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Recent Articles

Nature of Writing Speaker Series ⎸ Spring 2023
Call to Contract Instructors
Meet our new Outdoor Educators!
Gerry Cook: Why I Named North Cascades Institute in my Will
Giving Back to our Community through Service

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Before checking in at Base Camp Learning & Lodging

Before checking in at Base Camp Learning & Lodging this spring, be sure to stop at Diablo Lake Overlook. Near milepost 132 on SR 20 (just 4 miles east of our turnoff), is a roadside perch with eye-popping views of Colonial and Pyramid peaks in the southwest and Davis Peak to the west.

A sharp eye will spot the dam-top road you’ll cross to arrive at the Environmental Learning Center, tucked into the wooded shoreline of Diablo Lake.

Spaces are still available at reduced SHOULDER SEASON PRICING through May.

SIGN UP > ncascades.org/basecamp

📸: Jodi Broughton @findingbeauty9

📍The Environmental Learning Center is located on the ancestral homelands of the Upper Skagit, Nlaka’pamux, Sauk-Suiattle and Swinomish peoples

#basecamp #environmentallearningcenter #springhike #springinthemountains #springretreat #springadventures #natureretreat #northcascades #northcascadesnationalpark #northcascadesinstitute #nationalparkgeek #nationalparklife #environmentaleducation

Love in the mountains ❤️🏔️

Love in the mountains ❤️🏔️

Exploring the North Cascades is always more fun (and safer) with a loved one.

Tag someone you love adventuring with in the comments.

📸: @sarina_pizzala_photography

SPRING STEWARDSHIP WEEKEND // April 28-30 Followi

SPRING STEWARDSHIP WEEKEND // April 28-30

Following construction of the Environmental Learning Center, volunteer stewards helped plant 22,000+ native shrubs and trees throughout the campus to rehabilitate the long-used site. Years later, those plants are thriving thanks to continued attention from volunteers!

For this specially-priced weekend, you're invited to join the National Park Service and Institute naturalists in tending to our native flora and habitat. A variety of essential projects await us—thinning, mulching, invasive plant removal, trail maintenance, and more.

Your hard work will be rewarded with delicious meals in our lakeside dining hall, connecting with the Institute community, evening presentations and talks, and a comfy bed at the end of a day.

SIGN UP: https://ncascades.org/signup/programs/spring-stewardship-weekend

📸 Last spring's stewardship weekend by ML Harris Photography

📍The Environmental Learning Center is located on the ancestral home lands of the Upper Skagit, Nlaka’pamux, Sauk-Suiattle, and Swinomish peoples

Although it’s still very much a winter wonderlan

Although it’s still very much a winter wonderland in the high elevations, it’s official, spring has sprung! Officially the equinox was Monday around 2:24pm pacific time, but who’s counting.

With spring comes so many changes in phenology or the study of periodic biological phenomena, like flowering 🌸, breeding 😍, and migration 🦅, in relation to climatic conditions.

Have you noticed any phenological changes yet, where you live or what are you excited for as the season starts to change?

📍Ancestral lands of the Nooksack, Nlaka’pamux & Coast Salish people
📸: @alpine_explorer

WILDERNESS SURVIVAL ESSENTIALS IN THE PNW - Online

WILDERNESS SURVIVAL ESSENTIALS IN THE PNW - Online // April 5 // $10

Want to learn about effective natural shelter-building, primitive water purification, friction fire-making, and foraging wild edibles? Jason Knight, author of The Essential Skills of Wilderness Survival will be in our virtual classroom to share knowledge and skills that will help keep you alive in emergencies and enhance your outdoor experiences.

Jason has been teaching wilderness survival skills since 1997. He is a cofounder and instructor at @alderleafwildernesscollege, one of the leading outdoor schools in the U.S. offering wilderness survival training to clients including the U.S. Forest Service, Seattle Mountaineers, and cast of Captain Fantastic.

Can't make it to the live event? Sign up and we'll send you a link to watch it on your own time!

SIGN UP: ncascades.org/online

“Dreaming of alpine escapes. One of the more unf

“Dreaming of alpine escapes. One of the more unforgettable treks from last summer. Tacking on the additional mileage and elevation made getting to this zone so worthwhile in the end.”~ @alexmontgumery

What alpine escapes are dreaming about for this summer?

📸: @alexmontgumery
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#northcascades #northcascadesnationalpark #northcascadesinstitute #washington #wanderwashington #explorewashington #pnw #pnwonderland #exploremore #nationalparkgeek #nationalparklife #getoutstayout #findmeoutside #optoutside #environmentaleducation #learning #teachoutside #learningisfun #outdoorsforall #ourpnw #staypnw

TOMORROW: Join North Cascades Institute and Villag

TOMORROW: Join North Cascades Institute and Village Books for a free in-person author event, the first in our Spring 2023 Nature of Writing Speaker Series.

Sunday, March 19 at 4pm: Christopher Preston, author of Tenacious Beasts

The news about wildlife is dire—more than 900 species have been wiped off the planet since industrialization. Still, there are glimmers of hope and lessons to be learned from animals that have defied global trends toward extinction: bears in Italy, bison in North America, whales in the Atlantic. These populations are back from the brink. How has this happened? What shifts in thinking did it demand? Christopher Preston’s gripping narrative reveals the mysteries and challenges at the heart of these resurgences.

Hosted in Village Books Readings Gallery (1200 11th Street, Bellingham)

BROWSE ALL AUTHOR EVENTS: blog.ncascades.org

@villagebooks #natureofwritingseries #writing #writingcommunity #naturewriting #authorreading #northcascadesinstitute

“If I could capture the moment I fell in love wi

“If I could capture the moment I fell in love with backpacking, this would be it.” ~@thewildcompiled

The North Cascades National Park complex has over 400 miles of trail and is 93% designated wilderness, so there are endless backpacking trips to had.

When did you fall in love with backpacking? What is one of your most memorable backpacking trips in the North Cascades?

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

Join our team! 🙌 🙌 🙌 We are looking to fi

Join our team! 🙌 🙌 🙌 We are looking to fill these key positions as soon as possible:

• Bookkeeper
• Retail Assistant
• Retail Assistant - Skagit Info Center
• Food Services Supervisor
• Seasonal Cook
• Seasonal Facilities Technician

North Cascades Institute is an educational non-profit focused on inspiring environmental stewardship through transformative learning experiences in nature.

LEARN MORE: ncascades.org/jobs

📸 February 2023: all staff training day at the Environmental Learning Center; ancestral homelands of the Upper Skagit, Nlaka’pamux, Sauk-Suiattle and Swinomish peoples

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