakha Datta

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