Skip to content

Donate

Search for:

Search for:

Menu

Discover The Institute, Environmental Learning Center & Ecosystem
Sign Up Learning Adventures for all ages
Retreat Book your conference or gathering
Blog Stories from the field
Shop Apparel, gifts & souvenirs
Support Become a donor
Directions & visitor info

Donate

Get updates

Wilderness medicine courses at the Environmental Learning Center

Oct 18, 2018North Cascades Institute

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Name

Email (will not be published)

Message

Δ

Blog

Blog Home
Naturalist Notes
Life at the Learning Center
Institute News
Mountain School
Youth Adventures
Adventures
Field Excursions
Photography

Join us in the North Cascades!

North Cascades Institute offers dozens of ways to explore and learn about the North Cascades Ecosystem. Every year, we lead thousands of people of all ages on hands-on learning adventures, from the Cascades Crest to the shores of the Salish Sea. Visit our online calendar to see upcoming programs, or call our registration team for personalized assistance on which program is right for you!

Call
Email

Recent Articles

“My Summer with YLA” — Student Reflection
A Passion for the Natural World: Meet our new Board Members
Food Planet Future
Summer 2024 Photo Round-up!
Creating Community Beyond Language

Follow us on Instagram

ncascades

The Institute is pleased to welcome three new boar

The Institute is pleased to welcome three new board members in 2024! And over the next few weeks, we'd like to introduce you to each of these extraordinary individuals.

Burr Neely has worked in the Cultural Resources Management industry for over 20 years and serves as VP of Business Development for SRI, a global heritage management consultancy, where he specializes in managing large and complex cultural resource inventory projects in the North Cascades and beyond.

Burr has logged hundreds of miles hiking and backpacking in the North Cascades, and wants others to feel the transformative power of this special place : "I’ve benefited in my life directly from transformative experiences in wilderness and outdoor settings. We live in a world that appears increasingly divisive and fast-paced and misplaced (if not even destructive) in terms of our relationship with the environment and our collective sense of place. These trends challenge our connection to land, place, and each other. They undermine our capacity to be resilient and respectful citizens and can be harmful to our environment. I feel getting outside and learning the intimate details of the natural and cultural landscapes we inhabit—i.e., actively engaging in our surrounding environment—is a crucial in the long-term conservation of our planet and mental health."

🌲 To learn more about Burr, visit https://blog.ncascades.org/.../a-passion-for-the-natural.../ to read our latest blog post.

Take a hike!! No seriously, this Sunday November 1

Take a hike!! No seriously, this Sunday November 17 is National Take a Hike Day.

🥾 With over 60,000 miles of trails in the National Trail System across the 50 states, there is something for everyone.

🥾 In the North Cascades there are over 400 miles of trail to choose from, although some may be snow covered at this time of year.

🥾Hiking is just walking outside. Your backyard, neighborhood park, local green spaces are all places to explore and enjoy the outdoors.

🥾 Being outside has benefits for both your mental and physical health.

🥾If you choose to take a hike, always #recreateresponsibly

How will you be celebrating National Take a Hike Day and who will you be hiking with? Let us know in the comments.

📸: @topophilia.photography

The Institute is pleased to welcome three new boar

The Institute is pleased to welcome three new board members in 2024! And over the next few weeks, we'd like to introduce you to each of these extraordinary individuals.

Meredith Lohr brings decades of experience as a nonprofit leader and environmental educator to her board service, and knows firsthand how impactful place-based environmental education can be : "When I was a teenager, a backcountry learning experience in the North Cascades transformed my life and helped me become the environmentalist I am today. If we are going to succeed in protecting the planet, we need to understand our interdependence with the natural world. I love that NCI gives both young people and adults the chance to experience and connect with wild places."

🌲 To learn more about Meredith, visit https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/a-passion-for-the-natural-world-meet-our-new-board-members/ to read our latest blog post.

Anyone feel like running away to the woods? 🙋🏻‍♀️

Life has been coming pretty fast for a lot of us and we’re left with all the feels. The days have become shorter and darker, rain falls more frequently (especially here in WA), the holiday season approaches, but there’s one thing that is always in season, gratitude. Practicing gratitude is easy and has positive benefits. Here’s a few:

🥰 It can improve your well-being. People who are grateful are generally happier, less stressed, and less depressed

🥰 It can improve your health. Gratefulness can lead to fewer health complaints, such as headaches, digestion issues, and sleep problems

🥰 Gratitude can help people deal with and bounce back from adversities with strength and motivation

🥰 Gratitude can help reduce stress hormones like cortisol and regulate the autonomic nervous system

There are many ways to practice gratitude like journaling, noticing positive moments as they happen, reliving positive moments by thinking about them or sharing them with others, telling someone you’re grateful for them in person.

Let’s practice the last two. Tell someone you’re grateful for them and/or relive a positive moment by thinking of it and sharing it with another. Feel free to share in the comments.

We’ll go first. Thanks to all of you who make up our community both online and in person. Sharing your adventures, thoughts, joys, struggles and knowledge of the North Cascades brings us both joy and appreciation to be a part of such a wonderful community. We appreciate you.

📸: @morganhenryphotography

The Institute is pleased to welcome three new boar

The Institute is pleased to welcome three new board members in 2024! And over the next few weeks, we'd like to introduce you to each of these extraordinary individuals.

Yingzhao (Ying) Liu founded Original Mind creative residency in the Cascade foothills, lectured at Stanford University on Designing for Well-being, and was previously design director for international markets at LinkedIn. She is grateful everyday to be growing roots in the Pacific Northwest, and is passionate about inspiring others to connect to this landscape : "I believe that realizing our innate connection to nature is the most important work now, and not just for some of the people, not just for some of the time. This mindset shift needs to happen, especially for kids. When we feel connected to the land, from which we’re not separate, stewarding the environment and each other is as natural as taking care of our own body. So much needs to and will transform."

🌲To learn more about Ying, visit https://blog.ncascades.org/.../a-passion-for-the-natural.../ to read our latest blog post.

“Finter”- when fall and winter collide.

It’s starting to snow in the upper elevations which makes for a beautiful sight and also means more preparation to go outside.

Remember to #recreateresponsibly

🚗 Check road conditions before heading out. @wsdot is always a good bet to get up to date information

🥾 Check trail conditions. @washingtontrails can help you get where you want to go as well as North Cascades National Park’s website: www.nps.gov/noca

🧥 Bring extra layers, snacks, water and also a headlamp.

🌲 Practice Leave No Trace principles. If you need a refresher @leavenotraceorg can help jog your memory

What are some tips we may have forgotten for recreating responsibly when winter conditions may exist? Leave them in the comments.

📍Ancestral homelands of the Nlaka’pamux, Syilx (Okanagan) & Methow people
📸: @denemiles

📣 BIG NEWS! 2025 Family Getaways are now OPEN f

📣 BIG NEWS! 2025 Family Getaways are now OPEN for registration!

Stay in cozy accommodations on the shores of beautiful Diablo Lake, and enjoy fresh mountain air, beautiful starry skies and daily hands-on activities, to help you connect with nature and each other. Don't miss this chance to bring generations together for a summer vacation you'll never forget.

🌲 To get all the details & book your Family Getaway in the North Cascades TODAY, visit https://ncascades.org/signup/programs/family-getaways

#familygetaway #getoutsidetogether #northcascades #northcascadesinstitute

Let’s play a game! With the closure of State Ro

Let’s play a game!

With the closure of State Route 542 to Artist Point and fresh snowfall in the higher elevations of the North Cascades, it begs the question when will State Route 20 close?

Depending on snow fall and avalanche forecasts the road could close anywhere from tomorrow to late November.

Give us your best guess on when you think State Route 20, North Cascades Highway will close? Winner gets the respect and admiration of your peers.

📍Ancestral homelands of the Nlaka’pamux, Syilx (Okanagan) & Methow people
📸: @steresi

Geekin out on Geese! ⁣ 🪿 Snow Geese are a fa

Geekin out on Geese! ⁣

🪿 Snow Geese are a fall staple by the thousands in the Skagit Valley. That’s because they love open fields and bodies of water for their wintering grounds.

🪿 Snow geese breed from late May to mid-August, but they leave their nesting areas and spend more than half the year on their migration to-and-from warmer wintering areas. They migrate in large numbers, along narrow corridors, more than 3000 miles from traditional wintering areas to the tundra and vice versa.

🪿 Snow Geese make epic journeys by air, but they are impressive on foot, too. Snow Geese chicks are well developed when they hatch, with open eyes and down-covered bodies. They can swim and eat on their own within 24 hours and within the first three weeks of hatching, they may walk up to 50 miles with their parents from the nest to a more suitable area.

🪿 Snow Geese mate for life, choosing an individual of the same color morph as the family members they grew up with. The female incubates the eggs, spending 21 or more hours per day on the nest, while the male stands guard to defend the nest against predators. Common predators are, arctic and red foxes, Glaucous Gulls, Parasitic Jaegers, polar and black bears, & Snowy Owls.

Have you seen Snow Geese on their annual migration before? How would you describe the sight?

📍Ancestral homelands of the Sauk Suiattle, Swinomish & Upper Skagit people
📸: @pnwwheels

Load More... Follow on Instagram

Related Articles

Institute News

Institutional news and announcements -- Christian primary

Read more in Institute News

A Passion for the Natural World: Meet our new Board Members

Oct 28, 2024

Summer 2024 Photo Round-up!

Sep 27, 2024

Giving Back to our Community through Service II

Apr 22, 2024

Tribute to our Departing Board Members

Jan 31, 2024

Discover
Sign Up
Support

Directions & visitor info

(360) 854-2599 info@ncascades.org Contact

Get updates

Careers Media

© North Cascades Institute|Privacy Policy