North Cascades Institute open for business; Fall 2015 programs
It has been quite a wild ride over the past two weeks with the Goodell Fire in the North Cascades and resulting evacuation of the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, the arrival of fire crews to set up resource protection around our campus, and then the torrential rains that came just in the nick of time as the fire was approximately one mile (as the raven flies) away.
After a few days of catching our breath, moving back in to the Learning Center and getting everything back up and running, we’re very pleased to be able to offer our many Fall Programs as scheduled. We have a ton of things coming up, both here on Diablo Lake in North Cascades National Park, as well as in the field (Chelan Ridge, Methow Valley, Bellingham Bay, Baker Lake) and in bookstores around Cascadia (Bellingham, Darrington, Guemes Island, Seattle, Sedro-Woolley).
Below you’ll find a listing of our many different offerings coming up over the next couple of months, with links to more information and registration. You can also visit our website and Facebook page, call our front desk team at (360) 854-2599 or shoot us an email with any questions to nci@ncascades.org.
We’re grateful for each of you for your continued outpouring of support and for our partners in the National Park Service, Seattle City Light and US Forest Service and for the firefighters, first responders, National Guard, U.S. Army servicemen and women and others working on the wildfires across Washington State.
We’ve been made stronger by this crisis and are happy to report that North Cascades Institute is OPEN FOR BUSINESS!
Harvest Dinner at the Learning Center October 18-19: A Fall Feast and Presentation on the Return of the Cascadian Carnivores
Join us for a special dinner tuned to the season, a presentation with wildlife biologists Bill Gaines, Scott Fitkin and John Rohrer, overnight accommodations in our guest lodges and breakfast the next morning, with an optional add-on field excursion to the Washington Pass area to get a first-hand view of wildlife habitat under study. More information and registration at www.ncascades.org/signup/programs/harvest-dinner-2015 or (360) 854-2599.
Special wildfire-themed Base Camp weekend at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center October 2-3 and 3-4; stay for a night or two! This is a unique way and affordable way to see first-hand the impacts of the Goodell Fire on the North Cascades ecosystem and Newhalem area in the company of Institute naturalists with backgrounds in fire ecology. You’ll also enjoy a fall visit to the Learning Center with comfortable accommodations, delicious, locally-sourced meals and warm company. To learn more visit www.ncascades.org/base-camp; to register, please call (360) 854-2599 or email nci@ncascades.org.
Fall 2015 Learning Adventures with North Cascades Institute
September 12: Citizen Science: Snake Count (field)
September 19-20: Citizen Science: Hawk Watch (field)
September 25-27: Poetry with Saul Weisberg and Tim McNulty (ELC)
September 25-27: Introduction to Field Journaling (ELC)
October 3: Birds of the Salish Sea aboard the Snow Goose (field)
October 3-4: FREE Baker Lake Cleanup (field)
October 9-11: Mushrooms and Culinary Adventures (ELC)
October 18: Harvest Dinner + Return of the Cascadian Carnivores
presentation with Bill Gaines, Scott Fitkin and John Rohrer (ELC)
October 23: Sit, Walk, Write: Nature and the Practice of Presence (ELC)
October 24: Mushrooms of Baker Lake (field)
November 7: Salmon on the Nooksack (field)
Class descriptions, pricing and registration at www.ncascades.org/get_outside >>
Scholarships, student and military discounts, teacher clock hours and academic credit available!
Village Books and North Cascades Institute present The Nature of Writing Speaker Series Fall 2015
As the days grow shorter and nights longer, head into the fall with new books that explore and celebrate the natural wonders of the world from the Northwest’s leading nature writers! All presentations are FREE and take place at The Readings Gallery at Village Books.
David Williams, Too High and Too Steep
Wednesday, Sept 16, 7pm
Kim Heacox, Jimmy Bluefeather
Tuesday, Oct 6, 7p m
Ana Maria Spagna, Reclaimers
Thursday, Oct 8, 7 pm
Robert Michael Pyle, Wintergreen: Rambles in a Ravaged Land – 30th Anniversary Edition, with David Guterson
Saturday, Oct 10, 7 pm
“Conjuring Words from the Land” writing workshop with Bob Pyle Oct 10, 1-4 pm!
More information at www.ncascades.org/events and www.villagebooks.com/village-books-literature-live-events.
Saul Weisberg’s Headwaters Fall 2015 Book Tour
North Cascades Institute is excited to announce the publication of selected poems of Institute Founder and Executive Director Saul Weisberg!
September 16: Olympia
October 3: Mazama
October 30: Darrington
November 13: Sedro-Woolley
November 14: Guemes Island
November 21: Seattle
February 11: Port Townsend
More information at www.ncascades.org/headwaters.