Generated by All in One SEO v5.0.0.1, this is an llms.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site.

# North Cascades Institute

Connecting people, nature, and community since 1986

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://blog.ncascades.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Guardians of Life: Vancouver Island Rebuilding Indigenous Sovereignty](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/guardians-of-life-vancouver-island-rebuilding-indigenous-sovereignty/) - After logging threatened their land, the Tla-o-qui-aht of Vancouver Island protected their forests—and themselves—by creating one of the world’s first indigenous-run parks. MEARES ISLAND, IN THE SOUTHWESTERN CORNER OF BRITISH COLUMBIA’S VANCOUVER ISLAND, IS AN IMAGE OF THE FUTURE. So are the many islands, lakes, and peninsulas in Clayoquot Sound around Meares Island. The region’s
- ["The Earth Said Remember Me" by Jason Dove Mark](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/the-earth-said-remember-me/) - My new book, The Earth Said Remember Me: How to Revive Our Memories and Restore the Planet, centers on the ways in which ordinary forgetting is an accomplice to the destruction and demolition of the living world. The scientific name for this is “shifting baseline syndrome.” Most people know of it via the fable of
- [Leave No Trace in the North Cascades: Protecting a Wild Place During Peak Adventure Season](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/leave-no-trace-in-the-north-cascades-protecting-a-wild-place-during-peak-adventure-season/) - Summer is one of the busiest times of year in the North Cascades. As snow melts from higher elevations and more trails become accessible, hikers, backpackers, climbers, and paddlers head into the park to explore its rugged peaks, alpine lakes, and vast forests. With more people enjoying these landscapes, it's important to remember that even
- [Spring 2026 Field Programs Highlights](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/spring-2026-field-programs-highlights/) - Before diving into the exciting learning adventures we have planned for this summer, join our Field Programs team Emily Schauble and Shelby Gresch on a photographic review of 2026 field excursions so far! See even more photos in the Institute's Flickr albums. Birding Across the Skagit Valley The beginning of 2026 saw Field Programs venturing
- [Spring 2026 Mountain School Highlights](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/spring-mountain-school-2026-highlights/) - This Spring, Mountain School welcomed hundreds of students from across the region into the forests, watersheds, and communities of the North Cascades. Throughout the season, students hiked to Sourdough Falls, explored the woods, asked big questions about the natural world, and discovered that science is something they can do—not just something they learn in a
- [From the Trail: Spring Hiking in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/spring-hiking-in-the-north-cascades/) - In Search of Waterfalls, Lush Forests, and Quiet Trails Early spring in the North Cascades is a time of transition. Snow still covers the high peaks, but lower forests are already shifting into vibrant greens. Waterfalls grow stronger with snowmelt, rivers run high, and the trails feel quieter than in peak summer season. It’s a
- ["Crossing the Threshold" with Tom Fleischner](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/crossing-the-threshold-with-tom-fleischner/) - The heart of my new book Astonished By Beauty: A Field Guide to the Practice of Paying Attention consists of two main sections. The first, “A Geography of Astonishment”—from which this excerpt is drawn—is a series of brief stories of encounters with specific landscapes—portraits of interwoven inner and outer perceptions of places-as-teachers, ranging from the
- [Tom Fleischner with Saul Weisberg 40th anniversary events this week](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/tom-fleischner-40th-anniversary/) - For forty years, the North Cascades Institute has believed transformation happens outdoors—in mossy forests, along singing rivers, under open skies. This spring, we’re honoring those roots. This week, join co-founders Tom Fleischner and Saul Weisberg for special 40th anniversary gatherings in Seattle and Bellingham, including a celebration of Tom's latest book Astonished By Beauty: A Field
- [The Secret Skyway: Spring Bird Migration in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-secret-skyway-spring-bird-migration-in-the-north-cascades/) - Every spring, the skies above the North Cascades come alive with one of nature’s greatest hidden spectacles: bird migration. While hikers and wildflower lovers explore the trails below, millions of birds are traveling overhead, often under the cover of darkness, on an epic journey north. A Bird Highway Through the Mountains The North Cascades sit
- [Out There: Dispatches from My Personal Wilderness](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/out-there-dispatches-from-my-personal-wilderness/) - Less than half a mile into my hike, I confront a broken bridge over the surging Canyon Creek, which today looks more like a raging river. After removing my shoes and tying them to my pack, I wade barefoot into the heavy flow of frigid water. The unexpected heat wave has melted the snowfields and
- [From the Trail: Phenology and Climate Change in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/from-the-trail-phenology-and-climate-change-in-the-north-cascades/) - Spring has sprung in the North Cascades Congratulations! After surviving the dark and rainy days that is Washington winter, Spring is finally here in the North Cascades! Snow still clings to the high peaks, but meadows, rivers, and forests are bustling with new life. Longer days bring more sunlight, warmer air, and plants and animals
- [Service Days in Action: How Institute Staff Are Showing Up for Community, Conservation, and Care](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/service-days-in-action/) - At North Cascades Institute, service is not an abstract value—it’s something we practice. Through our Service Day program, staff are encouraged to volunteer their time and talents with organizations that strengthen communities, protect ecosystems, expand access to the outdoors, and support people and wildlife across our region. Over the past several months, Institute staff put
- [From the Trail: The Secret Winter World Underwater in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/marissa-feb/) - The Secret Winter World Underwater in the North Cascades Living close to the Skagit River over the years and watching fall slip into winter can be a magical grounding time, especially after a fresh snowfall. The world feels completely still, no wind, no birds, just the muffled quiet that comes with deep cold. The river
- [From the Trail: The Secret Life of Snow](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/from-the-trail-the-secret-life-of-snow/) - How Snow Pack Protects Plants and Animals in the North Cascades When most people think of snow, they imagine blanketed forests, towering mountain peaks, snowball fights, or cozy winter days by the fire. But snow does more than create beautiful winter scenery. In the North Cascades, snow plays an important role in protecting plants and
- [YLA Life: Trust, Solving Problems, and Living inside a Garmin!](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/yla-life/) - By Kate Little, Youth Leadership Coordinator When I’m downvalley and strangers ask me about my job and Youth Leadership Adventures, I’ve always had a response ready to go: “I organize canoeing and backpacking trips for local high school students in the North Cascades.” But lately, I’ve been thinking about how far that description feels from
- [Unfathomable: Tahlequah’s Story](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/unfathomable-tahlequahs-story/) - Celebrate the beauty and diversity of our oceans as author Mary Boone presents her latest work Unfathomable: Twenty Wild (But True) Stories of the Ocean, alongside Nora Nickum, sharing her new book Twelve Daring Grays, during our Nature of Writing Speaker Series on Thursday, March 19, at 6PM at Third Place Books, Ravenna. In my new
- [From the Trail: Bald Eagle Winter Migration](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/from-the-trail-bald-eagles/) - The bald eagle is a bird of prey found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old growth trees for nesting. Their winter migration to the North Cascades provides an opportunity to observe and photograph them in groups, feeding along riverbeds or roosting in trees in numbers that only occur
- ["Treaty Justice" discussion with Scott Schuyler, Jay Julius and Lynda Mapes](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/treaty-justice-discussion/) - In Treaty Justice: The Northwest Tribes, the Boldt Decision, and the Recognition of Fishing Rights, legal historian and tribal advocate Charles Wilkinson tells the dramatic story of the this seminal legal victory against the backdrop of salmon’s central place in the cultures and economies of the Pacific Northwest. In 1974, Judge George Boldt issued a
- [Supporter Spotlight: Ginny Darvill](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/supporter-spotlight-ginny-darvill/) - By Jodi Broughton and Kim Nelson Ginny Darvill's connection to nature started in her early youth. She grew up in postwar Seattle, when kids could still play in wooded, vacant lots, and family outings involved long car rides to “the country”, celebrating the new availability of gasoline. Her family later enjoyed going on car camping
- [2025 Nature of Writing Favorite Reads](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/2025-now-favorite-reads/) - Our Nature of Writing Speaker Series brings community together for presentations by authors, artists, naturalists and poets, illuminating the natural world with the turn of a page. From a meditation on the lives of rivers to vibrant portraits of native species to reflections on how we are shaped in and by nature, this year's books
- [Nature of Writing Speaker Series | Spring 2025](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/nature-of-writing-speaker-series-spring-2025/) - Our Nature of Writing Speaker Series brings community together in conversation to celebrate the authors, artists, poets and naturalists illuminating the natural world with the turn of a page. In partnership with our bookseller co-hosts at Village Books in Bellingham and Third Place Books in Seattle, the 2025 Spring Series invites you to dive into
- [All Humans Outside: Stories of Belonging in Nature](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/all-humans-outside-stories-of-belonging-in-nature/) - Shaynedonovan Elliott I WAS BORN DEAF, and throughout my life, I have felt a lack of connection to hearing people. Because of that barrier, I funneled all my energy into being outside and connecting to nature. Being around hearing people is difficult when you can't understand or interact with what they are saying. However, when
- [All Humans Outside: More Stories of Belonging in Nature](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/all-humans-outside-more-stories-of-belonging-in-nature/) - Kam Redlawsk I WAS ABANDONED AT BIRTH IN DAEGU, South Korea, and adopted by a white family in Michigan. I had a regular working-class Midwest upbringing. I played more “tomboy” types of sports with my big brothers and soccer for about thirteen years. In high school, I began to notice things were different about me
- [Wildflowers of the West: Alpine & Subalpine Zones](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/wildflowers-of-the-west-alpine-subalpine-zones/) - Much of the alpine and subalpine West lies on federal lands—in national parks, wilderness areas, and national forests. The alpine zone is defined as the elevation above which no trees will grow. The subalpine is an intermediate zone between montane forests and the treeless alpine zone. Common trees of the subalpine include firs and Engelmann
- [Woodpecker: The Heart of the Forest](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/woodpecker-the-heart-of-the-forest/) - Guest post by Paul Bannick Woodpeckers are one of the most remarkable bird species found in the avian world. They have evolved in ways that make them ecologically critical to forest health, serving as keystone species in a variety of wooded habitats across North America. Their activities support a many of other creatures, making them
- [Summer 2025 at the Institute](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/summer-2025-at-the-institute/) - If you were to describe this summer by the senses, you might remember how amazing PB&J tasted after a long hike, a shock of ice-cold water splashing off oars, eye-popping views of mountain peaks or starry skies, bird song or laughter bouncing off canyon walls, and the piney scent of the trail or maybe wood
- [A Garden Sanctuary in the Sea](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/a-garden-sanctuary-in-the-sea/) - Guest post by Ilyssa and Dave Kyu What sets the San Juan Islands apart isn’t just the peaceful lifestyle “away from it all.” That masks a rugged resourcefulness necessary to make ends meet. Hardships draw people toward a shared understanding that the challenges of island living are better faced together. The collaboration, cooperation, and respect
- [Get "Rooted" with Lyanda Lynn Haupt](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/lyanda-lynn-haupt-rooted/) - In Rooted, cutting-edge science supports a truth that poets, artists, mystics, and earth-based cultures across the world have proclaimed over millennia: life on this planet is radically interconnected. Our bodies, thoughts, minds, and spirits are affected by the whole of nature, and they affect this whole in return. In this time of crisis, how can
- [Floating the Skagit River’s Geologic History](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/floating-the-skagit-rivers-geologic-history/) - Guest post by Dr. Jon Riedel Greetings from soggy Marblemount, where the cool, wet spring weather delayed the spring flood on Skagit River and led to a remarkable explosion of slugs in my garden [note: Jon wrote this blog post in the springtime]. The annual snowmelt flood can occur anytime in May or June, and
- [The Outdoors is for Every Body](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/the-outdoors-is-for-every-body/) - July is Disability Pride Month – a time to reflect on the achievements and daily experiences of the disabled community, and learn how we can work together to co-create outdoor spaces that are welcoming and accessible for Every Body. When you hear "disabled" what comes to mind? Ramps, wheelchairs, parking spots? I live with a
- [Help Shape the Future of the North Cascades!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/frontcountry-planning/) - The National Park Service is inviting public input on a new frontcountry planning process for the Ross Lake National Recreation Area along State Route 20—the most accessible part of the North Cascades National Park Complex. This area includes Ross, Diablo, and Gorge Lakes; campgrounds such as Newhalem Creek, Colonial Creek, and Goodell Creek; the North
- [Spring 2025 Institute Photo Round-up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/spring-2025-institute-photo-round-up/) - Why does spring seem like the most "blink and you miss it" of seasons? For sure, here at the Institute it's when things are really revving up: adult field excursions have launched, the Learning Center is bustling with Mountain School, the Youth Leadership Adventures team is prepping for summer trips, and we've started registering what
- [Joy in the Outdoors: A Juneteenth Reflection](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/joy-in-the-outdoors-a-juneteenth-reflection/) - Guest post by the Institute's Welcoming & Belonging Advisor, Alma Busby-Williams, reflecting on the importance of Juneteenth and finding comfort outdoors. I learned from my great grandmother, at a very young age, that being outside was where to find peace ... comfort. North Cascades Institute provides opportunities to so many to discover this type of
- [The Trees are Speaking: Lynda Mapes' Dispatches from the Salmon Forests](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-trees-are-speaking-lynda-mapes-dispatches-from-the-salmon-forests/) - To be in an old-growth forest is to feel cloaked, as if walking in a living terrarium, padding around a soft kingdom of green. Sitka spruce, western hemlock, and cedars interspersed with bigleaf maples garlanded with ferns and swags of moss are the signatures of these forests. Some of the conifers can persist to great
- [Answering the Call of the Oregon Spotted Frog](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/answering-the-call-of-the-oregon-spotted-frog/) - It is the last day of February, a no-jacket-needed, blue sky afternoon. The Twin Sisters Mountains, white with snow, highlight the horizon to the east. Within the wide Samish River valley a grassy wetland, still mostly in winter brown, stretches south. Except for the occasional chatter of a Marsh Wren and the drowsy krrreck-krrreck of
- [The Healing Power of Nature: Mountain School at Seattle Children's Hospital](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/the-healing-power-of-nature-mountain-school-at-seattle-childrens-hospital/) - Mountain School is an immersive environmental education program that has served regional fifth graders since 1990. During the 3-day program, students spend most of their time outside, hiking on trails and exploring the waters, forests, plants and wildlife of the North Cascades ecosystem. Through hands-on, interdisciplinary activities, they connect with the natural and cultural history
- [Birding the Salish Sea: Scoters, Loons & Harlequin Ducks, oh my!](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/birding-the-salish-sea-scoters-loons-harlequin-ducks-oh-my/) - Guest post by Amanda Colbert Spring in the central Salish Sea is one of my favorite times of year to get out on the water and look for birds. Days are warmer and longer, and the birds can sense that their most productive season is on the horizon. We see shifts in their habitat usage
- [Wild Work & Community Connections](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/wild-work-community-connections/) - Since 2021, the Institute has provided paid service days to our staff. We encouraged everyone to use those hours to volunteer with a local nonprofit organization or government agency of their choice each year. Here are some of the creative ways that this benefit contributed to our local community - read on to learn more
- [Pacific Harvest: Watermelon Kelp Salad](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/pacific-harvest-watermelon-kelp-salad/) - SEA VEGGIES BOOST YOUR HEALTH AND FLAVORS! The first time I tasted wild nori, it was served up in crispy handfuls from a recycled cereal box in the remote First Nations village of Gwayasdums on Gilford Island, British Columbia. The dark, crumpled wads had a vaguely pearlescent, purple-black surface. They tasted of smoked salmon and
- [Statement of support for our friends at the National Park Service and US Forest Service](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/statement-of-support-for-our-friends-at-the-national-park-service-and-us-forest-service/) - North Cascades Institute is committed to being a good partner to North Cascades National Park and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. We are in communication with both agencies’ leadership to discover if there are ways we can support them and their work during these difficult times. Decisions being made in Washington D.C. are translating into significant
- [Native Plant Spotlight: Osoberry](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/native-plant-spotlight-osoberry/) - I'm looking forward to leading a native plant exploration in Larrabee State Park in April! We'll begin our day by framing ecosystem ecology in the Pacific Northwest through the lenses of forest ecology, plant community composition, local climate, and biogeochemical cycling. Once we have established a baseline of local ecological knowledge, we will dive into
- [A Life of Resilience and Purpose](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/a-life-of-resilience-and-purpose/) - By Alma Busby-Williams, Director of Inclusion and Community Partnerships As we celebrate the final days of Black History Month, I want to share the story of someone who has deeply inspired me—Betty Reid Soskin. Her lifelong advocacy, activism, and service in our national parks have touched countless lives. Born in 1921 in Detroit, Betty spent
- ["Acknowledgement Five" ~ a poem by Kara Briggs](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/acknowledgement-five-poem/) - In the summer when the earth pulls down the night like a blanket, I stand in warmth imparted from the sun into my paved driveway, and gaze skyward in the dark. I see the Milky Way and feel as if it is just beyond my reach. Luminous clouds and smoke form a lizard in my
- [Winter Reflection Brings Out The Poet](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/reflection-brings-out-the-poet/) - I was sitting in my house, thinking, and the first few lines of a poem that I haven't thought of in years popped into my head: "In winter I get up at night and dress by yellow candle light. In summer, quite the other way, I have to go to bed by day." It was
- [Exploring "The Tangled Bank" with Robert Michael Pyle](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/exploring-the-tangled-bank-with-robert-michael-pyle/) - North Cascades Institute welcomes Robert Michael Pyle to Village Books in Bellingham, 1200 11th St., Friday, December 7, 7 pm. Free! Robert Michael Pyle has been interpreting the natural world for readers for more than 30 years. Combining his Yale-educated scientific background, an insatiable curiosity for the world and a warm, generous personality that inspires
- [February 1956](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/february-1956/) - At the far end of a trip north In a berry-pickers cabin At the edge of a wide muddy field Stretching to the words and cloudy mountains, Feeding the stove all afternoon with cedar, Watching the dark sky darken, a heron flap by, A huge setter pup nap on the dusty cot. High rotten stumps
- [The message of the rain](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/the-message-of-the-rain/) - I'd like to share a poem with you, on this rainy day in Bellingham. It's called The Message of the Rain: when i was a child i was a squirrel a bluejay a fox and spoke with them in their tongues climbed their trees dug their dens and knew the taste of every grass and stone
- [SPECIAL EVENT!: Evolution of the Genus Iris ~ Robert Michael Pyle Reading, Bellingham 5/10](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/evolution-of-the-genus-iris/) - Evolution of the Genus Iris A reading by Robert Michael Pyle Saturday, May 10, 2014; 7 pm Readings Gallery at Village Books, 1200 11th Street, Bellingham Free! “What a record we might have of the world’s hidden beauty if field scientists and poets routinely spent time in one another's company.” -- Alison Hawthorne Deming, from
- [Book reviews: New titles from Gary Snyder, Wendell Berry & Gary Ferguson](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/snyder-berry-ferguson/) - Editor's note: Gary Ferguson teaches a Nature Writing Workshop for the Chuckanut Writers program at WCC on Nov 18, 9:30-4:30, $75. Co-presented by North Cascades Institute, Ferguson will instruct how to blend natural world, memoir, myths and archetypes in to your own story. More information at www.ncascades.org/signup/programs/nature-writing-workshop-with-gary-ferguson; register at www.whatcomcommunityed.com or by calling (360) 383-3200. Ferguson’s workshop will
- [Notable Environmental Books of 2014](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/notable-environmental-books-of-2014/) - As a book reviewer for the Cascadia Weekly, I pay close attention to what's being published, with a special focus on books on regional topics, releases from regional publishers and titles that explore natural history and environmental issues. I'm extremely fortunate to receive dozens of complimentary review copies through the year, and try to read as many of
- [Creative Residency: Paul Willis](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/creative-residency-paul-willis-2/) - by Paul Willis Last fall I was lucky enough to serve as an artist-in-residence for North Cascades National Park. They gave me a room in the ranger cabin at the entrance to the Newhalem Campground, and most days I was out hiking around, fishing for poems. Most of them swam into being on the trail, not at my
- [Poetry: Rhythm and Reflection in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/poetry-rhythm-and-reflection-in-the-north-cascades/) - HUB OF THE WHEEL Fingers of smoke from wildfires reach down Big Beaver and Pierce Creek valleys and cover the deep blue of Ross Lake like a quilt. The drift mingles with other smokestreams from Ruby and Thunder creeks, where mountains, too, have been touched by the sky. Smoke clouds curl around Sourdough Mountain,
- [Tim McNulty's "Night, Sourdough Mountain Lookout"](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/night-sourdough-mountain-lookout/) - "Night, Sourdough Mountain Lookout" Poem by Tim McNulty; a reading with Rob Rich A late-summer sun threads the needles of McMillan Spires and disappears in a reef of a coral cloud. Winds roil the mountain trees, batter the shutter props. I light a candle with the coming dark. Its reflection in the window glass flickers over
- [Gary Snyder's "August on Sourdough, A Visit from Dick Brewer"](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/august-on-sourdough-rereading/) - "August on Sourdough, A Visit from Dick Brewer” Poem by Gary Snyder from The Back Country; a reading by Rob Rich You hitched a thousand miles north from San Francisco Hiked up the mountainside a mile in the air The little cabin – one room – walled in glass Meadows and snowfields, hundreds of peaks.
- [The Poetry of Extinction : Holly Hughes' "Passings"](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/holly-hughes-passings/) - Come down to Village Books in Bellingham on May 22 at 4 pm for a free reading by Holly J Hughes from her new collection of poetry Passings. Passenger pigeon. Carolina parakeet. Eskimo curlew. Heath hen. In a timely, moving collection of elegies, Holly Hughes gives voice to these and other bird species that no longer
- ["Speaking for the Wild" by Kim Stafford](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/speaking-for-the-wild-by-kim-stafford/) - There is so much to distract us these days from our primary task, which is to renew honorable kinship with the Earth. Yes, economics, politics, justice, health—all utterly essential. But as a poet, I keep circling back to the forests that raised me, the creatures that taught me, the ways of the wild that were
- [Walk Deep: Poetry of Place](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/walk-deep-poetry-of-place/) - How does our daily relationship with Nature affect our creativity and learning? Every morning, after enjoying a steaming mug of strong sweet tea, I call our dog and head up to walk the same three mile old growth loop trail on the hill above our island home. In this walking meditation, I let my mind
- [What Water Holds: From the North Cascades to Village Books](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/what-water-holds-from-the-north-cascades-to-village-books/) - In 2023’s frenetic days, it’s hard to believe I once had the incredible privilege of three months as North Cascades Institute’s writer-in-residence. But so it was. In 2013, I’d recently sold a memoir on proposal. Now I just had to write this story of a tree-hugging, yoga-posing, female commercial salmon fisherman navigating gender and family
- [A River of Stories: Storytelling on the Skagit](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/a-river-of-stories-storytelling-on-the-skagit/) - The Skagit River sustains us humans in many ways, from providing drinking water to irrigating crops to hosting fisheries. Of course, the basin is also home to a profound richness of wildlife including bears, salmon, bald eagles, otters, trout, voles, elk, swans and the Pacific giant salamander. The river is a popular destination for recreation
- [Sunday on The River: A Fishtown Poem](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/sunday-on-the-river/) - Paddles up. Uhh! Forward. Portside paddles never quite in synch. Rest. The silence of the Skagit River current carries minds and bodies gently forward. I lean to look at underwater plant growth, silt-covered branches barely visible beneath the surface at low tide, suspended like uncle John Vincent’s body in the arms of the Skagit. Sixteen
- [Poems from Sourdough Mountain Lookout](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/poems-from-sourdough-mountain-lookout/) - Guest post by Tim McNulty Longtime Institute writing instructor, naturalist and poet Tim McNulty will travel from his home on the Olympic Peninsula to Village Books in Bellingham to read from his new collection of poetry Ascendence on Friday, November 22 at 7pm; free These poems were written at Sourdough Mountain Lookout during the dry summer
- [Outline of a Hollow Bird: Poems by Evan Holmstrom](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/outline-of-a-hollow-bird-poems-by-evan-holmstrom/) - As is evidenced by the rich cadre of writers who have found inspiration in the North Cascades, this region is almost eerily conducive to writing. Maybe it's the short, bright blinks of summer or the fog and rain always promising mystery. And not only writing, but simply reflection on life in its splendor, difficulty, and
- ["Poems from the Pandemic" with Saul Weisberg and Holly Hughes](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/pandemic-poems-from-saul-weisberg-and-holly-hughes/) - Sit back with a cup of tea and your feet up and enjoy this excerpt from North Cascades Institute's online poetry reading "Light in Winter: A Dialogue Between Two Poets" with Saul Weisberg and Holly Hughes on February 10, 2021. https://youtu.be/zsK17KhHJuk
- [Poems from the Empty Bowl Cookbook](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/poems-from-the-empty-bowl-cookbook/) - The sixth issue of The Madrona Project delivers a literature of sustainability. A banquet of writers and artists addresses the ways our species sustains itself with ancestral foods and recipes, adheres to earth’s cycles, and protects our habitat of food sources. Poems, prose, and art exemplify human successes and failures and offer up some darn
- [Ana Maria Spagna's "Spawning in the Mud"](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/ana-maria-spagnas-spawning-in-the-mud/) - Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from Institute writing instructor Ana Maria Spagna's new collection of essays Potluck: Community on the Edge of Wilderness. Join us at Mount Vernon's Libation Station on May 6 for a free reading and author reception -- more information on this and other readings in Seattle, Concrete, Darrington and
- [David Douglas: Collector, Naturalist, Explorer](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/david-douglas-collector-naturalist-explorer/) - While spring is busy blooming and blossoming at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, there is still time during quiet evenings to curl up and read a good book. For those of you interested in expanding your understanding of the early days of natural history exploration in the Northwest region, The Collector by Washingtonian writer,
- [Practice, Practice, Practice: Writing and Meditation in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/practice-practice-practice/) - By Holly Hughes Editor's note: Holly is co-leading the October 12-14 workshop "Sit, Walk, Write: Nature and the Practice of Presence" at the Learning Center — only a handful of spots are left! I’m at the North Cascades Institute with my friend and co-teacher Kurt Hoelting to teach a weekend workshop called: Sit, Walk, Write:
- [Pursuing the Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/marbled-murrelet-in-the-north-cascades/) - By Maria Mudd Ruth Maria Mudd Ruth presents from her book Rare Bird: Pursuing the Mystery of the Marbled Murrelet at Village Books in Bellingham at 4 pm on Sunday, November 17, as part of our Nature of Writing Fall 2013 series. William Leon Dawson (1873-1928), a well-respected naturalist, egg collector, and author was hot on the
- [Ana Maria Spagna's "Reclaimers"](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/ana-maria-spagnas-reclaimers/) - Guest post by Ana Maria Spagna; an excerpt from the Prologue "The Low Ground” to Reclaimers, (UW Press 2015) Spagna reads from her new book at Village Books in Bellingham on Thursday, October 8, at 7 pm as part of our Nature of Writing Fall Speaker Series; free! When I started telling friends about my interest in reclamation, everyone had a story.
- [Great Tide Rising: Toward Moral Courage in a Time of Planetary Change](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/great-tide-rising-toward-moral-courage-in-a-time-of-planetary-change/) - Join North Cascades Institute at Village Books in Bellingham on May 3 at 7 pm for a free reading by Kathleen Dean Moore from her new book Great Tide Rising: Toward Moral Courage in a Time of Planetary Change. Oregon writer Kathleen Dean Moore founded her reputation as a top-notch writer through several books that gracefully
- [Happy National Poetry Month - enjoy Poetry from the Porch videos](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/poetry-from-the-porch/) - Poetry from the Porch is back for 2021! This new reading in our ongoing series features the verse of Kyce Bello from her 2020 debut collection "Refugia," shared by author and naturalist Lyanda Lynn Haupt. You can hear Haupt present from her new book Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit on
- ["Buying Time for Pikas" by Thor Hanson](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/buying-time-for-pikas/) - If you can imagine a grayish-brown, rabbit-like creature the size of a grapefruit and nearly as round, that is an American pika. They inhabit mountain slopes, often well above tree line, from the high Rockies west to the Pacific Ocean, including the North Cascades. Slow to breed and reluctant to disperse, pikas have long been
- [Campfire Stories: "Syncing Up at Sol Duc" with Rena Priest](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/campfire-stories-rena-priest/) - Initially preserved to protect its dwindling forests and population of Roosevelt elk, Olympic National Park is home to diverse ecosystems that boast glacier-capped mountains, old-growth temperate rain forests, alpine forests, and over seventy miles of wild coastline. Here one can traverse varied landscapes on or off trail, through forests and along rocky Pacific coastlines. Olympic
- [Meet the Bigg’s Killer Whale (Orcinus orca)](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/biggs-killer-whale/) - You see that fin slicing up through the surface—tall, tall, taller—until at last the body follows and an exhaled plume of breath huffs up? You know you’re in the presence of Killer Whale. Suddenly, the sea around you is enlivened, its mystery breached by the rise of this sleek, powerful body from the depths. For
- [New Book Captures Late Northwest Poet Robert Sund's Words](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/robert-sunds-journals/) - Robert Sund is our bard of the Skagit River, a singer of songs celebrating skunk cabbage, frogs, muddy water, ducks, and the rising tide. In the summer of 1973, the poet — who studied under Theodore Roetke at the University of Washington in the early 1950s — built a small dwelling on the pilings of
- [Welcome to Subirdia: An Excerpt](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/welcome-to-subirdia-an-excerpt/) - As part of our "Nature in Writing" series, John Marzluff reads from Welcome to Subirdia: Sharing Our Neighborhoods with Wrens, Robins, Woodpeckers, and Other Wildlife, Friday, April 3rd, 7 pm, in the Readings Gallery at Village Books in Bellingham. Free! by John Marzluff My research and that of other urban ecologists suggest that, despite the great
- [The Triumph of Seeds: An Excerpt](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-triumph-of-seeds-an-excerpt/) - Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from The Triumph of Seeds by Thor Hanson. It comes from Chapter Eight: By Tooth, Beak, and Gnaw. By Thor Hanson "Oh rats, rejoice! The world is grown to one vast drysaltery! So munch on, crunch on, take your nuncheon, Breakfast, supper, dinner, luncheon!" Robert Browning The Pied Piper of
- [UPLAKE: Restless Essays of Coming and Going: Excerpt from Ana Marie Spagna](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/uplake-restless-essays-of-coming-and-going-excerpt-from-anna-marie-spagna/) - Here’s a story line. A boy grows up in an idyllic place, a small rural place, the plains of Nebraska, say, or small town North Carolina. What happens next? He moves away. His new perspective may cause him to grow nostalgic like Jim Burden in My Antonia or world-weary like George Webber in You Can’t
- [Going Feral: Field Notes on Wonder and Wanderlust: Excerpt from Heather Durham](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/going-feral-field-notes-on-wonder-and-wanderlust-excerpt-from-heather-durham/) - I sat on a pile of leaves and conifer needles in the space between where two large roots of a western red cedar sloped to the ground. Back against the thick bark and elbows resting on the roots, I surveyed the forest in front of me. It was December in Western Washington, dry and cold
- [Barry Lopez in Seattle, April 7](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/barry-lopez-in-seattle-april-7/) - North Cascades Institute is delighted to be welcoming Barry Lopez to Seattle on Wednesday, April 7, and we hope you'll join us for a one-of-a-kind presentation Barry is calling "Speak, Landscape." Here's the skinny on our annual literary event in Seattle next week: Seattle Arts & Lectures and North Cascades Institute present An Evening with
- [Terry Tempest Williams' intriguing meanderings](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/terry-tempest-williams/) - When Women Were Birds: Fifty-Four Variations on Voice reviewed Note: Williams will be reading in Bellingham on June 21 as part of our “Nature of Writing” series with Village Books. More info at www.ncascades.org/events. In recent years, Terry Tempest Williams has written about patriotism and democracy in America, Italian mosaics, the Sundance Film Festival, Rwandan
- ["Trails & Tracks; Poems and Memory" by Bill Yake](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/trails-poems-by-bill-yake/) - It’s a problem -- pulling a collection of poems together. I had a friend who consulted a Tarot deck. Another who threw a sheaf of poems down a flight of stairs then gathered and stacked them as they had fallen. I was walking the trail of shadows near Mount Tahoma (Rainier) – a place where
- [Ana Maria Spagna: Writer, Trail Worker, Stehekin Resident](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/ana-maria-spagna/) - Ana Maria Spagna reads from her new book Reclaimers at Village Books in Bellingham on Thursday, October 8, at 7 pm as part of our Nature of Writing Fall Speaker Series; free! Read a book review by our communications coordinator Christian Martin at cascadiaweekly.com. Like many people who choose to live in the North Cascades, Ana Maria Spagna has patched together
- ["Teaching in the Rain: The Story of North Cascades Institute" by John Miles](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/teaching-in-the-rain/) - In the early 1980s, five young men who loved teaching, the natural world, and the North Cascades dreamed of creating a field school to teach about the place and its many histories-natural and cultural. The North Cascades Institute emerged from that dream in 1986 with the help of North Cascades National Park. Teaching in the
- [Favorite Nature Art & Photo Books of 2015](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/favorite-nature-art-photo-books-of-2015/) - I'm fortunate to get to review books for various regional publications, most often in the Cascadia Weekly. I get the privilege and pleasure of being sent many books throughout the year, usually on "nature topics," both fiction and nonfiction, as well as poetry, art, photography and conservation issues. Here at the end of 2015, I've
- ["Natural History of the Pacific Northwest Mountains" reviewed](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/natural-history-of-the-pacific-northwest-mountains-a-book-review-by-saul-weisberg/) - Many years ago, sitting in a subalpine meadow below Slate Peak in the North Cascades, Art Kruckeberg told me “a naturalist is an ecologist in short pants.” That began a long, rambling discussion about natural history, field ecology, trail snacks, Methow Valley place names, simple tools for the complete naturalist, and ultimately, what books are
- [New books: "Jesintel" and "The Power of Trees" reviewed](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/new-books-jesintel-and-the-power-of-trees-reviewed/) - A new book has been published that has been in the works for, well, thousands of years. Jesintel: Living Wisdom from Coast Salish Elders from Children of the Setting Sun Productions — a Native-owned production company based in Bellingham — collects the lived experiences, firsthand knowledge, tribal traditions and ecological insights of Indigenous elders from
- [Nature of Writing series on YouTube](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/nature-of-writing-series-on-youtube/) - We've posted three readings recently in our new "Nature of Writing" video series on YouTube — video and audio recordings of past writers we have presented events with, tuned up, edited down and posted for all to enjoy. To get the series started, we worked with an old VHS tape recording of Gary Snyder reading
- [The Nature of Writing Speaker Series * Spring 2015 in Bellingham](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/nature-of-writing-speaker-series-spring-2015/) - A SERIES OF FREE NATURAL HISTORY AUTHOR READINGS AT VILLAGE BOOKS / 1200 11 STREET, BELLINGHAM Join Village Books and North Cascades Institute in welcoming our region’s most gifted writers on the natural world to Bellingham. From wildlife in the city to botany, local marine ecology to poetry inspired by our Wild Nearby, you'll learn more
- [Nature of Writing Speaker Series book reviews](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/nature-of-writing-speaker-series-book-reviews/) - Village Books teams up with the North Cascades Institute every spring and fall to offer the “Nature of Writing” speaker series at the Readings Gallery in the storied Fairhaven bookstore. With a focus on nature writing, science and the natural and cultural history of our region, the free series of readings brings some of the
- [Nature of Writing Speaker Series at Village Books](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/nature-of-writing-speaker-series-at-village-books/) - Join us for a series of free in-person presentations and find your next book for the cozy fall and hygge winter nights ahead! The Nature of Writing Speaker Series hosts authors, poets and artists sharing their new works. Events are in-person at Village Books (1200 11th St, Bellingham) and pre-registration is requested. Lara Messersmith-Glavin's Spirit
- [Nature of Writing Speaker Series ⎸ Fall 2023](https://blog.ncascades.org/nature-of-writing/now-fall-2023/) - Presented by Village Books and North Cascades Institute Find your next book for the Fall and Winter months ahead in presentations by authors, poets and naturalists sharing their new works. This series is particularly close to our hearts as several of our instructors and long-time friends will be presenting their new books, including Tim McNulty,
- [Spring 2024 Nature of Writing Speaker Series in Bellingham](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/nature-of-writing-spring-2024/) - Presented by Village Books and North Cascades Institute Discover your next great read with this series of presentations by authors, poets, artists and naturalists sharing their latest works. As part of this Spring Series, we’re honored to welcome back Institute instructors, friends and contributors including David B. Williams, Tele Aadsen, and Nikki McClure. Dig through
- [Forest Walking](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/forest-walking/) - We here in Cascadia know the forests that surround us are many things: places of refuge and play; home to countless critters that crawl, climb, slither and fly; nurseries of plants and fungi; medicinal cabinets of natural remedies; and sacred temples of filtered light where we can momentarily escape the pressures of the modern world.
- [Caribou Rainforest: From Heartbreak to Hope](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/caribou-rainforest-from-heartbreak-to-hope/) - MOUNTAIN CARIBOU ROAM up and down the mountains from valley bottom to mountaintop, back and forth across an international border, in and out of political discourse, and through the history and dreams of people in this region. The forests of these mountains, epic in scale, are home to an assemblage of species found in northern
- [Rarely Spotted : Northern Spotted Owls](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/rarely-spotted-northern-spotted-owls/) - Guest post by Leigh Calvez, author of the new book The Secret Lives of Owls. Join us Thursday, Sept 22, at Village Books for a free reading from this great new title from Sasquatch Books, the first event in our Fall 2016 Nature of Writing Speaker Series in Bellingham. Perhaps the most iconic of all owls in
- [Fall 2024 Photo Roundup!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/fall-2024-photo-roundup/) - Before shifting our gaze to 2025, join us in a look back at 2024's last few months when we had so much fun helping people experience our natural neighborhood! Our hearty thanks to everyone—Institute staff and participants—who captured these images that help show off the ways we work and play! Fall Mountain School Mountain School
- [The Institute's Journey to Climate Neutrality](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/the-institutes-journey-to-climate-neutrality/) - The Institute’s mission is to inspire environmental stewardship through transformative experiences in nature. Recognizing climate change as the greatest threat to the environment and human communities, we are committed to addressing this challenge. In 2020, our Board of Directors approved "Conservation in Practice," a bold goal to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. The aim is
- [Eva's Window into Youth Leadership Adventures](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/a-window-into-youth-leadership-adventures-experience/) - After months pitching Youth Leadership Adventures (YLA) trips to classrooms of stoic students, sending countless emails and texts,and watching our enrollment numbers tick up, students rolled into Newhalem Creek Campground on a hot, buggy day in early July. As the 15-person van emptied out quietly I snuck around to the drivers side and greeted Neal,
- [Protecting Wildlife and Water Quality at Diobsud Creek with Skagit Land Trust](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/protecting-salmon-in-diobsud-creek/) - In 2014, the Institute purchased a 9-acre property near Marblemount in the Upper Skagit Valley to provide housing for our expanding staff at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. A few years later, with the support of the M.J. Murdock Trust and Institute donors, we constructed an adjoining ADU house to increase resident capacity. Our
- [Carnivore Recovery: Wolves Return to Western Washington](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/carnivore-recovery-wolves-return-to-western-washington/) - We have doomed the wolf not for what it is, but for what we deliberately and mistakenly perceive it to be –the mythologized epitome of a savage ruthless killer – which is, in reality, no more than a reflected image of ourselves." - Farley Mowat For as long as man and canine have co-existed, the
- [Affinity Weekend at the Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/affinity-weekend/) - By Alma Williams, North Cascades Institute's Director of Inclusion and Community Partnerships As I sit at my desk, I often think about the incredible experiences and stories shared at the inaugural Affinity Weekend at our Environmental Learning Center, which was held during The Labor Day Weekend. The North Cascades Institute invests significant effort into finding
- ["My Summer with YLA" — Student Reflection](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/my-summer-with-yla-student-reflection/) - When I hugged my mom goodbye and stepped onto the Youth Leadership Adventures (YLA) van for the first time this July, leaving my phone behind, I had no idea what to expect. At first, the ride up to Newhalem was silent, everyone was timid and worried about making the wrong impression. It’s crazy how fast
- [A Passion for the Natural World: Meet our new Board Members](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/a-passion-for-the-natural-world-meet-our-new-board-members/) - The board of directors of North Cascades Institute plays a pivotal role in our success by providing governance, oversight and strategic direction. Our board is composed of exceptional individuals with diverse experience and expertise. Their collective leadership, accountability and commitment to the organization add immense value. We are so grateful for the leadership and support
- [Food Planet Future](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/food-planet-future/) - When I sit down to eat a meal, I want to know that the food on my plate hasn’t been grown at the expense of the planet. It’s ironic that the mere act of feeding ourselves every day tethers us to agricultural systems that wreak chaos on ecosystems and the climate. But there are ways
- [Summer 2024 Photo Round-up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/summer-2024-photo-round-up/) - What a summer it's been, jam-packed and overflowing with fun as Institute programs got folks outside exploring and learning in our wild backyard! A sampling of the action included birding, frog-catching (and releasing), snake-counting, Big Canoe-ing, knot-tying, star-gazing, s'mores-ing and a lot of ooo-ing and ahh-ing. By that count alone, summer at the Institute was
- [Creating Community Beyond Language](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/creating-community-beyond-language/) - Guest post by Kaylin Lilly, 2024 YLA Instructor After having an extremely impactful season last year, I was eager to come back to Youth Leadership Adventures as a field instructor. My deep eagerness sprouted from the heartfelt communities I saw form last year, even when people didn’t speak the same language. I was excited to
- ["What YLA Means to Me" Student Reflections](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/what-yla-means-to-me-student-reflections/) - https://youtu.be/bMdq0Z_TCOM Listen to students reflect on their YLA experiences on the last day of their trips in the summer of 2024! Youth Leadership Adventures offers backpacking and canoe-camping field courses in the North Cascades that connect 9th-12th grade students to the natural world while engaging them in conversation about climate change and climate solutions. In
- [Trail Guide to Ptarmigan Ridge](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/trail-guide-to-ptarmigan-ridge/) - The North Cascades are a hiker's paradise. The trail system that we enjoy in these northern mountains provides access to spectacular places and ranks among the world's supreme networks of footpaths. The Ptarmigan Ridge Trail is one of the finest routes in the Mt. Baker area, a dream-walk along a sinuous high-country ridge that meanders
- [Student for a Day at North Cascades National Park Headquarters](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/student-for-a-day-at-north-cascades-national-park-headquarters/) - By guest blogger Elisabeth Keating "The coolest part was when we went snorkeling in Ross Lake, looking for fish. Remember how cold it was?" "We met a Spanish forestry Ph.D. student on the boat on Ross Lake. She's here to study how we manage our forests because in her country, the forests have been logged
- [North Cascades in the Seattle Times](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/north-cascades-in-the-seattle-times/) - Visiting a national park in Washington while enjoying a modicum of solitude has become a logistical feat: This summer, Mount Rainier National Park requires timed-entry reservations for Sunrise and Paradise, while visitors to Olympic National Park highlights like the Hoh Rainforest and Hurricane Ridge often endure multihour waits. But hiding in plain sight is a third option if
- [Reflections on Juneteenth](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/reflections-on-juneteenth/) - Juneteenth — also known as Freedom Day, Emancipation Day or Jubilee Day — is an annual holiday celebrated on June 19 in the United States. It commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the Confederate States, and its announcement, two-and-a-half years later, in Texas. Texas was the last Confederate state to abolish slavery, though
- [The Skagit River Watershed’s Geologic Evolution](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-skagit-river-watersheds-geologic-evolution/) - By Dr. Jon Riedel The Skagit River is the heart and soul of the North Cascades. It is by far the largest watershed in the southern arms of the Salish Sea, draining an area of topographic riddles and complex geology. I have been a student of the Skagit’s natural history since I first set eyes
- [Giving Back to our Community through Service II](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/giving-back-to-our-community-through-service-ii/) - Since 2021, the Institute has provided paid service days to our staff. We encouraged everyone to use those hours to volunteer with a local nonprofit organization or government agency of their choice each year. Here are some of the creative ways that this benefit contributed to our local community, from working with animal shelters and
- [What is Cascadian Zen?](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/what-is-cascadian-zen/) - Essay by Adelia MacWilliam and Jason Wirth In 2023 Paul Nelson, Jason Tetsuzen Wirth and Adelia MacWilliam founded Watershed Press to support our first publications, Cascadian Zen, Volumes One and Two, respectively. They are carefully curated collections of poetry, essays, interviews, as well as art and photography from the bioregion of Cascadia. Our mandate is
- [Eric Buher's Mountain School Journey](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/eric-buhers-mountain-school-journey/) - I grew up in La Conner, Washington, at the mouth of the Skagit River, and on the traditional homelands of the Swinomish, Samish, Upper Skagit, and Kikialis peoples. As a child, I would occasionally camp and hike with my family—“front-country” excursions, mostly in the summertime. I became a Cub Scout in second grade, and experienced
- [An Increasing Presence: Moose of the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/moose/) - In the early morning hours of a chilly October day, Adam Brayton and Christine Sanderson, students with the North Cascades Institute's Graduate M. Ed program, awoke to an unusual sight. A large, hoofed mammal with gangly long legs came careening out of a thicket and tromped through the cohort's campsite on Chelan Ridge, in the
- [Winter 2023 Institute Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/winter-2023-institute-photo-round-up/) - December's first snow may have fallen on a quiet amphitheater, but we're busy in every corner of the Institute—literally and figuratively! Operations and Housekeeping teams are still working hard to clean up the Learning Center after this summer's evacuation while others are busy updating curriculum for fifth graders, supporting high schoolers working on a climate
- [The Birth and Death of a Glacier](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-birth-and-death-of-a-glacier/) - Slowly, gently, the snowflake spirals downwards. It pirouettes through the sky, first drifting this way, then another, finally coming to rest on a precarious pile of powder. It’s mid winter in the Cascades and this recently settled snow crystal destabilizes the system. A sudden crack cuts through the mound of snow and it begins to
- [A Neverending Cascade of Snow](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/a-neverending-cascade-of-snow/) - As the days shorten and cool mornings frost over the memories of a hot, dry summer, Washington’s reservoir begins to grow in the mountains. Most years the first refresh arrives sometime in September as the early autumn storms regreen the landscape. Majestic old-growth forests exhale sighs of relief, reopening their stomata as moisture permeates the
- [Discover Birds of the PNW with North Cascades Institute](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/discover-birds-of-the-pnw-with-north-cascades-institute/) - We're offering several guided birding adventures in the North Cascades, on the Salish Sea, and online this season to take you where the action is and help you take your birding skills and knowledge to the next level. See our full list of FIELD TRIPS & ONLINE CLASSES at ncascades.org/classes. Understanding Bird Biology: An Online
- [Tribute to our Departing Board Members](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/tribute-to-board-members/) - I'm thankful for the opportunity to reflect on the tenure of three exceptional people who are retiring from the North Cascades Institute's board. Dunham, Nan and Gerry joined the Institute during what I think of as our "adolescence." It was a time of great growth, when we were figuring out how to take the business
- [Alan Alatorre-Barajas' Environmental Education Journey](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/alan-vamos-education-journey/) - By Alan Alatorre-Barajas, Institute student alumni and Vamos Outdoors Project board and leadership team member Recently, I was having a conversation with a supporter of the Vamos Outdoors Project about the history of the organization and why and how I am at Vamos. I mentioned that I wouldn’t be at Vamos if it wasn’t for
- [Fall 2023 Institute Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/institute-round-up-fall23/) - The North Cascades Environmental Learning Center may still be closed to the public after this summer's Sourdough Fire, but there’s a lot going on at the Institute! We’re seeing our mission in action as we meet with high school students in the Youth for the Environment and People program. We've engaged dozens of adult learners
- [Jack Kerouac in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/jack-kerouac-in-the-north-cascades/) - Sixty years ago this month, Jack Kerouac left Northern California for the Skagit Valley and North Cascades to begin his summer as a fire lookout atop Desolation Peak. We're having fun tracing his trajectory through his writing found in The Dharma Bums and Lonesome Traveler, as well as John Suiter's excellent history Poets on the
- [Winter Hikes: Baker River, An Immersion in Green](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/winter-hikes-baker-river/) - Springtime settles over the valley of the Baker River like a luminous mossy dream. The Baker River Trail offers visitors a master class in the color green: the lush rain forest is a thousand shades of verdure. The air itself seems green. It’s a tangled world of twisted branches, contorted roots, and the hypnotic swaying
- [Grateful for Moments in Nature in a Challenging Year](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/grateful-for-moments-in-nature-in-a-challenging-year/) - “Gratefulness allows us to nurture a keener eye that no longer rushes past the small everyday moments that make up the larger part of our lives.” —Guri Mehta We at North Cascades Institute are grateful for thousands of small moments in nature this year that collectively foster growth, appreciation, understanding and environmental stewardship. Moments such
- [Amy Brown's Environmental Education Journey](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/amy-browns-environmental-education-journey/) - My name is Amy Brown and I’m honored to share a little about my environmental education journey at North Cascades Institute. This Fall, I was invited to participate in a special event in Bellingham celebrating the publication of John Miles' new book Teaching in the Rain—a history of the first 35 years of North Cascades
- [Reflections on North Cascades Wild](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/reflections-on-nc-wild/) - By CJ Goulding Who are you? What makes you unique? What have you learned about the effects of stewardship? What has your experience on this trip taught you about leadership? What do you plan to do with it when you return home? These are a few of the Mule Questions which, as leaders this summer,
- [Beyond Borders: The Importance of Conservation Across Border Lines  ](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/beyond-borders-the-importance-of-conservation-across-border-lines/) - BC Parks cares for 1,037 provincial parks, conservancies, protected areas, and ecological reserves that represent the incredible diversity of ecosystems found within this beautiful province. Some of these parks and protected areas lie along borders with other jurisdictions including Alberta and Yukon, as well as the states of Alaska, Montana, and Washington (B.C. borders Idaho,
- [Public Comment Period Opens for Restoring Grizzlies to the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/public-comment-period-opens-for-restoring-grizzlies-to-the-north-cascades/) - The National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are seeking public input on a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that evaluates options for restoring grizzly bears to the North Cascades Ecosystem in Washington. Grizzly bears occupied the North Cascades for thousands of years as an essential part of this ecosystem, distributing native plant
- [The Power of Patience: Building Community in Youth Leadership Adventures](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/power-of-patience/) - I had one huge question: is this what they actually need? Is this experience something that will be helpful for these students? Is this 9-day canoe experience pulling these students from more pressing issues in their life? I’m asking these questions because many of these students already understand the barriers they face, and have had
- [Sourdough Fire closes Learning Center through 2023](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/sourdough-fire-closes-learning-center-through-2023/) - You may have heard about the Sourdough Fire burning in the North Cascades from local news or social media, and we want to share directly with you an update on how it is impacting our Environmental Learning Center staff and programs. The fire started with a lightning strike on July 29 on the lower flanks
- [Languages: Barriers or Bridges in Youth Leadership Adventures? ](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/languages-barriers-or-bridges-in-youth-leadership-adventures/) - I sat on a sunbaked rock after a long canoe day and watched our students ecstatically jump into the icy cold waters. Two students, Lili and Maya, stood knee deep in Ross Lake and appeared to be playing patty cake. I took a closer look and heard them counting “uno, dos, tres…” and “一 (jat1),
- [In Memoriam Charles Claassen](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/in-memoriam-charles-claassen/) - North Cascades Institute is heartbroken to share the news that Chef Charles Claassen passed away last Thursday. This has been sudden and shocking to all of us in his extended circle of family, friends, coworkers and professional partners in the world of food and farming. Charles was on a personal paddleboarding trip on the Skagit
- [Soul of the Skagit](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/soul-of-the-skagit/) - When the pandemic hit, little did I know that this would be the catalyst for spending the next three years photographing and writing about the Skagit River. As a native Floridian, I had never even heard of the Skagit before. St ill, I was eager to challenge my photography and writing to tell a complex
- [Jon Riedel: Glacier Geologist](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/jon-riedel-glacier-geologist/) - What do you do if you are a young midwestern college graduate with a degree in geology and a yearning for adventure, wilderness and outdoor work in the West? “You go to where the action is,” says Jon Riedel, and for him, that meant the North Cascades. The North Cascades’ superlative features would excite any
- [Meet our new Outdoor Educators!](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/meet-our-new-outdoor-educators/) - We're excited to welcome our new team educators for 2023! Read on to meet a wildly-talented, diverse and passionate crew of Environmental Program Instructors and Coordinators for Mountain School and Youth Leadership Adventures! If you come up to the Environmental Learning Center this summer for a Base Camp, Family Getaway, Skagit Tour or Adult class,
- [The Power of Trees](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-power-of-trees/) - The future of forests and the future of humanity are inextricably entwined. I’m not saying this for dramatic effect; it is simply a fact. As bleak and frightening as these words sound, they actually offer a great deal of hope. Trees are so adept at creating communities that many of them can cope with the
- [Alma Busby-Williams: Why I Support Outdoor Education as a Mother](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/alma-busby-williams-why-i-support-outdoor-education-as-a-mother/) - My name is Alma. I am a daughter. I’m a friend. I am a cancer survivor. I’m a hiker. I am a consultant. I’m a kayaker. And I am the new Director of Inclusion and Community Partnerships at North Cascades Institute. And, perhaps most importantly, I am a mother. As a mother, I cannot stress
- [Nature of Writing Speaker Series ⎸ Spring 2023](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/nature-of-writing-speaker-series-spring-2023/) - Presented by Village Books and North Cascades Institute Find your next book for the Spring months ahead in this series of presentations by authors, poets and naturalists sharing their new works. Most events are free and in-person at Village Books; The Power of Trees: An Evening with Peter Wohlleben and Thor Hanson on May 6
- [Call to Contract Instructors](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/call-to-contract-instructors/) - North Cascades Institute seeks to collaborate with contract instructors on virtual and field programming for 2023 and beyond! The Institute inspires environmental stewardship through transformative learning experiences, and we're always looking for new instructors and topics to keep our offerings relevant and fresh. We’re motivated to change narratives in the outdoors, and diverse candidates looking
- [Gerry Cook: Why I Named North Cascades Institute in my Will](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/gerry-cook-why-i-am-a-headwaters-club-member/) - As a third-generation North Cascadian and Upper Skagit River resident who spent over 40 years working with the North Cascades National Park, my life has been driven by this belief. As a long-time board member and instructor with the North Cascades Institute, I aspire to live each day in a way that gives back to
- [Giving Back to our Community through Service](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/giving-back-to-our-community-through-service/) - Since 2021, the Institute has provided paid service days to our staff and encouraged everyone to use those benefit hours to volunteer with a nonprofit organization or government agency of their choice each year. Here are some of the creative ways that this benefit contributed to our local community, from working on a Skagit Valley
- [Youth environmental group works on composting at Sedro-Woolley High School](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-environmental-group-works-on-composting-at-sedro-woolley-high-school/) - A local student environmental group is helping to improve composting in schools. The group, Youth for the Environment and People!, was started by the nonprofit RE Sources and is managed by the North Cascades Institute. Each year, students take a topic — this year’s was food waste — and create a project to help their
- [Board Profiles: Meet Nan McKay and Michael Liang](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/board-profiles-nan-michael/) - Do you know people where it would be a much shorter conversation to ask them “what don’t they do” because they do so much for so many? That is how North Cascades Institute could describe the commitment of one of our longest serving board members, Nan McKay, and one of our newer members, Michael Liang.
- [Valley kids learn about natural connections at Mountain School](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/valley-kids-learn-about-natural-connections-at-mountain-school/) - Fifth-graders return to North Cascades Institute Years ago, Methow Valley fifth-graders began attending Mountain School, an environmental education program offered by North Cascades Institute (NCI) in partnership with North Cascades National Park. Held at the Environmental Learning Center on the shores of Diablo Lake, Mountain School is a three-day program that gives each student 26
- [Mountain School Reflections: "Teaching is a Two-way Street"](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-reflections-learning-and-teaching-is-a-two-way-street/) - Guest post by Mountain School instructor Al Kahn reflecting on their first week of teaching with North Cascades Institute Excited. Nervous. Fresh faced and wide awake. Terrified, but beyond ready. These are just a few of the emotions that I like to imagine were felt equally between myself and the incoming Methow Valley Elementary 5th
- [Anne Crandall's Art Journey](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/anne-crandalls-art-journey/) - My family moved to Washington state almost 28 years ago from New England. Of course, that involved finding new services like doctors and dentists. One morning, my dental hygienist and I were talking about being creative and learning new things. She told my about North Cascades Institute and the great classes they had to offer
- [Essential Fire: Blaze on Panther Creek](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/panther-creek-fire/) - North Cascades Fire Management observing the Panther Creek Fire from Beebe Mountain, southeast of the fire; photo by Kerry Olson Guest Post by Bob Valen, National Park Service Public Information Officer Smokey bear is renowned for a few simple 1950s quotes, all of them are asking you and me to "prevent wildfires." The message is straight-forward,
- [Summertime at the Institute](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/summertime-at-the-institute/) - Learning can feel a lot like play around here—that's true all year long, but especially in summertime! It took real hustle to create those experiences this season and still, we found ourselves in the middle of some beautiful moments with each other and participants. We heard kids laughing at some unnamed silliness up the trail,
- [March 2020 Photo Round Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/march-2020-photo-round-up/) - Signs of Spring in the North Cascades As everyone can agree, so very much has happened this month. Since we're all hunkered down in our homes and neighborhoods practicing good social distancing behavior, it's a great time for an Institute Photo Round-Up to show you what has been happening in the North Cascades and Skagit
- [The Power of Diversity in Youth Leadership Adventures](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/the-power-of-diversity-in-youth-leadership-adventures/) - Our Youth Leadership Adventures trail group of seven students and two instructors lay down on the Big Beaver dock on Ross Lake. We were closing our Daily Summit - an evening meeting meant for reflection and gratitudes - when we all experienced an unforgettable moment. Backs pressed against the cool metal of the dock, ears
- [Welcome Back Overnight Mountain School!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/welcome-back-mountain-school/) - How are you connected to the North Cascades? By MK Kirkpatrick-Waite In September 2022, North Cascades Institute will be opening our doors again to local 5th- and 6th-grade students for three-day Mountain School sessions! We are so excited to have students back at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center for multiple days of learning, bonding
- [Building Community in Youth Leadership Adventures](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/building-community-in-youth-leadership-adventures/) - North Cascade Institute’s Youth Leadership Adventures (YLA) programs are about many things: outdoor adventure, climate action, leadership opportunity, stewardship, and, most importantly, building community. In early July, we led the first trip of the season. I took the van, my cup of coffee, and expectations of a van full of enthused yet awkward teenagers to
- [Neil Gavin: Online Classes Superstar!](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/neil-gavin-online-classes-superstar/) - “I’m trying to do what I can to leave the world a better place for my kids, for the next generation.” As a father of two young children and lover of all things outdoors, Neil Gavin cares deeply about learning about and protecting the environment around us — even when the pandemic had us
- [On the trail with Youth Leadership Adventures](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/on-the-trail-with-youth-leadership-adventures/) - With eight students and two instructors packed in the Institute van at the start of a Youth Leadership Adventures trip, we drove up the bumpy forest road to get to Park Butte Trailhead. That day, our crew would hike to Mazama Camp in the Mt. Baker National Recreation Area. We'd then spend the next four
- [Youth Leadership Adventures students hit the trail](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-leadership-adventures-students-hits-the-trail/) - Last week, the first cohort of Youth Leadership Adventures (YLA) participants strapped on their boots and shouldered their packs to head into the North Cascades backcountry. One group will canoe-camp on Ross Lake while the other backpacks up Thunder Creek and canoes on Diablo Lake. These brave high schoolers - most of them participating in
- [Spring 2022 Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/spring-2022-photo-round-up/) - Where did the time go?? Spring flew by, but not so fast that Institute staffers couldn't document the very best of how we work, learn, and play together. Thanks for taking some time to appreciate our happy moments! Curiosities and Creatures Ask this crew for their favorite photos and you can be sure your inbox
- [Skagit Tours Canceled (but we have other ideas for fun in the Upper Skagit!)](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/skagit-tours-cancelled/) - The summer just won’t be the same without Skagit Tours. In November, severe flooding washed out a section of SR 20 leading into Newhalem, reducing traffic to a single lane. Washington Department of Transportation will be making repairs over the next several months, which will create significant travel delays in and out of the area.
- ["Total Immersion" from Forest Walking](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/total-immersion-from-forest-walking/) - As soon as you step into a forest, you step into a different space. Depending on the type of forest, the trees may be growing together so closely that their tops almost touch. Outside, the sun may be shining brightly, but here, you are in the shade. The leaves are busily absorbing sunlight to make
- [Why I Love North Cascades Institute (and you should too!)](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/why-i-love-north-cascades-institute-and-you-should-too/) - After being inspired by the mission and vision of the Youth Leadership Adventures program, I joined North Cascades Institute’s seasonal staff in June of 2021. I’ve continued here and grown in my role because of the people—the vibrant community that the Institute creates. In a recent conversation with my coworkers, I described the scope and
- [Winter 2021/2022 Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/winter-2021-2022-photo-round-up/) - Before turning our lens to spring flowers and bursting leaf buds, let's bring winter into focus with another round-up of staff photos. As the calendar flipped forward, we adventured near and far, worked hard to reopen the Learning Center for the start of 2022 programs, and welcomed new staff, new visitors, and new puppies! Thanks
- [Whatcom READS 2022 – Read the book, join the conversation](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/whatcom-reads-2022-read-the-book-join-the-conversation/) - Since our beginning in 1986, North Cascades Institute has incorporated the arts in to our programs in service of our conservation mission. Writing, painting, poetry, literature, photography and other creative approaches have always been important ways of interpreting and engaging with the world around us, and necessary compliments to scientific ways of understanding. So we're
- [Happy Trails Kristofer Gilje](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/happy-trails-kristofer-gilje/) - In 2007, Kristofer Gilje began working for North Cascades Institute as a Facilities Manager at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. His previous experience working at Holden Village, a remote retreat center in the North Cascades wilderness, made him a perfect fit to help steward our campus on Diablo Lake in the heart of North
- [Youth come together for community climate solutions](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-come-together-for-community-climate-solutions/) - The world is changing around us and I want to do my part to help and make a positive impact. — 2021 YEP! Participant, grade 10 The people who stand to suffer the most from leaders delaying meaningful climate action—young people—have been leading the charge for change nationally and globally for several years. Students are
- [Fall 2021 Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/fall-2021-photo-round-up/) - A lot can happen in 3 months—like an entire season of Mountain School, an epic flooding event, and sightings of wolves, cougars and dragons! On the eve of Winter Solstice, let's look back on the highlights of this Fall, as told through photos by Institute staff. Warm beverage recommended! Fall colors & textures There's no
- [The Difference a Role Model Makes](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/the-difference-a-role-model-makes/) - When Jennifer Morales met a female National Park Ranger at the NW Environmental Youth Summit in 2017, the seed was planted for her future coursework and career. At this gathering for future conservation leaders at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, the ranger explained how Diablo Lake gets its color from the nearby glaciers. Jennifer found herself
- [Best of 2021 Online Classes - rent a playlist!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/best-of-2021-online-classes-rent-a-playlist/) - Since the start of the pandemic, North Cascades Institute has offered dozens of online learning experiences exploring the natural and cultural history of the North Cascades ecosystem. These programs have been an innovative, inspiring way to continue coming together as a community to learn about this special place we live in through many lenses: photography,
- [Welcome Don Striker to the North Cascades!](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/welcome-don-stryker-to-the-north-cascades/) - Exciting news! Don Striker has joined North Cascades National Park as the new Superintendent. Striker most recently served as the superintendent of Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska, where he managed six million acres of wilderness and mountain landscapes, including North America’s highest peak and the traditional homeland of Alaska’s Athabascan and Dena Native
- [My first day at (Mountain) School](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/my-first-day-at-mountain-school/) - From the Environmental Learning Center dining hall kitchenette where we were all awaiting the arrival of the 5th graders from Burlington-Edison School district, Mia began yelling “the bus is coming over the dam!” Like firefighters hearing the alarm, we all sprang from our seats and started walking quickly down the trail to meet the Allen
- [Youth for the Environment and People! in Whatcom and Skagit counties](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-for-the-environment-and-people/) - North Cascades Institute is partnering with our friends at RE Sources to run a cohort of the Youth for the Environment and People! (YEP!) program this Fall. YEP! provides an opportunity for students to share ideas and passions, learn about climate change solutions, engage in local stewardship projects, and work together with other youth in choosing,
- [2020 Highlights: Prevailing in a Challenging Year](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/2020-highlights-prevailing-in-a-challenging-year/) - The year 2020 began with a wave of excitement at North Cascades Institute. We were celebrating 30 years of Mountain School, our iconic residential environmental education program for thousands of 5th graders in our region. At the Mt. Baker Ski Area, we were engaging middle school students to learn about snow science, watersheds and climate
- [Call to Environmental Instructors](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/call-to-environmental-instructors/) - North Cascades Institute seeks to collaborate with contract instructors for future virtual and field programming! The Institute inspires environmental stewardship through transformative learning experiences, and we're always looking for new instructors and topics to keep our offerings relevant and fresh. We’re motivated to change narratives in the outdoors, and diverse candidates looking to present their
- [Summer 2021 photo round-up from our staff](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/summer-2021-photo-round-up/) - Before turning to fall diversions in our rain gear and boots, let's take a look back at summer! Our marvelous staff has shared pics of their favorite moments outside, presented here in alphabetical order. We also get a gander at what our friend Saul Weisberg has been doing since his "graduation" from the Institute. Please
- [Mountain School is back this Fall!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/mountain-school-is-back/) - Mountain School Fall 2021 North Cascades Institute is excited to announce the return of Mountain School this Fall! After having missed the better part of three seasons due to the pandemic, our staff are collaborating closely with schools to create safe and enriching experiences for local students. We are offering a combination of online orientations
- [Goodbye Saul, Hello Bec!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/goodbye-saul-hello-bec/) - Change is in the air at North Cascades Institute this year — as the pandemic recedes, the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center reopens and we welcome nearly 25 new staff hires to our community — but also with Executive Director Saul Weisberg’s retirement on June 30, 2021. Weisberg was one of the Institute’s co-founders in
- [Storytime with Saul at the Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/storytime-with-saul-at-the-learning-center/) - In late September, we hosted an intimate gathering at the Environmental Learning Center to celebrate Saul Weisberg and his retirement after 35 years of serving as the executive director of North Cascades Institute. Following the ELC's new vaccine protocols, it was attended by current and former staff, board members, instructors, partners, supporters, and friends, and
- [Happy 30th Birthday Mountain School!](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/happy-30th-birthday-mountain-school/) - 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of Mountain School! Over the past 29 years, more than 30,000 youth from Northwestern Washington State have traveled up the Skagit River on Highway 20, past bald eagle sentinels and berry farms, to experience an unforgettable three days and two nights in the mountains with their school class, teacher and chaperones. Mountain School is offered
- [The Search for the Perfect Trail Bar](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/the-search-for-the-perfect-trail-bar/) - With the myriad of closures and cancellations surrounding the Covid pandemic over the past year-plus, the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center's kitchen team has had to find many ways of adapting. Changes have included moving from buffet-style food in the Dining Hall to grab-and-go meals, as well as dreaming up new cooking and canning projects
- [Land Acknowledgements: Why and How Are Nature Centers Using Them?](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/land-acknowledgements-why-and-how-are-nature-centers-using-them/) - NATURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING CENTERS connect inextricably to the land around them. Their missions are rooted in understanding and exploring the history, present, and future of that land, and invariably involve sharing experiences with their communities on that land. What does it mean, then, when a nature center is situated on stolen land? After all,
- ["So Long, Saul" Online Retirement Celebration](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/so-long-saul-online-retirement-celebration/) - After 35 years of service, the time has come for us to say “So Long, Saul!” It's hard to believe, but our co-founder and executive director of the past 35 years retired on June 30. We celebrated Saul Weisberg's many accomplishments and long-lasting legacy as a visionary nonprofit leader, educator, naturalist and writer with this
- [The Art of Rambling](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/the-art-of-rambling/) - I've been reading a lot of books about walking lately: rambling through pages that recount long saunters across lands familiar and foreign. The curriculum is reminding me that the simple act of placing one foot in front of another is the best way to authentically experience a place, and often leads one to insight and
- [An Evening with Saul Weisberg and Friends](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/an-evening-with-saul-weisberg-and-friends/) - North Cascades Institute and Village Books hosted an online conversation on May 13 — part of the Nature of Writing Speaker Series, as well as our ongoing celebration of Saul Weisberg's legacy of leadership as he prepares to retire at the end of June after 35 years of serving as the Institute's executive director. It
- [Mystery Skulls with Alexa #4: The Omnivore's Dilemma](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mystery-skulls-with-alexa-4-the-omnivores-dilemma/) - We really miss having Mountain School students at the Environmental Learning Center! Until we can welcome them back, Senior Program Instructor Alexa Brandt is sharing one of her favorite lessons – Mystery Skulls! – in a new series of videos. Get ready to put your nature curiosities and keen observation skills to the test as we work
- [Institute reopening with Spring + online author readings!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/institute-reopening-with-spring-online-author-readings/) - When the coronavirus pandemic hit a year ago and schools, businesses and gathering places suddenly shut down, North Cascades Institute was forced to close their Environmental Learning Center on Diablo Lake and cancel most of their educational programs for the year. That meant no Mountain School for Whatcom and Skagit county's 5th graders. No Family
- [Mystery Skulls with Alexa #3: Nice to Meat You!](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mystery-skulls-with-alexa-3-nice-to-meat-you/) - We really miss having Mountain School students at the Environmental Learning Center! Until we can welcome them back, Senior Program Instructor Alexa Brandt is sharing one of her favorite lessons – Mystery Skulls! – in a new series of videos. Get ready to put your nature curiosities and keen observation skills to the test as we work
- [Escuela de Montaña en Casa Lección 18: El ciclo del agua](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/escuela-de-montana-en-casa-leccion-18-el-ciclo-del-agua/) - Durante este tiempo de cierres de escuelas y guías para quedarse en casa, el Instituto de North Cascades está compartiendo lecciones y actividades de nuestros talentosos instructores de la Escuela de Montaña. Esperamos que estas lecciones y actividades inspiren a estudiantes de todas las edades a seguir aprendiendo sobre el mundo natural y describir nuevas conexiones al
- [Mountain School @ Home Lesson 18: Water Cycle](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-home-lesson-18-water-cycle/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was
- [Introducing Rebecca Detrich, our next Executive Director!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/introducing-rebecca-detrich/) - We are excited to announce that Rebecca (Bec) Detrich has been selected as our next Executive Director! Our board of directors and staff hiring team chose her because of her leadership experience and deep knowledge of Residential Environmental Learning Centers, experience working successfully with federal and state partners, and her career-long emphasis on community engagement
- [Mystery Skulls with Alexa #2 : Herbivores](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/mystery-skulls-with-alexa-2/) - We really miss having Mountain School students at the Environmental Learning Center! Until we can welcome them back, Senior Program Instructor Alexa Brandt is sharing one of her favorite lessons - Mystery Skulls! - in a new series of videos. Get ready to put your nature curiosities and keen observation skills to the test as
- [Youth for the Environment and People? YEP!](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/yep/) - By Sasha Savoian, Education Specialist at Re-Sources In a year of isolation, online learning and uncertainty, twenty-nine high school students from Whatcom and Skagit counties mobilized around the theme of environmental justice in our Youth for the Environment and People (YEP!) program. “I wanted to tangibly make a difference, work with other motivated young people,
- [Our 10 Favorite Things To Do in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/10-favorite-things-to-do-in-the-north-cascades/) - 1. Canoe the Skagit River The Skagit is one of the great rivers of the west, supplying nearly 40 percent of the fresh water and wild salmon entering Puget Sound. A multiday trip down the Skagit River is a real gem. Designated a Wild and Scenic River in 1978, the Skagit drains an area of
- [Escuela de Montaña en Casa Lección 17: Paisajes interiores y exteriores](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/escuela-de-montana-en-casa-leccion-17-paisajes-interiores-y-exteriores/) - Durante este tiempo de cierres de escuelas y guías para quedarse en casa, el Instituto de North Cascades está compartiendo lecciones y actividades de nuestros talentosos instructores de la Escuela de Montaña. Esperamos que estas lecciones y actividades inspiren a estudiantes de todas las edades a seguir aprendiendo sobre el mundo natural y describir nuevas
- [Mountain School @ Home Lesson 17: Inner & Outer Landscapes](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-home-lesson-17-inner-outer-landscapes/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was
- [Mystery Skulls with Alexa - Introduction](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/skulls-video/) - We really miss having Mountain School students at the Environmental Learning Center this Spring! Until we can welcome them back, Senior Program Instructor Alexa Brandt is sharing one of her favorite lessons - Mystery Skulls! - in a new series of videos. Get ready to put your nature curiosities and keen observation skills to the
- [New exhibit celebrates the legacy of Skagit artist Jesus Guillén](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/jesus-guillen/) - “He fell in love with the area the first time he saw it. And, although he worked long, hard hours on the farm, he always found time to paint and draw.” — Anita Guillén Jesus Guillén was a noteworthy regional artist who died in 1994 but remains an important part of the art history of
- [Statement Renouncing Hate Crimes against the AAPI Community](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/renouncing-hate-crimes-against-the-aapi-community/) - North Cascades Institute condemns the hate crimes committed against Asian American and Pacific Islanders, which includes the brutal murders of eight people, including six Asian American women, in Atlanta last week. We bear witness to the disturbing uptick in xenophobia and violence towards the AAPI community over the past year across the nation, as well
- [Mountain School at Home "ACHOTUS" Ep4: J.D. Ross](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/achotus-ep4-j-d-ross/) - Enjoy the fourth and final episode in our series on the Cultural History of the Upper Skagit Valley in the North Cascades, and get ready to meet a visionary businessman who is an inextricable part of the cultural history story here: The “Father of Seattle City Light,” James Delmage (JD) Ross. His life story intertwined
- [Reflections on the Parks Climate Challenge program](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/reflections-on-the-parks-climate-challenge-program/) - By Heather McPherson The year was 2009, I was a sophomore in high school, and I had no idea I was about to embark on a series of memorable and life-changing adventures that upcoming summer with the North Cascades Institute (NCI). I had a wonderful 10th grade biology teacher who really connected with her students
- [¡La Escuela de Montaña cumple 30 años!: Actualización de plan de estudios para mejor servir a los estudiantes y maestros ](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/la-escuela-de-montana-cumple-30-anos-actualizacion-de-plan-de-estudios-para-mejor-servir-a-los-estudiantes-y-maestros/) - ¡2020 marca el 30 aniversario de la Escuela de Montaña! En los últimos 29 años, más de 30,000 niños del noroeste de Washington han viajado por la autopista 20, pasando por granjas ganaderas y centinelas de águilas, para experimentar tres días y dos noches en las montañas. En ese tiempo, la enseñanza sobre el mundo
- [North Cascades Institute & Connections on National Public Radio](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/north-cascades-institute-connections-on-national-public-radio/) - "The risk of catching the coronavirus is lower outside than inside, and for that reason, a lot of people were hoping that public schools could mitigate risk by shifting instruction to the great outdoors. In Seattle, despite a push in the summer to make that happen, pilot programs are still not up and running. But
- [Reflections on the Connections Program](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/reflections-on-the-connections-program/) - By Annah Young, 2020 Connections Coordinator I was nervous as I drove up to Kendall Elementary in northern Whatcom County on the first day of the Connections Program last October. It was pouring rain, I hadn’t been with students for a long time, and I hadn’t worked around other people yet during the pandemic. Since
- [Dec 2020-Jan 2021 Photo Round-up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/december-2020-january-2021-photo-round-up/) - December and January are always months of reflection—pondering the year past and dreaming of the year ahead. With so much to preoccupy us while crossing the bumpy threshold into 2021, these reflections were best done by turning off our screens and getting outside. Please enjoy this collection of photos from our time spent welcoming a
- [Connections: Outdoor Learning During a Pandemic](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/connections-2020/) - This Fall, in Whatcom County, like counties across the nation, students started school on an “all remote” schedule. While districts and funders distributed hot spots for families without reliable internet at home and worked to ensure all students had laptops, no amount of fancy software or tech equipment could span the increasing gaps the pandemic
- [Mountain School at Home "ACHOTUS" Ep2: George Holmes](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/achotus-ep2-george-holmes/) - https://youtu.be/bgER-5B6-c8 Learn more about... George Holmes: NOCA Presentation_BlackMiners.pdf; presentation by Denaya Shorter and Glenn Nelson of The Trail Posse including primary source images and documents George Holmes, from slave to North Cascades miner; article from Skagit River Journal NCCC - Impressions of the North Cascades (My Place in the Mountains); essays from North Cascades
- [Mountain School at Home "ACHOTUS" Ep3: Lucinda Davis](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/achotus-ep3-lucinda-davis/) - https://youtu.be/iuwbu-kxn1E Learn more about Lucinda Davis... Valley Girls: Safe haven — Lucinda Davis and her family provided lodging and comfort; article from the Skagit Valley Herald Lucinda, Frank and Glee Davis, part one; article from the Skagit River Journal Dick Fallis 1981: the Davis Family of Cedar Bar; article from the Skagit River Journal Davis
- [Volver a imaginar el futuro de la Escuela de Montaña: Abrazar la educación centrada en los estudiantes ](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/volver-a-imaginar-el-futuro-de-la-escuela-de-montana/) - La Escuela de Montaña es el programa del instituto de 30 años. Estudiantes (mayormente estudiantes de quinto grado) viajan profundamente a las cascadas del norte para pasar tres días en su ecosistema estableciendo una relación fundamental con la naturaleza, una que esperamos que lleven consigo por el resto de sus vidas. El plan de estudios
- [Re-envisioning the Future of Mountain School: Embracing Student-Centered Education](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/curriculum-redesign-2020/) - Mountain School is the Institute’s 30-year-old flagship program. Students (predominantly 5th graders) travel deep into the North Cascades to spend three days in its ecosystem establishing a foundational relationship with the natural world—one we hope they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. The Mountain School curriculum has undergone multiple small adjustments since its inception
- [Recreate Responsibly: Winter Edition](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/recreate-responsibly-winter-edition/) - Are you in the know for snow? Winter is a beautiful time, but with the new season comes new challenges and safety considerations to take into account. We want everyone to be able to enjoy this incredible time of year, and we want you to stay safe while doing it. Check out these tips to
- [High school students reflect on climate change and their futures in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/high-school-students-reflect-on-climate-change-and-their-futures-in-the-north-cascades/) - For the Youth Leadership Adventures (YLA) program, a normal summer looks like bringing around 80 local high school students on a backcountry adventure that is anything but normal. Participants stretch their boundaries on courses that go into the backcountry of North Cascades National Park and Okanogan-Wenatchee and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forests on 8- and 12-day
- [October-November 2020 Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/october-november-2020-photo-round-up/) - In this photo round-up we pack two months into one, and oh, what a couple months it's been. When we weren't watching infographics—hoping those lines plotting COVID-19 data take a dip, or biting our nails over maps as states voted red or blue—we were also watching the seasons change, listening to snow geese flock noisily
- [Learn Mountain Photography with Scott Kranz, Dec 2](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/learn-mountain-photography-with-scott-kranz-dec-2/) - Join Seattle-based outdoor photographer Scott Kranz December 2 at 6 pm for an online slideshow and discussion of tools and techniques for approaching and composing mountain landscape photography. Learn about location and trip planning, understanding and working with light, and composition principles that will help you create more captivating images to convey your story. Click
- [Mountain School @ Home Lesson 16: Glaciers!](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-home-lesson-16-glaciers/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was created
- [Mountain School at Home ACHOTUS Ep1: Indigenous Presence](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/a-cultural-history-of-the-upper-skagit-indigenous-presence/) - Mountain School instructors Jillian Ross, Imara White, Alexa Brandt, and Kari Paustian bring you this wonderful reinvention of a traditional Mountain School activity that goes by the acronym "ACHOTUS" (which stands for A Cultural History of the Upper Skagit). As students imagine traveling back in time, they are introduced to historical figures with special relevance to this area. By
- [Mountain School @ Home Lesson 15: Watersheds in the North Cascades and at Home](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-home-lesson-15-watersheds-in-the-north-cascades-and-at-home/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was created
- [Institute Founder and Executive Director ready for his next adventure](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/institute-founder-and-executive-director-ready-for-his-next-adventure/) - After 35 exciting and fulfilling years as part of this extraordinary community, I'm excited to announce that I plan to retire next year, on June 30, 2021. I believe this is the right time for me — and the right time for North Cascades Institute. Finding the next leader for North Cascades Institute will be
- [Youth Leadership Adventures podcast on climate change](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-leadership-adventures-podcast-on-climate-change/) - Since Youth Leadership Adventures stayed in local communities this summer, we had the opportunity to do something a little bit different- we made a podcast about climate change! We wanted to listen to the thoughts that young people have on this big problem- one that is already here and is yet to be solved. This podcast gave
- [Mountain School @ Home Lesson 14: Enjoying Field Guides](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-home-lesson-14-enjoying-field-guides/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was created
- [Mountain School @ Home Lesson 13: A Love Letter to the Douglas Fir](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-home-lesson-13-a-love-letter-to-the-douglas-fir/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was created
- [Terry Tempest Williams' Burning Testament](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/a-burning-testament/) - By Terry Tempest Williams, September 2020 With these ashes in hand that have fallen from near and far on the drought-cracked desert of Utah, I raise my fist to a smoke-choked sky to honor the holy creatures, human and wild, who have lost their lives and homes to the galloping flames like rider-less horses burning
- [Local artist Gretchen Leggitt and our new sticker!](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/local-artist-gretchen-leggitt-and-our-new-sticker/) - Christian Martin: How long have you lived in and around the North Cascades, and how long have you been working as an artist? Gretchen Leggitt: I've lived in Bellingham for about 9 years, but I have been recreating in the North Cascades since the day I moved to the NW in 2006. I have been
- [Mountain School @ Home Lesson 12: I Spy Nature](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-home-lesson-12-i-spy-nature/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was
- [September 2020 Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/september-2020-photo-round-up/) - This last September, Institute staff put the final touches on one season and welcomed another by taking summer's last road trips, harvesting in backyard gardens, and of course, hitting the trails to enjoy fall's new color palette. Join us for a glimpse through our best pics from the month! Welcoming Fall! Get ready to
- [Mountain School @ Home Lesson 11: Shadow Painting & Poetry](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-home-lesson-11-shadow-painting-poetry/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was created
- [August 2020 Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/august-2020-photo-round-up/) - Adventure Crew! Institute staff logged many miles on trails all around the North Cascades this month, with the dusty boots and sunburned ears to prove it. This group has not wasted the summer's sunny opportunities to gain elevation, jump in lakes, and feel that breathtaking feeling ... you know the one, feeling so small out
- [The Kinship of Climbing and Farming](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/the-kinship-of-climbing-and-farming/) - I have been daydreaming about homesteading since I was a kid. Three years ago it happened; I was a couple years into my thirties, mid-career at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, and about to lose my apartment, I bought a 4-acre piece of land in Marblemount, Washington. On the property was one shoddy old
- [New videos on the History of the Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/new-videos-on-the-history-of-the-learning-center/) - Do you think that a place can have a purpose? What does it look like when a place embodies an intention? Nestled into the Douglas firs and big leaf maples on the shores of Diablo Lake lies a place that has inspired us for over 90 years. Originally serving as a construction camp for workers
- [Mountain School @ Home: Raptors!](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/mountain-school-home-raptors/) - What makes a raptor a raptor? Enjoy this talk about birds like hawks and eagles and how they hunt prey with instructor Lindsay McCord. https://youtu.be/eFHKYKRAdvM Awesome resources to learn more about raptors Websites Archaeopteryx -- WOW BIRDS ARE DINOSAURS (oldest fossilized “bird”) What is Falconry -- North American Falconers Association All About Birds --
- [Phenology with Zoe in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/phenology-with-zoe/) - To engage in the process of phenology is to engage with the cyclical, seasonal phenomena occurring in the world all around you. Or, in other words, tuning into nature's calendar. This process includes noticing, observing and documenting plant, animal and any other seasonal change with consistency over a duration of time. Changes in phenology affect
- [May 2020 Photo Round Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/may-2020-photo-round-up/) - While questions swirl around the phases of re-opening, fingers are crossed for summer adventures and the return of Fall programming. Navigating so many unknowns is a stressor we'll be happy to put behind us—but fresh air, sunshine, and birdsong are welcome therapy. Come along on this month's installment of photos by Institute staff, showing how
- [June 2020 Photo Round-up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/june-2020-photo-round-up/) - This month's call for photos was met with an enthusiastic response from Institute staff, sharing ample evidence that this group knows how to work hard and play hard. Let's settle in for a stroll through what we've been up to in June! In Confluence Garden Tucked into the nook where Diobsud Creek and the Skagit
- [July 2020 Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/july-2020-photo-round-up/) - The Faces of North Cascades Institute July completed our fifth month of being dispersed from the Institute's downvalley office and upriver Environmental Learning Center. While we've become pros at working together remotely, the oft-repeated opener to any virtual meeting has become "it's so great to see your faces!" And it really is—thanks everyone for sharing
- [Virtual Skagit Tours](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/virtual-skagit-tours/) - What makes boats so charming, so timeless, and so convivial? Let us travel backward along the river of time to the late 1920's when the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project was in its infancy. James Delmage Ross, the second Superintendent of Seattle City Light had been trying to compel to Seattleites to join the age of
- [Where do we go to grieve? Where do we go to heal?](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/where-do-we-go-to-grieve-where-do-we-go-to-heal/) - In this time of protest and pandemic, I am struck by the loneliness of being a social animal in a world that tells us not to touch. A friend told me that this is a lonely time to have a baby. I hear of weddings postponed and funerals officiated over Zoom. My Uncle’s ashes wait
- [Searching For Snakes in the Methow Valley](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/searching-for-snakes-in-the-methow-valley/) - Even before we leave the parking lot, someone has spotted a snake. Luke, eleven years old and the youngest student in our class, had been looking through his binoculars at a tall shrub at the Methow Valley Ranger Station in Winthrop, Washington. When he announces, “There’s one!” we all run over and find a racer,
- [Concrete students get immersed in mountain science at Snow School](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/concrete-students-get-immersed-in-mountain-science-at-snow-school/) - One morning in mid-February, eighth-graders from Concrete caught snowflakes on their tongues and took a few falls as they learned how to walk with snowshoes strapped to their feet. “I am so pumped!” 14-year-old Phoenix Young said — not about a typical snow day, but a day spent at Snow School with 27 of his
- [Mountain School @ Home: Lesson 9 - Learning Bird Calls](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-home-lesson-9-learning-bird-calls/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was created
- [Mountain School @ Home: Lesson 10 - Create your own Treasure Map](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/mountain-school-home-create-your-own-treasure-map/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was
- [Black Lives Matter](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/black-lives-matter/) - The deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Charleena Lyles, Manuel Ellis, Rayshard Brooks — as well as the experiences of birders J. Drew Lanham and Christian Cooper — highlight the relentless violence, adversity, and racial injustice faced by Black members of our communities. North Cascades Institute is a primarily white-led organization. We teach
- [Mountain School @ Home: Lesson 8 - Making Granola](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-home-lesson-granola/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson offers
- [Mountain School Reflections #4: Tae](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-reflections-4-tae/) - Meet Tae —a Bellingham local who first joined us at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center in 2009 with her 5th grade class from Birchwood Elementary. She was able to come back to Mountain School two more times with her high school, before graduating in 2016. We no longer offer Mountain School for high schoolers—so
- [Mountain School @ Home: Owls!](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/owls/) - Enjoy this talk about owl adaptations — how their physiology helps them to be superior nocturnal predators — with instructor Lindsay McCord. https://youtu.be/HN6_g1ns2cc Video Resources For Learners of All Ages Owls Silent Flight Experiment Owl vs Wolf How Owl Hearing Works Great Horned Owl On the Hunt Owls of North America and Their Calls
- [Mountain School @ Home: Composting](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/lesson-composting/) - Join Mountain School instructor Tanner Johnson at the Confluence Garden on our property in Marblemount for some tips on how to start and maintain a healthy compost pile, turning food scraps and yard waste in to healthy soil for gardening. https://youtu.be/irlFtuiRq_g Download a free guide on backyard composting from WSU Extension here Thank
- [Recreating responsibly as lands reopen](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/recreating-responsibly-as-lands-reopen/) - As parks, trails, and beaches begin to reopen, it can be confusing to navigate this “new normal” in terms of how to recreate responsibly. The new #RecreateResponsibly guidelines give advice on how to get outdoors right now. When you choose to recreate responsibly, you are doing your part to keep yourself and others safe and
- ["Poetry in the Rain" readings](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/poetry-in-the-rain-readings/) - To help take us away from the troubles of the world, we asked some staff and friends to share videos of them reading poetry during April, National Poetry Month. Our executive director Saul Weisberg kicked things off from his porch in Bellingham during a rainstorm with a glass of whiskey -- setting the theme. He
- [Foodshed Explorations: Cooking with Wild Violets](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/cooking-with-wild-violets/) - During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors and staff. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. Enjoy this Foodshed Exploration
- [Mountain School @ Home: Lesson 3 - Nature Art & Writing](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/lesson-3-nature-art-writing/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was
- [Mountain School @ Home: Lesson 4 - Walking with Wonder](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/lesson-4-walking-with-wonder/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was
- [Mountain School @ Home: Lesson 5 - Tuning in to the Seasons with Phenology](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/lesson-tuning-in-to-the-seasons-with-phenology/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was
- [Mountain School @ Home: Lesson 7 - Adaptations](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-home-lesson-7-adaptations/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was created
- [Mountain School @ Home: Lesson 6 - Trail Cookies](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/trail-cookies/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School staff. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This recipe was
- [Mountain School @ Home: Lesson 2 – Tree Bud Journal](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/lesson2-tree-bud-journal/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was
- [Mountain School @ Home: Lesson 1 - Sit Spots](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/lesson-1-sit-spots/) - Students! Parents! Teachers! During this time of school closures and stay-at-home guidelines, North Cascades Institute is sharing lessons and activities from our talented Mountain School instructors. We hope these will inspire students of all ages to continue to learn about the natural world and discover new connections to the outdoors from home. This lesson was
- [Mountain School Reflections #3: Emily Schauble](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-reflections-3-emily-schauble/) - Walking Through the Forest by Mountain School Instructor Emily Schauble The second morning of Mountain School dawned to cloud blanketed skies and a nip of frost on the ground. After spending much of yesterday learning on the shores of Diablo Lake while soaking up a few unexpected rays of sun, I could see our students
- [April 2020 Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/april-2020-photo-round-up/) - As another month of "Stay Home Stay Healthy" wraps up, we hope you're finding your rhythm and maybe even some joy in exploring new ideas for living well in the confines of home and your local neighborhood. Many of us have learned how easy it is to plant a seed, make a sourdough starter, or
- [A Guide to Spring Blooms in Cascadia](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/spring-blooms/) - For many of us, staying close to home this spring has sparked a renewal of genuine gratitude for our nearby green spaces. Wildflowers especially have a way of inspiring such feelings and in these early days of May you're sure to encounter a dozen varieties on your favorite nature walk. Please enjoy this bouquet of
- [Mountain School Reflections #1: John Lahey](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/ms-reflections-1/) - Q: Tell us about your Mountain School experience. For me, Mountain School is a passion. My background is in environmental education so teaching 5th grade is a great opportunity for me to get students into the mountains. I have brought students up to Mountain School for the past 20 years, going back to the days
- [Mountain School Reflections #2: Kelly Kuplen](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/ms-reflections-2/) - Q: Tell us about your Mountain School experience. Roosevelt was lucky enough to be able to attend Mountain School this year and our kids had a fantastic time. They were so engaged with the learning model and truly enamored by the environment. Many of our students had never been in a forest before, or seen
- [Mountain School @ Home: "Hello, It's Tree" singalong](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/hello-its-tree/) - https://youtu.be/2r7kbAKnqkM "Hello, it’s tree I was wondering if you would like to learn about these? There’s so many to see So grab a pen and paper, and come along with me! One kind is evergreen It keeps most of its needles Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring There’s also deciduous With leaves that fall each year Standing
- [Mountain School Recommends: Books and Poetry](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-recommends-books-and-poetry/) - With the Spring closure of our Environmental Learning Center, our Mountain School Instructors are at home spending time in their local outdoor communities. During this time, they have compiled some of their favorite resources that they plan to revisit and have been itching to share with others! The resources include citizen science apps, books, poetry,
- [Mountain School Recommends: Podcasts](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-recommends-podcasts/) - With the Spring closure of our Environmental Learning Center, our Mountain School Instructors are at home spending time in their local outdoor communities. During this time, they have compiled some of their favorite resources that they plan to revisit and have been itching to share with others! The resources include citizen science apps, books, poetry,
- [Mountain School Recommends: Apps, Videos, and Live Cams](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-recommends-apps-videos-and-live-cams/) - With the Spring closure of our Environmental Learning Center, our Mountain School Instructors are at home spending time in their local communities. During this time, they have compiled some of their favorite educational and nature-exploration resources that they have been itching to share with others! The resources include books, poetry, podcasts and, in this post,
- [In memory of Peter Hardin Jackson](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/in-memory-of-peter-hardin-jackson/) - Amidst all else going on in the world, we are mourning the loss of our dear friend Peter Hardin Jackson, son of the late U.S. Sen. Henry M. Jackson and North Cascades Institute board member from 2008 to 2019. "A brilliant and eloquent writer, Peter used his commanding voice to champion the causes of human
- [a poem for these times](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/pandemic/) - What if you thought of it as the Jews consider the Sabbath— the most sacred of times? Cease from travel. Cease from buying and selling. Give up, just for now, on trying to make the world different than it is. Sing. Pray. Touch only those to whom you commit your life. Center down. And when
- [Spring observations from Diablo Lake](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/spring-observations-from-diablo-lake/) - March 19: As we reach the Spring Equinox in the upper Skagit Valley, we have experienced our first days of over 60 degree weather, along with seven straight days of sunshine. Deer have been active on campus and in Marblemount. Common Snowdrop, often one of the first bulbs to bloom in spring, is flowering at
- [Falling Into Mountain School](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/falling-into-mountain-school/) - The end of summer marked the beginning of a new school year and with it, new Mountain School experiences and adventures! This new season brought new instructors and familiar faces. Before Mountain School started, instructors had two and a half weeks of training, team building activities and fun. Their brains are still processing all the
- [Mountain School Turns 30! Updating our curriculum to better serve students and teachers](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/mountain-school-curriculum-redesign/) - 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of Mountain School! Over the past 29 years, more than 30,000 youth from Northwest Washington have traveled up Highway 20, past cattle farms and bald eagle sentinels, to experience three days and two nights in the mountains. In that time, teaching about the natural world has changed significantly. In 2013,
- [Magical Mountain School moments](https://blog.ncascades.org/mountain-school/magical-mountain-school-moments/) - One of the trickiest parts of being an instructor during a Mountain School session is how to properly transition from boisterous, high-energy games and songs to more quiet, less obviously engaging activities. Too abrupt a change and the high energy spills over into the supposed-to-be quiet activity. Since the boisterous activities are often fun equally
- [Washington State prioritizes getting kids outside!  ](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/washington-state-prioritizes-getting-kids-outside/) - Covid-19 forces Environmental Education Centers to refund $4M to Public Schools Residential Environmental Education programs in Washington collectively serve over 50,000 Washington school kids each year. Our programs augment the learning that occurs in the classroom, and connect students to the amazing and awe-inspiring natural areas and parks here in our state. We write today to
- [Tips for social distancing and the outdoors](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/tips-for-social-distancing-and-the-outdoors/) - Suggestions for practicing social distancing in the outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic Pay very close attention to your health and how you’re feeling. No matter how tempting a short hike or bicycle ride might seem, if you’re feeling at all unwell, please stay home! Stay local as much as possible Now is a good time
- [Guidelines for informal gatherings of children and youth while schools are closed](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/guidelines-for-informal-gatherings-of-children-and-youth-while-schools-are-closed/) - School closures have been announced by the state, but parents still need to work and students still need safe and enriching spaces to spend their days. The COVID-19 pandemic calls on our whole community to think creatively about how to meet everyone’s basic needs and maintain social connections while also blunting the spread of disease.
- [Washington’s rivers, salmon and orcas need protection from Canadian mines](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/washingtons-rivers-salmon-and-orcas-need-protection-from-canadian-mines/) - Good fences make good neighbors, wrote Robert Frost. Border walls aside, that remains true of Canadian mines upstream of Washington waters. We love our Canadian neighbors and value much of what we share. But due to geologic fate, mining waste is something British Columbia may share in profusion with us in Washington, as well as
- [Treaty of Point Elliott 165 years later](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/treaty-of-point-elliott-165-years-later/) - Last month was the 165th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Point Elliott signed between Governor of Washington Territory and 82 different tribal leaders, including Lummi Chief Chow-its-hoot. This is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the Native American tribes of the greater Puget Sound region in the recently
- [From Youth Leadership Adventurer to Youth Leadership Intern](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/from-youth-leadership-adventurer-to-youth-leadership-intern/) - By Inna Mayer Summer 2019 YLA Intern Youth Leadership Adventures holds a very special place in my heart. I remember my first trip as a student about four years ago; it was the summer before my sophomore year in high school, and we went out on the eight-day Outdoor Leadership trip. We paddled up and
- [Capturing the Night Sky with Andy Porter](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/capturing-the-night-sky-with-andy-porter/) - We have been focusing a lot of our attention on all the snow falling to the ground and the wonderful conditions it makes for snowshoeing, skiing, and snowball fights! So we decided to take some time to look up to the sky and focus on the stars, in honor of our upcoming Night Photography field
- [First day of Mt. Baker Snow School!](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/first-day-of-mt-baker-snow-school/) - Last week kicked off the latest season of Mt. Baker Snow School with a group of students from Mt. Baker Junior High. This winter, approximately 650 middle-schoolers will travel to Mt. Baker Ski Area to gain knowledge in through hands-on learning around the themes of weather, watersheds and climate. A collaborative program led by North Cascades
- [Tribal Canoe Journey 2019 exhibit at the Whatcom Museum](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/tribal-canoe-journey-2019-exhibit-at-the-whatcom-museum/) - Last July, the Lummi Nation hosted the Tribal Canoe Journey, when more than 100 canoes from different tribes and tribal nations traveled the waters of their ancestors to reach the homelands of the Lummi people. The journeys took anywhere from two weeks to a month in traditional 12-person canoes coming from as far away as
- [Homecoming: more fishers released in North Cascades ecosystem](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/more-fishers-released/) - Staff and supporters of North Cascades Institute were thrilled to be invited to attend the release of eight more fishers in to the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in the Darrington area on Thursday, December 12 — and be a part of history! The fishers were captured in Alberta, Canada as part of a multi-year project
- [Walking Washington’s History: Bellingham](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/walking-washingtons-history-bellingham/) - “Located in the most remote corner of the continental United States, hunkered below a wilderness cascading down from the mountains, early Bellingham… had ambition,” writes historian Judy Bentley in her new book from University of Washington Press. Four villages — Whatcom, Sehome, Bellingham, and Fairhaven — grew along the waterfront of Bellingham Bay and rode
- [Mt. Baker Snow School: Making climate science personal](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/mt-baker-snow-school-making-climate-science-personal/) - On Sept. 20, thousands of people took to our local streets as part of the global Youth Climate Strike. Though activists continue to provoke thought and inspire action, the scale of the problem can feel daunting. Mt. Baker Snow School provides a local context in which climate science becomes more personal, encouraging a sense of
- [Catching Alaskan salmon for the Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/catching-alaskan-salmon-for-the-learning-center/) - As part of our Foodshed initiative, North Cascades Institute strives to deliver the highest quality meals for all participants at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center because the food choices we make impact not only our bodies, but our planet too. The methods by which food is grown, processed, transported and prepared has consequences on
- ["From Harvest to Table: Event highlights Latino farmers"](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/from-harvest-to-table-event-highlights-latino-farmers/) - Chicken mole, homemade tortillas, green rice with chiles, a medley of beets, squash and chard, apple empanadas. These were some of the dishes shared Saturday at the North Cascade Institute’s annual Harvest Dinner at the environmental learning center on Diablo Lake. This year’s dinner highlighted the food and culture of two Latino farms in Skagit
- [Richard Louv on "Our Species Loneliness"](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/our-species-loneliness/) - At the same moment that social interactions among people are becoming more digital and less personal, there is an isolation of another kind forming: species loneliness—the gnawing fear that we are alone in the universe, with a desperate hunger for connection with other life. Believers in a personal God may feel they are not alone,
- [Mt. Baker Snow School: Reflections of a Volunteer Instructor](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/mt-baker-snow-school-reflections-of-a-volunteer-instructor/) - I participated in Mt. Baker Snow School during my senior year at Western Washington University. During my time as a student, I spent the vast majority of my winters exploring Mt. Baker on skis. I quickly found a strong sense of belonging to the community surrounding the mountain. Therefore, when I heard about the program through
- [More fishers released in the North Cascades!](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/more-fishers-released-in-the-north-cascades/) - Fisher release! In the winter of 2019-2020, approximately 50 fishers are expected to be released in North Cascades National Park and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, and last week, partners in the project released eight more into the Suiattle River drainage. The four female and four male fishers were captured in Alberta, Canada as part of
- [Endangered Orcas: An encounter on San Juan Island](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/endangered-orcas-an-encounter-on-san-juan-island/) - It was two in the afternoon on a Friday in July and I had just gotten off work. I stopped in town for a sandwich, where I ran into Nancy, a whale-watch captain. She didn’t break her stride and said, “Js just got to Kellett when they flipped—it’s a west side shuffle kind of day!”
- [August 2019 Photo Round Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/august-2019-photo-round-up/) - Summer is winding down in the North Cascades and we're giving thanks for the drizzly days, cooler temperatures and smoke-free skies this season. It's such a relief after last summer's sooty skies! August was a very busy month in the North Cascades. Visitors, participants and staff made the most of summer's end and this photo
- [Life After Glaciation: Upper Skagit River Bull Trout](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/life-after-glaciation-upper-skagit-river-bull-trout/) - Driving east on Highway 20, in route to my first day of class at the North Cascades Institute, I remember being struck by the wide valley narrowing into a winding gorge just outside of Newhalem, Washington. The Skagit River tumbled over chunks of deposited rock, glaciated jagged peaks pierced the sky and the turquoise waters
- [Where the Powerlines Start](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/powerlines-start/) - Bumper to bumper traffic on I-5 provides the perfect thinking spot. Usually this is the place where my mind starts to wonder things like "Why does traffic happen" and "When will they make flying cars?" The most recent time I was fortunate enough to be stuck, however, my mind drifted over to the powerlines beside
- [Area high schoolers immersed in North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/area-high-schoolers-immersed-in-north-cascades/) - By Kimberly Cauvel for the Skagit Valley Herald originally published August 10, 2019 Between stints of fear, self-doubt and even physical pain at times, a group of teenagers laughed harder than ever, felt proud of what they achieved and found moments of peace surrounded by the vistas of the North Cascades. “I hiked 37 miles
- ["Cultivating a Supportive Community": My summer as a Youth Leadership Adventures intern](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/yla-internship-2019/) - By Urvy Prasad Summer 2019 North Cascades Institute YLA Intern Youth Leadership Adventures (YLA) is a program offered by the North Cascades Institute that that offers high school age students the opportunity to spend twelve days in the North Cascades NationIl Park doing backpacking or canoeing while learning about leadership, natural history, climate change and
- [Playing With Fire: A Cultural History of Wildfire in Western Washington](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/playing-with-fire-a-cultural-history-of-wildfire-in-western-washington/) - When I was growing up in Western Washington summer was a glorious time. The cold weather and relentless rain would finally cease, and the warm embrace of that ever-elusive sunshine would wash over us at last. It was a time for picnics and running through sprinklers and long, endless days of adventure. I used to
- [Youth Leadership Adventures 2018 Program Report](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/yla-2018-program-report/) - Youth Leadership Adventures is a progression of transformational learning experiences, designed for local underserved teens to jump-start lifelong environmental and community stewardship. Primary activities are 8-day Outdoor Leadership and 12-day Science and Sustainability Summer Courses in North Cascades National Park, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Youth Ambassadors, Internships, and the Northwest Youth
- [Mountain School: Leveling the Playing Field for Environmental Education](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/mountain-school-leveling-the-playing-field-for-environmental-education/) - Mountain School is our 28 year-old residential education program at the Environmental Learning Center in the heart of North Cascades National Park. Over 3 days, students spend 60 hours learning about ecological communities with their classmates, teachers, and parent chaperones. Hands-on, interdisciplinary experiences connect students to the natural and cultural history of our watershed. For most, this is
- [Submarine Parents: How Orcas use Social Strategy in Parenting](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/submarine-parents-how-orcas-use-social-strategy-in-parenting/) - Connecting to the natural world was tough when I was younger. I was taught that understanding the natural world was the domain of a scientist, and that there is a right and a wrong way to do science. Science took the natural world out of my hands and set it on a shelf high
- [Sweet Treat: Licorice Ferns in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/sweet-treat-licorice-ferns-in-the-north-cascades/) - It was a cold, rainy day and I was hiking up to North Cascade Institute’s iconic hike: the Sourdough Waterfall. I was shadowing my first Mountain School trail group. We had attempted to see the waterfall but there was too much water in the stream, and we could not safely head out into the stream
- [Citizen Science: An Ode to Collaboration](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/citizen-science-an-ode-to-collaboration/) - If you asked me how I would describe myself on any given day, I might say that I am an educator and a student, a (slow) runner and hiker, a curious traveler, or even an addicted coffee drinker. What you would never hear me call myself is a scientist. For myself, and I believe many
- [The Return of the Fisher: The Reintroduction of a Carnivore in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/the-return-of-the-fisher-the-reintroduction-of-a-carnivore-in-the-north-cascades/) - What’s fierce, agile, and doesn’t hunt fish? A Fisher! The Fisher (Martes pennanti) is a medium-sized member of the weasel family that despite its name rarely eats fish. These carnivores can be found throughout temperate forests in North America, from the Northwest Territories in Canada down to Oregon. Fishers hunt mainly small to medium-sized mammals
- [Cold-Blooded and Cold-Tolerant: Finding Reptiles In the North Cascades Ecosystem](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/cold-blooded-and-cold-tolerant-finding-reptiles-in-the-north-cascades-ecosystem/) - The North Cascades Ecosystem is full of wonders I never thought I would experience when I first moved here from Florida. From snow on the mountain tops even in August, to the milky-turquoise color of Diablo Lake in the warmer months, I am constantly amazed and fascinated by this magical place. Nothing has been more
- [Between Fear and Fascination: Studying Vespids in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/between-fear-and-fascination-studying-vespids-in-the-north-cascades/) - When I’d chosen to write a natural history project on wasps, the only lead I had was that maybe I should pay a visit to Twisp. There was rumor that Twisp meant “wasp” in Interior Salish, that there was a giant statue of a yellowjacket in the center of town, and the local high school
- [July 2019 Photo Round Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/july-2019-photo-round-up/) - Summer is well underway, though it is a bit cooler in Cascadia than we've gotten used to in recent years — no complaints, we're enjoying the clean air and smoke-free skies, with fingers crossed that it continues through August. The North Cascades Environmental Learning Center is bustling day-in, day-out with Family Getaways, Base Camp Learning & Lodging,
- [Kulapalooza! Weekend Adventure Retreat for Women](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/kulapalooza/) - When was the last time you tried something for the first time? If it’s been a while... Kulapalooza, a three-day outdoor adventure retreat for women has classes and workshops to inspire your sense of adventure, your love of art and a little something for your soul. It takes place October 25-27 at the North Cascades
- [Canoes on the move across the Salish Sea for the Paddle to Lummi](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/canoes-on-the-move-across-the-salish-sea-for-the-paddle-to-lummi/) - This week marks the start of a very special cultural celebration here in the Pacific Northwest: Paddle to Lummi: Sqweshenet Tse Schelangen/"Honoring our way of Life." The Lummi Nation near Bellingham, WA will be welcoming and hosting the annual tribal canoe journey from July 24-28. Canoe families from tribes across Western Washington, Canada, Alaska, and
- [Rivers: Rebuilding Relationships with the Natural World.](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/rivers-rebuilding-relationships-with-the-natural-world/) - Love can defeat that nameless terror. Loving one another, we take the sting from death. Loving our mysterious blue planet, we resolve riddles and dissolve all enigmas in contingent bliss.” - Edward Abbey, from Down the River Rivers have been the source of connection between the natural world and myself since I was born. Growing up
- [June 2019 Photo Round Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/june-2019-photo-round-up/) - Summer is officially here, schools out, and it's time to get to the mountains! We're all ready for a busy season full of programs like Family Getaways, Base Camp Learning & Lodging, Skagit Tours, Adult classes and a wide array of conferences and retreats. Have you made plans to join us this year? Check our online calendar to see all
- [Letter opposing mining in the Skagit River Headwaters](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/letter-opposing-mining-in-the-skagit-river-headwaters/) - To: Premier of British Columbia John Joseph Horgan Dear Premier Horgan, I am writing to express North Cascades Institute’s opposition to the permit application by Imperial Metals for mining exploration in the Silver Daisy Peak area. The project will have significant negative impacts on the area's natural and cultural resources that are at the core of
- [Donut Hole: Threats to the Skagit Loom North of the Border](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/donut-hole-threats-to-the-skagit-loom-north-of-the-border/) - Since time immemorial, the Skagit River has been a life-giving watershed for countless organisms that live in and along the banks of its milky-blue waters. The river's name derives from the Indigenous people of Upper and Lower Skagit territories who have traveled up and down these waterways, sustaining themselves physically and spiritually on its bountiful
- [North Cascades Institute - A Nature and Learning Paradise](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/a-nature-and-learning-paradise-reflections-on-a-residency-the-north-cascades/) - I'm feeling an inward thrum, a tingling aliveness, from my time beneath the majestic peaks of the North Cascades mountains. Last month, I served as creative resident at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. I dove into learning, teaching, and writing, in a glorious nature-and-learning paradise. Before I hit the road north, I returned six
- [Mountain School in the Skagit Valley Herald](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/mountain-school-in-the-skagit-valley-herald/) - Area environmental education programs grow By Kimberly Cauvel Environmental education programs that take Skagit County students to areas from the North Cascades to pebble beaches of the Salish Sea are growing, with some programs being started and some existing programs expanding. “It is so exciting to see more of an emphasis on environmental education in
- [Graduate Students Reflect on Mountain School 2019](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/graduate-students-reflect-on-mountain-school-2019/) - North Cascades Institute graduate students wear a lot of hats during their year-long residency at the Environmental Learning Center. From taking on work study jobs, to designing lessons and curriculum to diving into natural history explorations in the surrounding wilderness, the experience of the residency is diverse, engaging and challenging. Perhaps to most immersive experience
- [Ross Lake: Recreation, Hydroelectricity and the Future of Water in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/ross-lake-recreation-hydroelectricity-and-the-future-of-water-in-the-north-cascades/) - When we talk about drought in this country, one usually thinks of recent water rationing in California or kind of historic events that led to the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. Here in Western Washington, we tend to take water for granted. With nearly 50 inches of precipitation falling on the Skagit Valley annually, a
- [May 2019 Photo Round Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/may-2019-photo-round-up/) - It seems hard to believe, but the end of spring is already here. We are quickly approaching the Summer Solstice and the hot weather is already upon us making the cool breezes and soft rains of April and May seem like a distant memory. Summer is an exciting and busy time in the mountains. The
- [Happy Birthday Smokey the Bear!](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/happy-birthday-smokey-the-bear/) - In 2019, Smokey Bear celebrates 75 years at the forefront of the Forest Service’s wildfire prevention campaign. To commemorate Forest Service wildfire prevention efforts, replicas of historic portraits by artist Rudolph Wendelin will display at across the country, including at the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Come by the Visitor Center -- local home of the
- [Bumblebees: An Essential Spring Harbinger](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/bumblebees-an-essential-spring-harbinger/) - One of the most iconic harbingers of spring is the sound and sight of the gentle queen bumble bee. When she emerges in early Spring, she has spent the Winter in diapause (insect hibernation) waiting for the warmer temperatures of to begin a new generation of bumble bees. Her first few days are spent collecting
- [Gifts of Spring: Migrating Birds of the Upper Skagit](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/gifts-of-spring-migrating-birds-of-the-upper-skagit/) - Spring is a time of great change in the Pacific Northwest. The warmer weather and abundant daylight signals species from insects to plants and animals to emerge from Winter dormancy and become active again. For migrating birds, it is a signal to begin their annual pilgrimage up North and join our forest and mountain communities.
- [April 2019 Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/april-2019-photo-round-up/) - April prepares her green traffic light and all the world thinks go..." - Christopher Morley Better late than never, the April Photo Round-Up is finally here! While the early signs of Spring were upon us during the March Photo Round-Up, the season really took hold this year in April. The last several weeks has brought
- [Youth Leadership Adventures 2017 Program Report: The Next Generation of Leaders](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/yla2017-the-next-generation-of-leaders/) - Youth Leadership Adventures is a progression of transformational learning experiences, designed for local underserved youth to jump-start lifelong engagement with nature, stewardship, and community. Primary activities are 8-day Outdoor Leadership and 12-day Science and Sustainability Summer Courses in North Cascades National Park and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Next-step opportunities allow participants to put newly gained
- [Interview with Birds of the West Author Molly Hashimoto](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/interview-with-birds-of-the-west-author-molly-hashimoto/) - Spring is a special time of year in the Northwest. The warming weather and fresh signs of life stirs us out of our winter doldrums and beckons us back into the world to engage the mystery and wonder of our new surroundings. For bird enthusiasts, Spring can be especially exciting to see the skies once
- [Gifts of Spring: Flowering Plants of the Skagit Valley](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/gifts-of-spring-flowering-plants-of-the-skagit-valley/) - Paying attention is a form of reciprocity with the living world, receiving the gifts with open eyes and open heart.” - Robin Wall Kimmerer A certain power exists in walking down the same path every week while paying attention to the cyclical nature of seasonal change. I have intentionally observed how summer greens turn into
- [North Cascades Institute opposes Marblemount Quarry proposal](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/north-cascades-institute-opposes-marblemount-quarry-proposal/) - Skagit County Planning and Development 1800 Continental Place Mount Vernon, WA 98273 Re: Kiewit Infrastructure Quarry Operation, Permit PL19-0033 I am writing to express North Cascades Institute’s concerns and opposition to the proposed expansion of the Kiewit Infrastructure Quarry operation near Marblemount. The project will have significant negative impacts on the area's natural and cultural
- [Climate Science: From Students to Stewards](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/climate-science-from-students-to-stewards/) - Officially, we celebrated our planet Mon., April 22, and many of us took part in a wide variety of celebrations, work parties and other gatherings intended to reignite our commitment to protecting the natural systems upon which we all depend. These events are fun and can be meaningful ways to introduce children to environmental advocacy.
- [Two Burning Houses: A Natural History of Stinging Nettle](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/two-burning-houses-a-natural-history-of-stinging-nettle/) - I clearly remember my introduction to the mystery and power of stinging nettle. On a late summer day, I found myself, alongside my graduate cohort, at the Northwest Indian College. Located on the Lummi Indian Reservation in Bellingham, Washington, the college caters exclusively to tribal members across the country and includes a number of programs
- [North Cascades Foodshed: Eating With Our Values](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/north-cascades-foodshed-eating-with-our-values/) - Since its official opening in 2005, the Environmental Learning Center has developed a reputation for high quality educational opportunities with world-class accommodations. The state-of-the-art facility offers overnight lodging for up to 92 program participants, classrooms, indoor and outdoor meeting spaces, a library and a plethora of trails to explore within a stone's throw of Diablo Lake. Yet,
- ["Why I Do The Work" : A Testimony from Youth Leadership Adventure's Elle Gasperini](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/why-i-do-the-work/) - I was given the opportunity to go on my first camping trip when I was 15. It was a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, a wilderness area with seemingly endless lakes connected by forests of pines, birch, cedar, aspen, and tamarack. Travel can only be done by canoe, as the French fur
- [Meeting Students where they are: Reflections on Mountain School](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/meeting-students-where-they-are-reflections-on-mountain-school/) - It's hard to believe, but we're officially halfway through the Mountain School Spring 2019 season! In just over six weeks, we have already seen a wide variety of weather, students and communities at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. As a graduate student with North Cascades Institute's M.Ed Program, my cohort and I have had
- [Seasonal Changes on the Confluence: A Year in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/seasonal-changes-on-the-confluence-a-year-in-the-north-cascades/) - Far up the Skagit River, the Confluence property, a plot of land where Diobsud Creek and the river meet, sees extremes of weather and seasonal change. The mighty Skagit swells with life in the fall, and then drops to reveal banks vastly altered. Cottonwoods grow tall in a forest that floods, and serve as perches
- [March 2019 Photo Round Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/march-2019-photo-round-up/) - We are all connected by our common understanding of the calls filling the night at the start of Spring. It is the wordless voice of longing that resonates within us, the longing to continue, to participate in the sacred life of the world.” - Robin Wall Kimmerer March is often a month of great transition
- [Sauk Mountain: Wildflowers and Butterflies in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/sauk-mountain-wildflowers-and-butterflies-in-the-north-cascades/) - Get up early, wear sunscreen and don't forget to bring water! Sauk Mountain is a low-elevation peak in the Skagit Valley that features a fairly-easy switchback climb up meadow fettered with wildflowers and butterflies in mid-summer. If you get out there early and hike up in the shade of the hillside, you'll stay cool and
- [Balancing Use: Rock Climbing and Nesting Peregrines in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/balancing-use-rock-climbing-and-nesting-peregrines-in-the-north-cascades/) - The 1916 legislation that established the National Park Service, commonly referred to as the Organic Act, stipulates that the mission of the agency is; "....to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means
- [On the Bus to Wonder: Burlington-Edison Joins Our Mountain School Community](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/on-the-bus-to-wonder-burlington-edison-joins-our-mountain-school-community/) - The North Cascades Institute offers a great diversity of year-round programming, but few will disagree that Mountain School has been one of our greatest successes. For 28 years, the legendary program has been offering 3-day hands-on experiential education for children in the heart of the North Cascades ecosystem. Since its inception, Mountain School has grown from a
- [Seven Signs that Spring is Springing in the North Cascades!](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/seven-signs-that-spring-is-springing-in-the-north-cascades/) - Those who have been paying attention to the outside world over the past few weeks have likely noticed a seasonal shift occurring in the Northern Hemisphere. Warmer temperatures have moved in and a new chorus of seasonal visitors fills the air. Yes, it is officially Springtime in Washington! The calendar will soon be moving from
- [Listening to Community Voices: Proposed Mining in Marblemount](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/proposed-mining-in-marblemount/) - On an unusually warm and sunny March Saturday in the Skagit Valley, I visited the home of Kimber Burrows, North Cascades Institute’s Mountain School Manager. Cars filled her gravel driveway, the surrounding lawn and continued to spilled out onto the road as community members arrived carrying lawn chairs, water bottles, snacks and notebooks. What looked
- [Forest School: An Environmental Education](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/forest-school-an-environmental-education/) - Do you have childhood memories of daydreaming about being a squirrel and gliding from tree to tree in a forest? Can you recall getting lost in tiny worlds where beds of moss became sprawling forests? Forest School, a new collaborative education program between Bellingham Public Schools and North Cascades Institute, strives to not only get
- [Art and Nature: A Creative Resident joins Mountain School](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/art-and-nature-a-creative-resident-joins-mountain-school/) - It is an undeniable fact that humans have long been enamored with natural beauty. Artistic expression is one of the oldest forms of documenting and paying tribute to natural landscapes that stir the sole and imagination. Indeed, it is through art that many of today's iconic natural wonders were first brought into the public consciousness.
- [February 2019 Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/february-2019-photo-round-up/) - Surely as the cometh of Winter, I know there are Spring violets under the snow." - R.H. Newell After a calm and mild start to the new year, Old Man Winter clapped back with a vengeance last month! A series Winter storms slammed into the Pacific Northwest this February delivering 18 inches of new snow
- [Under the Stars: Astronomy at the Environmental Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/under-the-stars-astronomy-at-the-environmental-learning-center/) - The North Cascades Environmental Learning Center is home to an extensive Natural History collection used for environmental programming located in the Sundew Classroom. Named after a carnivorous plant that looks like a monster’s toothy mouth, the Sundew Classroom serves as resource for staff, students, and guests to explore the North Cascades Ecosystem through tangible specimens
- [Youth Leadership Adventures 2019: apply today!](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-leadership-adventures-2019-apply-today/) - Youth Leadership Adventures are for motivated high school students who seek a fun and challenging summer adventure in the North Cascades this summer! This 12-day long field course connects 9th-12th grade students to the natural world while giving them knowledge to understand how climate change is impacting the North Cascades ecosystem. In partnership with North
- [Raptors of the Samish Flats: The Photography of Mukul Soman](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/raptors-of-the-samish-flats-the-photography-of-mukul-soman/) - The Skagit Valley has been one of my favorite places to photograph bird life in Washington state. Winter season is one of the best times of the year to view various species of wintering birds, especially raptors. Every year during the months of December to March, the Valley becomes home to wintering ducks, geese and
- [Mountain School in National Geographic magazine](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/mountain-school-in-national-geographic-magazine/) - We are thrilled to have been included in Tim Egan's cover story for the October 2016 issue of National Geographic! "In early fall I went to North Cascades National Park — the American Alps, chock-full of glaciers containing the frozen memories of wet winters past. A bundle of high peaks in Washington State, the park
- [Sharing the Experience: Creative Resident Recognized in 2018 Photo Contest](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/sharing-the-experience-north-cascades-institute-creative-resident-recognized-in-2018/) - In pursuing our mission to inspire and empower environmental stewardship for all through transformative experiences in nature the North Cascades Institute boasts a wide range of programs aimed at bringing a diversity of participants to experience the North Cascades at our beautiful campus on Diablo Lake. From Mountain School to Adult and Family Programs, Conferences and Retreats,
- [Special Snow Report: Snowstorm 2019!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/special-snow-report-snowstorm-2019/) - While our friends in Seattle and Bellingham have been rocked by near-record snow events in the past few days, things have been strangely uneventful at the the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. Well all that changed last night. Those of us staying on campus woke up to 7 inches of fresh snow this morning, and
- [Splendor and Solitude: Winter on the North Cascades Highway](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/splendor-and-solitude-winter-on-the-north-cascades-highway/) - Breathtaking views of snow-white peaks, brisk mountain air kissing your face, and the gentle swishing of skis through fresh powder under your feet. Perhaps you cross the tracks of a deer or snowshoe hare and stop to let your mind muse on the story it tells in the snow before you. In this winter world,
- [Reconnect Earth: Activating the Next Generation of Environmental Advocates](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/reconnect-earth-activating-the-next-generation-of-environmental-advocates/) - I’ve devoted the last three years of my life to figuring out how to combine two of my greatest passions: environmental activism and environmental education. In 2018 I took a big step on this journey by founding a new nonprofit organization based in Bellingham, Washington focused on this goal. But I couldn’t have reached that
- [The Land as a Teacher: Land Stewardship at the Confluence Property](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/the-land-as-a-teacher-land-stewardship-at-the-confluence-property/) - There's no getting around it, being a graduate student at the North Cascades Institute's M.Ed Program is a lot of work. With all-day classes and seminars, dense reading, writing and project assignments, and keeping up with work study, it's easy to forget that we live in such a unique and beautiful place. Some weeks, taking
- [January 2019 Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/january-2019-photo-round-up/) - Each year, after the mid-winter blizzards comes a night of thaw where the tinkle of dripping water is heard on the land. It brings strange stirrings, not only to creatures abed for the night, but some who have been asleep for the winter. — Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac While dangerous cold has gripped
- [The Environmental Educator’s Dilemma: How to Bring the Outdoors Inside](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/the-environmental-educators-dilemma-how-to-bring-the-outdoors-inside/) - In December, I was able to volunteer with the Kulshan Creek Program in Villa Santa Maria along with two other members of the North Cascades Institute's M.Ed graduate cohort, Nicola and Dianna. The program offers monthly educational opportunities for young people from the communities in Mount Vernon, WA, including Kulshan Creek, Villa Santa Maria, and
- [Snow School: Where Science Meets Winter](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/snow-school-where-science-meets-winter/) - I love the anticipation of winter—the ski-film fests, the patrol fundraisers, the dusting of snow on ridges. But at this moment, hoping for snow so I can ski powder seems pretty darn trivial. Luckily, something more meaningful is behind that wish. Mt. Baker Snow School is where powder day perma-grin and “we can make a
- [Empowering Future Environmental Leaders: 2018 Northwest Youth Leadership Summit](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/empowering-future-environmental-leaders-2018-northwest-youth-leadership-summit/) - On November 17, 2018 I attended the ninth annual Northwest Youth Leadership Summit at The Mountaineers Seattle Program Center. While I was there, I interacted with leaders from the Washington-Oregon area and networked with other environmental and outdoor organizations in the Pacific Northwest. From the conversations and breakout sessions I attended, I was encouraged along
- [The Search for Snakes in the Methow Valley](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/a-search-for-snakes-in-the-methow-valley/) - Snakes get a bad rap, yet they become fascinating, even personable, once you learn about their special niche within our local ecosystem. These cold-blooded creatures need hiding spaces to take refuge from the hot and cold, while also needing places to bask in sunlight to warm their bodies, and the Methow Valley is a premier
- [From Crinoids to Concrete: Sundew Collections Serves as a Window into the Geologic Past](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/from-crinoids-to-concrete-sundew-collections-serves-as-a-window-into-the-geologic-past/) - At the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, we have an impressive natural history collection on display in our Sundew building. Named after a carnivorous plant that looks like a monster’s toothy mouth, Sundew serves as place for staff, students, and guests to explore the North Cascades Ecosystem through tangible specimens and displays. This year, graduate
- [Iconic Carnivores of the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/iconic-carnivores-of-the-north-cascades/) - On March 31, North Cascade Institute Graduate M.Ed. student Gina Roberti had the wonderful opportunity to attend a presentation by Roger Christophersen, biologist for North Cascades National Park, during the Institute's Spring Dinner. Roger was an engaging speaker, and since so much of the information he presented is relevant to the work we do as
- [A Peek into Wilderness: North Cascades National Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/a-peek-into-wilderness-north-cascades-national-park/) - This Naturalist Note is written by graduate student and blog writer Montana Napier, as part of the Fall Natural History Project in North Cascades Institute’s Graduate M.Ed Residency coursework. You can view other student's work here. Before I speak on wilderness areas, I want to first acknowledge that North Cascades National Park is the traditional
- [A Peek into Wilderness, part two](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/a-peek-into-wilderness-the-picket-range/) - This Naturalist Note was written by graduate student, and blog writer Montana Napier as part of the Fall Natural History Project In North Cascades Institute’s M.Ed. Residency coursework. You can view other students’ work here. What has drawn you to the North Cascades? A "sea of peaks" from the roadside. Blue glacial lakes. Tumbling waterfalls. A family
- [Youth Ambassadors Work to Return Fidalgo Bay Property to its Natural State](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/youth-ambassadors-work-to-return-fidalgo-bay-property-to-its-natural-state/) - A small parcel of land overlooking Fidalgo Bay was a hub of activity last Saturday as 12 high school students with the North Cascade Institute embarked on their first excursion of the year. Their task was to plant native vegetation and install a memorial bench on the property known as Fidalgo Bay Carstens, named for
- [December 2018 Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/december-2018-photo-round-up/) - Greetings and welcome to 2019! Hopefully the new year has found each of you in good spirits and excited to tackle all the challenges and adventures that await you in the months ahead. It's now early January in the North Cascades and snow has been falling at the Environmental Learning Center, giving our world a
- [A Promise Fulfilled: 2018 Sees The Return of Fishers to the North Cascades!](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/a-promise-fulfilled-the-return-of-fishers-to-the-north-cascades/) - On a cold morning, in early December, more than 100 scientists, students and conservation enthusiasts gathered at North Cascades National Park Visitor Center in Newhalem to witness the exciting culmination of a years-long project to return fishers to the North Cascades. The C18 Cohort from the North Cascades Institute's Graduate M.Ed Program was in attendance
- [2018 SHIFT Awards: Connecting Public Lands and Public Health!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/2018-shift-awards/) - Last October, I had the pleasure of representing North Cascades Institute's Youth Leadership Adventures (YLA) at the SHIFT Festival in Jackson, Wyoming. This year, the festival explored the health benefits of time spent outside by engaging leaders and innovators at the forefront of the Nature Rx movement. Some of these leaders were highlighted through SHIFT Awards and assessed
- [North Cascades Love: Highlighting the 50th Anniversary Photo Contest](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/north-cascades-love-highlighting-the-50th-anniversary-photo-contest/) - This year marked the 50th anniversary of the formation of the North Cascades National Park Service Complex, a sprawling reserve that includes North Cascades National Park and Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, and all year we have been celebrating that milestone! There are so many people woven into the story of protecting
- [Restoration of Fishers to the North Cascades Begins!](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/restoration-of-fishers-to-the-north-cascades-begins/) - State, federal, and partner biologists will release approximately 8 fishers Wednesday, December 5, in the Skagit River watershed of Ross Lake National Recreation Area, a unit of the North Cascades National Park Service Complex, as part of an effort to restore the species to Washington State. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1oBYdAOxT0 Video of the release at Newhalem in North
- [October 2018 Photo Roundup!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/october-2018-photo-roundup/) - It's officially Fall here in the North Cascades, and October provided plenty of reminders of the new season. The month began with some chilly temperatures, and even a bit of snow on the high peaks. But, just as soon as we were getting ready for cold, rainy weather, we were given a full two weeks
- [Winter Arrives: First Snow at the Environmental Learning Center!](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/winter-arrives-first-snow-at-the-environmental-learning-center/) - Well folks, its official: Winter has arrived! The annual sign of the season has come a little late this year. In 2017, staff and graduate students at the North Cascades Environmental Learning center were greeted by an early coat of white in November. However, as year has been different. Consistent high pressure systems in northwest
- [November Photo Round-Up!](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/november-photo-round-up/) - Well the cold weather is officially here in the North Cascades. Washington Pass has closed for the year, and the mountains are shimmering with the beginning of their winter coats. While we are still waiting for the first flakes to fall on the Environmental Learning Center, the dwindling daylight, and freezing temperatures make it clear
- [Cascadian Fungi: Delightful and Deadly](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/cascadian-fungi-delightful-and-deadly/) - As we are summoned out of summer’s euphoria by crisper breezes and calming drizzles we begin to notice a change in the cast of characters acting out the story of the seasons. The birds have finished their courtship and rearing and the skies soon clear. Underfoot, the subtle voices of fungi begin to quiet announce
- [Winter Awareness: Snow Safety in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/winter-awareness-snow-safety-in-the-north-cascades/) - Today is Winter Safety Day at the Environmental Learning Center, and with colder weather and snow on the way, it seems timely to release this article written by Graduate Student Spencer Gee as part of the the Fall Natural History Project in North Cascades Institute’s M.Ed. Residency coursework. If you are planning to venture into
- [Opt Outside!](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/opt-outside/) - Day in and day out we share our love of the North Cascades and value our access to nature near and far. It's our routine. And life is full of routines. Not all of them are good though. In fact, some need to change. And that’s what Opt Outside is all about. Are you ready
- [Glacial Mud and Deadly Landslides: A Legacy of Glaciation in Western Washington](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/glacial-mud-and-deadly-landslides-a-legacy-of-glaciation-in-western-washington/) - It was a rainy morning on a cold, October day when I developed a new lens for reading the landscape of western Washington. I embarked from the Environmental Learning Center, at dark, with my North Cascades Institute nametag and field journal at the ready. The next morning, I found myself amidst a large crowd of
- [Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/eager-the-surprising-secret-life-of-beavers-and-why-they-matter/) - Update: Join us at Village Books Friday, December 14, 2018 at 7 pm in Bellingham for a free reading from the author as part of our Nature of Writing Speaker Series! Close your eyes. Picture, if you will, a healthy stream. What comes to mind? Perhaps you’ve conjured a crystalline, fast-moving creek, bounding merrily over rocks, its course narrow and
- [Meet the Graduate Students! Class of 2020, part 2](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/meet-the-graduate-students-class-of-2020-part-2/) - This is part 2 of our Cohort 18 Graduate Student Introductions. You can also click to view part 1 and part 3. After two months in the field, learning, getting to know each other, and taking many 90s band photos, the new graduate students from the Graduate M.Ed. Program's 18th Cohort have finally settled into
- [Meet The Graduate Students, Class of 2020, part 3](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/meet-the-graduate-students-class-of-2020-part-3/) - This is part 3 of our Cohort 18 Graduate Student Introductions. Click to view part 1, and part 2. After two months in the field, learning, getting to know each other, and taking many 90s band photos, the new graduate students from the Graduate M.Ed. Program‘s 18th Cohort have finally settled into their Residency in the
- [Meet the Graduate Students, Class of 2020!](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/welcome-new-graduate-students-2/) - This is part 1 of our Cohort 18 Graduate Student Introductions. Click to view part 2 and part 3! After two months in the field, learning, getting to know each other, and taking many 90s band photos, the new graduate students from the 18th Cohort have finally settled into their Residency in the North Cascades!
- [An Unforgettable Mountain School Adventure](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/an-unforgettable-mountain-school-adventure/) - The first week of the 2017 spring Mountain School season will be one not forgotten here at the North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center. After experiencing an unusually high amount of snowfall at the ELC this winter, many of us were eagerly anticipating signs of spring (and sunshine), hopeful that the last lingering patches of snow
- [Harvesting Native Edible Berries of the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/harvesting-native-edible-berries-of-the-north-cascades/) - This Naturalist Note is written by graduate student Darcy Page, as part of the Fall Natural History Project In North Cascades Institute’s M.Ed. Residency coursework. You can view other students' work here. The canon of the Honorable Harvest is poised to make its comeback, too, as people remember that what’s good for the land is
- [The North Cascades Grizzly Bear: Threatened Past and Uncertain Future](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-north-cascades-grizzly-bear-threatened-past-and-uncertain-future/) - This Naturalist Note was written by graduate student Eric Buher, as part of the as part of the Fall Natural History Project In North Cascades Institute’s M.Ed. Residency coursework. You can view other students' work here. Take a moment to imagine a grizzly bear ambling free through an alpine meadow, down a rocky slope, or
- [The Misunderstood Ecosystem Engineers](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-misunderstood-ecosystem-engineers/) - This Naturalist Note is written by graduate student Kira Taylor-Hoar, as part of the Fall Natural History Project in North Cascades Institute's Graduate M.Ed Program coursework. You can view other students' work here. Growing up in Florida, I never encountered Beavers. Having never seen one, the main thing I knew about them was that they were
- [Evidence in the Indistinguishable: Wayfinding Techniques of Earth’s Organisms](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/evidence-in-the-indistinguishable-wayfinding-techniques-of-earths-organisms/) - This Naturalist Note is written by graduate student Zoe Wadkins, as part of the Fall Natural History Project In North Cascades Institute's M.Ed. Residency coursework. You can view other students' work here. When two companions and I set sail from Berkeley, California to cross into what is considered French Polynesia, I had little idea of what the open ocean truly
- [Snow: Embracing the Unknown](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/snow-embracing-the-unknown/) - This Naturalist Note is written by graduate student Amy Sanchez, as part of the Fall Natural History Project in North Cascades Institute's M.Ed. Residency coursework. You can view other students' work here. November 3, 2017 was the first day we saw snow falling at the Environmental Learning Center. The large snowflakes fell in intermittent flurries
- [The Field Journal of a Naturalist: Grinnell Journaling in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-field-journal-of-a-naturalist-grinnell-journaling-in-the-north-cascades/) - This Naturalist Note is written by graduate student Nate Trachte, as part of the Fall Natural History Project In North Cascades Institute’s M.Ed. Residency coursework. You can view more students' work here. When in the midst of a long-term project it is all too easy to lose sight of the purpose, or downplay the importance
- [Life in the Alpine: Adaptations in a Vertical World](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/adaptations-in-a-vertical-world/) - This Naturalist Note is written by graduate student Charlee Corra, as part of the Fall Natural History Project In North Cascades Institute’s M.Ed. Residency coursework. You can view more students' work here. If you have ever spent time at high elevation in the mountains, you may have noticed the freezing temperatures making your nose and
- [Fire and Ice: How Lava and Glaciers Formed Mount Baker](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/fire-and-ice-how-lava-and-glaciers-formed-mount-baker/) - This Naturalist Note is written by graduate student Marissa Bluestein, as part of the Fall Natural History Project In North Cascades Institute’s M.Ed. Residency coursework. You can view other students' work here. It was a cool August day as our graduate cohort slowly meandered to an open space of grass at Rasar State Park. An
- [The Forest Engineers: Woodpeckers and their Role in Healthy Forests](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-forest-engineers-woodpeckers-and-their-role-in-healthy-forests/) - This Naturalist Note was written by graduate student Brendan McGarry as part of the Fall Natural History Project in North Cascades Institute's M.Ed. Residency coursework. You can view more student's work here. It was a morning like any other for an eight year-old on summer vacation. Sure, we were camping on the Olympic Peninsula, but that wasn’t going to stop me
- [Spraying in North Cascades Forests?](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/spraying-in-north-cascades-forests/) - This Naturalist Note was written by graduate student Gina Roberti as part of the Fall Natural History Project in North Cascades Institute's M.Ed. Residency coursework. You can view other students' work here. As a graduate resident, I live and work within the boundaries of North Cascades National Park, surrounded by metamorphic peaks which assemble the
- [Wilderness medicine courses at the Environmental Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/wilderness-medicine-courses-at-the-environmental-learning-center/) - REGISTER REGISTER
- [Women in Natural History](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/women-in-natural-history/) - Let's take a look at two different lists of names. Number one: Annie Montague Alexander Margaret Murie Ella Higginson Barbara Kingsolver Libby Mills Terry Tempest Williams Number two: Henry David Thoreau John Muir Joseph Grinnell Aldo Leopold Charles Darwin Gary Snyder Everyone mentioned above is -- in their own way -- a naturalist. Some through
- [Welcome New Graduate Students, part 3](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/welcome-new-graduate-students-part-3/) - This is part three of graduate student introductions. Here is part one and part two of the series. The goal of this series is to welcome the Class of 2019, and learn more about why they chose the Master of Education degree program through the North Cascades Institute. Below are the reasons folks are here, and
- [Welcome New Graduate Students, part 2](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/22950/) - This is part two of graduate student introductions. You can find part one here. The goal of this series is to welcome the Class of 2019, and learn more about why they chose the Master of Education degree program through the North Cascades Institute. Below are the reasons folks are here, and what they hope to
- [Welcome New Graduate Students!](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/welcome-new-graduate-students/) - We are a new generation of environmental leaders. We are the 17th graduate cohort at the North Cascades Institute, ready to immerse ourselves in learning and work within the greater community. One of my new tasks, as a fully-integrated community member, is to produce blog posts for your enjoyment. So, hey! I’m Montana, and below
- [Follow The River: An interview with Saul Weisberg](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/follow-the-river/) - Saul Weisberg remembers when it hit him. In the early 1980s, he and two friends were on a climbing trip in the Pickets, a notoriously hard-to-reach chain of icy peaks high in the North Cascades. After 10 days of sipping snow melt in the high country, he recalls coming down and drinking deeply from mountain
- [Reflections of Diobsud Creek](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/reflections-of-diobsud-creek/) - Story and art by Alexei Desmarais, graduate student in the Institute's 16th cohort. What is natural history? Why do we engage in this practice? And what can it teach us about the world in which we live? And about our relationship with this world? These questions prompted the line of inquiry that became my natural
- [In Search of the Southern Residents: Researching Orcas’ Natural History](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/in-search-of-the-southern-residents-researching-orcas-natural-history/) - Why Orcas Growing up, I have always been fascinated with whales. Orca, humpback, sperm, blue, narwhal... you name it! I have quite the collection of whale books on my shelves, some whale toys and other relics. I even have a large tattoo of a humpback whale. But when I moved out to the North Cascades
- [Graduate Students Visit Concrete Elementary!](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/graduate-students-visit-concrete-elementary/) - On January 17th, graduate students in the 17th Cohort visited Concrete Elementary School to teach naturalist lessons. As part of our Curriculum Design course, our main goal was to engage the local community in lessons about the environment, and develop a stronger connection with the school and its teachers. This Curriculum course is taught by Lindsey MacDonald, the
- [You’re invited to the Seattle celebration of North Cascades National Park’s 50th anniversary](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/youre-invited-to-the-seattle-celebration-of-north-cascades-national-parks-50th-anniversary/) - We’re throwing a 50th birthday party for our favorite national park and YOU’RE INVITED! Join us Sunday, October 14, at El Centro De La Raza in Seattle for a fun day of films, storytelling, art presentations and short talks from our region’s most amazing conservation and recreation voices. This event is free and conveniently located
- [New Graduate M.Ed. students visit Newhalem's ancient Rock Shelter](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/welcome-c18/) - The latest cohort of graduate students in our Graduate M.Ed. Residency have arrived and are spending their first month getting to know their new home with extensive field excursions throughout the North Cascades and Skagit watershed ~ welcome! Last week, they met up with retired park archaeologist Bob Mierendorf at the Rock Shelter in Newhalem.
- ["Smokestorm" over Cascadia](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/smokestorm-over-cascadia/) - As anyone living in the Pacific Northwest knows intimately, the past two weeks have been incredibly hazy throughout our region as smoke from wildfires burning in British Columbia and the North Cascades has been pushed across our state, blurring our mountains, filling our valleys and choking out our cities. Just look at this view of
- [Skagit Tours: Gorge Powerhouse Insider's Tour](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/skagit-tours-gorge-powerhouse-insiders-tour/) - My family is all about Skagit Tours, having taken the Diablo Lake & Lunch Cruise in 2017, they were determined to get back for another tour. This summer they made it to the Powerhouse Insider’s Tour, a popular Skagit Tours that goes behind-the-scenes of how power gets made in the Upper Skagit Hydropower Project. I
- [North Cascades Institute supports Diablo Lake Dock Project](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/north-cascades-institute-supports-diablo-lake-dock-project/) - North Cascades Institute partners with North Cascades National Park and Seattle City Light to develop and implement the curricula, training, marketing and registration for Skagit Tours. We are committed to the Tours being inclusive and accessible to all, sharing a story that includes the many facets of the National Park and the Skagit Hydroelectric Project:
- [Family Getaways: Gather Your Family in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/family-getaways-gather-your-family-in-the-north-cascades/) - We came to show the younger generation the Upper Skagit, to learn and spend time together in the North Cascades" — 2018 Family Getaway Parent For the past 10 years, North Cascades Institute has gathered families in the North Cascades for multi-generational weekend getaways that connect people, nature and community. Each weekend staff provide a
- [The Ross Lake Rockers: A Youth Leadership Adventures field report](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/yla-2018-ross-lake-rockers/) - “This trip showed me what it means to be a strong woman.” These are the remarkable words of one participant of Youth Leadership Adventures Outdoor Leadership, an 8-day course aimed to foster environmental stewardship and leadership through experiences in nature. At the beginning of the expedition students were taught how to pack for this 8
- [Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/buzz-the-nature-and-necessity-of-bees/) - The crossbow fired with a dull thwack and we watched its bolt disappear upward into the leaves and branches, trailing a length of monofilament fishing line that glinted in the scattered beams of sunlight. My field assistant looked up from the bow’s sight and nodded in satisfaction, feeding out more line from a spinning reel
- [Graduate Housing Expansion: Growing into the Future](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/graduate-housing-expansion-campaign/) - In 2017 we began a $580,000 capital project to increase resiliency, build community and sustain the planned growth of our Graduate M.Ed. Residency program. The project includes building one five-bedroom detached accessory dwelling unit (DADU) next to the Blue House that we already own in Marblemount and purchasing and renovating another house, thus gaining space
- [Vestido de Turquesa: Diablo Lake recibe a sus visitantes en las North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/vestido-de-turquesa/) - By Alvaro Guillen for La Raza del Noroeste Si cree que las opciones de entretenimiento y paseos en el noroeste se le están agotando este verano, piénselo nuevamente. Enclavados en las North Cascades las represas sobre el río Skagit, Ross, Diablo y Gorge de Seattle City Light con sus respectivas hidroeléctricas no solo proveen energía
- ["I Love the North Cascades" photo contest](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/i-love-the-north-cascades-photo-contest/) - In celebration of North Cascades National Park’s 50th anniversary, we’ve launched the "I Love the North Cascades" photo contest! Show your love of our favorite mountains by taking a photo of you in the North Cascades with our sign (or make your own), upload to Instagram or Facebook and tag #northcascadeslove, and be eligible to
- [Patience and Persistence: An Interview with Grizzly Bear Biologist Bill Gaines](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/interview-with-bill-gaines/) - Bill Gaines has been at the forefront of the grizzly bear recovery efforts in the Pacific Northwest for 25 years. I recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat with him about the historical struggles of recovery efforts, the impacts of other carnivores in the North Cascades ecosystem and the role education must play
- [Youth Leadership Ambassadors Trip Report: Skagit Valley College](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-leadership-ambassadors-trip-report-skagit-valley-college/) - The Youth Leadership Ambassadors program is an extension of our Youth Leadership Adventures summer program. The goal of the program is to further develop leadership and outdoor skills, facilitate service and stewardship in our local communities and ecosystems, and provide college preparedness support to high school students from Skagit and Whatcom County. While serving as Ambassadors,
- [Photo Roundup: April 30 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/photo-roundup-april-30-2017/) - Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. A beautiful sunset at Washington Park in Anacortes, where graduate students closed day one of their field trip. Photo by Angela Burlile On Wednesday, our graduate M.Ed. students
- [Spring Bird Migration in the Upper Skagit](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/spring-bird-migration-in-the-upper-skagit/) - Here in upper Skagit River valley - a window into the mighty mountains of the North Cascades - spring is in full swing. Along with the milder temps and the breaks in the clouds, we are also welcoming a flurry of seasonal bird species that call these mountains home for the summer. Over 50 species
- [Photo Roundup: May 7 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/photo-roundup-may-7-2017/) - Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Rufous hummingbirds in Diablo, Washington. Photos by Daniel Dubie A fun photo by graduate student, Daniel Dubie, watching the rufous hummingbirds take over his bird feeder in the
- [Photo Roundup: May 14 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/photo-roundup-may-14-2017/) - Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Photo by Alex Patia North Cascades Institute Naturalist and graduate M.Ed. alumni, Alex Patia, snapped this photo of a Canada goose watching over her goslings near his front
- [Spring Wildflowers in the Upper Skagit](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/spring-wildflowers-in-the-upper-skagit/) - Spring has come here in the upper Skagit River valley and our April showers have indeed brought May flowers. With the increase of daylight and clear days, the valleys in-between the still snow-covered mountains have turned bright shades of green. The shorelines along the river and its reservoirs are in great contrast against the dark,
- [Photo Roundup: May 21 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/photo-roundup-may-21-2017/) - Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various North Cascades Institute graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Graduate students and staff taking out our Salish Dancer canoe in preparation for summer programming. Photo by Rachael Grasso On Monday, our graduate M.Ed
- [What is a Leadership Track?](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/what-is-a-leadership-track/) - As a current graduate student in the M.Ed. residency program at North Cascades Institute, I and the rest of my cohort, will soon celebrate the end of our spring quarter here in the North Cascades. Our residency at NCI has engaged us deeply with the natural and cultural history of the area through place-based and experiential
- [Takin’ Care of Beesinus: United States Native Bee Facts, Threats and Conservation](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/takin-care-of-beesinus-united-states-native-bee-facts-threats-and-conservation/) - By Becky Moore, graduate student in the Institute's 16th cohort. Nearly everyone is familiar with the image and idea of a bee. The black and yellow character from Honey Nut Cheerios perhaps, happily making honey in buzzing hives. However, what most people do not realize is that there is a vast, diverse and complicated world
- [Stories of Change: Storytelling as a Means of Climate Communication](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/stories-of-change-storytelling-as-a-means-of-climate-communication/) - By Hanna Davis, graduate student in the Institute's 16th cohort. There are various facets to graduate life at North Cascades Institute: taking classes, a teaching practicum, work study positions. And throughout every aspect, nearly every of my residency this past year, a common theme has appeared: climate change. Specifically, how do we, as environmental educators,
- [New hand-illustrated North Cascades National Park map](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/new-hand-illustrated-north-cascades-national-park-map/) - Xplorer Maps Releases Hand-Illustrated North Cascades National Park Map, Donates Percentage of Map Sales to Ongoing Park Support MISSOULA, MT – Xplorer Maps, the creators of hand-illustrated maps of national parks and travel destinations throughout the world, announced today that it has released the newest fine-art map, North Cascades National Park, highlighting jagged peaks topped
- [Studying Moths in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/studying-moths-in-the-north-cascades/) - By Nick Engelfried, graduate student in the Institute's 16th cohort. To my mind, it isn’t truly spring in the lush, green landscape on the west side of the Cascades until the first half-white carpet moth (Mesoleuca gratulata) has flown. This small insect, with its delicate wings of white, gray, and dark brown, is a sign
- [Who Cares About Beavers? We Do!](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/who-cares-about-beavers-we-do/) - By Melissa Biggs, graduate student in the Institute's 16th cohort. Everyone, meet Chompers! In October 2016, during the fall natural history trip, my cohort helped the Methow Beaver Project volunteers to release the last 3 beavers of the season. So much fun! We carried the beavers for several miles and released them at Beaver Creek.
- [Youth Leadership Ambassadors Trip Report: Western Washington University](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-leadership-ambassadors-trip-report-western-washington-university/) - The Youth Leadership Ambassadors program is an extension of our Youth Leadership Adventures summer program. The goal of the program is to further develop leadership and outdoor skills, facilitate service and stewardship in our local communities and ecosystems, and provide college preparedness support to high school students from Skagit and Whatcom County. While serving as Ambassadors, students will participate in
- [The World of Bird Migration](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-world-of-bird-migration/) - By Dan Dubie, graduate student in the Institute's 16th cohort. The story of bird migration encompasses the whole world and the incredible journeys that take part on it. Traveling via flight was mastered by humans just over a hundred years ago but for the avian world, it has been a home for much longer. This
- [The Great Fisher](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-great-fisher/) - By Smokey Brine, graduate student in the Institute's 16th cohort. A warm summer wind funnels down the Skagit River, blowing wisps of brown hair in front of my eyes. I shift my head to regain sight of the river channel and spot a green canoe cutting the water in front of me. The three passengers
- [The Birth of Curiosity: Through the Eyes of a Raven Part I](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-birth-of-curiosity-through-the-eyes-of-a-raven-part-i/) - By Jennifer O'Toole, graduate student in the Institute's 16th cohort. Curiosity is born from one of the most unlikely of places: boredom. I used to fight the feeling of boredom, as I had been trained to do by the media with its constant barrage of entertainment, the internet with its never-ending information and by my
- [Animal Natural Learning Tendencies: Through the Eyes of a Raven Part II](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/animal-natural-learning-tendencies-through-the-eyes-of-a-raven-part-ii/) - By Jenny O'Toole, graduate student in the Institute's 16th cohort. Read Part I - The Birth of Curiosity: Through the Eyes of a Raven here. Like human babies, ravens are highly curious of all objects upon first leaving the nest. Fearless, they get into everything that’s in front of them and, accompanied by parents who
- [Youth Leadership Ambassadors Trip Report: Kayaking Bellingham Bay](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-leadership-ambassadors-trip-report-kayaking-bellingham-bay/) - The Youth Leadership Ambassadors program is an extension of our Youth Leadership Adventures summer program. The goal of the program is to further develop leadership and outdoor skills, facilitate service and stewardship in our local communities and ecosystems, and provide college preparedness support to high school students from Skagit and Whatcom County. While serving as Ambassadors, students will participate in
- [A Natural and Cultural History Guide to the Blue House](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/a-natural-and-cultural-history-guide-to-the-blue-house/) - By Angela Burlile, graduate student in the Institute's 16th cohort. During our Place-Based Learning in the North Cascades course this past summer, I discovered the power of place and the role that place has on our sense of self and the development of our ecological identity. A sense of place can be developed when one
- [Pondering Pine: A Life Story of a Ponderosa Pine Tree](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/pondering-pine-a-life-story-of-a-ponderosa-pine-tree/) - By Ash Kunz, graduate student in the Institute's 16th cohort. Ponderosa Pine. Illustration by Ash Kunz The story of my life is the story of the land in which I am rooted. There have been more changes than are imaginable. It is a landscape that has been shaped by both natural forces and human hands.
- [Youth Leadership Ambassadors Trip Report: Stewardship Weekend at North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-leadership-ambassadors-trip-report-stewardship-weekend-at-north-cascades-institute-environmental-learning-center/) - The Youth Leadership Ambassadors program is an extension of our Youth Leadership Adventures summer program. The goal of the program is to further develop leadership and outdoor skills, facilitate service and stewardship in our local communities and ecosystems, and provide college preparedness support to high school students from Skagit and Whatcom County. While serving as Ambassadors, students will participate in
- [Our Water, Your Future: The Story of Climate Change and the Skagit River](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/our-water-your-future-the-story-of-climate-change-and-the-skagit-river/) - By Jihan Grettenberger, graduate student in the Institute's 16th cohort. What do you love about the North Cascades and the Skagit Valley? I love the burning feeling in my legs as I hike up the switchbacks on the trails that travel through thick forests of Douglas Firs, Western Hemlocks, and cedars. The sounds of the
- [Concrete Summer Learning Adventure: A Summer Camp full of Challenge, Heartbreak and Joy](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/csla2017/) - Story and photo by Becky Moore, a graduate student in the Institute's Master of Education program. This summer, I was fortunate enough to work as one of the four coordinators for Concrete Summer Learning Adventure (CSLA), as part of my graduate summer leadership track through North Cascades Institute. CSLA is a summer camp for kids
- [Lessons from Desolation: Youth Leadership Adventures in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/lessons-from-desolation-youth-leadership-adventures-in-the-north-cascades/) - By Rebecca Zhou, Youth Leadership Intern 2017 12 days, 12 miles by canoe, 35 miles by foot, and a group of 12 girls. During the 12-day Science and Sustainability trip with Youth Leadership Adventures, students and instructors alike had the opportunity to dig deep and learn something about themselves. I believe that the fact it
- [Summer Camp Fun… and Learning?](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/summer-camp-fun-and-learning/) - Story and photos by Melissa Biggs, a graduate student in the Institute’s Master of Education program. For my leadership track this summer, I was the coordinator of Concrete Summer Learning Adventure (CSLA), a summer camp program for Concrete elementary students run in partnership with the Concrete School District, Community Health Outreach Program at United General Hospital,
- [Restoring Our Treasured Landscapes](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/restoring-our-treasured-landscapes/) - Written by Master of Education graduate Sasha Savoian Blue Lake and Maple Pass Loop are two of the most heavily-visited trails off Highway 20 in the North Cascades range, offering access to the unique subalpine ecosystem blanketed in blooming heather in the late summer months. On the eastern flank of the mountains, the trail to
- [Animals in the City: Encouraging Children to Get to Know Their Nonhuman Neighbors](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/animals-in-the-city-encouraging-children-to-get-to-know-their-nonhuman-neighbors/) - By Sarah Clement, graduate student in the Institute's 16th cohort. Transference is a concept that often comes up in discussion among environmental educators. How do we, as educators, help our students make connections between their experiences with us in “nature” and their daily lives? We teach out students about the North Cascades ecosystem, but we
- [Better with Beavers: How partnerships with a rodent are helping restore watersheds in the Pacific Northwest](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/better-with-beavers-how-partnerships-with-a-rodent-are-helping-restore-watersheds-in-the-pacific-northwest/) - "In the beginning, there was nothing but water and ice and a narrow strip of shoreline,” says the oral tradition of the Nuxalk, the coastal people who have lived for millennia near present-day Bella Coola, British Columbia. As the last ice age waned 12,000 years ago, their ancestors found home in that fertile rim of
- [Fred Beckey: Mountaineer and Author (1923-2017)](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/fred-beckey-rip/) - “Man used to put himself on the line all the time. Nowadays we’re protected by the police, fire, everything. There’s not much adventure left. Unless you look for it." — Fred Beckey Perhaps no living human is more associated with the untamed allure of the North Cascades— a blend of fear, awe, agony and ecstasy— than
- [An Overview of the Winter Natural History Field Seminar of 2018](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/weekly-photo-roundup-february-17-2018/) - This week graduate students in the M.Ed Residency Program returned from their 10-day Natural History Field Seminar to the Methow Valley. After spending several sunny days in eastern Washington, we drove back to the cold, damp weather of the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, ready to dive into Mountain School Training. It was a highly anticipated trip among graduate students
- [Polly Dyer: NW conservation hero passes away at age 96](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/polly-dyer-nw-conservation-hero-passes-away-at-age-96/) - In the North Cascades, a mosaic of public lands—national, state, and provincial parks, national forests, wilderness and recreation areas—protects many of the region’s most beloved areas. It’s easy to take their stewardship for granted—few today would argue against preserving natural treasures like Mount Baker, the Picket Range, Cascade Pass, and Suiattle River—but in truth, Washingtonians
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: March 12 2018](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/weekly-photo-roundup-march-12-2018/) - This week marks the beginning of the spring Mountain School season! Graduate students and other naturalist instructors paired up to teach fifth graders with Clear Lake Elementary and the Bellingham Family Partnership Program. Lucky for us, there were some glorious days of sunshine up at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, along with the typical rainy moments. Below is the final
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: April 16 2018](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/weekly-photo-roundup-april-16-2018/) - This week there was an inspiring array of photos to choose from for our roundup. I believe that has something to do with spring vibes: plants are blooming, Mountain Schoolers are learning, and there are pockets of sunshine that sneak into our everyday lives. I hope you enjoy this collection of photos, taken by talented
- [Place-based Learning Course: Paddling the Skagit River](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/place-based-learning-course-paddling-the-skagit-river/) - In August, my cohort and I began our 7-quarter educational journey of earning our Master of Education degree. We are the 17th Cohort of students in the Graduate M.Ed Residency program through the North Cascades Institute and the Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University. Before beginning our year-long residency at the Learning Center, we engage
- [Why Phenology Matters](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/why-phenology-matters/) - Encouraging people to pay attention to the world around them is foundational to environmental education. There are myriad ways to achieve this - through solitary reflection, nature walks, hands-on stewardship, but there is no single way to engage people. One way to encourage awareness is to have participants collect information for large research projects, essentially
- [A Park Ranger Visits Mountain School](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/a-park-ranger-visits-mountain-school/) - As the spring Mountain School season comes to a close, it is time to reflect on highlights from 2018, especially the support we've received from the North Cascades National Park. Every week Ranger Eran visited Mountain School to teach students about glaciers, the orographic effect, the Park, and animal habitats. On the second day of
- [A Call to Education toward Resilience](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/a-call-to-education-toward-resilience/) - The shift was abrupt. It came with little warning. As smoke billowed up the Newhalem Gorge and filled the tiny mountain town of Diablo, I had 20 minutes to grab everything I could. I felt an adrenaline rush unlike anything I have ever experienced: a heart-pumping, exhilaration-fueled energy that poured out like a shield against
- [Ecological Design: The Blue House Project](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/ecological-design-the-blue-house-project/) - We came to NCI from Massachusetts where we both recently graduated from The Conway School, a graduate program in ecological design and planning. This creative residency was an opportunity for us to practice our craft in collaboration with an organization whose educational mission is well-aligned with our work. By working on an ecological landscape design,
- [LEED by Example](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/leed-by-example/) - We are the North Cascades Institute. And if you are reading this blog you are somehow affiliated with or are curious about our organization devoted to environmental education. You may know us through Mountain School, Adult learning programs, Mt. Baker Snow School, Youth Leadership Adventures, Family Getaways, Stewardship Events, Kulshan Creek Programs, our M.Ed. Graduate
- [Cascadian Farm: It all started in the Skagit!](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/cascadian-farm-2016/) - While shopping around your local grocery store, you might have seen projects in the organic section with the brand title "Cascaidan Farm Organic: Founded in the Skagit Valley, WA since 1972." The products can be found in stores nation wide. Last week, however, I took a bicycling adventure to the Roadside Stand of the farm.
- [Skinning for Science: A Bobcat Casestudy](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/bobcat-skin/) - On Jan 5th, 2016 the residents of the Blue House (our Marblemount property) discovered a dead bobcat in the garage. The cause of death was unknown, but no evidence of trauma was found. The carcass was quickly moved to the biological specimens freezer in the North Cascades Institute’s lab, where it has served as a
- [The Confluence Garden: A Space For Growing Community](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/the-confluence-garden-a-space-for-growing-community/) - Here at the Confluence Garden we’re gearing up for winter. That means bringing in the irrigation hosing, tucking in the garlic bed with a blanket of straw, building row cover structures to protect our more tender perennials, and battening down the hoop house hatches to enable some winter planting. It also means starting to think
- [Perched on High Places: Dam Ospreys](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/perched-on-high-places-dam-ospreys/) - With the changing of seasons, Osprey are returning to their home of the North Cascades, to begin life anew. While taking advantage of the warm, rainless days, graduate students Tanner Johnson, Zoe Wadkins and Marissa Bluestein decided to take the Diablo Lake Trail in pursuit of adventure. Scanning the sky during a snack break at
- [Crown Jewel Wilderness: An interview with historian Lauren Danner](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/an-interview-with-historian-lauren-danner/) - The North Cascades National Park turns 50 years old this year. It's a popular place to camp and hike now, but a new book about the park's history says it got off to a rocky start. Lauren Danner is author of Crown Jewel Wilderness. She told KUOW's Kim Malcolm the establishment of the North Cascades almost didn't
- [A Garden in the Mountains](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/a-garden-in-the-mountains/) - This post is a guest contribution by graduate student Tanner Johnson, who is also one of the Confluence Garden Managers for 2017-18. Pushing up through the remnants of a harrowing snow storm, I spotted the first signs of spring. Just off the edge of the porch I noticed a cluster of Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) stretching
- [A San Juan Adventure on Orion: Exploring Yellow and Jones Islands by Boat and Boot](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/a-san-juan-adventure-on-orion-exploring-yellow-and-jones-islands-by-boat-and-boot/) - Bright blue camas flowers, yellow buttercups, scarlet paintbrush, chocolate lilies, and tall grasses swayed back and forth from the wind across the hillsides of Yellow Island. Phil Green, the Nature Conservancy Caretaker of the island for the past twenty years stated, "This is the second best bloom I have seen in all my time here."
- [The Gray Whale that Washed Ashore Whidbey Island](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-gray-whale-that-washed-ashore-whidbey-island/) - April 7, 2018 Our intentions were clear. All of the people accompanying us on the windy beach this afternoon had one mission in mind: to follow the calving cliffs of glacial sediment along Whidbey Island to see the carcass of a 30-foot long gray whale that had washed ashore a few days prior. Word spread
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: October 28 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/weekly-photo-roundup-october-28-2017/) - Every weekend I will post photos collected from various North Cascades Institute graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. It is fall-tastic here in the North Cascades! Below is a collection of beautiful color from around the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. The changing leaves
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: November 4 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/weekly-photo-roundup-november-4-2017/) - Every weekend I will post photos collected from various North Cascades Institute graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. This week Mt. Erie Elementary visited the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center for Mountain School. Next week is the last Mountain School session of 2017, so
- [Getting ready for summer: Gear repair day with Gear Aid](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/getting-ready-for-summer-gear-repair-day-with-mcnett/) - As summertime approaches, Aneka, Matt and Amy — our amazing Youth Leadership Adventures team — have a lot to get ready for. After several months of outreach and promotion of this unique backcountry stewardship and leadership program for high school students, they’ve received over 120 applications to fill 11 trips. Next up, they’ve been working closely with resource
- [Youth Ambassadors Trip Report: A Visit to University of Washington](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/youth-ambassadors-trip-report-our-visit-to-university-of-washington/) - This Youth Ambassadors trip is written by Stephanie Amaro, a student at Sedro-Woolley High School. In this post she shares her experience of learning about future opportunities during their visit to University of Washington. "After parking the bus on the University of Washington (UW) campus - which was a struggle - we set off for
- [You Are Here : A Weekend of Maps at the North Cascades Institute](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/you-are-here-a-weekend-of-maps-at-the-north-cascades-institute/) - I sense that humans have an urge to map–and that this mapping instinct, like our opposable thumbs, is part of what makes us human.” –Katherine Harmon I was driving East on the North Cascades Highway Friday morning through the snow, when I suddenly realized I was further up the road than I had ever been.
- [Naturalist Notes: April in the Skagit Valley](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/naturalist-note-april-in-skagit-valley/) - One moment it's sunny and then the next moment it's raining. And then later in the day, rain is falling on sunshine. That is what spring is like here in the North Cascades. Below are photos and entries from my journal of the last month, documenting the Skagit Valley's seasonal transition into spring. I hope
- [Bellingham Life: the Experiences of Cohort 16 in the City](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/bellingham-life-the-experiences-of-cohort-16-in-the-city/) - This post is a compilation of voices from graduate students in the 16th Cohort at the North Cascades Institute. In it they describe what the second year of the M.Ed Residency Program is like at the Western Washington University campus in Bellingham, WA. Next week they will present their capstone projects at the Environmental Learning Center, and then the week after,
- [Naturalist Notes: February in the Mountains](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/naturalist-note-february-in-the-mountains/) - “No winter lasts forever, no spring skips its turn.” – Hal Borland February is the beginning of my favorite stretch of year - the transition from winter into spring, and then spring into summer. This winter I am finding myself drawn to the lowland forests and deciduous banks of the Skagit River. My time upriver
- [2018 Capstones and Graduation](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/2018-capstones-and-graduation/) - A few weeks ago now, we celebrated the 16th Cohort of graduate students' completion of their Master of Environmental Education. From March 19-23, friends, family, staff, and fellow students watched capstone presentations by each member of the cohort at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. Each presentation was as unique as the individual who wrote
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: November 12 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/weekly-photo-roundup-november-12-2017/) - Every weekend I will post photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. This week was the last session of Mountain School at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center for 2017. Although winter approaches, we enjoyed three chilly days of sunshine
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: November 19 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/photography/weekly-photo-roundup-november-19-2017/) - Every weekend I will post photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. It's that time of the year where the precip rolls in and you either embrace it, or settle down inside for learning and traditions. Graduate students in the
- [Pablo McLoud: Artist in Residence](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/pablo-mcloud-artist-in-residence/) - Pablo McLoud participated in the North Cascades Institute’s Creative Residence Program this October, joining the tradition of poets, naturalists, dancers and researchers who have participated in the past. Pablo is self-described as "an amateur photographer using Canon cameras." He prides himself on taking photographs from a perspective and vantage point that many find original. For some of his
- [Youth Ambassadors Trip Report: Work Party and Salmon Viewing with NSEA](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-ambassadors-trip-report-work-party-and-salmon-viewing-with-nsea/) - The Youth Leadership Ambassadors program is an extension of our Youth Leadership Adventures summer program. The goal of the program is to further develop leadership and outdoor skills, facilitate service and stewardship in our local communities and ecosystems, and provide college preparedness support to high school students from Skagit and Whatcom County. While serving as Ambassadors, students will participate in
- [Plight of the Pollinators](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/plight-of-the-pollinators/) - Imagine yourself walking down to the local summer farmer’s market down by the town square. It’s the first warm day and you cannot wait to make a large juicy bowl of fruit salad for lunch. Summer time in the valley is your favorite, all winter you have eagerly anticipated the first fruits of the season.
- [When the Skagit Floods and Diablo Turns Green](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/when-the-skagit-floods-and-diablo-turns-green/) - In the photo above, WSDOT contractor crews replace washed out riprap to protect and repair State Route 20 along the Skagit River east of Rockport. WSDOT Word of the Day: rip·rap /ˈriprap/ North American noun noun: rip-rap 1. loose stone used to form a foundation for a breakwater or other structure. Have you noticed the
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: December 8 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/weekly-photo-roundup-december-8-2017/) - To start things off, here's some life advice from the mushroom above: Be down-to-earth Know when to show up Sprout new ideas Keep a low profile Stay well-rounded Understand your connection to others It felt relevant to me this week, as we transition into winter and see our three-week break in the near future. Graduate
- [What Gives Life to the Wild Ginger Library?](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/what-gives-life-to-the-wild-ginger-library/) - Libraries have long served as places of refuge from the world, where enlightenment and knowledge surround one in the form of books. They are a place to exercise our minds as thinking beings, and to contemplate the words of great authors within the comfort of a cozy, hushed building. Here, within the walls of brightly-colored
- [Natural History Field-Excursion: Migrating Raptors over Chelan Ridge](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/graduate-program-natural-history-field-excursion-part-1/) - This post is the first of a 3-part series describing graduate students' ten-day field excursion to the Methow Valley, as part of their fall Natural History Course. Below is writing by Brendan McGarry, graduate student in the North Cascade Institute's 17th cohort. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was frost coating the
- [An Open Letter to Secretary Zinke: National Parks Should be Affordable](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/an-open-letter-to-secretary-zinke-national-parks-should-be-affordable/) - North Cascades Institute has joined 15 organizations of great diversity and depth in Washington state to keep entrance fees to Olympic and Mount Rainier affordable and to support a better way to fix the repair needs of the national parks. This proposal has gathered a lot of attention across the country, and almost every reaction
- [Natural History Field-Excursion: Learning the Value of Citizen Science](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/natural-history-field-excursion-learning-the-value-of-citizen-science/) - This post is the second of a 3-part series describing graduate students' ten-day field excursion to the Methow Valley, as part of their fall Natural History Course. Below is writing by Zoe Wadkins, graduate student in the North Cascade Institute's 17th cohort. It was twenty-eight degrees out and declining. Seventeen of us gathered around a lone
- [Natural History Field-Excursion: A Grinnell Journal Entry for a Day with David Moskowitz](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/natural-history-field-excursion-a-grinnell-journal-entry-for-a-day-with-david-moskowitz/) - This post is the third of a 3-part series describing graduate students’ ten-day field excursion to the Methow Valley, as part of their fall Natural History Course. Click here for all three parts. On October 6, 2017, the 17th cohort of graduate students ended their 10-day field course by meeting with wildlife tracker and photographer, David
- [Kulshan Creek Field Trip: The Search for Salmon at Cumberland Creek](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/kulshan-creek-field-trip-the-search-for-salmon-at-cumberland-creek/) - Kulshan Creek Neighborhood Youth Program is a year-round educational program that engages young people ages 5 to 18 from two Skagit Valley neighborhoods in a series of monthly field trips to explore the outdoors and learn about our local watersheds. This post is courtesy of Ellie Price, the Youth Ambassadors and College Access Coordinator. In it
- [Colors of the West: Free online workshop with painter Molly Hashimoto](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/colors-of-the-west-free-online-workshop-with-painter-molly-hashimoto/) - “Putting a brush in the hands of new artists, young and old, heightens their awareness of the power and beauty of nature.” – Molly Hashimoto Join North Cascades Institute and The Mountaineers Books October 24, at 7pm for the next Mountaineers Books Web Series event with Molly Hashimoto, author of the new book Colors of
- [Youth Ambassadors Trip Report: Old Growth Forest and Salmon](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-ambassadors-trip-report-old-growth-forest-and-salmon/) - The Youth Leadership Ambassadors program is an extension of our Youth Leadership Adventures summer program. The goal of the program is to further develop leadership and outdoor skills, facilitate service and stewardship in our local communities and ecosystems, and provide college preparedness support to high school students from Skagit and Whatcom County. While serving as Ambassadors, students will participate in
- [A Year in Review: Most-read Chattermarks Posts of 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/a-year-in-review-most-read-chattermarks-posts-of-2017/) - 2017 was a big year for the North Cascades Institute, and we'd like to thank YOU for taking the time to read all about it on our Chattermarks blog. We try to make sure that everything posted here is in support of our mission: to inspire and empower environmental stewardship for all through transformative experiences
- [You're Never Too Old to be a Junior Ranger](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/youre-never-too-old-to-be-a-junior-ranger/) - Recently, graduate student Marissa Bluestein became a volunteer at Rockport State Park. She also earned her Junior Ranger badge and learned about old growth forest ecology. Below are her words on the experience: I stood with my right hand raised in the converted maintenance shed serving as the Discovery Center at Rockport State Park and
- [Naturalist Notes: See the Super Blue Blood Moon of 2018](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/naturalist-notes-see-the-super-blue-blood-moon-of-2018/) - On January 31st, 2018 humans across the west will witness a special convergence of three astronomical events tied to the full moon. It's something so special it deserves its own notable name: the Super Blue Blood Moon. But what's in a title? Here’s a Naturalist Note by graduate student Gina Roberti about what is most exciting
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: January 15 2018](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/weekly-photo-roundup-january-15-2018/) - Every weekend I will post photos collected from various North Cascades Institute graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. This week graduate students in the M.Ed Residency Program returned from their holiday break. After three weeks of being gone, we all returned to see cold,
- [2017 Northwest Youth Leadership Summit](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/2017-northwest-youth-leadership-summit/) - The Northwest Youth Leadership Summit, now in its eighth year, is for young adults (ages 14-22) in the Pacific Northwest who have participated in outdoor, leadership, and/or stewardship programs. In 2017, graduate student Amy Sanchez attended the event, led a presentation, and enjoyed the festivities. In Amy's own words: As a student in the Graduate
- [Mark Scherer: Artist in Residence](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/mark-scherer-artist-in-residence/) - Mark Scherer participated in the Creative Residence Program at the North Cascades Institute this December, joining the tradition of poets, naturalists, dancers and researchers who have participated in the past. In Mark's own words: My home is Stehekin, Washington. The medium I work with most often is wood. I'm not a carver except in the most rudimentary way.
- [Photo Roundup: April 23 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/photo-roundup-april-22-2017/) - Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Photos by Kay Gallagher The appearance of the sun at the North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center, has been a rare treat this spring. Last weekend, we had
- [Photo Roundup: April 16 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/photo-roundup-april-16-2017/) - After a month long hiatus, the roundup is back! Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Capstones are a culmination of the work and passion behind each graduate students' studies. For her capstone, Annah Young
- [Seasons in the Skagit: Spring](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/seasons-in-the-skagit-spring/) - Happy spring everyone! Winter proved to be quite the formidable season. At the North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center we experienced heavy weather events, slides in the Skagit Gorge and even a snowy Mountain School session. As we move into spring the days are longer, the sun shines a little more often and the buds
- [The North Cascades Institute 2017 Naturalist Team](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/the-north-cascades-institute-2017-naturalist-team/) - Last month we welcomed the 2017 naturalist team to the North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center. A mixture of new and returning faces, these naturalists are an integral part of our community here in the mountains. Throughout the spring and fall, they will work alongside our graduate M.Ed. residency students, teaching students across the state participating in our
- [Time Along the Skagit: Eagle Watching With Kulshan Creek Neighborhood Youth Program and Latino Outdoors](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/time-along-the-skagit-eagle-watching-with-kulshan-creek-neighborhood-youth-program/) - January can be warm on the lower Skagit and this late January Saturday was no exception. As Becky Moore, Alexei Desmarais and I arrived at the Howard Miller Steelhead Park on the Skagit River in Rockport, WA, we looked to see if there were any Bald Eagles present around the river. As graduate M.Ed. students
- [A Snowy Start to Spring Mountain School](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/a-snowy-start-to-spring-mountain-school/) - There really wasn't anything 'spring-like' about our first spring Mountain School session of the year. With almost a foot of snow falling the night before and continuing snowfall throughout the day, 5th grade students from Mt. Vernon's Madison Elementary School arrived on March 6th to a winter wonderland at the North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center.
- [Highway reopened, students safely back home!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/highway-reopened-students-safely-back-home/) - UPDATE March 13, 4 pm: After WSDOT successfully reopened one lane of Highway 20 today, the Henry M. Jackson high school students, teachers and parent chaperones were able to leave the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center to return home! More updates later, but for now we want to say thank you to the great students,
- [Avalanche closes Hwy 20, students and staff get unexpected weekend at the Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/avalanche-closes-hwy-20/) - On Friday morning, March 10, the Washington State Department of Transportation closed Highway 20 seven miles west of the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center due to a large avalanche across the road. This incident blocked the school buses that were due to pick up students from Henry M Jackson High School in Mill Creek, WA, who
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: March 5 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/weekly-photo-roundup-march-5-2017/) - Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Naturalists and graduate students prepare for a new season of Mountain School. Photo by Angela Burlile Smokey Brine, the phenology graduate assistant, explains how she tracks the seasonal
- [Youth Leadership Ambassador Trip Report: Skagit Flats and Padilla Bay](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-leadership-ambassador-trip-report-skagit-flats-and-padilla-bay/) - The Youth Leadership Ambassadors program is an extension of our Youth Leadership Adventures summer program. The goal of the program is to further develop leadership and outdoor skills, facilitate service and stewardship in our local communities and ecosystems, and provide college preparedness support to high school students from Skagit and Whatcom County. While serving as Ambassadors,
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: February 26 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/weekly-photo-roundup-february-26-2017/) - Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Cohort 16 graduate students relaxing at Skalitude. Photo by Angela Burlile On February 18th, graduate M.Ed students began their week-long winter natural history intensive in the Methow Valley.
- [Winter Insects in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/winter-insects-in-the-north-cascades/) - For weeks here in the North Cascades, the ground has been blanketed in a thick layer of snow and ice, two or three feet deep in places. It is not the kind of weather in which you’d expect to see many insects out and about—and indeed, most insects go into a dormant phase in the
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: February 12, 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/weekly-photo-roundup-february-12th-2017/) - Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Snow falling on the Skagit River in Marblemount, behind the Blue House residence. Photo by Angela Burlile The week started off with continuing heavy snowfall in the upper
- [Youth Leadership Ambassador Trip Report: Little Mountain](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-leadership-ambassadors-trip-report-of-little-mountain/) - The Youth Leadership Ambassadors program is an extension of our Youth Leadership Adventures summer program. The goal of the program is to further develop leadership and outdoor skills, facilitate service and stewardship in our local communities and ecosystems, and provide college preparedness support to high school students from Skagit and Whatcom County. While serving as Ambassadors,
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: February 5 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/weekly-photo-roundup-february-5th-2017/) - Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Photo by Annah Young Photo by Emily Baronich Photos from SnowSchool, our winter field science program offered in partnership with the Mt. Baker Ski Area and Northwest Avalanche Center.
- [Mt. Baker SnowSchool: Bringing Students Into the Mountains](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/snowschool-2017/) - By Abby Sussman My life is focused in the mountains, so it is surprising how many local young people have never had the opportunity to visit our neighborhood peaks. “So many kids in Whatcom County see Mt. Baker from the lowlands, but some never get the chance to experience the mountain environment,” says Gwyn Howat,
- [Winter Birds of the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/winter-birds-of-the-north-cascades/) - Here in the northern reaches of one of the most rugged and remote mountain ranges in the continental US, winter has brought traditional snows and a quite cool December. For many, winter in these mountains means cold rain, snow, and brief glimpses of sun. The landscape for the most part is asleep, resting under snow
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: January 29 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/weekly-photo-roundup-january-29th-2017/) - Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Photo by Jihan Grettenberger Jihan Grettenberger, a graduate M.Ed. student at the North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center, came across some cougar tracks while walking down the Diablo
- [North Cascades Institute in The Guardian](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/north-cascades-institute-in-the-guardian/) - Call of the wild: can America’s national parks survive? America’s national parks are facing multiple threats, despite being central to the frontier nation’s sense of itself by Lucy Rock published January 14, 2017 Autumn in the North Cascades National Park and soggy clouds cling to the peaks of the mountains that inspired the musings of
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: January 22 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/weekly-photo-roundup-january-22nd-2017/) - Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Photo by Angela Burlile The sunshine from last weekend continued on early in the week. We were treated to this beautiful alpenglow on Sourdough mountain, driving across Diablo Dam
- [2017 Instructor Exchange](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/2017-instructor-exchange/) - On January 14th, the M.Ed graduate students of Cohort 16 (C16) welcomed students and staff from Islandwood and Wilderness Awareness School to North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center for the first of three gatherings that make up the annual Instructor Exchange. Every winter, this exchange offers instructors the chance to meet others in the environmental education field
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: January 15, 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/nci-weekly-photo-roundup-january-15th-2017/) - Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Photo by Angela Burlile On Monday, I caught the sun dancing across Diablo lake in the morning mist on my way to North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center. Photo
- [Seasons In the Skagit: Winter](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/seasons-in-the-skagit-winter/) - Hello and welcome to 2017 everyone! I am very pleased to greet you in the new year and share with you some of the changes we have recently seen in the Skagit. As we start winter and a new cycle around the sun I invite you to embrace the beginning of our calendar year and
- [Grizzly reintroduction in the North Cascades: Make your voice heard!](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/grizzly-bear-reintroduction-comments-requested/) - Public Invited to Open Houses on Proposed Alternatives for Grizzly Bear Restoration in North Cascades Ecosystem Public comment period open through March 14, 2017 The National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) invite the public to participate in a series of informational open houses regarding the proposed alternatives for the restoration
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: January 8, 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/nci-weekly-photo-roundup-january-8th-2017/) - Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Photo by Jihan Grettenberger On Monday, graduate M.Ed student Ash Dina Kunz, got creative in her transport methods from the parking lot to graduate housing at the North Cascades
- [Youth Leadership Ambassadors: A Pathway For Youth](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/youth-leadership-ambassadors-a-pathway-for-youth/) - This last August I was grateful to fill a newly created position at the North Cascades Institute, that of College Access Coordinator. The position was specifically created to support and strengthen opportunities for participants of our Youth Leadership Adventures and Mountain School programs. The AmeriCorps position is made possible by the Washington Campus Compact “College Access
- [A Wintery Return to the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/awinterreturntotheelc/) - While there were hints of winter prior to our holiday break, there is no question now that winter has arrived at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. Graduate M.Ed. students who live on campus returned today to find drifts of snow reaching the heights of their roof, carefully avoiding the 'roofalanche' zones that we were warned
- [30 Year Anniversary: A Look Back at 2016](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/a-look-back-at-2016/) - As today marks the last day of 2016, what better place than Chattermarks to look back at the memories and highlights of the year here at the North Cascades Institute. I have only recently joined as a contributor to the blog and many of the posts this past year were submitted by guests, naturalists, C15
- [Naturalist Notes: Hair Ice](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/winter-discovery-hair-ice/) - A cold afternoon walk led to a beautiful winter discovery on the Deer Creek Loop trail around the Environmental Learning Center. The temperature had dropped significantly overnight and along with a fresh dusting of snow, we found fine hairlike strands of ice covering numerous down trees all along the trail. Aptly named "hair ice", these delicate
- [Connecting the Dots: An Interview with Creative Resident Patty DiRienzo](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/connecting-the-dots-an-interview-with-creative-resident-patty-dirienzo/) - As his time at Mountain School comes to an end, 10-year-old Avi writes a letter to himself reflecting on his time in the North Cascades wilderness. Two weeks later students will open these letters at school and remember what was special about their time away from home and out in nature. All photographs and captions by
- [The Cold](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/the-cold/) - Snow finally arrived to Environmental Learning Center (December 4th to be exact) and the days since have been crisp and cold, transforming the landscape around us. The sunny, clear skies this week have revealed snow-capped mountains, whose presence can be forgotten behind the usual rain-laden clouds. Cascades running down the sheer rock cliffs in the gorge have turned
- [S’more Knowledge, S’more Fun: Kulshan Creek at Lyman Slough](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/smore-knowledge-smore-fun-kulshan-creek-at-lyman-slough/) - Kulshan Creek Neighborhood Youth Program is a year-round educational program that engages young people ages 5 to 18 from two Skagit Valley neighborhoods in a series of monthly field trips to explore the outdoors and learn about our local watersheds. The weather is ominous. Big, gray rain clouds, wind and chilly temps definitely impacted the
- [NCI Weekly Photo Roundup: December 4 2016](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/nci-weekly-photo-roundup-december-4th-2016/) - Sunrise on Pyramid Peak, taken from the Environmental Learning Center parking lot. Photo by Angela Burlile Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Photos by Kay Gallagher Last Monday, Kay Gallagher, Becky Moore, and Melissa
- [A Look Back At Our Summer in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/a-look-back-at-our-summer-in-the-north-cascades/) - It seems a little strange to write about summer as we step into winter but there has to be a start to every story and the story of C16 begins with our arrival to the Environmental Learning Center on a warm July day. We were to begin the first course of our year long residency, 'Place Based
- [Weekly Photo Roundup: November 27 2016](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/nci-weekly-photo-roundup-november-27th-2016/) - This is the first of a weekly photo roundup series I will be posting here on Chattermarks. These photos are collected from various NCI graduate students and staff, highlighting the happenings of our everyday lives here in the North Cascades. Enjoy! Photo by Angela Burlile Early last week, the National Park arrived to the ELC to
- [Growing Roots In The Mountain](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/growing-roots-in-the-mountain/) - Guest post by Lauren Danner, historian and writer. The North Cascades have been the focus of Lauren Danner’s research and writing for more than 15 years. While she knows the park intimately on paper and through the memories of those involved in its creation, the Environmental Learning Center creative residency allowed her an opportunity for
- [2016 Northwest Youth Leadership Summit: Leaders In Action](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/2016-northwest-leadership-youth-conference-leaders-in-action/) - Fun activities. Good food. Hands-on learning. Passionate discussion. A surprise visit from Sally Jewell. The newly-named Northwest Youth Leadership Summit included all of this, and more. This conference, now in its seventh year, is for young adults in the Pacific Northwest who have participated in at least one outdoor program and want to stay involved.
- [Seasons In The Skagit: Fall](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/seasons-in-the-skagit-fall/) - Fall Hello everyone! We are moving towards the end of fall and the beginning of winter in the Skagit Valley. The leaves are falling from the trees here at Lake Diablo. As the days march slowly towards December we see the seasons changing all around us. The sun rises later in the morning and disappears
- [Wildlife Encounters In The Methow: A Natural History Intensive](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/wildlife-encounters-in-the-methow-a-natural-history-intensive/) - Chompers and Lewisa, the new beaver residents of Beaver Creek, quickly became much more active as their wire cages were placed in the cold creek, splashing about and looking to explore. The beavers looked on disdainfully as we humans created a small dam in the creek, to give them a suggestion of where to build
- [What is a cohort? An Introduction To C16](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/what-is-a-cohort-an-introduction-to-c16/) - The 16th graduate cohort has arrived at the North Cascades Institute. Tasked with the responsibility of introducing ourselves to you readers, I thought it best to start by looking at the word 'cohort', as it has come to be a large part of our identity as a group and as individuals. I remember the first time
- [A Question of Scale: Plant Phenology Across Time and Space](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/phenology-joe-2016/) - By Joe Loviska, graduate student in the Institute's 15th cohort. March 20, 2016. I’ve been keeping an eye on the western flowering dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) out in the parking lot of the Learning Center. It’s a small tree, maybe twelve feet in height. Its gray trunk and branches are spindly, filling out the vague shape
- [The Social Lives of Trees: Part 3 Underground Partnerships](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/social-trees-emma-2016-3/) - By Emma Ewert, graduate student in the Institute's 15th cohort. Take a look at part one and part two of her series on the social lives of trees! While the partnerships between trees and fungi that I have been discussing in my previous posts are fascinating, what really intrigues and excites me is how these mycorrhizal networks
- [Wolverines: A Natural History](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/wolverines-tyler-2016/) - By Tyler Davis, graduate student of the Institute's 15th cohort. Wolverines are elusive creatures that are primarily found in the far reaches of wilderness areas. These animals are symbols of the wild, strong and seemingly fearless. They are also a source of fear stemmed from misunderstandings. Sadly, there is still a lack of knowledge about
- [The Social Lives of Trees: Part 2 Mycorrhizal Fungi](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/social-trees-emma-2016-2/) - By Emma Ewert, graduate student in the Institute's 15th cohort. Take a look at part one of her series on the social lives of trees! It is almost impossible to distinguish root systems from the fungi that they are connected to. In fact, the term mycorrhizal means “fungi-root”, and refers to the root system as
- [The Social Lives of Trees: Part 1](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/social-tree-emma-2016-1/) - By Emma Ewert, graduate student in the Institute's 15th cohort. I have always found trees comforting and familiar. Playing in the dense woods surrounding my childhood home, they were the walls of my forts or the home of woodland fairies. Living in the Salish Sea, my childhood trees were the stately Douglas-firs, scrappy Shore Pines,
- [Mapping a Sense of Place](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/mapping-aly-2016/) - By Aly Gourd, graduate student in the Institute's 15th cohort. Imagine a world that makes sense. Mentally erase all of the tangled lines on the old, industrial-age maps -- city, country, state, and provincial boundaries, highways and railroads, the international borders. Let the original face of the place shine through: rivers, mountains and valleys, coastlines
- [Walking Washington's History](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/walking-washingtons-history/) - “Located in the most remote corner of the continental United States, hunkered below a wilderness cascading down from the mountains, early Bellingham… had ambition,” writes historian Judy Bentley in her new book from the University of Washington Press, Walking Washington’s History. Four villages — Whatcom, Sehome, Bellingham, and Fairhaven — grew along the waterfront of Bellingham
- [Urban Foraging: A back-country approach to front-country living](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/foraging-rob-2016/) - By Rob Healy, graduate student in the Institute's 15th cohort. Somewhere at the murky crossroads of a lifelong passion for preparedness and survival, the excitement of days spent hunting, fishing and foraging, and the soul crushing reality that is the ratio of time spent in front versus back country, I hatched a plan. Whether famine, natural disaster
- [Eating Snow: Climate Change, Snowpack and Agriculture Water-Use Policy in the Methow Valley](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/water-policy-annah-2016/) - By Annah Young, graduate student in the Institute's 15th cohort. I wedged myself between two boulders on the summit of Silver Star Mountain in Okanagan County, Washington and peered out over the North Cascades range. It was May 1, 2016. Mount Baker was crystal clear some 100 miles to the west across the snow cover
- [In the Era of Fire Lookouts: Fire Suppression in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/lookout-adam-2016/) - By Adam Bates, graduate student in the Institute's 15th cohort. Fire lookouts have captured the imagination of the American public for over seventy-five years. The notion that one could spend a summer atop a mountain in solitude and seclusion holds a certain romanticism that was perpetuated by numerous authors, poets, artists and backcountry enthusiasts. Therein
- [Youth Leadership Adventures 2016 trip report: Diablo Ducklings](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-leadership-adventures-2016-trip-report-diablo-ducklings/) - Guest post by Imara White, Apprentice Instructor for Youth Leadership Adventures Youth Leadership Adventures is a North Cascades Institute program that takes high school youth out in the North Cascades backcountry to backpack or canoe, complete service projects, and develop outdoor leadership, field science, public speaking, and communication skills. The program works to inspire a
- [Jack Kerouac's first morning on Desolation](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/jack-kerouacs-first-morning-on-desolation/) - Catching up with Jack Kerouac, who served as a fire lookout atop Desolation Peak in the North Cascades 60 years ago this summer. In this passage from his classic novel The Dharma Bums, he awakens on his first morning alone on the mountaintop and marvels at his surroundings: Lo, in the morning I woke up
- [Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata): A story...](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/western-redcedar-ginna-2016/) - By Ginna Malley Campos, graduate student in the Institute's 15th cohort. Long, long ago, when ice and snow covered the land as far as the eye could see, we speckled the landscape. Only a few of us grew here and there. But soon came a time when the ice and snow began to retreat. And
- [Watch your nose: Understanding White-Nose Syndrome and the Bats of the North Cascades National Park, part 2](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/wns-bats-park-2/) - Photo taken by Alan Hicks. Retrieved from batcon.org This is part two of my series on bats. You can find part one here. On March 11, hikers found the sick bat about 30 miles east of Seattle near North Bend, and took it to Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) for care. The bat died two days
- [Watch your nose: Understanding White-Nose Syndrome and the Bats of the North Cascades National Park, part 1](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/wns-bats-park-1/) - On March 11, hikers found the sick bat about 30 miles east of Seattle near North Bend, and took it to Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) for care. The bat died two days later, and had visible symptoms of a skin infection common in bats with White Nose Syndrome. -U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. This comes
- [We don't know what we've already lost: A road trip](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/hutch-road-trip/) - As much as we love North Cascadian landscapes, we here at the Institute are still called to visit and experience other amazing places on our planet. We publish accounts of the places Institute staff and graduate students visit in our Road Trip series. By David "Hutch" Hutchison, naturalist at the Institute. We paddle our small
- [The Big One](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/the-big-one-calvin-laatsch/) - By Calvin Laatsch, the Institute's Conference and Retreat Coordinator. Calvin originally posted this to his personal blog, Live Close. We publish accounts of the places Institute staff and graduate students visit in our Road Trip series. I notice that my knuckles are raw and chaffed from stuffing my fists into the wide crack leading up
- [The Raven](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/raven-hannah-2016/) - By Hannah Newell, graduate student in the Institute's 15th cohort. When you hear the word raven, what first comes to mind? Do the words deceptive, persistent, clever, noisy or disruptive come to mind? Most often, this is how people have culturally thought of the raven. Through the early works of Edgar Allen Poe, parts of
- [An Open Letter to the 16th Cohort](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/open-letter-c16/) - If you are new to or unfamiliar with the North Cascades Institute, there are a few bits of jargon that need to be explained: Western Washington University has a graduate residency program where students spend their first year at the Institute (often shorted to NCI). They then finish their degree at the University. Early summer is
- [Integral Ice : A Creative Residency reflection](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/integral-ice/) - By Manasseh Franklin For much of the lower 48 states, it's easy to consider glaciers as distant, sometimes extraordinarily so. A great deal of my research and writing focuses on closing this distance in order to give access to the beauty, vitality and total importance of ice on the decline throughout North America. To do
- [VOCALIZE: A Natural and Cultural History Project](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/vocalize-loon-emily-ford-2016/) - By Emily Ford, graduate student in the Institute's 15th cohort. “VOCALIZE” attempts to share the Natural and Cultural History of the Loon through multiple ways of knowing. This project blends Indigenous Education and Scientific Study through the following list of topics, in order to create an ecological and social learning platform for all: Etymology, Art,
- [An exploration into science and art](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/caddisfly-holli/) - By Holli Watne, graduate student in the Institute's 15th Cohort. I have a deep love for entomology and artistic exploration. Until recently, I viewed these two pleasures as mutually exclusive. My perception changed when I was introduced to the work of Hubert Duprat. He has been working with Trichoptera (one of my favorite orders of
- [Springing into Learning: Graduate Spring Natural History Retreat](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/spring-natural-history-2016/) - At the Institute, the graduate students of the 15th cohort (C15) have been hard at work this past year teaching Mountain School, assisting in adult programs and visiting non-profits, all while finishing assignments and trying to find some sleep! Every season though, the graduate students leave all that behind to learn from experts in the field
- [Ecosystem Engineers: A beaver curriculum](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/ecosystem-engineers-beaver-curriculum/) - By Hannah Newell, graduate student in the Institute's 15th cohort. A person’s perspective on the beaver is malleable. Some believe they are pests that need to be eradicated while others look deeply into their connection to the ecosystem and how they help shape our environment through their lifestyle. Two North Cascades Institute Graduate students partnered
- [Soaked with Knowledge: Kulshan Creek at Rasar State Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/kulshan-rasar-2016/) - All photography courtesy of Adam Bates, graduate student in the Institute's 15th cohort. Youth have a unique skill in creating adventures out of anything. So even though I had been to tree planting on Cornet Bay and the Migratory Bird Festival with the Kulshan Creek Neighborhood Program, both large and expansive day trips, our last trip
- [Winter Musing in an Alpine Refuge: Creative residency January 18-30, 2016](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/winter-musing-veronique/) - By Véronique Robigou - Artist, Geologist, and Natural Science Illustrator. At the start of the year, I was very fortunate to join the legion of artists, naturalists, and scientists who before me have benefited from the North Cascades’ Institute Creative Residency Program. A retreat as artist-in-residence in the remote, alpine setting of the North Cascades Learning
- [Sea Stars in the Community](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/sea-stars-rachel-gugich/) - After two months upon completing her graduate degree from Western Washington University, Rachel has been reflecting on her amazing experiences over the previous 18 months. Through her journey at the North Cascades Institute's Graduate Residency program, her accomplishments and experiences have molded her into a passionate environmental educator. One of those experiences was incorporating her natural
- [Snakes, Amphibians and a whole lot of learning!](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/snake-amphibian-2016/) - Editor's Note: Do not attempt to capture any wildlife, especially snakes. This class was done with trained professionals who kept all participants safe with decades of experience. As a graduate student at the North Cascades Institute, most of my experience in environmental education over the past year has been teaching fifth graders in Mountain School and graduate natural
- [iNaturalist: Preparing for the Bioblitz](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/inaturalist/) - Are your candles ready? Because this summer the National Park Service turns 100! Instead of getting America's best idea a birthday cake or a gift card, they want only one thing for this special occasion: to get all citizens involved with America's outdoors. One of the easiest ways to get involved is through their BioBlitz: A BioBlitz
- [Listening to Coyote](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/listening-to-coyote/) - By Emily Ford, part of the Institute’s 15th Graduate Cohort. After a rainy and dark winter, I’ve started to recognize the North Cascades as I remember them when I arrived last summer. Pyramid Mountain’s East wing is shaking off the snow, reminding me of summer as if it were an old friend. Soon again, Pyramid
- [Creating Tradition: Sixth Annual Migratory Bird Festival](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/sixth-migratory-bird-festival/) - Any cool event can happen once. Maybe twice. After so many years the “just a cool idea” starts to be folded into the fabric of a community. Hosted by the U.S. Forest Service at Ebey’s Landing National Historical Park with support from all the following partners, the Migratory Bird Festival is becoming one of the
- [Sharing Home: Three days of adventure in Washington](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/sharing-home/) - Having moved into the North Cascades Eco-region in July for the graduate residency program, these mountains are finally starting to feel like home. Month after month I have been engaged in the cycle of the seasons, the habits of natural neighbors and the rhythms of the Skagit. So when I knew my family was coming for
- [Prince...the green philanthropist?](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/prince-the-green-philanthropist/) - As music lovers the world over mourn the passing of Prince ~ the legendary singer, songwriter, musician (he played every single instrument on several of his albums and was a guitarist extraorindaire), movie star and fashion icon who impacted American culture for close to four decades ~ another side of the Minneapolis son is emerging
- [Blue House Farm](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/blue-house-farm/) - By Tyler Davis, member of the Institute’s 15th Graduate Cohort. Spring has arrived and summer will be here before we know it. When I think about summer, I think about juicy, red tomatoes, summer squash and fresh cucumbers, picked right off the vine. This summer, we should be able to find all of those things (and
- [John McMillan's Cabin: Traveling the paths of ghosts](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/john-mcmillan-cabin/) - By Hannah Newell, a M.Ed. Graduate student of the Institute’s 15th Cohort Where would one place their grave in these woods? And how could one bury themselves? These two questions came to me as I was half delirious with exhaustion, wandering around on the west bank of Big Beaver Creek along Ross Lake. My cohort
- [Growing Minds: Tree Planting at Cornet Bay with the Kulshan Creek Neighborhood Program](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/kulshan-creek-tree-planting-2016/) - Environmental Education has the unique opportunity to bring people and organizations together in the most radical places on this planet. Last month, myself and three other members of the current graduate cohort at the North Cascades Institute hopped on a bus full of students, chaperons, a police officer and National Forest employees as part of the Kulshan
- [Finding Freedom in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/finding-freedom-in-the-north-cascades/) - By Aly Gourd, member of the Institute’s 15th Graduate Cohort. As graduate students and adventurers in the North Cascades, we take risks. We take risks in living where we do and we often purposely pursue adventure in the outdoors because we believe the benefits we gain outweigh the risks we choose to take. "A huge challenge
- [Graduate Winter Natural History Retreat: Class in the snow!](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/winter-natural-history-2016/) - As the snow is melting and Spring is is coming in full force, winter's grasp is quickly fleeting from our minds. It's hard to imagine that just a month ago the 15th Graduate Cohort of the North Cascades Institute was on their Winter Natural History retreat in the Methow Valley, then a winter wilderness! The
- [A Phenology Fix](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/a-phenology-fix/) - By Sasha Savoian, part of the Institute's 15th Graduate Cohort. The shifting of seasons. Temperature begins to rise as the arch of the sun lifts. Winds push and pull pendulous crowns of Hemlock and Western Red Cedar while gusts careen through limbs of Doug fir. Rains drench the lichen and moss covered landscape. Sun surprises.
- [Graduation 2016: C14's Grand Finale](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/graduation-2016/) - Phenology, or the study of natural cycles, is a constant part of life at the North Cascades Institute. We dive deep into when the first buds appear on trees, what bird songs we can here in that season and the height of all of the flowing water in the area. This year two of the largest,
- [WANTED: GRIZZLY BEARS?](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/wanted-grizzly-bears/) - Tireless bear activist Chris Morgan Wildlife has shared a new 7-minute video about grizzlies in the North Cascades. WANTED: GRIZZLY BEARS? is an educational short film that captures the beauty of grizzlies and delves into people's perceptions and misperceptions of these natives to the North Cascades. Wanted: Grizzly Bears? from ChrisMorganWildlife on Vimeo. "We interviewed
- [Glacial Ice Worms: Ancient Story Tellers](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/glacial-ice-worms/) - By Gavin Willis, graduate student in the institute’s 14th cohort. So much of natural history is about storytelling. Whether it is telling about the budding of Indian Plum last spring, the migration pattern of Spotted Towhees last decade, or the historical path of a river, the idea of imparting to present and future generations the story
- [Snow School 2016: Experiential Education on Mt. Baker](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/snow-school-2016/) - On a rainy Friday morning in Bellingham, eight environmental educators cram tightly into a van fully equipped in winter gear. The van’s destination—Mt. Baker Ski Area. Rain continues to fall heavily in the lowland forests of the Nooksack Valley as the van makes its way toward the mountain. Soon we’re steeply ascending toward the Ski
- [Celebrating 30 & 100 Years Birthdays!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/celebrating-30-100-years-birthdays/) - As we ready for our 30th spring and summer of offering outdoor explorations and learning adventures in the North Cascades, we acknowledge another important anniversary too: the Centennial of the National Park Service! On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill that created the agency that today stewards 410 units, of which 59
- [Naturally Wonderful Naturalists: New staff of 2016](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/naturalists-spring-2016/) - As the snow is melting and the trees are budding, our Naturalist Team is getting ready for teaching in the mountains. At the North Cascades Institute's Environmental Learning Center the Senior Naturalist and Lead Program Assist will help guide the five new Naturalist Field Instructors over nine months of teaching in the mountains. During the spring and fall
- [Grizzly Bears in the Pacific Northwest: Part 5](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/grizzly-bears-in-the-pacific-northwest-5/) - People in Montana and Northwestern Wyoming have been living and recreating in close proximity to grizzlies upon settlement. In Washington nobody has seen a grizzly in nearly 20 years. For those who do not live in grizzly country it is an animal associated with danger and fear. Common misconceptions and ignorance about grizzlies are major
- [Natural Notes on the Pacific Wren and Saw Whet Owl](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/pacific-wren-saw-whet-owl/) - By Hannah Newell, a M.Ed. Graduate student of the Institute's 15th Cohort Pacific Wren This avian is a year round resident in our coniferous forests but to me has gone unnoticed until fall when all the other commanding voices of spring and summer have slowly disappeared. The first one I noticed was on a typical rainy
- [Wilderness Awareness School and Islandwood: Graduate Exchange Weekend](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/graduate-exchange-weekend-2015/) - The North Cascades Institute has a Graduate Residency program where Western Washington University students live and learn at the Environmental Learning Center located near Diablo, Washington for a full year. Currently the Institute's 15th cohort (C15) is doing their residency as part of their Master's in Outdoor Environmental Education. This idea of a dedicated year of
- [Lichen Love: A Natural History of Lichen (Part Two)](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/lichen-love-kelly-sleight-2/) - By Kelly Sleight, graduate student in the institute’s 14th cohort. Lichen and People Lichen and people have interacted since time immemorial. Humans have used lichen as food, medicine, clothing, fiber, poison, decoration and dye. From the original Christmas tree tinsel to the cherished purple robes of the wealthy, lichen has played a huge role in our
- [Véronique Robigou: Artistic Mapper in Residence](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/veronique-robigou/) - Véronique Robigou participated in the North Cascades Institute's Creative Residence Program this winter, joining the tradition of poets, naturalists, dancers and researchers who have participated in the past. As described by the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Northwest, Véronique is an "artist, scientific illustrator, geologist and educator." She launched the Ocean et Terra Studio in 2011 to "create visual stories
- [Lichen Love: A Natural History of Lichen (Part One)](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/lichen-love-kelly-sleight-1/) - By Kelly Sleight, graduate student in the institute’s 14th cohort. There is a low mist in the woods- It is a good day to study lichens. -Henry David Thoreau, A Year in Thoreau's Journal: 1851 The history of lichen and its uses began long before any person had started recording information in written form. The knowledge and
- [Snapshots of Paddling on the Skagit](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/snapshots-paddling-skagit/) - While the Broncos and the Panthers were playing the biggest football game of the year, almost two dozen of us living in the upper Skagit valley traveled down the Skagit River. In our "paddling crew" included members from the Institute's 14th and 15th graduate cohorts, North Cascades Institute Staff and students in the Remote Medical
- [Giving a "Dam": A Natural History of Beavers](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/giving-a-dam-beavers/) - By Liz Blackman, graduate student in the institute’s 14th cohort. As I slide over the edge of the raceway and landed knee-deep in water I can barely see the almond-colored nose of the buoyant beaver as he floats beneath his cinderblock temporary home behind a large pile of aspen cuttings. He seems minimally threated by my
- [Subalpine and Alpine Wildflowers and Pollinators of the North Cascades: Part 2](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/subalpine-alpine-wildflowers-ridder-2/) - By Lauren Ridder, graduate student in the institute's 14th cohort. This is part two of Lauren's natural history project. Find part one here. The Biome: Subalpine to Alpine The alpine lifezone or biome is most often described as the area above or near treeline on mountaintops. In the North Cascades, the elevation range of the alpine
- [Down Valley Conference Adventure: A Grad's Perspective](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/down-valley-conference-adventure/) - Living at the Environmental Learning Center near Diablo, WA changes how we approach everyday decisions. Little trips, for instance, turn into a three day down valley adventure! This last weekend the 15th graduate cohort (along with a few from the 14th) traveled to two conferences in three days: Storming the Sound and Curriculum for the
- [Subalpine and Alpine Wildflowers and Pollinators of the North Cascades: Part 1](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/subalpine-alpine-wildflowers-ridder-1/) - By Lauren Ridder, graduate student in the institute's 14th cohort. Nothing can quite prepare the hiker for the beauty of a subalpine meadow in full bloom. The contrast of the delicate flowers’ vibrant colors splashed across a backdrop of jagged peaks provides a moment for reflection and appreciation for the stark beauty of Cascadia. As
- [Echoes from the Dam](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/echoes-dam/) - Imagine yourself standing atop of Diablo Dam in the early morning of a crisp, winter day. Behind you five ravens are circling near a patch of trees lining Diablo Lake. One of the Seattle City Light boats speeds on in the distance quickly becoming quieter and softer. As you open your mouth to let the cool
- [Dear Mountain School,](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/dear-mountain-school/) - Dear Mountain School, Thank you for the fun hikes and delicious food. I loved looking at pieces of the forest in the microscope lab. Sincerely, Student It is rare to hear first hand from students what they remember the most from their educational experiences. Whenever it happens it is one of the best gifts an
- [Hope Within Wildness](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/hope-within-wildness/) - Written as an essay for the Conservation Psychology class at Western Washington University. "In wildness lies the hope of the world." John Muir Today, our world faces many problems that can seem overwhelming and almost too much to bear. In a world facing issues such as climate change, terrorism, racism, poverty, hunger, etc it is
- [Rewilding Cascadia: Return of the grizzly, wolves and fisher in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/rewilding-cascadia/) - Over the last two centuries human expansion has halted and almost destroyed natural habitat for many species across America. In recent time there has been multiple efforts to "rewild" or restore natural places to previous states. Recently there have been success stories with grizzly bears, wolves, and fishers in the North Cascades Ecosystem. Grizzly Bears:
- [North Cascades Foodshed Summit 2015](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/foodshed-summit-2015/) - By Annah Young, Tyler Davis, and Ginna Malley-Campos who are all graduate students in the institutes 15th cohort. On December 4, 2015, over 20 local farmers, educators, chefs, advocates and organizers from our region gathered at the Environmental Learning Center to connect on challenges and opportunities to strengthen the health of our regional food system.
- [Fall Count: Environmental Learning Center Observations from September through November](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/fall-count-2015/) - By Joe Loviska, Graduate Phenology Assistant Phenology is the study of how plants, animals, and other biotic organisms change with the cycle of the seasons. As the graduate phenology assistant at the Environmental Learning Center (ELC), it is my job to collect and organize data on the weather, mammals, and birds around the center. Weather From
- [The Practice of Presence: Responding to Inner & Outer Landscapes Field Notes and Poems (Part Three)](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/sit-write-walk-2015-3/) - North Cascades Institute hosted a class called Sit, Walk, Write: Nature and the Practice of Presence. Participants began their days with a sitting meditation, followed by writing and sharing poetry and short nature essays, walking meditation, and exploring the woods around the Learning Center. Here are some participant poems that came out of this unique
- [The Practice of Presence: Responding to Inner & Outer Landscapes Field Notes and Poems (Part Two)](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/sit-walk-write-2015-2/) - North Cascades Institute hosted a class called Sit, Walk, Write: Nature and the Practice of Presence. Participants began their days with a sitting meditation, followed by writing and sharing poetry and short nature essays, walking meditation, and exploring the woods around the Learning Center. Here are some participant poems that came out of this unique
- [The Practice of Presence: Responding to Inner & Outer Landscapes Field Notes and Poems (Part One)](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/sit-walk-write-2015-1/) - North Cascades Institute hosted a class called Sit, Walk, Write: Nature and the Practice of Presence. Participants began their days with a sitting meditation, followed by writing and sharing poetry and short nature essays, walking meditation, and exploring the woods around the Learning Center. Here are some participant poems that came out of this unique
- [Bianca Valles on the Path for youth](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/bianca-valles/) - Bianca grew up in Mount Vernon and graduated from Mount Vernon High School. She participated in North Cascades Wild, a precursor to our Youth Leadership Adventures program, during the summer of 2009. “I can still remember all the emotions I went through when I got that phone call saying I was accepted to go on this
- [The Mountain Behind the Name: Sauk](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/mountain-name-sauk/) - The North Cascades Ecosystem has many features to discover for naturalists, students and day hikers alike. Behind all the charismatic megafauna and flora including bears, wolverines, Douglas Firs and Western Hemlocks are the mountains that make it all possible. In this series, we take a look at the "charismatic mega-rocks" that make the North Cascades one
- [Kristin Musgnug: Artist in Residence](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/kristin_musgnug_residency_2015/) - By Kristin Musgnug I am a landscape painter whose goal is to make paintings of the kind of places that don’t usually show up in landscape paintings – places that are not conventionally beautiful. While I thoroughly enjoyed the extraordinary beauty of the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center’s surroundings, it was a particular challenge to
- [Mountain School fifth-graders help restore Bowman Bay](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/mountain-school-fifth-graders-help-restore-bowman-bay/) - By KERA WANIELISTA for the Skagit Valley Herald, November 23, 2015 BOWMAN BAY — Bracing against the wind at Deception Pass State Park’s Bowman Bay, 10-year-old EmmaLee Grove put the force of her entire body into digging a hole on the beach’s newly restored shoreline. When the hole was sufficiently deep, EmmaLee and her best
- [2015 Youth Leadership Conference:  A Confluence of Young Leaders](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/ylc-2015/) - By Emily Ford and Ginna Malley Campos On Friday November 6th, a voice broke the frosty air: “Who wants to be a leader?!” Cheers echoed across emerald Diablo Lake and up the cloudy slopes of Sourdough Mountain. Sixty-one students from Washington and Oregon kicked off the beginning of an exciting weekend at the North Cascades
- [Shooting Stars: Nighttime Photography, Wildflowers and More (a preview of 2016!)](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/2016-preview-rob-rich/) - By Rob Rich I came to the Pacific Northwest for many reasons, but one of them was, well, for the birds. Were those harlequin ducks for real? What was so special about the Pacific wren? And oh, how I longed to see the red-shafted Northern Flicker! These were some of my last thoughts before finally
- [Mountain School: Celebrating 25 Years and the end of the Fall Season](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/mountain-school-2015-fall/) - For the past 25 years, the North Cascades Institute has been teaching students about their wild nearby through the Mountain School program. The program started back in 1990 and was based out of Newhalem, WA. Tracie Johannessen, who lead the program when it started and is the current Education Director at the Institute, informed the
- [Transition Trek 2015: At the Confluence of the Graduate Residency and Campus Programs](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/transitiontrek2015/) - For the North Cascades Institute’s 14th cohort of Graduate M.Ed. students, it was a year marked with adventure, struggle, triumph and togetherness. Our cohort is a very tight-knit, close community where we all share our various skills and talents with one another to make for a more comfortable and enjoyable living arrangement, and family for
- [Beavers and Hawks: Graduate Fall Retreat Seminar 2015](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/graduate-fall-retreat-seminar-2015/) - Woke up at 0555 to a pack of coyotes (Canis latrans) howling and barking in a playful manner with one another for about ten minutes. During this time a barred owl (Stix varia) was making some small hooting. Still very dark, the weather was mostly fog with a 70 yard visibility at 40*F. This is
- [Lessons from Youth Leadership Adventures](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/lessons-from-youth-leadership-adventures/) - By Murali Krishnan This summer, on July 25th, 2015, I had a gift to learn from young high school kids. I was invited as an adult coach to observe and help in the Youth Leadership Adventures (YLA), an innovative program run by the North Cascades Institute(NCI). In turn, I got a lot more learning from
- [Youth Leadership Adventures 2015: A Report from Ross Lake](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-leadership-adventures-ross-lake/) - By Sabrina Freedman Editors note: To put into context the Youth Leadership Conference held at our Environmental Learning Center from November 6-8, this article was written by one of our Youth Leadership Adventure leaders, Sabrina Freedman. In it, she reflects on the growth she witnessed in her student trail group during their backcountry journey. A remote basin in North
- [Grizzly Bears In the Pacific Northwest: A Natural History (Part 3)](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/grizzly-bears-in-the-pacific-northwest-3/) - With the near extermination of the grizzly came a tremendous loss to the ecosystem. Grizzlies play an important role in the natural environment as pollinators, seed dispersers, and soil aerators. Grizzlies, by digging with their long claws for grubs and flower bulbs, will upturn many rocks and help to aerate the soil. Through this aeration
- [Classroom in Bloom: Growing the locavores of tomorrow](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/classroom-in-bloom/) - Hot. Dry. Dusty. A perfect description for the Methow Valley, an area currently in a severe drought. So it was rather surprising then when the new graduate cohort arrived to the Methow Elementary School to see an oasis of a garden in full bloom! Learning circle space in the middle of the garden. Part of our Graduate
- ["Too High and Too Steep": David Williams' new book on reshaping Seattle](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/too-high-and-too-steep-david-williams/) - Guest post by David B. Williams Williams' reads from his new book Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle’s Topography at Village Books in Bellingham on September 16 at 7 pm as part of our Nature of Writing Fall Speaker Series; free! More so than most cities, Seattle has shaped itself to suit its needs. The
- [Youth Leadership Conference 2015 in the North Cascades; now accepting applications](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/ylc-2015-now-accepting-applications/) - Applications for our 2015 Youth Leadership Conference are now being accepted! The conference is held at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center November 6-8 and is open to students ages 14-22 who are alumni of our youth programs, including Youth Leadership Adventures, Mountain School, Kulshan Creek Neighborhood Youth, and Concrete Summer Learning Adventure. Information and
- [North Cascades Institute open for business; Fall 2015 programs](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/north-cascades-institute-open-for-business/) - 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
- [Rain eases wildfire threat, SR20 reopens, evacuation lifted](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/rain-eases-wildfire-threat/) - The North Cascades Environmental Learning Center received 2.5 inches of rain over the last 48 hours, and more is expected through Friday! All of the wildfires in the Upper Skagit Complex are diminished and the Goodell Fire is no longer considered a significant threat to the Environmental Learning Center or Diablo. The Washington State Department
- [Firecrews arrive at the Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/firecrews-arrive-at-the-learning-center/) - The Goodell Fire in North Cascades National Park has expanded and totalled 6,716 acres on Aug 27, burning on both sides of State Highway 20 and the Skagit River near the town of Newhalem, the North Cascades National Park Visitor Center and Newhalem campground. The fire also continues to creep eastward up Newhalem Gorge along
- [North Cascades Wildfire updates](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/north-cascades-wildfire-updates/) - Yes, Washington State is on fire; and we’re still here. We are posting updates on the Upper Skagit Complex wildfires and their impacts on the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center and North Cascades Institute on our website at www.ncascades.org/wildfires and Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ncascades. Additionally, we are uploading photos and maps on our Tumblr at www.ncascades.tumblr.com. State
- [View from Diablo Dam](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/view-from-diablo-dam/) - A view looking west from Diablo Dam down the Skagit River Gorge towards Newhalem and the Goodell Creek Fire from Wednesday 8/19, 3:15 pm. By Institute graduate student Joe Loviska. We're posting more photos from the wildfire at ncascades.tumblr.com. North Cascades Institute updates are at www.ncascades.org/wildfire and on our Facebook page at facebook.com/ncascades.
- [Anniversary Celebration Picnic cancelled, wildfire update](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/anniversary-celebration-picnic-cancelled-wildfire-update/) - We regretfully have decided to cancel our Anniversary Celebration Picnic and all related activities at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center on Saturday and Sunday, August 22-23. The Goodell Creek Fire burning near Newhalem unexpectedly grew yesterday, State Route 20 was closed down and the decision was made to evacuate the Learning Center as a
- [North Cascades Environmental Learning Center evacuated as Goodell Creek Fire grows, State Route 20 closed](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/north-cascades-environmental-learning-center-evacuated/) - Sedro-Woolley, WA 8/19/15 3:30 pm: We received notice that Highway 20 has been closed by the Washington State Department of Transportation at milepost 118 at Thornton Creek near Newhalem due to complications with a wildfire in the area. There is no passage across the North Cascades Highway at this time. The North Cascades Environmental Learning
- [North Cascades Environmental Learning Center "provides the perfect blueprint for Seattle"](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/north-cascades-environmental-learning-center-provides-the-perfect-blueprint-for-seattle/) - In celebration of the Learning Center's 10th Anniversary, we're sharing one of our favorite media stories on our wilderness campus on Diablo Lake in North Cascades National Park. This was written by architectural critic Lawrence Cheek for the Seattle P-I, originally published May 29, 2006. What might Seattle and its mindlessly ballooning 'burbs learn from the
- [North Cascades Institute in The Seattle Times: "Mountain School makes the magic of the wilderness real for kids"](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/north-cascades-institute-in-the-seattle-times-mountain-school-makes-the-magic-of-the-wilderness-real-for-kids/) - We are thrilled with The Seattle Times' story on Mountain School, the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center and the Institute's 30 years of environmental education in the North Cascades. It appeared as the cover story in the Times' Pacific Northwest Magazine on August 9, 2015 and features a wealth of amazing photos, many quotes from
- [Mountain School: Local students learn in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/mountain-school-local-students-learn-in-the-north-cascades/) - Only the hardiest of souls venture to North Cascades Institute’s Environmental Learning Center on Diablo Lake, 2 hours east of Bellingham, in the winter. Highway 20 might be strewn with boulders or blanketed with snow or black ice. The Institute itself is eerily quiet during those months with no programs running, much of the staff
- [Grizzly Bears In the Pacific Northwest: A Natural History (Part 1)](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/grizzly-bears-in-the-pacific-northwest-1/) - “In late September 1967, Rocky and Lenora Wilson had packed up to Fisher Basin, one of their favorite places, for the ‘high hunt.’ During twilight hours, a large bear came down to the creek close by camp. Rocky lifted his old rifle and got off a good shot. While he knew it was ‘a big’un,’
- ["Golden Teddy Award" for Family Getaways](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/golden-teddy-award-for-family-getaways/) - We are honored that our Family Getaways were a finalist for a “Golden Teddy” award for Favorite Camps as voted by the readers of ParentMap magazine! This influential magazine for Pacific Northwest parents and families wrote: North Cascades Environmental Learning Center’s weekend Family Getaways offer a premium 'camping' experience and you’ll love it. No need
- [Mason Bees and Honey Bees: What's the Difference?](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/mason-bees-and-honey-bees-whats-the-difference/) - By Kevin Sutton There were some things I knew about bees when starting this project; what I didn’t know was exactly how much I didn’t know. When someone says “bees”, I immediately think of the western honeybee (Apis mellifera). Maybe it’s because of the honey bee’s depiction in popular culture (see Honey Nut Cheerios) or
- [Student learn leadership, love of nature on trips in North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/student-learn-love-of-nature-on-trips-in-north-cascades/) - By Jessi Loerch for the Everett Herald Kang Pu stood at the back of a boat in a narrow, winding canyon off Ross Lake. Before him, a group of adults waited to hear his story. Kang, 16, began by saying he had been in the United States for just a year, he was still working
- [Amphibians of North Cascades National Park: Their Importance, Sensitivity, Habitats, Threats and Management Implications](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/amphibians-of-north-cascades-national-park/) - By Chelsea Elizabeth Ernst, Candidate for Master's of Environmental Education The North Cascades are a rugged and dramatic landscape that offers habitat to thousands of plant and animal species and is an epicenter for biodiversity in the contiguous 48 United States. The ecosystem within North Cascades National Park (NOCA) is a popular location for mountaineers
- [Backpacking Beavers in the North Cascades : Youth Leadership Adventures Trip Report #1](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/the-backpacking-beavers-in-the-north-cascades-yla-trip-report-1/) - By Nika Meyers, Youth Leadership Adventures Field Instructor Our journey into the wild started with an incredible boat ride on the Mule boat on Ross Lake to Little Beaver where the views of the North Cascades were in full force and the stories told by boat captains Gerry and Rob were in full supply. The
- [Free Anniversary Picnic, August 23](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/picnic-2015/) - We're excited to celebrate that 10th anniversary of the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center and the 25th anniversary of Mountain School with a free party on Diablo Lake! Join us on Sunday, August 23, for a BBQ picnic with local farms, Diablo Lake Boat Tours, campus sustainability tours, canoe voyages, naturalist hikes, family-friendly activities and live music
- [The Trifecta: C14's Last Natural History Retreat](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/the-trifecta-c14s-last-natural-history-retreat/) - For the members of Cohort 14, everything is starting to come full circle. The Learning Center looks as it looked when we arrived last July: Pyramid’s faces are bare, Sourdough Creek has slowed to a trickle, the air is warm, and the winds are strong. Many things have changed in the intervening seasons. We taught
- [Youth Leadership Adventures getting ready...](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-leadership-adventures-getting-ready/) - The energy of our youth programs is shifting to Youth Leadership Adventures as staff are preparing to lead 100 high school students in the North Cascades backcountry to canoe, backpack, camp and complete service projects while receiving hands-on training in outdoor leadership, field science and public speaking. Last we checked, Kate, Matt & Co. were packing
- [Northwest Bookshelf: Ozette, Orcas and Ancient Places](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/northwest-bookshelf-ozette-orcas-and-ancient-places/) - Ancient Places: People and Landscape in the Emerging Northwest Jack Nisbet (Sasquatch Books) Spokane-based writer Jack Nisbet is a treasure for anyone interested in the ways natural history, landscape and human cultures intersect in the Pacific Northwest. His previous books have traced the route of Northwest fur agent and geographer David Thompson, profiled pioneering naturalist
- [Northwest Bookshelf: Native Art, Native Trees and a Journey to the North](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/northwest-bookshelf-native-art-native-trees/) - Northwest Coast Indian Art Bill Holm (University of Washington Press) From blankets to gambling sticks, coffins to rain hats, spoons to shaman’s paraphernalia, seemingly every material aspect of the indigenous cultures of the northern Pacific Coast was decorated with representations of the natural world, usually animals. Salmon, bear, raven, wolf, whale, seal, beaver: the wild
- [Howling to be Heard: Wolf Evolution and Behavior](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/howling-to-be-heard-wolf-evolution-and-behavior/) - This is the second article in Mike's "Howling to be Heard" series; you can read the first one on wolf folklore here. Wolves have been a part of the American landscape for a much longer time period than humans have. Evidence shows that gray wolves appeared in North America around 15,000 years ago during a period of
- [Uplift: Youth in Action for the Colorado Plateau](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/uplift-youth-in-action-for-the-colorado-plateau/) - One of the pillars of North Cascade Institute and Western Washington University's M.Ed. graduate program is a "sense of place." This can be hard to define, but often includes an understanding of the natural landscape, knowledge of cultural history, and the feeling of community. Over the past nine months, the mountains of the North Cascades
- [Path for Youth: Emma Ewert](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/emma-ewert/) - Fifteen year after attending North Cascades Institute’s Mountain School at Newhalem, Emma Ewert is coming full circle. This fall, she will join our fifteenth cohort in the Masters of Environmental Education degree program and teaching Mountain School! Emma attended Mountain School with her 5th grade classroom from Lopez Elementary School, where her father Greg Ewert
- [Path for Youth: Indira Mejia-Chavez](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/path-for-youth-indira-mejia-chavez/) - Indira Mejia-Chavez was born in Mexico, but her mom raised her and her two younger siblings in the Skagit valley, where she lives today. Her first experience with North Cascades Institute was in 2004 when she attended Mountain School with her fifth grade class. Now 21, Indira still has a vivid memory of that first
- [Local Students Explore their Backyard National Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/local-students-explore-their-backyard-national-park/) - by Katie Griffith, Americorps VISTA, Youth Programs Outreach Specialist, North Cascades National Park/North Cascades Institute Mist shrouded Diablo Lake’s surrounding peaks as Concrete and Darrington’s school buses drove over Diablo Dam. The overcast weather did not dampen student excitement as fifth grade students from both local schools arrived at North Cascades Institute’s Environmental Learning Center to attend
- [Behind the Scenes: A Visitor Day with Youth Leadership Adventures](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/behind-the-scenes-a-visitor-day-with-youth-leadership-adventures/) - Guest post by Matt Dolge My morning started off at 4:30am on August 9th, 2014 with a 3-hour solo drive to Ross Lake in the North Cascades. I had a lot of time to think about the day ahead yet had no idea how much this day was going to change my life. A month earlier I
- [The Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-salish-sea/) - As part of our “Nature in Writing” series, Joseph K. Gaydos and Audrey DeLella Benedict read from The Salish Sea, Thursday, April 16, 7 pm, in the Readings Gallery at Village Books in Bellingham. Free! We paddle and sail on it, comb its beaches, stroll its shores. We are drawn to it for fishing, birdwatching,
- [Cascade High School's Carnivore Curriculum](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/cascade-high-schools-carnivore-curriculum/) - While the majority of our Mountain School sessions focus on the Ecosystems Exploration curriculum, geared towards fifth graders, the grads and naturalists at the Environmental Learning Center also teach the Carnivore Curriculum. In the Carnivore Curriculum, part of the Field Science and Leadership program, Students study North Cascades carnivores and their habitat in surrounding forests near
- [Colin Haley: Cascadian Climber](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/colin-haley-cascadian-climber/) - North Cascades Institute welcomes Colin Haley and his presentation "From Shuksan to Cerro Torre" to the Mountaineers Seattle Program Center April 10, 2015 at 7 pm as part of The Mountaineers BeWild Speaker Series. See bottom of the post for a special discount code! Colin Haley was born in Seattle in 1984 and grew up
- [Passing the Paddle: Cohort 13 Graduation](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/passing-the-paddle-cohort-13-graduation/) - Time has a variable quality when you live in the mountains. Spring can descend on you with no warning, like it happened overnight, but a day can stretch on eternally when staring at the umpteenth draft of a project. When I worked as a wilderness therapy guide, the students had a saying: "The days go
- [Welcome to Subirdia: Q&A with John Marzluff](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/welcome-to-subirdia-qa-with-john-marzluff/) - As part of our "Nature in Writing" series, John Marzluff reads from Welcome to Subirdia: Sharing Our Neighborhoods with Wrens, Robins, Woodpeckers, and Other Wildlife, Friday, April 3rd, 7 pm, in the Readings Gallery at Village Books in Bellingham. Free! Q: You started your research studying crows, jays, and ravens. What was the catalyst for making
- [Institute Comments on North Cascades Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Restoration Plan](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/institute-comments-on-north-cascades-ecosystem-grizzly-bear-restoration-plan/) - To: Superintendent, North Cascades National Park Service Complex From: Saul Weisberg, Executive Director, North Cascades Institute Subject: Institute Comments on North Cascades Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Restoration Plan Thank you for the opportunity to comment during the scoping process for the North Cascades Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Restoration Plan / Environmental Impact Statement. North Cascades Institute strongly
- [Starstruck: One Grad's Perspective on the Night Sky](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/starstruck-one-grads-perspective-on-the-night-sky/) - by Lauren Ridder, M.Ed. Graduate Student There are only a couple of things that can stop me in my tracks. When clouds part to reveal a night sky full of stars, my gaze is irresistibly drawn upwards, and I feel my perspective shift. My breathing slows and my awareness sharpens, as my mind races far away
- [Profile of a Graduate M.Ed. Student: Lauren Marziliano](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/profile-of-lauren-marziliano/) - “I have looked back on that time over and over again as one of the most informative times of my life.” Lauren Marziliano reflects on her experience in our Graduate M.Ed. program, and how it led to her current job as teacher at the Waskowitz Environmental Leadership School, in our new video. Lauren is an alumni
- [Cordata Elementary's Mountain School Report](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/cordata-elementarys-mountain-school-report/) - We love transitions at the Environmental Learning Center. The transition from winter to spring which is more evident by the day, and our most recent transition: back to Mountain School! Today was the first day of the spring season of Mountain School, and ELC staff welcomed Little Mountain Elementary from Mt. Vernon. We kicked off
- [Chasing Winter: A Natural History Retreat](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/chasing-winter-a-natural-history-retreat/) - One of the highlights of this my time in this graduate program so far (seven months!) has been our seasonal natural history retreats. In the fall, Cohort 14 went over to the Methow Valley, which is quickly becoming our favorite place, and spent a week camping outside of Winthrop. We hiked, explored, skinned deer at the
- [Open Houses on Options for Grizzly Bear Restoration](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/open-houses-on-options-for-grizzly-bear-restoration/) - **Editor's Note: sharing this information from our friends at North Cascades National Park. Public Invited to Open Houses on Options for Grizzly Bear Restoration in North Cascades Ecosystem Public comment period open through March 26, 2015 SEDRO WOOLLEY, Wash. – The public is invited to participate in a series of informational open houses regarding restoration of
- [Nature Notes: Winter in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/nature-notes-winter-in-the-north-cascades/) - by Chelsea Ernst, M.Ed. Graduate Student The west side of the North Cascades is experiencing a fairly warm winter, sending the snow line higher than usual for this time of year. Snow down in the Skagit valley has melted completely, reminding staff and grads at the Learning Center of the carpet of green moss that lines the lowland
- [Howling to be Heard: Wolf Folklore](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/howling-to-be-heard-wolf-folklore/) - “My grandmother what big teeth you have.” “The better to eat you with, my dear!” Myths and legends, both positive and negative, have surrounded the wolf for centuries. This is without a doubt where many of our opinions and general notions of wolves originated. Most cultures throughout history have held the wolf as a revered,
- [This Changes Everything: Naomi Klein’s manifesto on “capitalism vs. the climate”](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/this-changes-everything-naomi-kleins-manifesto-on-capitalism-vs-the-climate/) - By Christian Martin (Originally published in the Cascadia Weekly, Jan 2015) In the same week that the Republicans put all of their political muscle in to pushing the Keystone XL Pipeline, the New York Times reported the alarming news that 2014 was the “warmest year ever recorded on Earth.” Another story the next day noted
- [Connections in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/connections-in-the-north-cascades/) - by Rachel Gugich, M.Ed. Graduate Student “The point at which two or more things are connected, A feeling of understanding and ease of communication between two or more people." These are definitions I found when looking up the word connection. This feeling of connection was on full display on the weekend of January 17th at
- [Nature Notes: Phenology of the North Cascades Ecosystem](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/nature-notes-phenology-of-the-north-cascades-ecosystem/) - North Cascades Institute’s resident graduate students have the unique opportunity to live at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center for the majority of the Environmental Education graduate program. Living in North Cascades National Park has more than a few perks. The backcountry is just a few steps outside of our back door and thousands of plant species and a
- [Howling to be Heard: An Introduction to Wolves](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/howling-to-be-heard-an-introduction-to-wolves/) - One winter afternoon in 2009 I was driving on a state highway through central Wisconsin on my way back to school in Southeastern Minnesota. Fresh snow blanketed the beautiful hardwood forests in the surrounding area as I cruised along at 60 mph. Suddenly, about a quarter mile ahead, a large animal slowly crossed the highway.
- [Get married in the heart of the North Cascades!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/get-married-in-the-heart-of-the-north-cascades/) - By Andriana Fletcher, Group Rentals Coordinator Imagine mountains high above you while standing on the wooded shores of the glacial blue Diablo Lake. The warm sun setting and your family and friends surrounding you as you say, “I do” in the heart of the North Cascades. Sarah and Andrew Chaplin's wedding weekend took place on
- [The Story of Jumping Mouse](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/the-story-of-jumping-mouse/) - At the start of 2015, the themes of change and transformation are on my mind. It seems impossible not to think of these with so much attention paid annually to commitment to goals and becoming better versions of ourselves. It seems appropriate that the new year comes right on the heels of so many other
- [Primitive Skils: A Lesson in Reconnection](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/primitive-skils-a-lesson-in-reconnection/) - I remember my first introduction to the world of primitive skills - the day my employer and mentor first showed me how to make fire by friction. Fifteen of us sat and watched as David sat quietly on the ground and pulled several pieces of wood from a canvas bag. A long bow, a slender
- [Creative Residency with Sharon Birzer, natural history illustrator](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/creative-residency-sharon-birzer/) - By Sharon Birzer, artist and natural history illustrator My Creative Residency journal @ North Cascades Learning Center, Diablo Lake, July 11-18, 2014 July 11-13 The first three days I interacted with a class held at North Cascades Institute's Learning Center on lichens: “Frog's Pelt, Pixie Cup and Old Man's Beard: Lichens of the North Cascades.” Taught
- [Reflection and Action: the 2014 North Cascades Youth Leadership Conference](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/reflection-and-action-the-2014-youth-leadership-conference/) - by Kelly Sleight, Graduate Student and YLC Planning Team member The sun appeared on November 7th for the first time in weeks to greet the leaders arriving to attend the 2014 North Cascades Youth Leadership Conference. For three days, North Cascades Institute, North Cascades National Park, and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest hosted the fifth annual North Cascades
- [2015 Classes & Family Getaways, Holiday Gift Certificates](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/2015-classes-gift-certificates/) - North Cascades Institute is excited to announce new Winter and Spring Field Excursions just posted to our website and open for registration: Dec 6: Salmon and Eagles of the Skagit with Libby Mills Jan 17: Salmon on the Nooksack with Brady Green Feb 8: Birding Blaine, Birch Bay and Semiahmoo with Joe Meche Feb 21: Birding
- [Fires and floods: North Cascades federal lands prepare for climate change](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/north-cascades-prepare-for-climate-change/) - By Hannah Hickey, University of Washington News and Information In a country that boasts an awe-inspiring system of national parks, the Pacific Northwest may be especially lucky. But even remote parks and forests can’t escape the problem of human-induced climate change. Future shifts could affect everything from how people access the parks to what activities are possible
- [Concrete Summer Learning Adventure](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/concrete-summer-learning-adventure/) - By Tyler Chisolm, Graduate M.Ed. Student, Cohort 13 Time flies when you’re having fun… and learning? The Concrete Summer Learning Adventure (CSLA), which wrapped up on August 31st, was another huge success for the Concrete community helping to fight summer learning loss and hunger while promoting healthy habits, outdoor exploration, literacy, and, above all, fun!
- [Seasons Change: Phenology and the end of Mountain School](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/seasons-change-phenology-and-the-end-of-mountain-school/) - The changing seasons are a big deal in the North Cascades. This may seem like an obvious statement for an environmental learning center, but one in which I find more truth every day. As a person who spent so many formative years in the Middle East, a place where the changing seasons simply meant a
- [Mountain School: a campus in the great outdoors](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/mountain-school-a-campus-in-the-great-outdoors/) - By Vince Richardson for the Skagit Valley Herald DIABLO LAKE — To truly learn about the great outdoors, one has get out into it and experience the sights, sounds and smells. Touch the bark, feel the moss, hear the birds, feel the breeze. Children who attend Mountain School can do just that. The school is
- [The North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild Nearby](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-wild-nearby-excerpt/) - Editor's note: The following essay is an excerpt from the new book The North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild Nearby, published this fall by Braided River, a conservation imprint of the Mountaineers Books. Please join North Cascades Institute at one of our book launch celebrations in Mount Vernon or Bellingham this week
- [Educating the Heart](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/educating-the-heart/) - North Cascades Institute has always believed that the route to conservation passes through the head and the heart — "we take children outside to fall in love with the world," Saul Weisberg, our executive director, has remarked, "so that they learn to care, and take care, of this special place they call home." With this is
- [Encounters: a Creative Residency at the North Cascades Institute](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/creative-residency-ilona-popper/) - by Ilona Popper, North Cascades Institute Writer in Residence, Summer 2014 I was lucky enough to enjoy a brief writer-in-residency at the North Cascades Institute in May 2014. I gave two talks: one about wolves from the book I am writing and a joint talk on creativity with artist Molly Hashimoto. I attended Molly’s print-making
- [The North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild Nearby](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/the-wild-nearby/) - We’re excited to introduce you to a new book that explores the natural and cultural history of the North Cascades in lyrical words, informative maps and awesome photographs: The North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild Nearby, by Braided River, a conservation imprint of Mountaineers Books. We are celebrating with several book launch
- [Baker Lake cleanup, by canoe!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/baker-lake-cleanup-by-canoe/) - Join North Cascades Institute, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities North Sound Baykeeper Team and the United States Forest Service for an annual trash cleanup at Baker Lake on Sunday, October 12, from 9 am-5 pm. Past cleanups have collected inflatable mattresses, beverage containers, busted lawn chairs, towels, coolers, fishing gear and poles. “North Cascades Institute
- [Op Ed: The Education of an Environmental Educator](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/op-ed-the-education-of-an-environmental-educator/) - Editor's note: Mountain School is about to start back up for its fall season! After teaching two seasons and hundreds of students last year, I thought a lot about how the field of environmental education might be even more useful to participants and the world at large. It was quite an event, the day the
- [The art of teaching in an unfamiliar ecosystem](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/the-art-of-teaching-in-an-unfamiliar-ecosystem/) - In the middle of May, I moved halfway across the country, to a state I’d never been to, to play at a wetland with five- and six-year-olds. After three long days in a car, I landed in Boulder, Colorado. I moved into my tiny studio apartment across the street from Colorado University, and jumped into
- [Cascade Pass: Go. Now!](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/cascade-pass-go-now/) - I have recommended the hike to Cascade Pass and up Sahale Arm to countless visitors in search of a day's worth of adventure while working this summer at the National Park Service Visitor's Center in Newhalem. Yet I, myself, had yet to experience it beyond the National Geographic topo map spread two-dimensionally under glass beneath
- [A Recipe for the Future: A visitor reflects on Youth Leadership Adventures](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/a-recipe-for-the-future-a-visitor-reflects-on-youth-leadership-adventures/) - By Sioux Towner I had the privilege to witness, for the second year running, Youth Leadership Adventures in action. North Cascade Institute really knows how to navigate the tremulous water of teens in America, all kinds of teens: The diversity of the group I listened to today demonstrated to me that the strength of our
- [Prometheus in Paradise: Fires in the Methow Valley bring loss but reveal a committed community](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/fires-in-the-methow-valley/) - The East side is burning. A certain degree of compartmentalization is required to brush away images of treasured places in flames, wildlife fleeing for their lives, and homes transformed into piles of blackened ash. At 270,312 acres as of this post, the Carlton Complex fire is the largest in Washington history. Over 2,000 firefighters representing 43
- [Summertime Stewardship on Maple Pass -- Join Us!](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/summertime-stewardship-on-maple-pass-join-us/) - Washington is an amazing place. From the tide pools on the West Coast to the mountains in the heart of the state to the river gorges in the east, over one third of Washington is protected in one way or another. We have three National Parks, four National Recreation Areas and a mix of National
- [Citizen Science Bioblitzes!](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/citizen-science-bioblitzes/) - Join North Cascades Institute for fun, educational outings to engage in meaningful research in the North Cascades ecosystem. Your participation in our BioBlitzes will provide important contributions towards understanding complex ecosystems and how to best conserve them. Dragonflies of the North Cascades AUG 10- AUG 11 Maple Pass Plant Inventory AUG 17 - AUG 18
- [We couldn't do it without our INTERNS!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/we-couldnt-do-it-without-our-interns/) - Summer is a burgeoning season at the Environmental Learning Center. Not only does the landscape itself come alive in a very real sense with turquoise waters, wildflowers, butterflies and access to the alpine, our program offerings expand to serve more participants through Youth Leadership Adventures, Skagit Tours and a varied suite of adults and family
- [Searching for the elusive North Cascades grizzly bears, August 17-23](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/ghost-bears-august2014/) - North Cascades Institute is very excited to be partnering with the Wenatchee River Institute and Dr. Bill Gaines -- the foremost authority on grizzly bears in the North Cascades — for "Ghost Bears: Searching for the Elusive North Cascades Grizzly Bears" August 17-23. Spend a week in the wild alongside Gaines’ team of wildlife biologists assisting
- [Youth Leaders Take on the World in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/youth-leaders/) - By Emily Petrovski On a non-surprisingly gorgeous North Cascades day, donors and North Cascades Institute staff ventured out onto Ross Lake to visit Youth Leadership Adventures (YLA) participants. After enthusiastic choruses of “teamwork makes the dream work” from the YLA team, we boarded The Mule, put on our PFDs and were off across the beautiful
- [Red rocks in the mountainous west](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/red-rocks-in-the-mountainous-west/) - In May, toward the end of a road trip, my mom and I found ourselves in Colorado Springs for a couple days. While looking for things to do while we were there, I stumbled across the website for a park with some amazing rock formations. Garden of the Gods park was set aside as public
- [A Trip to the Olympic Peninsula](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/olympic-peninsula-2014/) - Come every fall, winter and spring quarter, the graduate students in residency at the Environmental Learning Center leave for a long weekend dubbed the “Natural History Retreat.” It is a chance to explore a novel, neighboring ecosystem beyond the North Cascades we teach about and love on a daily basis. Last autumn, in the midst
- [Preparing for Summer in the Backcountry](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/preparing-for-summer-in-the-backcountry/) - Ed. note: Youth Leadership Adventures started their first session last Thursday, June 19. But instructors have been zipping around the Environmental Learning Center for the past two weeks, working to ensure the program will run smoothly through mid-August. By Carolyn Waters The Youth Leadership Adventures staff have assembled at the Environmental Learning Center to prepare
- ["When we say.......](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/when-we-say/) - ....'Mountain', you say, 'School!'" Mountain!! School!! Mountain! School! It has been another successful season here at Mountain School, the North Cascades Institute's flagship program through which naturalist-educators have welcomed 4th-12th graders to the North Cascades since 1990. It was an extra long spring season, stretching from February 18 to June 12 due, in large part,
- [The Preservation of the World](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/the-preservation-of-the-world/) - Ed. note: The days are getting longer, at least for another week or so. Here is a piece from a former graduate student to inspire you to get out there, both to the big-W wilderness as well as the wilds just outside your door. By Hillary Schwirtlich Glacier Peak Wilderness We huddle from the driving
- [Nature Namaste: Retreats with Maya Whole Health Studio](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/nature-namaste-retreats/) - Snowy mountains, old growth forests, wholesome food, s’mores and yoga. How could you go wrong with a combo like that? Maya Whole Health Studio is hosting their series “Yoga, Nature & More: Refresh Your Perspective” retreats at the Environmental Learning Center this summer and fall through North Cascades Institute’s Group Rentals Program. They are a
- [SPECIAL EVENT: The Cougar: Beautiful, Wild and Dangerous](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/special-event-the-cougar/) - The Cougar: Beautiful, Wild and Dangerous Author Paula Wild reads and presents, "Sharing the Landscape: Can Humans & Cougars Coexist?" Saturday, June 7, 2014; 7 pm Readings Gallery at Village Books, 1200 11th Street, Bellingham Free! By Paula Wild Heavily falling snow covered our footsteps almost as quickly as we made them. The fat white
- [Wild Eats! Forage on Lopez Island with Jennifer Hahn](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/wild-eats-forage/) - Wild Eats From Land to Sea in the San Juan Islands Saturday, June 14, 8:00am to Sunday, June 15, 5:00pm Lopez Island, WA Imagine fulfilling your desires for eating local food, learning cool new things, becoming more self-sufficient and connecting with nature. Now imagine doing all of them simultaneously. Really?! Yes, I know, how could
- [Hey Bud](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/hey-bud/) - You know when you’re waiting and waiting for your meal to be served at a restaurant so you finally get up to go to the restroom, knowing your hot plate of deliciousness will likely have been brought to the table when you come back three minutes later? I recently pulled that trick, only with my
- [Taking Flight at the Migratory Bird Festival](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/migratory-bird-festival/) - By Erica Keene Smiles, laughter and flapping arms – I mean, wings. Yes, wings. These were the best parts of a sun-filled weekend spent learning about migratory bird species during the fifth annual Migratory Bird Festival at Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve. On Saturday, April 26, over 120 participants took on the role of migratory
- [Quietude](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/quietude/) - Highway 20 opened last Thursday at noon after six months of being closed -- as it is every winter, due to heavy snows and avalanche danger over the pass -- between Milepost 134 at Ross Lake and Milepost 178 at the Early Winters Information Center. This year, it took clearing crews almost six weeks to
- [But To Carry On: Ribes has Arrived!](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/ribes-has-arrived/) - The anticipation was torture for an amateur botanist from southern climes. It took three weeks for the tight buds to finally crack and unfurl into star-shaped flowers. Three weeks, after months of the bare twigs and snow-smothered ground cover of winter. But, one by one, the red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum) that is planted around the
- [The Skagit River Permanent Restoration Project](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/skagit-restoration-project/) - Whoa! Wha….?! Sometimes one’s path is rerouted as they are traveling upon it. Or so it can seem. It was early January, and we graduate students had recently returned to the Environmental Learning Center from a month away at various winter vacation destinations. We were crammed into a North Cascades Institute mini-van, traveling west on
- [Every Day](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/every-day/) - An American female, on average, has a life span of 81 years. This equates to 29,565 days. And for the males? They live an average of 76 years, or 27,740 days. Minus childhood (ages 0-18), these numbers still compute to a hefty 22,995 and 21,170 days, respectively. A ridiculous amount of opportunities to do something,
- [Red Moons, Meteors and Mars! Oh My!](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/red-moons-meteors-and-mars-oh-my/) - By Kaci Darsow By one thirty in the morning, my beer was empty, my hands were numb and the dimly lit but distinctively red moon was sinking fast into the trees, making it difficult to view from my porch. Though the astronomical show would go until 2:30 am and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the
- [Tales from a Greyhound Bus: From Goodbyes to New Beginnings](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/tales-from-a-greyhound-bus/) - By Kimberly Hall March 28th, 2014 10:38 am Somewhere in South Seattle We n’de ya ho We n’de ya ho Win de yah Win de yah ho ho ho ho He ya ho he ya ho Ya ya ya This was my absolute favorite song to share with students as they prepared to head home
- [Special Event: Poet Holly J. Hughes Reading, Bellingham 4/12](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/poet-holly-j-hughes/) - Sailing by Ravens A reading by Holly J. Hughes April 12, 2014; 7 pm Readings Gallery at Village Books, 1200 11th Street, Bellingham Free! This Saturday evening, former Alaskan salmon gillnetter, mariner, editor and naturalist Holly J. Hughes shares her latest book of poetry, Sailing by Ravens (University of Alaska Press, 2014) as part of Village
- [Oso Landslide Disaster: condolences, and how to help](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/oso-landslide-disaster/) - On Saturday, March 22, 2014, at 10:37 a.m., a major mudslide occurred 4 miles east of Oso, Washington, in the foothills of the North Cascades. A portion of an unstable hillside collapsed, sending mud and debris across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River and onto the adjacent river valley, covering an area of approximately
- [Elk Xing](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/elk-xing/) - If you drive on State Route 20 between Sedro-Woolley and Concrete, you can participate in citizen science without even leaving your car. Researchers at Western Washington University are studying elk crossings along this stretch of two-lane road, and they need your help. Their interest was prompted by the high incidence of collisions between vehicles and
- [Confessions of a Bibliophile](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/confessions-of-a-bibliophile/) - It has been almost two years now since I graduated with my Masters in Education from Western Washington University (WWU) and North Cascades Institute’s unique graduate program. My memories are filled with the laughter of Mountain School students, Professor John Miles’ New “Hampsha” accent and endless views of Diablo Lake. While I miss the sunshine,
- [A Generosity of Spirit: Cohort 12 Graduates!](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/cohort-12-graduates/) - The twelfth cohort of graduate students earned their Masters in Education degrees through North Cascades Institute and Western Washington University this week. Dr. John Miles, Executive Director Saul Weisberg, Graduate Coordinator Joshua Porter and Program Manager Katie Roloson recalled anecdotes and unique qualities of each of the eight grads, while about 100 friends and family
- [Gorging the Senses on Gorge Lake](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/canoeinggorgelake/) - Though I moved to the Environmental Learning Center last August, I had visited many times before during my first summer while living in Bellingham as a graduate student in North Cascades Institute and Western Washington University’s M.Ed. program. Each time I drove by Gorge Lake, I marveled at the huge sand banks with gigantic tree
- [Nearing completion](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/nearing-completion/) - The M.Ed program through Western Washington University and North Cascades Institute has several different parts to it. Though it evolves and changes every year, the general format for the past eight years has been to spend part of the summer in the Bellingham area tromping around the mountains and Puget Sound, living in North Cascades
- [Non-Profit Ninjas Slay the Behemoth](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/non-profit-projects/) - In the wintertime interim between teaching Mountain School in the fall and teaching Mountain School in the spring, graduate students in the North Cascades Institute Masters in Education program are skiing Mt. Baker’s slopes, exploring glassy blue glaciers, and visiting their old summertime haunts in Bellingham. When, that is, they’re not hard at work on
- [The Snow and The Shining](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/the-snow-and-the-shining/) - A small avalanche across Highway 20 just east of Newhalem at milepost 121 had residents of the Environmental Learning Center stuck at home Monday morning through Thursday morning of this week. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) was waiting until avalanche danger had decreased to assess the situation and clear the snow and debris.
- [Hooked!: Saying Farewell to Our New Friend Tele Aadsen](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/hooked-on-author-tele-aadsen/) - Crewing on a commercial fishing boat during prime salmon season isn’t exactly conducive to writing a memoir. “No writing happens on the boat except on my arm,” said Tele Aadsen, a fisherman, writer, Alaskan and most recent Writer-In-Residence at the North Cascades Institute. But to write a complete log from the Gulf of Alaska, and
- [Mountain School is ON!: Playing in the Snow, Compensating for the Government Shutdown](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/mountain-school-is-snowy/) - Columbia Elementary School was already told once they couldn’t come to Mountain School as planned. So they certainly weren’t going to let the biggest local snowstorm of the year so far stop them from enjoying a second chance to learn about ecology, carnivores, and community during their rescheduled visit last week. During this past October’s
- [Holy Gaia! I've Been Saved!: The Nature of Education and Vice Versa](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/nature-of-education/) - There’s a t-shirt that proclaims, “SAVE THE HUMANS.” It’s usually accompanied by an image of a cartoon whale, or maybe a panda bear. Have you seen it? For a long time I couldn’t understand the message. Save the humans? At seven billion and counting, with a city the size of Spokane added to the global
- [Make a Love Connection: Biophilia in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/biophilia-in-the-north-cascades/) - Five pairs of fifth graders are scattered on the Buster Brown Trail. In each pair, one is blindfolded with a colorful bandana, being carefully – the teacher hopes -- led in a circuitous route by their partner. “Remember, when you start to head off the trail toward your tree, make sure to not step where
- [On the Lookout for Unalloyed Pleasure: Poets in the North Cascades circa 1950s](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/poets-in-the-north-cascades-circa-1950s/) - North Cascade Institute’s graduate Cohort 13 recently hosted our annual Instructor Exchange with other students and teachers from IslandWood and the Wilderness Awareness School. As part of this, I facilitated a session about the handful of poets who served as fire lookouts in the North Cascades in the 1950s. My notes were gathered almost entirely
- [Youth Leadership Adventures 2014: now accepting applications](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/yla2014/) - North Cascades Institute is excited to announce that Youth Leadership Adventures are now accepting applications for Summer 2014. This transformative program features a range of summer adventures for high school-aged students ages 14-18 in the wilderness of the North Cascades, as well as a fall Youth Leadership Conference, year-round mentorship and stewardship opportunities. During 8-
- [Fresh Tracks of the Sun Chaser](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/fresh-tracks-of-the-sun-chaser/) - The glow begins as it would, blanching the sky to make invisible the cosmos. Black becomes cornflower and a fiery fuchsia lights the very highest tips of the frosted peaks. The sky will grow brighter, but many cups of tea will be consumed before the sun’s winter-warm rays make their way to Diablo, Washington. At
- [South or Bust](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/south-or-bust/) - To paraphrase graduate student and Chattermarks contributor Samantha Hale: This weather? It ain't normal. Or at least, these no-Gore-tex-required skies and 50 degree Fahrenheit temperatures may be a little out of the ordinary, but they still did not stop more than a few of the staff and graduate students at the North Cascades Institute from
- [A-Hunting for the Details](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/a-hunting-for-the-details/) - Today I went on a hike looking for wildflowers. I failed, miserably. But this was accounted for in the strategic plan, a given before I’d even cinched my shoelaces or threw on a daypack. You see, it’s the middle of winter in the North Cascades. What else would one expect? But as an amateur naturalist
- [Late Morning, Rainy, Wabi-Sabi Writing](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/wabi-sabi-writing/) - How often are you given the task to slowly, silently develop your awareness of beauty? Even more rare, perhaps, to be mindful of this tempting trait as it resides the incomplete, imperfect, and impermanent nature of, well, everything? And to think about how you fit in, just maybe, to this struggle, this destruction, this temporality?
- [Sensory Awareness: The Gateway to Environmental Empathy](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/sensory-awareness/) - Guest post by Katherine Storrs Nothing beats the moments when you witness a student make connections between the environmental education lessons taught here at the North Cascades Institute and their local environment at home. Whether the instructor at the Environmental Learning Center has been working in the environmental education field for 20 years or is
- [A Writer’s Residency: Like Fishing?](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/a-writers-residency-like-fishing/) - Guest Post by Tele Aadsen Six weeks into my time with the North Cascades Institute, I’m thinking that a residency is something like a fishing season. As on the F/V Nerka, I rely on routine here in Dogwood 2. Instead of getting the gear in the water at first light, though, I’m working on each
- ["Imaging the Arctic: Climate Science Through Art" at Whatcom Museum, Jan 11](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/imagining-the-arctic/) - Join North Cascades Institute and the Whatcom Museum on January 11, 2 pm, for the Vanishing Ice Speaker Series! This final presentation in the four-part series will feature Expeditionary Artist Maria Coryell-Martin and marine mammal biologist Dr. Kristin Laidre presenting their project, “Imaging the Arctic: Communicating Climate Science through Art.” This free event is made
- [The Shack](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/the-shack/) - I'm a nerd, always have been. I've never been one to shy away from that. I'm a music nerd, a book nerd, a Doctor Who nerd...and growing up with parents who are all about "the nature," I'm also a nature nerd. One of my favorite books is Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac. I first read
- [Place-Based Resolutions](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/place-based-resolutions-2/) - Seconds past midnight, all bubbles and kisses. December’s fading moments transition into the cacophony of January, offering an annual reincarnation, ushering in a fresh year of open-ended possibility. Like blushing buds on winter’s twigs: Potential, unstoppable. (For the next couple of weeks, at least.) In terms of the new year -- unlike most considerations --
- [Christmas in the American Alps](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/christmas-in-the-american-alps/) - Whilst traveling home from Bellingham, I became enchanted by tales of Christmas in the Tirol (Tyrol) province of Austria while tuning in to “Travel with Rick Steves” on KUOW radio. A woman with a delightful Austrian accent described the many Christmas traditions celebrated in the Tirol beginning with Advent on the 1st of December. Although
- [Post-Graduate Adventures in Job-Land](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/post-graduate-adventures-in-job-land/) - Guest post by Brian Stafki I was part of North Cascades Institute's Graduate M.Ed. Program third cohort. I felt like I was part of the first, second and fourth cohorts as a groupie, for that matter. I can say things like, “We didn’t even have a learning center to live in -- we just camped in
- [An Upriver Life: The Skagit Beyond Highway 20](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/an-upriver-life-2/) - The North Cascades are full of secrets. One must have a specific intention to discover the scenic treasures of the peaks, and that intention is usually accompanied by a backpack, several days of supplies, strong legs, and fortitude. Some treasures are only available for viewing from one particular point, on one obscure trail, after one
- [Seeking Spirituality in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/seeking-spirituality-in-the-north-cascades/) - I watched quietly as each bend in the road revealed more of the steep, inaccessible wilderness that looms above Highway 20. It was my first couple of hours in the North Cascades and I wanted to get up high, to see around. From Washington Pass I glimpsed Silver Star Mountain through the swirling clouds as
- [Cold Showing](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/cold-showing/) - “Cold is the colour of crystal the snowlight That falls from the heavenly skies” -- Annie Lennox, “Cold” The first successive days of sub-freezing temperatures have transformed the landscape on scales both minute and grand. An early morning walk revealed the ironically soft and whimsical designs pulled forth by the first hard frost. Weeks of
- [The Last Days in the Rain Shadow](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/the-last-days-in-the-rain-shadow/) - The weight of a winter storm has whisked away the opportunity to further my exploration of the Methow Valley for another season. The fragile thread of concrete that is Highway 20 has crumbled under the piles of snow and biting wind, cutting me off from the expansiveness of this high desert refuge. There, the strange
- [Fisherman, Writer, Artist-in-Residence: Thankful](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/fisherman-writer-artist-in-residence-thankful/) - Ordinarily, the fourth Thursday of November isn’t a big deal for me. I am a fisherman – if you’ve enjoyed salmon at the Environmental Learning Center, it was coho my partner, Joel, and I caught on our troller, the Nerka – so my celebration falls in mid-September, when Alaska’s salmon season comes to a close.
- [Alighting the Entire Sky: Happy Thanksgiving!](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/alighting-the-entire-sky-happy-thanksgiving/) - Even After All this time The sun never says to the earth, “You owe Me.” Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the Whole Sky. --Hafiz, Persian poet, “The Sun Never Says,” 1325-1390 Hafiz is right. There exists a reciprocation in ecology and cosmology that would do us humans well
- [A New Culture: The 2013 Henry M. Jackson Youth Leadership Conference](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/a-new-culture-the-2013-youth-leadership-conference/) - "Hey leaders?!" "Hey what!?!" It was that time of year again, when over 60 motivated teens and environmental professionals from throughout the Pacific Northwest converge on the North Cascades Institute to spend the weekend learning about community action and environmental service projects. On November 9 and 10, the North Cascades Institute, National Park Service and
- [It's the COMpost!: Welcome to the Black Morel](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/its-the-compost-welcome-to-the-black-morel/) - During a recent celebration at the Environmental Learning Center, I noticed Saul, our Executive Director, gesturing toward the compost building from the back deck of the dining hall. Made of grey cement blocks and housing two Green Mountain Technologies Earth Tubs, a dumpster, and several recycling bins, this building is where dining hall leftovers are
- [The Mushroom Hunters: Outlaws in Lobster Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-mushroom-hunters/) - Langdon Cook presents his new book The Mushroom Hunters at Village Books in Bellingham at 7 pm on November 13 as part of our Nature of Writing Fall 2013 series. The forager stops me abruptly with his hand. Wait. I stand motionless behind him and listen. All I can hear is my own labored breathing. We have
- [Kathleen Dean Moore in Bellingham, Nov. 9](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/moore-in-bham-nov9/) - Kathleen Dean Moore is the first speaker in our Vanishing Ice Speaker Series, a partnership with the Whatcom Museum as part of their new Vanishing Ice exhibition. Join us for her free talk "Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril" Saturday, November 9, 2 pm at Old City Hall (250 Flora Street, Bellingham). The following is
- [Notes from the Porch: Of Predator and Prey](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/notes-from-the-porch-of-predator-and-prey/) - Morning tends to be an active time here at the Environmental Learning Center. Squirrels, chipmunks, and birds are always scurrying from place to place, looking for seeds and taking advantage of the relative quiet before the humans get up. As a graduate student, I am lucky enough to be able to live here for a
- [Ready? Set? Go! Autumn!](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/ready-set-go-autumn/) - Signs of fall tend to be subtle around the Environmental Learning Center, in the plant world, at least: We live in a dense coniferous forest, so the landscape remains mostly a swath of green. But the traditional seasonal hues awaited Graduate Cohort 13 on the east side of the peaks during our recent tri-annual Natural
- [The Gifts of Prometheus : the natural and social dimensions of fire ecology](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/the-gifts-of-prometheus/) - Terror surged silently through my viscera as I watched the swirling inferno twist red and merciless up the talus in the smoke-blackened darkness of night. Trapped on a rocky, steep slope in a canyon without exit; that is how I would have perished had I been forced to make the same decision faced by five
- [North Cascades Institute open for business](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/open-for-business/) - We are relieved that the 16-day federal government shutdown is finally over and we are able to reopen the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center again. The closure of North Cascades National Park forced us to cancel four different Mountain School sessions, impacting more than 300 students, teachers and parent chaperones. (You can read about how
- [Graduate M.Ed. Program on the road](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/graduate-on-the-road/) - Staff from our Graduate M.Ed. Program will be attending several of the Northwest's best graduate school exhibitions this month. If you live near any of these places and you'd like to learn more about what our program has to offer, please stop by and say hello! Oct 21 University of Washington Nonprofit/Government Career Fair 1-5 pm,
- [Wilderness, Zumiez and Hope: Youth Leadership Adventures Reunion 2013](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/yla-reunion-2013/) - Story and photos by Liza Dadiomov. As the temperature outside gets cooler and the leaves turn vibrant hues of yellow, red, and orange, I find myself hunkered down indoors and the memories of my summer become distant. However, on September 28, I had the chance to reunite with students that participated in Youth Leadership Adventures in
- [Mountain!!! School!! Stories!](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/mountain-school-stories/) - Though Mountain School has been on hold for the past two weeks due to the government shutdown, instructors did get to teach three weeks of it, which amounted to 315 students from eight schools between Seattle and Bellingham. Graduate students, seasonals, and interns were off to an enthusiastic start, excited to introduce down valley elementary
- [Democracy in Action: Denied Mountain Schoolers Make Their Voices Heard](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/mountain-school-cancellation-reactions/) - “Dear President, Please stop the government shutdown by Sunday. I am dying to go to Mountain School and it is being canceled. I am writing to you on the worst day of my life. You are ruining the lives of every single fifth grader in Wade King Elementary and if you care about kids then
- [Park Creek Pass: A Tale of Two Hikes](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/park-creek-pass-a-tale-of-two-hikes/) - It was early August, and time for the end-of-quarter North Cascades backpacking adventure for the new graduate students, collectively called "Cohort 13." At 12 people, plus two instructors, we exceeded the Park Service’s backcountry limit of 12 hikers per group. So we picked two routes: One party would travel the high road over McAllister Pass
- [Red red](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/red-red/) - Simultaneously crispy and cozy, the first days of autumn belong to the poet. All the seasons are lovable in their own way, and each claims my favorite when that quarter’s beginning day of solstice or equinox finally spins around. Yet there’s something about fall, its fading light and muted yet still burning colors, that is
- [Government Shutdown Forces Closure of North Cascades National Park Service Complex](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/government-shutdown-forces-closure-of-north-cascades-national-park-service-complex/) - As a result of the federal government shutdown, the National Park Service was forced to suspend all Cooperative Association Agreements on Thursday, October 3, including the long-standing agreement that guides the close relationship between North Cascades National Park and North Cascades Institute. As a result, we are unable to conduct scheduled programs at the North
- [Must-See Birds of the Pacific Northwest](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/must-see-birds-of-the-pacific-northwest/) - Upcoming events: North Cascades Institute’s Birds of Bellingham Bay outing on the Snow Goose; Oct. 5, 8 am-5 pm, $125. Info and registration at ncascades.org or (360) 854-2599 Sarah Swanson and Max Smith presentation at Village Books in Bellingham; Oct 2, 7 pm, free. Info at villagebooks.com Sarah Swanson and Max Smith, passionate birders living in Portland, have
- [The Power of Place-tience](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/the-power-of-place-tience/) - Patience has never been a personal strongpoint. As a result, I’ve yet to indulge in the rumored joys of birdwatching, and have only recently begun to grasp the concept of searching for the subtle signs of animal activity. Impatience is not the most conducive trait to being a good, observant naturalist, I know. It’s actually
- [Pelicans and palm trees](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/pelicans-and-palm-trees/) - I decided to start my summer break right away. Three days after moving back to Bellingham from the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, I was on an airplane headed to California. My adventure landed me in Santa Cruz at the home of some good friends. While they were "being adults" and working all day, I
- [The Cedarosas Take On North Cascades National Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/the-cedarosas-take-on-noca/) - They met on July 17, 2013, not quite sure what to expect. Six talented young women, all alumni of programs like North Cascades Institute’s Cascades Climate Challenge and North Cascades Wild, as well as the Student Conservation Association, met up with three North Cascades Institute instructors to embark on the Institute’s newest course: Leadership Corps. Leadership Corps
- [Congratulations Saul Weisberg, North Cascades Institute's co-founder and executive director](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/congratulations-saul-weisberg/) - Saul Weisberg, Executive Director of North Cascades Institute, has been recognized for his national and regional leadership with two high-profile professional awards: The Association of Nature Center Administrators’ 2013 Nature Center Leadership Award and Re Sources’ 2013 Environmental Heroes Award. Weisberg is the co-founder of North Cascades Institute, the award-winning conservation nonprofit organization founded in
- [Thank you, North Cascades Institute. Sincerely, a loving intern](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/thank-you-north-cascades-institute/) - A group of Base Camp participants, Carla (a fellow summer naturalist), and I piled into a North Cascades Institute vehicle one morning in August. We were in search of amphibians at the famed “Ag Ponds” near Newhalem. Carla knew where we were going...kind of...with directions from a graduate student tucked into her brain—“A gravel road
- [The North Cascades Highway: A Roadside Guide to America's Alps](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/a-roadside-guide-to-americas-alps/) - By Jack McLeod Meet Jack and hear him present from his new book The North Cascades Highway: A Roadside Guide to America's Alps, published by University of Washington Press, on Saturday, September 7, at 4 pm at Village Books in Bellingham; free! It’s easy to fall in love with the North Cascades. Many writers in this
- [Backpacking Copper Ridge & the Chilliwack](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/backpacking-copper-ridge-the-chilliwack/) - Story and photos by Andy Porter The trek started at the Hannegan Pass trail head. We arrived Friday morning to a full parking lot and sunny skies ready to tackle a hard 5-day loop through the North Cascades. Weather reports for the area called for dicey weather, partly sunny/cloudy with a high percentage of thundershowers.
- [Science, Sustainability, Singing, Stir-fry, and Snacks!](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/science-and-sustainability/) - I met them on August 1st. Twenty bright new faces arrived on buses and vans at the Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount. As they walked quietly out of the vehicles, sleepy from early morning pick-ups at high schools from Bellingham to south of Seattle, I could tell right away that they were older than the
- [Saying goodbye...for now](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/saying-goodbye-for-now/) - Today is my last day of living at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center—my home since the spring of 2010 when I started working for North Cascades Institute as a Seasonal Naturalist. It's also my last day as Chattermarks Editor, a post I've held since last September. Two big changes, and I'm not very good
- [North Cascades and Mount Rainier National Parks Seek Public Input on Fisher Reintroduction](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/north-cascades-and-mount-rainier-national-parks-seek-public-input-on-fisher-reintroduction/) - Sedro Woolley, WA – August 15, 2013 - North Cascades National Park Complex is seeking comments on a proposed plan to reintroduce the Pacific fisher to Mount Rainier and North Cascades national parks. The fisher is a member of the weasel family that occurs in low- to mid-elevation closed canopy forests with large trees and
- [Coming full circle](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/coming-full-circle/) - After graduating from North Cascade Institute’s M.Ed. program I began working for the Cowlitz Valley Ranger district as an Invasive Plant Technician. It was really just a fancy way of saying I mapped and pulled weeds in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. I have to say it was quite a shift moving from learning and
- [Order of the Odonata](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/order-of-the-odonata/) - August 2nd through 4th, 16 participants, three Institute staff, and one instructor spent a wonderful weekend exploring the order of the Odonata. Due to cold and cloudy weather, we were unable to catch dragonflies and damselflies on Friday as planned. Instead, the class sat down for a presentation on these carnivorous insects given by instructor Dennis
- [From North Cascades Institute to the Montana Natural History Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/north-cascades-to-montana/) - What have I been doing since graduating from the North Cascades Institute M.Ed program in 2003? A lot. As it turns out, in a small non profit, you do your basic job and then you do other things, or “other duties as assigned” as our job descriptions generally say. I’ve helped out on several planning
- [Long Goodbyes](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/long-goodbyes/) - Five weeks seems like a long time to spend in the North Cascades, but as the final days of my sabbatical from National Parks magazine approached, I realize I could’ve easily filled another five weeks... or ten... or twenty. Early days spent reading, writing, or simply thinking were replaced with attempts to see as much
- [Falling in love with the forest](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/falling-in-love-with-the-forest/) - When I first learned that I would be leading a Youth Leadership Adventures course on Baker Lake, I was a bit…wary. Don’t get me wrong—I knew Baker Lake would be lovely. And although it is much easier to access than Ross Lake (where many of our courses happen), I knew the students would still feel
- [Adventure in the Gorge Lake draw-down](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/adventure-in-the-gorge-lake-draw-down/) - Fifty years ago, returning visitors to the Upper Skagit Valley may have asked the question "Where has the river gone?" With the 1961 completion of the 300-foot tall Gorge Dam, the turbulent waters of the Skagit River were replaced by a placid blue-green ribbon of a lake named after the rugged terrain that surrounds it.
- [Tales from the Diablo Divas](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/tales-from-the-diablo-divas/) - Cultural differences, language barriers, scalding heat, strong headwinds, steep climbs, heavy backpacks, illnesses, and injuries were some of the challenges not just overcome but conquered by the all female Youth Leadership Adventures group that called themselves “The Diablo Divas.” This group of eight young women ages 14-16 and their three fearless lady leaders spent eight
- [New film on glacier monitoring in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/new-film-on-glacier-monitoring-in-the-north-cascades/) - We are pleased to share a new film on glacier monitoring produced by our friends in the National Park Service. "Keepers of the Beat" features Dr. Jon Riedel, NPS glaciologist at North Cascades National Park, showing how and why he takes the pulse of glaciers. The title refers to the fact that glaciers respond
- [Learning to teach through the "what if...?s"](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/learning-to-teach/) - On my first teaching day of fall Mountain School I was terrified. I was completely smitten with the amazing North Cascades ecosystem I’d just spent all summer learning about. However, at that moment, there was nothing more terrifying than a group of wiggly 5th graders. “What if...?s” buzzed around me and wouldn’t let go. The teaching
- [Welcoming cohort 13 to the Institute family](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/welcoming-cohort-13/) - I got the opportunity to meet our newest cohort of graduate students on their first day of class last month and was able to spend some time with them for the rest of the week. It was fun listening to the rounds of introductions and the sharing of their life stories, and remembering myself in
- [The Artful Map](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/the-artful-map/) - After a week in San Francisco, I returned to North Cascades Institute just in time for Jocelyn Curry’s Artful Map class. I had no idea what to expect, but I thought it might be interesting to produce a map focused on my home of Washington, DC, with an emphasis on all the outdoor activities possible
- [Joining the pack](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/joining-the-pack/) - I’ve spent two weeks at North Cascades Institute now, and I’m starting to feel like a member of the pack. But it took a while. I was thrown into a group house with five other people, many of whom had worked at the Learning Center for years. All of them had serious schooling and experience
- [Rainy Adventure on Ross Lake](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/rainy-adventure-on-ross-lake/) - We’re back, safe, damp, smelly, and happy. Youth Leadership Adventures staff training 2013 was a success!!! At least that's what I emailed my mom when I returned from four days on Ross Lake. It’s these little exclamations sent to people in big cities, after being away for a few days, that reminds us where we’ve
- [A day at the Gravel Pit](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/a-day-at-the-gravel-pit/) - I live in a stunning place. On clear days, slate colored mountains capped in white meet blue skies in a crisp line and from there melt into a maze of light green meadows and dark green stands of trees until they reach the emerald lake. On days with low clouds, fog lingers between the trees
- [Planning for roads in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/planning-for-roads/) - Each year five million people visit the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington State. They drive forest roads to experience spectacular vistas at places such as Mt. Baker, Heather Meadows, Skagit Wild and Scenic River and Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail and to access countless other public lands for recreation, field science and naturalizing, family
- [Searching for the dream](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/searching-for-the-dream/) - I work in a room with no windows. All day I watch the refracted light from the skylight, which is made from those swirly glass blocks, dance and change on the floor. Sometimes, my coworker and I look up in surprise and wonder what’s going on when the sun bursts forth from the clouds and
- [Seasonal transitions for a graduate student](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/seasonal-transitions-for-a-graduate-student/) - Right now the Learning Center is transitioning from spring into summer, though the weather might not always show it. All of the graduate students in cohort 12, as well as interns, seasonal, and full time staff, are cleaning up from Mountain School and getting ready for Family programs, Adult seminars, and adventures in the backcountry
- [A week in the woods](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/a-week-in-the-woods/) - Scott Kirkwood is editor in chief of National Parks Magazine, a quarterly publication produced by the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit advocacy organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. This is his first post in a series about spending the summer in the North Cascades National Park. Two perspectives of a snowless Pyramid Peak on summer-like spring days
- [Life after grad school for an environmental educator and naturalist](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/life-after-grad-school/) - ROBBY ASTROVE graduated from North Cascades Institute and Western Washington University's M.Ed program in 2005 as part of the third Cohort of students. He is currently the Park Ranger at the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve located in the Arabia Mountain, National Heritage Area, Lithonia, GA. Wow, 10 years have passed already. Even though time and
- [Backyard bird sightings](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/backyard-bird-sightings/) - "There's a bird outside the window," I said. "I think it's a Spotted Towhee." I turned to look at my dad who was cooking at the stove. "Is that the right name for them...? I can't remember if that's the new name or the old name..." "A Spotted Towhee?!" My dad sounded excited. He dropped
- [Traversing the Pickets with Kyle Miller](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/traversing-the-pickets-with-kyle-miller/) - We were thrilled to find this trip report from a traverse across the North Cascades' remote Picket Range last summer, made by four local splitboarders: Scott Mcallister, Kyle Miller, Seth Holton and Frankie Choltco-Devlin. Awesome photos too! The weather was good. It was nearly our Nation’s birthday. We Cascadian ski tourers like to do big things
- [Skagit River Bridge collapse; no changes to Institute programs](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/skagit-bridge-collapse/) - As most of you know, getting around in northwestern Washington got a little bit trickier last month when the Interstate 5 bridge collapsed in to the Skagit River. Luckily, nobody was seriously injured, and concerns have shifted to travel hassles. All of our programs at the Learning Center and in the field are running as
- [The inside scoop on group rentals](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/group-rentals/) - So, what are Group Rentals? Great question! In a nutshell, it’s a unique program that gives you the opportunity to create your own custom event at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. If you’re in search of a venue to host your next business conference, board retreat, wedding or most any other kind of gathering,
- [What does stewardship look like?](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/what-does-stewardship-look-like/) - At Mountain School, we try to teach our students how to be stewards of the earth. When we visit the students at their school a few weeks after they came to Mountain School, we try to get them to make connections between the environment out here in the mountains and the environments closer to their
- [Fourth Annual Migratory Bird Festival at Whidbey Island](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/fourth-annual-migratory-bird-festival/) - Saturday, April 27th marked the fourth annual Migratory Bird Festival, a day that brought together 113 people of all ages at Fort Casey State Park on Whidbey Island. This celebration of spring and migrating birds was hosted by North Cascades Institute, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the International District Housing Alliance, and the
- [Following Tracks](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/following-tracks/) - My touring partner, Ian, and I found ourselves looking out across Ptarmagin Ridge toward our distant objective, Coleman Pinnacle. The only noise was that of the wind coursing through the wings of a passing raven. The sun shone down on our faces, lighting up the snow and landscape beyond. I turned to Ian and asked
- [Graduate students explore natural history on the Olympic Coast](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/grad-students-explore-olympic-coast/) - My cohort-mates have heard this a few times by now, but I’ve been to the Olympic Coast four times and despite its reputation for tempestuous weather, I’ve had blue skies each time. I must be pretty lucky. But then again, so many fortunate things happened on Cohort 12’s spring Natural History Retreat that “lucky” probably
- [Reflections from the back of my horse](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/reflections-from-the-back-of-my-horse/) - I am on my horse at the Pilchuck Tree Farm in Arlington with my mom. The air is cool and moist; the sun reflects off the glinting dew drops on the foliage repossessing the battered stumps and scars on the landscape. We travel on this trail silently, allowing our horses to navigate this place we
- [In my backyard...](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/in-my-backyard/) - As winter comes to an end and we transition into the spring and summer months, something really exciting happens. I'm not talking about plants flowering and birds singing and the sun coming out, although all of those things are definitely exciting. No, I'm talking about the spring opening of Highway 20. Also known as the
- [Wolverine in the Skagit!](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/wolverine-in-the-skagit/) - Exciting news from our friends at North Cascades National Park: Look at the paws on this guy! Last summer, a visitor reported ... that they had seen a wolverine chasing a marmot while hiking just to the west of the Park boundary in the Skagit watershed. North Cascades National Park biologist Roger Christophersen set up
- [Letters from Yellowstone: Natural History in the Nation's Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/letters-from-yellowstone/) - Letters from Yellowstone is an account of a fictional 1898 botanical survey of Yellowstone National Park, written entirely through letters. Howard Merriam, a professor from Montana is the leader of the group, which includes an entomologist, someone from the Smithsonian, an agriculturalist, and a botanist. As Professor Merriam is setting up this field study and
- [Elwha: rebirth of a rainforest river](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/elwha-rebirth-of-a-rainforest-river/) - It’s been hardly a year since the last concrete remnants of the Elwha Dam were removed and already the rebirth of the rainforest river is underway. While most people watching the Olympic Peninsula experiment have been excited about what they hope will soon move upriver—steelhead and all five species of Pacific salmon—the first chapter in
- [Facing Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/facing-climate-change-in-the-pacific-northwest/) - North Cascades Institute former staffers and current friends Benjamin Drummond and Sara Joy Steele just launched four new films for their multimedia project, Facing Climate Change. Oyster Farmers, Coastal Tribes, Potato Farmers, and Plateau Tribes all explore global climate change through people who live and work in the Pacific Northwest, with an emphasis on how climate change
- ["Elwha Restoration Revealed" at WWU, April 10](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/elwha-restoration-revealed-at-wwu-april-10/) - Join NatureBridge, the WWU Huxley College of the Environment and the North Cascades Institute to hear about the historic Elwha Dam removal and restoration project in Olympic National Park Wedneday, April 10, 7 pm, at Western Washington University Room AW 204. For the first time in 100 years, the Elwha River is beginning to flow
- [The first birdsongs of spring at the Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/birdsongs/) - While I have personally never beheaded a chicken, I’ve definitely heard the saying, “running around like a chicken with its head cut off,” but I have never heard anyone say anything about "squawking like a chicken with its head cut off." Apparently this happens too. We can attribute this bizarre occurrence to a fine, bird-specific
- [A New Set of Graduates, Ready to Take on the World!](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/a-new-set-of-graduates/) - Thursday, March 21st dawned bright and snowy. The sun lit up a pale blue sky. Fourteen graduate students excitedly anticipated the start of their 2pm Graduation Ceremony. The dress was "mountain formal"—think clean, semi-dressy clothes, sensible shoes with good soles, often topped with a fleece jacket. The final guests were arriving. Staff were busily making
- [Spring Is On It's Way](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/spring-is-on-its-way/) - Spring means a lot of things. Growth. New life. Lots of color. Bright greens. Warmth. Sunshine. Rain. Melting snow. Longer days. Last month, cohort 12 graduate students spent a couple days hanging out at the Wilderness Awareness School in Duval, WA. The students there told us about the medicine wheel. The medicine wheel is a
- [Wolves in the Land of Salmon:  David Moskowitz tracks canis lupus’ return to the Northwest](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/wolves-in-the-land-of-salmon/) - Vargas Island wolves at Clayoquot Sound, BC; photo by David Moskowitz. David Moskowitz presents his new book Wolves in the Land of Salmon at Village Books in Bellingham on March 21 and at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center on March 23-24, where he is also leading a tracking class in the Upper Skagit Valley.
- [Sign up for 2013 adult classes by April 15 and save with our Early Bird Special!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/sign-up-for-2013-adult-classes-by-april-15-and-save-with-our-early-bird-special/) - Explore the Pacific Northwest this year with North Cascades Institute and learn what makes our corner of the continent so special with hands-on, intimate experiences at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center and in the field. Our new slate of adult classes exploring the natural and cultural history of our unique region includes printmaking *
- [Youth Leadership Adventures 2013: new video!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/yla2013/) - North Cascades Institute is excited to announce our brand-new Youth Leadership Adventures program for motivated students ages 14-18 in Washington and Oregon. Youth Leadership Adventures combines two of our successful and popular programs - North Cascades Wild and Cascades Climate Challenge - to offer the best of both: outdoor education, conservation and stewardship in the
- [Winter Canoe Adventure](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/winter-canoe-adventure/) - What is a sunny day in January for, if not an adventure? On one such day a couple months back, I headed out in the Institute's 14-person Voyageur canoe with some fellow graduate students, seasonal naturalists, and other friends. Our goal: to find ice on the lake. All of us in the canoe. I'm pretty
- [What do those graduate students do all winter anyway...?](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/what-do-those-graduate-students-do-all-winter-anyway/) - One of my favorite things about this particular Masters in Education program through Western Washington University and North Cascades Institute is that most of the time it doesn't feel like school. Due to the non-traditional nature of this program, we don't spend much time in a classroom, we get to hike and play outside a
- [Under the Sea](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/under-the-sea/) - Andrea Reiter is a graduate student at North Cascades Institute and Western Washington University studying environmental education. She grew up in Washington, getting the opportunity to explore wilderness all throughout the state. In her free time Andrea enjoys being outdoors, near the saltwater, with her dog, and scuba diving. The author, with her first underwater
- [Learning to Love in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/learning-in-the-north-cascades/) - Heather Ellis is a future student of Social Work, currently on hiatus from school to work, take care of family, improve her photography, and give herself time for self-reflection and development. Born in Seattle, the North Cascades have always been in her backyard and became an integral part of her life after participating in programs hosted by
- [The Long View: Geology, John McPhee and me](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-long-view/) - Graduate student Jacob Belsher writes a natural history book review on John McPhee's Basin and Range According to James Hutton, a Scottish geologist working in the late 18th century: “To a naturalist nothing is indifferent; the humble moss that creeps upon the stone is equally interesting as the lofty pine which so beautifully adorns the
- [Exploring Natural History on Whidbey Island](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/natural-history-on-whidbey/) - Three times during their year-long residency, the graduate students at the Learning Center venture outside for three days to learn about natural history. Our winter natural history retreat started on a cold January morning. Leaving the Learning Center at 7:30am, we drove to Ebey's Landing National Historic Reserve on Whidbey Island to learn about its
- [A Winter Photo Tour of the Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/winter-photo-tour-of-the-elc/) - It's hard to describe where I live sometimes, especially in the winter (by which I mean late November through April). Most people I know aren't familiar with the Diablo Lake area, and even if they are, I have very few visitors in the winter so the place they remember from the summer is almost an
- [Learning To Love Thorny Places](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/learning-to-love-thorny-places/) - Hillary Schwirtlich is a graduate student in her third quarter of North Cascades Institute and Western Washington University's M.Ed. program. She grew up in South Texas, moved to the Northwest for an AmeriCorps position right out of college and fell in love with the mountains. Hillary splits her time between the group rentals and ecological
- [Girls on Ice 2013 Applications Now Available](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/girls-on-ice-2013-applications-now-available/) - Girls on Ice 2013 applications are available! Information and the application can be found at: http://girlsonice.org/apply. Deadline: February 1, 2013. Girls on Ice, (http://girlsonice.org), is a unique, FREE, wilderness science education program for high school girls. Each year a team of 9 teenage girls and 3 instructors spend 11 days exploring and learning about
- [2013 Instructor Exchange](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/2013-instructor-exchange/) - Each winter, students at North Cascades Institute, Islandwood, and Wilderness Awareness School get together over three weekends, one gathering at each of our campuses, to share the similarities and differences of our programs, meet new people, and learn from each other. This year, the graduate students of North Cascades Institute hosted the first weekend over
- [The Olympic Peninsula in Winter](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/olympic-peninsula-in-winter/) - I spent four days of my winter break on the Olympic Peninsula, at Fort Worden. It's a family thing that we do every year. My aunt and cousin come out from New Mexico, my uncle and grandparents from the Seattle area, my parents and my grandma from Bellingham, my sister from Olympia, and me from
- [A Winter Vocabulary Lesson](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/a-winter-vocabulary-lesson/) - Hibernaculum (hi-buhr-NAK-yuh-luhm) (Latin, "tent for winter quarters") can refer to: (zoology) The location chosen by an animal for hibernation. Commonly this may be a hibernating mammal or insect. (botany) A bud, case, or protective covering that a plant uses to survive the challenging environmental conditions during a dormancy period. This winter, I’m living in a
- [Starting Fresh in the New Year](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/starting-fresh-in-the-new-year/) - "I hear the swish of snow-pants and the crunch of snow under my boots. These sounds drown out the silent stillness of the air. I stop for a minute, hear falling water from a creek nearby, a raven high up in a tree. I keep going. Up a hill, the snow gets deeper, I come
- [Poetic Reflections on the Nature of Meditation](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/poetic-reflections/) - Over a crisp October weekend, the Learning Center was host to a class called Sit, Walk, Write: Nature and the Practice of Presence. Taught by Zen teacher and author, Kurt Hoelting, and writing teacher and poet, Holly Hughes, participants began their days with a sitting meditation, followed by writing and sharing poetry and short nature
- [Winter Natural History](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/winter-natural-history/) - Every year, graduate students at North Cascades Institute are tasked with keeping a Natural History Journal. At the end of each quarter we turn in ten selected journal entries to our professor. Having recently turned in my fall journal, natural history has been on my mind. If you're like me, you have a lot of
- [A Recap of Underwater Photography](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/a-recap-of-underwater-photography/) - Jess Newley is a graduate student in the Institute's Graduate Program and will be receiving her Masters of Environmental Education in March 2013. She is an avid writer, photographer and scuba diver, routinely documenting her underwater adventures. This story was originally published in Adventures NW, Winter 2012. Hot off the press: Jess won photograph of the year
- [Standing in Snow](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/standing_in_snow/) - A little over four months ago, I set out on a hike with two of my closest friends on the Devils Doom loop in the North Cascades. I remember beautiful views of the undulating landscape filled with glacier lilies, snow capped peaks, and the remnants of hillsides filled with wildflowers. Nearly fourteen miles into the
- [Extended value gift certificates: $100 value for only $80!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/extended-value-gift-certificates-2013/) - In the spirit of giving back to all of you who have supported us over the years, as well as to encourage new friends, North Cascades Institute is pleased to offer extended value gift certificates during this holiday season. These limited edition gift certificates offer $100 value for only $80 and can be used toward
- [Kitchen Gratitude: Another Year in the Foodshed](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/kitchen-gratitude/) - Above two photos: (top) Sous Chef Mike Cuseo gets some help trying out a crazy ides: Oyster (mushrooms) on the Half-shell. (bottom) After the oven... Photos by Kacey Shoemaker This time of year, there's few of us here at the Learning Center with as much to be thankful for as the kitchen staff. The whole idea
- [Youth Leaders Come Together at North Cascades Institute](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/youth-leaders-come-together/) - Over Veteran's Day weekend 63 students participated in the third annual Youth Leadership Conference, held at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. This year, the three-day conference was funded in large part by the Henry M Jackson Foundation—named after the man who was largely responsible for the creation of North Cascades National Park. Attendees of
- [David Douglas: A Naturalist at Work](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/david-douglas-a-naturalist-at-work/) - Spokane-based author, naturalist and teacher Jack Nisbet is fascinated with the natural and cultural history of the Pacific Northwest. He is one the most gifted interpreters of the wild bounty that our corner of the country possesses, and also has gone to great lengths to tell the stories of the first European explorers to encounter
- [On Rain](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/on-rain/) - Leading photo: Puddles building up on a trail at the Learning Center. Photo by Rick Allen.
- [Be an Eagle Watcher!](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/be-an-eagle-watcher/) - What is the Eagle Watcher Volunteer Stewardship Program? Thanks to abundant runs of wild salmon, the Skagit River Watershed boasts one of the largest wintering populations of bald eagles in the lower 48 states. In their wake come thousands of people vying for views of the majestic birds roosting in riverside trees or eating fish along gravel bars.
- [As Fall Comes to A Close](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/as-fall-comes-to-a-close/) - On September 17th, the first Mountain School group of the fall season arrived at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. It was a bright, warm, cloudless, sunny day. The mountains were still snow-free and the ground was parched from the summer drought. Now, eight weeks, approximately 779 students, and more than 15 inches of rain later, we
- [Congratulations Jon Riedel!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/congratulations-jon-riedel/) - North Cascades Institute heartily congratulates our friend Dr. Jon Riedel of North Cascades National Park. Last week, National Park Service Pacific West Regional Director Chris Lehnertz announced the 2012 Awards for Natural Resource Management and Riedel, based in Sedro-Woolley, was rightly recognized. Here's the official statement on Jon's award, followed by some appreciations written by staff and
- [A Learning Center Halloween](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/a-learning-center-halloween/) - We know how to have fun up here in the mountains. The multitude of creatively carved pumpkins sitting on the back porch of the Dining Hall are proof of it. I didn't have big plans for Halloween this year. I usually eat popcorn, watch scary movies (by myself, which is always a bad idea), and
- [Youth Conduct Carnivore Studies at the Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/carnivore-studies-at-the-elc/) - On a sunny fall day, 56 sixth through eighth grade students conducted field studies on carnivore habitat in the area around the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. What makes this group of students different from all the other middle-schoolers who have done similar studies at Mountain School? These kids attend Evergreen Montessori—in Colorado. This school
- [Thoughts on a Changing Season](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/thoughts-on-a-changing-season/) - The calendar says it’s been fall for just over a month now, and it feels like the season has been changing for about that long, but it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when fall came to Diablo Lake. One day I noticed a colorful leaf. Another day I felt a chill in the air. Now there
- [Journey through the Arctic with Debbie Miller](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/journey-through-the-arctic-with-debbie-miller/) - North Cascades Institute presents “Journey through the Arctic with Debbie Miller:" A multimedia presentation and book release party Wed, October 17: Walton Theatre at the Mount Baker Theatre, Bellingham, 7pm Thurs, October 18: Skagit Transit Hub, Mount Vernon, 7 pm No advanced tickets required; donations accepted at door. Details at http://ncascades.org/signup/programs/special-events#debbie-miller Debbie Miller is on
- [Wet and Windy Canoeing: Exploring the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/wet-and-windy-canoeing/) - By Debbie S. Miller Editor's note: Join North Cascades Institute when we present “Journey through the Arctic with Debbie Miller," a multimedia presentation and book release party Wednesday, October 17, at the Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham and Thursday, October 18, at the Skagit Transit Hub, Mount Vernon. Both events start at 7pm and are
- [NC Wild and Kulshan Creek come together for stewardship](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/nc-wild-and-kulshan-creek-come-together-for-stewardship/) - The Kulshan Creek Neighborhood from Mount Vernon joined up with North Cascades Wild students on August 16th for a day of stewardship on Baker Lake. The last session of NC Wild, and my last event with the Kulshan Creek Neighborhood Program this year, was an event to put in the books. Next to the three-day
- [Butterflies and Bee Bowls - Citizen Science in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/butterflies-and-bee-bowls-citizen-science-in-the-north-cascades/) - Now that it is autumn, I find myself reflecting on all of the incredible Citizen Science opportunities of this past summer season. I remember that with summer came the presence of some of the most beautiful creatures - butterflies! The Cascades Butterfly Project is just one of North Cascades Institute’s numerous Citizen Science projects that are presented in conjunction
- [Coming Home](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/coming-home/) - On the 28th of August the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center gained eight new residents—graduate students in cohort 12, ready to take on the mountains. For me, it was a homecoming. I spent the last two years working for North Cascades Institute as a Seasonal Naturalist, leaving only for five months during the spring and
- [Saturday, September 29 — Institute events in overdrive!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/saturday-september-29/) - This Saturday, September 29, North Cascades Institute is either hosting or involved with not one, not two, but three special events in Seattle, the Skagit Valley and North Cascades. We invite you to join us where you see fit. Please read on for details! Public reading of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific
- [Stewardship in the North Cascades: 2012 roundup](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/stewardship-2012-roundup/) - The following is a report of what North Cascades Institute's Stewardship Program achieved in 2012. Please help us continue to conserve and restore Northwest environments with your financial support: Every dollar donated to the Institute between now and May 9 can be matched 1:1 through a campaign organized by the Skagit Community Foundation. President Obama has proclaimed September
- [Saving Chinook](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/saving-chinook/) - By Jill Lightner Editor’s note: Jill is hosting a Fall Harvest Meal at the Learning Center September 29-30 as part of our Sourdough Speaker Series. She is working with our chefs on a very special multi-course meal that will feature the best sustainable and delicious foods of the Skagit Valley and Puget Sound region. Registration
- [Hope is a barge of people on Ross Lake](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/hope-is-a-barge-of-people/) - Twelve mismatched teenagers have just come off of their hardest life challenge — climbing Desolation Peak. Author Jack Kerouac made this summit in the North Cascade Range famous. He named and led the “beat generarion” and was described as one "at the bottom of his personality, looking up." These teens have reached into themselves while
- [Cascades Climate Challenge: A Recipe for Love](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/cascades-climate-challenge-a-recipe-for-love/) - What do you get when you mix 38 high-school students in two 20-day programs in a wildly beautiful place with early morning wake-up calls surrounded by snowcapped peaks, days of paddling over glassy water, and hiking on lush mountain trails? Answer: one life-changing summer. North Cascades Institute just wrapped up its fourth successful year of
- ["The Fire Inside" doc at Village Books with Saul Weisberg, Aug 28](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/the-fire-inside/) - On Tuesday, August 28, at 7 pm, North Cascades Institute co-presents a screening of the documentary film “The Fire Inside: Place, Passion and Primacy of Nature” at Village Books (1200 11th St, Bellingham). The showing will be followed by a discussion led by Saul Weisberg, executive director of North Cascades Institute, and film producers Phil
- [Surveying Ross Lake trout](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/surveying-ross-lake-trout/) - I look down, my right hand is covered in brain matter, my left hand has a piece of intestine hanging from my pinky and as I continue down… my shirt is becoming pink all over and I realize I am quite stinky and rather disgusting. I never thought I would be spending a week at
- [Free climate change teacher workshop, August 10-14](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/free-climate-change-teacher-workshop-august-10-14/) - Would you like to integrate climate change into your classroom curriculum? Are you looking for new ways to engage your students in the natural world? Join North Cascades Institute August 10-14 for a week in the North Cascades studying the effects of climate change in the Pacific Northwest from climate science experts, resource managers and
- [North Cascades National Park's Chip Jenkins named Deputy Regional Director](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/north-cascades-national-parks-chip-jenkins-named-deputy-regional-director/) - Editor's note: It with mixed emotions that we congratulate Superintendent Chip Jenkins on his promotion in the National Park Service this week. Chip has been a steadfast supporter of North Cascades Institute over the past five years -- particularly our summer youth programs like Cascades Climate Challenge, North Cascades Wild and the Youth Leadership Conference,
- [Join us this summer in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/join-us-summer-2012/) - The glorious summer weather that makes Western Washington one of the best places in the country to be finally arrived on July 4! North Cascades Institute is offering programs to people of all ages every day of the week at our Learning Center, on Diablo, Ross and Baker Lakes, up Highway 20, out in the
- [North Cascades Stewards in the high country, July 28](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/stewards-in-the-high-country-july-28/) - Join North Cascades Institute and North Cascades National Park Native Plant Nursery staff July 28 for a day of plant stewardship at Cascade Pass, the site of a major revegetation effort. The day's work will include removing non-native invasive plants, collecting native plant seeds for the nursery and some planting if the season is right.
- [Congratulations Amy Brown, informal educator of the year!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/congratulations-amy-brown/) - Amy Brown, North Cascades Institute recognized in June 20 celebration North Cascades Institute is excited to announce that Amy Brown, the Institute's North Cascades Wild Program Coordinator, is the recipient of the 2011 E3 Washington Award of Excellence in the Informal Educator category! This statewide award recognizes an outstanding educator who provides learning for all
- [Wild Adventures on wild lakes](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/nc-wild-adventures-on-ross-and-diablo-lakes/) - North Cascades Wild has the power to transform lives. As a trip leader, North Cascades Wild is equally transformative for me as it is for the students that we reach. Never before have I witnessed a group build such a close family bond in such a short amount of time. The faces and behavior of
- [Ten Minutes with Thomas Fleischner](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/ten-minutes-with-thomas-fleischner/) - Ten Minutes with Thomas Fleischner from North Cascades Institute on Vimeo. Tom will read from The Way of Natural History at Village Books on July 8 at 4 pm. Info at www.ncascades.org/events. Thomas Fleischner is an environmental studies professor at Prescott College in Arizona, founding president of the Natural History Network, author of Singing Stone:
- [Falling in Love with the World: Thomas Fleischner works to revitatize natural history](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/falling-in-love-with-the-world/) - Thomas Fleischner, co-founder of North Cascades Institute, will read from The Way of Natural History at Village Books on July 8 at 4 pm. Info at www.ncascades.org/events. Thomas Fleischner is a man on a mission. An environmental studies professor at Prescott College in Arizona, cofounder of the North Cascades Institute and founding president of the
- [Why Natural History Matters](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/why-natural-history-matters/) - Thomas Fleischner, co-founder of North Cascades Institute, will read from The Way of Natural History at Village Books on July 8 at 4 pm. Info at www.ncascades.org/events. By Thomas Fleischner The world needs natural history now more than ever. Because natural history – which I have defined as “a practice of intentional focused attentiveness and
- [North Cascades Institute Newhalem Survey](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/north-cascades-institute-newhalem-survey/) - At the request of Seattle City Light, North Cascades Institute is examining expanding our partnership with the public utility to potentially offer programs and customer services in the small town of Newhalem, Washington. Located seven miles west of our Learning Center in the North Cascades National Park Complex, Newhalem has been the homebase for Seattle
- [Taking a Stance on Food](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/taking-a-stance-on-food/) - Before I begin, I want to remind all of my readers that my views are just that. Mine. They do not always match up with the North Cascades Institute or anybody else’s in the world for that matter. I just like to get people thinking. I love a good healthy conversation and flowing of ideas.
- [When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/when-women-were-birds/) - Guest post by Terry Tempest Williams, who will be reading in Bellingham on June 21 as part of our "Nature of Writing" series with Village Books. More info at www.ncascades.org/events. “I thought I was writing a book about voice. I thought I would proclaim as a woman that we must speak the truth of our
- [Arctic Voices: Subhankar Banerjee promotes wilderness as Shell Oil moves in](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/arctic-voices-subhankar-banerjee-promotes-wilderness-as-shell-oil-moves-in/) - As part of our “Nature of Writing” series, Subhankar Banerjee present Arctic Voices June 20 at 7 pm in the Readings Gallery at Village Books in Bellingham; Free! The coldest places are ravaged by a warming world. “I describe this as the Arctic paradox,” explorer and educator Subhankar Banerjee said. “The very thing that is
- [Tony Angell is for the Birds: Celebrating life of the Puget Sound](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/tony-angell-is-for-the-birds-celebrating-life-of-the-puget-sound/) - As part of our "Nature of Writing" series, John Marzluff & Tony Angell present Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans June 18 at 7pm in the Readings Gallery at Village Books in Bellingham; Free! A soaring bald eagle and playful river otters at the North
- [In the Company of Corvids: John Marzluff in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/in-the-company-of-corvids/) - As part of our "Nature of Writing" series, John Marzluff & Tony Angell present Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans June 18 at 7pm in the Readings Gallery at Village Books in Bellingham; Free! This summer, the Environmental Learning Center will be buzzing with adult
- [Gifts of the Crow: A Conversation with John Marzluff and Tony Angell](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/gifts-of-the-crow/) - As part of our "Nature of Writing" series, John Marzluff & Tony Angell present Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans June 18 at 7pm in the Readings Gallery at Village Books in Bellingham; Free! Q: How did you initially become interested in studying crows and
- [The Gift of Mountain School](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/the-gift-of-mountain-school/) - [Mountain School has officially ended for the spring season! On Friday afternoon, Institute staff and instructors waved a bittersweet goodbye to 5th graders from Mountain View Elementary, raising their arms and voices in celebration for another great spring spent with youth in the outdoors. By way of offering a parting perspective and ode to this
- [Learning to Love the Rain](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/love-the-rain/) - It only takes a few days in Forks, Washington, to be dead sure that the town is the rainiest place in the lower forty-eight. And that is exactly where we were headed for our Spring Graduate Retreat. To quell any suspicions that we were visiting for the purposes of Twilight histeria, let me say that
- [News release: North Cascades National Park Ready for Spring and Summer Visitors](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/north-cascades-national-park-ready/) - Days are growing longer and birdsong is filling the mountain air as the North Cascades awaken from the long winter. With the Washington State Department of Transportation having recently reopened the North Cascades Highway (State Route 20), North Cascades National Park Complex is ready to welcome you. The Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount and the
- [Spring Printmaking Workshop at the Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/spring-printmaking-workshop-at-the-learning-center/) - During the last weekend in April, Seattle artist and North Cascades Institute friend and instructor Molly Hashimoto led a wonderful and inspiring 3-day Adult Seminar on Printmaking with Ink and Watercolor at the Environmental Learning Center. Each day, Molly shared basic printmaking techniques that helped to build tangible skills and deepen each artist's unique and creative talents.
- [Special event: Tim McNulty reads Robert Sund, Bellingham 5/15](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/special-event-tim-mcnulty-reads-robert-sund-bellingham-515/) - Notes from Disappearing Lake: The River Journals of Robert Sund A reading by Tim McNulty May 15, 2012; 7 pm Readings Gallery at Village Books, 1200 11th Street, Bellingham Join North Cascades Institute at Village Books' Readings Gallery May 15 at 7 pm for a free reading from the new book Notes from Disappearing Lake: The
- [Institute Celebrations of Spring](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/institute-celebrations-of-spring/) - I think it may be safe to say that life is coming back to the North Cascades as of today, and yesterday, and even a few weeks ago! At first the change was so subtle it was barely recognizable, and we here at the North Cascades Institute were still clinging to the warmth of our
- [Edible Geography: Perspectives and Practice in Foodshed Education](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/edible-geography-perspectives-and-practice-in-foodshed-education/) - With an Introduction Recounting Current Happenings in the Foodshed Project [We are excited to publish the fifth piece in our Foodshed series, with monthly updates from the amazing chefs working hard to provide program participants and staff at the Environmental Learning Center with sustainable, seasonal, and deliciously fresh food. In an age where the production and consumption of
- [Bird Migrations at Ebey's Landing](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/bird-migrations-at-ebeys-landing/) - This past Earth Day Weekend, the North Cascades Institute hosted the 3rd Anuual Migratory Bird Festival! The event was sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service and brought people together from across western Washington for a day to explore the natural history of migratory birds and the cultural heritage of Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve. Students
- [April Adventures at Mountain School](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/april-adventures-at-mountain-school/) - The month of April began with a week of Mountain School like no other I’ve experienced in the eight months I have lived, worked, and studied at North Cascades Institute. April showers, instead of bringing May flowers, brought the opportunity to co-teach with National Park Service Ranger, Carolyn Waters. A typical trail group generally consists of 8-12
- [Entering the Ethereal Forest](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/entering-the-ethereal-forest/) - UPDATE MARCH 2014: Join us the weekend of March 28-30 for a brand new Field Excursion: "Ross Lake: Exploring the Drawdown by Canoe" with Institute naturalists and North Cascades National Park geologist Jon Reidel! This class will explore the geologic history of the Ross Lake area during the annual drawdown, a period when the lake is
- [Woodpecker Print: A Step-by-Step Demonstration](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/woodpecker-print-a-step-by-step-demonstration/) - Contributed and written by talented Seattle-based artist and longtime North Cascades Institute Adult Seminar Instructor, Molly Hashimoto. [Please join North Cascades Institute this April 27th - April 29th for an exciting weekend workshop on Printmaking with Ink and Watercolor with Molly Hashimoto. In addition to exploring the wild landscape around the Environmental Learning Center as a source of inspiration, Molly will lead participants in a
- [North Cascades Wild Stewardship at the Marblemount Native Plant Nursery](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/north-cascades-wild-stewardship-at-the-marblemount-native-plant-nursery/) - On a cold and rainy March morning last weekend, North Cascades Wild 2012 students pulled into the Marblemount Wilderness Information Center with smiles. Piling out of North Cascades Institute vans piloted by staff Amy Brown and Tasha Lexin, 17 high school students from Whatcom and Skagit counties began their journeys with one of the Institute’s
- [C10 Graduation: A Celebration of Endings and Beginnings](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/c10-graduation-a-celebration-of-endings-and-beginnings/) - March 15th marked a day of celebration for Cohort 10 graduate students at the end of a long journey as they completed their Master’s in Environmental Education from Western Washington University and received certificates in Leadership and Nonprofit Administration from the North Cascades Institute. Institute staff and current Cohort 11 graduate students were joined by
- [Some Food Considerations](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/some-food-considerations/) - [We are excited to publish the fourth piece in our Foodshed Series, with monthly updates from the amazing chefs working hard to provide program participants and staff at the Environmental Learning Center with sustainable, seasonal, and deliciously fresh food. In an age where the production and consumption of food are heavily disconnected, North Cascades Institute works hard to
- [Following the Snowy Owls](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/following-the-snowy-owls/) - Since first moving to the Environmental Learning Center last August, many people have told me, “You must go see the snowy owls!” This advice has been on my radar since migratory birds began returning to their winter feeding grounds in the Skagit Valley. Who are these snowy owls that everybody speaks of? After doing some research,
- ["Moral Ground" with Kathleen Dean Moore, March 18 @ Skagit Valley College](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/moral-ground-with-kathleen-dean-moore/) - Because of humanity’s addiction to fossil fuels, we are warming our planet beneath a cloak of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Here in Washington State, rising temperatures and a warmer climate are causing our glaciers to melt faster than they can replenish themselves. This is leading us toward a future with less fresh water for
- [Thor Hanson Talks About "FEATHERS"](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/thor-hanson-talks-about-feathers/) - In Thor Hanson's book FEATHERS: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle (Basic Books; June 1, 2011) -- recently awarded a Pacific Northwest Booksellers "Book of the Year" award -- the San Juan Island-based conservation biologist blends his own field ornithology experiences from Africa to Antarctica with the work of paleontologists, biologists, engineers, art historians and even fashion designers
- [Early Bird Special: Register for Institute Programs by 4/15 and Save](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/early-bird-special-2012/) - North Cascades Institute is celebrating the arrival of spring and a new year of exciting programs for people of all ages! Plan ahead to join us in the North Cascades (and beyond) for our most popular programs -- Learning Center classes and retreat, field excursions, Sourdough Speaker Series -- and take advantage of our Early
- [Remote Medical International: An Amazing Contributor to North Cascades Institute](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/remote-medical-international/) - Assuming you studied the 2011 North Cascades Institute catalog closely, you may have noticed the lack of activities available at the Environmental Learning Center during the winter. As the studious person you are, the next obvious conclusion you would draw is that we close our doors, descend into hibernation, and wait for the snow to melt before
- [White Peaks, Bluebird Skies, Flapping Wingbeats](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/white-peaks-bluebird-skies-flapping-wingbeats/) - As graduate students spending a year at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, winter is a contemplative and focused time – a time of respite from teaching Mountain School programs to work on group projects for our nonprofit and curriculum classes. This work, along with an in-depth research project on a Natural History topic of our
- [The Animal Dialogues: A Natural History Book Reflection](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-animal-dialogues-a-natural-history-book-reflection/) - In 2010, I completed a year-long bicycle tour through many countries famous for their exotic creepy crawlies and, while reading Craig Childs’ book The Animal Dialogues, I couldn’t help reflecting on the experiences I had with some of those creatures throughout that tour. The Animal Dialogues presents an exploration of the author’s uncommon encounters with animals, reptiles,
- [A Habitat for Learning](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/a-habitat-for-learning/) - [We are excited to publish the third piece in our Foodshed Series, with monthly updates from the amazing chefs working so hard to provide program participants and staff at the Environmental Learning Center with sustainable, seasonal, and deliciously fresh food. In an age where the production and consumption of food are heavily disconnected, we work hard to preserve
- [The Sweet Smell of Winter](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-sweet-smell-of-winter/) - For field biologists, winter is typically the time of year when we hunker down, pore over data, fix gear, drink lots of coffee, and dream of spring when our field season starts again. This winter is different. This year, the North Cascades Institute has traded excel spreadsheets for snowshoes and hot coffee for THE SMELLIEST SUBSTANCE
- [Tuition Free High School Opportunities in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/tuition-free-high-school-opportunities-in-the-north-cascades/) - North Cascades Institute is pleased to announce Summer 2012 Applications are available online for high school students interested in the Cascades Climate Challenge or North Cascades Wild programs. Both programs are tuition-free and focus on leadership, community, stewardship, outdoor skills and connection to the natural world through wilderness experiences in North Cascades National Park and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. A CCC student
- [North Cascades VIPs: Highlighting Institute Superstars](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/north-cascades-vips-highlighting-institute-superstars/) - Written by guest contributor Deb Martin, the North Cascades Institute Registrar. Happy New Year! As our Silver Anniversary comes to an end, we want to move forward in our 26th year by recognizing the strong connections we have with our participants and partners. We would not be where we are or who we are today without
- [A Snowy Exchange with Environmental Educators](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/a-snowy-exchange-with-environmental-educators/) - “We need someone to plan the second portion of our three part Instructor Exchange with the graduate students and teaching apprentices from IslandWood and Wilderness Awareness School immediately after winter break.” Um, okay. In less than two months, three novice event planners would host a group of 60 environmental educators at their secluded home in the
- [Experience the Second Annual Youth Leadership Conference](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/experience-the-second-annual-youth-leadership-conference/) - By Andrew Pringle, Skagit District Interpreter, North Cascades National Park Complex The second annual Youth Leadership Conference, hosted by North Cascades Institute, North Cascades National Park Complex and Mount Baker-Snoqualamie National Forest at the Environmental Learning Center in North Cascades National Park took place November 11th-13th, 2011. The event brought together more than 60 diverse
- [Latitudinal and Longitudinal Explorations of Natural History](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/latitudinal-and-longitudinal-explorations-of-natural-history/) - As much as we love North Cascadian landscapes, we here at the Institute are still called to visit and experience other amazing places on our planet. We publish accounts of the places Institute staff and graduate students visit in our Road Trip series. As graduate students immersed in developing a sense of place within the
- [New Institute video! "The High Ridge: Celebrating 25 Years in the North Cascades"](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/new-institute-video-the-high-ridge/) - North Cascades Institute is very excited to finally share with you a multimedia piece made in celebration of our 25th anniversary. "The High Ridge: Celebrating 25 Years in the North Cascades" was created by three staff members from our marketing/communications department -- Christian Martin, Jessica Haag and Amy Wilcox -- in partnership with Benj Drummond
- [New Tracks at the Environmental Learning Center: Winter Mountain School](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/new-tracks-at-the-environmental-learning-center-winter-mountain-school/) - Middle school students from Lopez Middle School sit excitedly on the wooden benches of the amphitheater for Mountain School orientation. Mittens and gloves fly into the air with eager answers when students are asked what they have seen driving in the school bus up-valley that morning – waterfalls, mountains, more waterfalls. Orientation continues, skits about
- [Poetic Visualizations of the Winter Season](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/poetic-visualizations-of-the-winter-season/) - They say it is winter here in the North Cascades. With the shadowed days and the sting of cold to cheeks as you step outside, one might even believe it is true. But missing from this crisp landscape is also the white beauty of snow. While it is easy to lament the bare ground in
- [Graduate Students Attend Environmental Education Conference](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/graduate-students-attend-islandwoods-environmental-education-conference/) - Students in the M.E.d Graduate Program celebrated the start of winter break with the Strait Talk, Sound Ideas Conference on Bainbridge Island from December 11th through 13th. As part of a series of three Instructor Exchanges aimed at sharing ideas and experiences between Environmental Education graduate programs in Washington, this conference kicked off the set
- [Reflections on the Upper Skagit: Ross Lake by Boat and Boot](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/reflections-on-the-upper-skagit-ross-lake-by-boat-and-boot/) - Written by Special Guest Blogger Elisabeth Keating. On a cool Thursday evening in late July, a group of adventurers gather at the Environmental Learning Center for the 24th (and possibly final) year of one of North Cascades Institute's most popular courses: Ross Lake By Boat and Boot a three-day exploratory workshop on the people and
- [Thanksgiving Shopping for the Environmental Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/thanksgiving-shopping-for-the-environmental-learning-center/) - [We are excited to publish the second piece in our Foodshed Series, with monthly updates from the amazing chefs working so hard to provide program participants and staff at the Environmental Learning Center with sustainable, seasonal, and deliciously fresh food. In an age where the production and consumption of food are heavily disconnected, we work hard
- [A Weekend of Warmth and Snow](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/a-weekend-of-warmth-and-snow/) - Written by North Cascades Education Intern, Matt Kraska. It's hard to believe it has already been two weeks since Thanksgiving. As many North Cascades Institute staff said their goodbyes and left to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends, others were saying hello as they arrived at the Environmental Learning Center for the Thanksgiving Family Getaway.
- [Sharing My Love of the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/sharing-my-love-of-the-north-cascades/) - Written by former NC Wild Student and Remarkable Young Leader, Kassandra Barnedt The North Cascades - untouched, wild, remarkable, friendship, beauty, but most importantly life changing. Every trip to this mystical place is unique, but somehow these trips bring each one of us back to the same place. My journey with the North Cascades National
- [Recounting the 2nd Annual Youth Leadership Conference](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/recounting-the-2nd-annual-youth-leadership-conference/) - Psychologist Warren G. Bennis once said, "Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality." Sixty-three high school and college students and fourteen conservation organizations did just that November 11-13th for the second annual North Cascades Youth Leadership Conference. Brought together by common goals to improve their leadership skills, learn about future opportunities, and reconnect after
- [Snow & Spire: Flights to Winter in the North Cascade Range](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/scurlocks-snow-spire/) - EVENT INFO: Join North Cascades Institute for a book release celebration for John Scurlock's Snow & Spire: Flights to Winter in the North Cascade Range. November 30, 2011 7-9 pm. Skagit Station Meeting Room, 105 E. Kincaid St, Mt Vernon. Free! John Scurlock makes his living working as a paramedic for the Bellingham Fire Department,
- [Rock On, Gerry!](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/rock-on-gerry/) - Gerry Cook caps 44 years of service with the US National Park Service with a beautiful retirement party at Eagle Haven winery Story by special guest Elisabeth Keating. On a sparkling October evening at a winery in the foothills of the North Cascades, over 300 friends and family members gathered to celebrate Gerry Cook's 44
- [Mountain School Stewardship](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/mountain-school-stewardship/) - Hello friends of Mountain School! If you haven't yet heard, we've started a new Mountain School Stewardship program in Bellingham. After a class has come to Mountain School, we meet them at a city park within walking distance of their school to do a service project. The students revisit what they learned at the Environmental
- [Swimming with the Salmon](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/swimming-with-the-salmon/) - "I think we're going to the moon because it's in the nature of the human being to face challenges. It's by the nature of his deep inner soul... we're required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream." ~ Neil Armstrong In the fall, the Skagit River is flooded with dying salmon. I have
- [The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/the-pacific-crest-trailside-reader/) - Pacific Crest Trailside Reader series Co-Editor Rees Hughes will be doing a reading from his new book Saturday, November 12 beginning at 7 p.m. at Village Books in downtown Fairhaven. Exploring the people, places, and history of the Pacific Crest Trail as it ranges 2,600 miles from Mexico to Canada, The Pacific Crest Trailside Readers bring
- [NC Wild: Fall Experiences Build on Summer's Past](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/nc-wild-fall/) - With the start of a new school year, autumn is often a time of new beginnings. For North Cascades Wild participants, the season is a chance to reconnect and continue building on experiences from the past summer. From June through August, 50 high school students from Whatcom, Skagit and King counties spent 12 days canoeing,
- [News from the Kitchen](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/in-the-kitchen/) - [We are excited to publish the first piece in our Foodshed Series, with monthly updates from the amazing chefs working so hard to provide program participants and staff at the Environmental Learning Center with sustainable, seasonal, and deliciously fresh food. In an age where the production and consumption of food are heavily disconnected, we work hard to
- [Naming as Knowing](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/namingasknowing/) - Practicing natural history requires us to be consciously aware, to be intentional observers of our surroundings. To be a naturalist involves surrendering what we know about a place in order to learn from it. Slowly we will make notes of patterns and similarities, notes of how things are connected and how and when these connections
- [Understanding Connection and Community](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/understanding-connection-and-community/) - On a dreary September morning a team of 6th grade students from Seattle's Westside School upend cobble in Deer Creek while searching for macro-invertebrates - living clues in the mystery of this habitat's health and the quality of the water cascading downstream. Their giddy grins and eager body language belie the soggy impediments to learning
- [Reflections on the 12th Annual Thunder Arm Writing Retreat](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/reflections-on-the-12th-annual-thunder-arm-writing-retreat/) - As members of the current M.Ed. graduate cohort, we often have opportunities to assist with North Cascades Institute programs and courses outside our regular teaching schedules. Last month I had the awesome opportunity to assist and participate in the 12th Annual Thunder Arm Writing Retreat offered at the Environmental Learning Center. Poet Tim McNulty and
- [Fall Vignettes from the Institute](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/fall-vignettes-from-the-institute/) - People experience the seasonal transformations of the natural world in a myriad of ways. Each of us may recognize subtleties taking hold of a landscape in times of change that others will miss completely because they have learned to pay attention to different details. Amidst downpours of rain in the lowlands and dustings of snow
- [Watercolors in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/watercolors-in-the-north-cascades/) - Earlier this October, Seattle artist and North Cascades Institute friend Molly Hashimoto led a wonderful and successful workshop on watercolor painting in nature at the Environmental Learning Center. Each day, Molly led students through exercises that developed tangible skills and techniques with the aim of guiding individuals towards their own unique artistic expressions. Molly and
- [Finding Community in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/finding-community-in-the-north-cascades/) - "Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got. Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot. Wouldn't you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name! And they're always glad you came! You want to go where you can see people are
- [From Teacher to Student and Back Again](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/from-teacher-to-student-and-back-again/) - Last weekend Cohort 11 graduate students had the chance to step away from our roles as Mountain School Instructors and again return to being students of Natural History during our three day Fall Grad Retreat. After weeks of training and teaching 5th and 6th grade youth about the diverse ecosystems of the North Cascades, the respite
- [From the Learning Center to Bellingham: A Grad's Transition Back to the 'Real World'](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/from-the-learning-center-to-bellingham-one-grads-transition-back-to-the-real-world/) - I knew that when I moved to North Cascades Institute's Environmental Learning Center to begin the residency portion of my Masters in Environmental Education degree, it was going to be an amazing year. I have always wanted to live on a lake in the mountains, so this part of the program was a big draw
- [Peaks in Place](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/peaks-in-place-2/) - Lately, on these cool autumn mornings at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, I've taken to gazing south from my porch as the first, angled rays of sun illuminate the buttress of Pyramid Peak across Diablo Lake. Since our first torrential weather event passed through a few weeks ago, the steep walls of Pyramid have
- [Sitting with Nature](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/sitting-with-nature/) - It's the second day of Mountain School and our group, the Flying Squirrels, sits spread out along the Sourdough Creek Trail at the Environmental Learning Center with journals and pencils in hand. The forest is seemingly quiet, Fawn Creek tumbles softly along its path in the background and the occasional douglas squirrel rouses student attention
- [The call of the sandhill crane](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/the-call-of-the-sandhill-crane/) - By Hank Leftner -- Join us at the Learning Center on October 22-23, 2011 for a Sourdough Speaker Series presentation by Hank as he introduces us to his acclaimed new memoir Faith of Cranes: Finding Hope and Family in Alaska. Details at www.ncascades.org/speakerseries of by calling (360) 854-2599. Beneath moon or sun, storm or calm,
- [Captain Gerry Cook's message of hope](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/captain-gerry-cooks-message-of-hope/) - Sunday August 21st was the last Mule trip for the 2011 season of North Cascades Wild. The Mule was buzzing with the noise of old and new friends swapping stories and sharing laughs. This day was especially significant because it was also Captain Gerry Cook's last official day on the Mule with summer youth. Ending the
- [Two Fall recipes from Debra Daniels-Zeller](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/two-fall-recipes-from-debra-daniels-zeller/) - By Debra Daniels-Zeller, author of The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook -- Join us for a special vegetarian harvest celebration at the Learning Center when Debra is the guest presenter for our September 24-25 Sourdough Speaker Series event! This tray of fall fruit from Grouse Mountain Farm at the University District farmers market is a rainbow of
- [Why local matters, Washington apples and pears](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/washington-apples-and-pears/) - By Debra Daniels-Zeller, author of Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook -- Join us for a special vegetarian harvest celebration at the Learning Center when Debra is the guest presenter for our September 24-25 Sourdough Speaker Series event! Fall, apples and pears naturally flow together. Summer harvest is over and rainy winter days loom on the horizon. This
- ["Have you ever..." Part II](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/have-you-ever-part-ii/) - Last week, half of the members of our latest cohort of graduate students posted “have you ever…” questions, sharing the triumphs and tribulations of our nine-day backpacking trip and challenging you to create your own “have you ever” story. This week, the rest of the students tell their stories. Ashley Kvitek Have you ever hiked
- [Have you ever...](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/have-you-ever/) - Have you ever traversed the North Cascades mountain range, from one side to the other, carrying nine-days of food? Have you ever slept under the stars for eight nights with your classmates? Have you ever thought that backpacking could be a part of graduate school? The fourteen new students in North Cascades Institute's graduate residency
- [The History of Skagit Dams - Seeing Things Anew](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/history-of-skagit-dams/) - By Ana Maria Spagna I've driven Washington's Highway 20, the North Cascades Highway, for years. I used live in Rockport right along the highway, and I used to work for the national park that straddles the highway, and for one interminable summer when Laurie worked on the east side of the crest and I worked
- [A Science Mystery](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/a-science-mystery/) - I was leading a hike on the Diablo Lake Trail during our August Family Getaway, when one of the participants noticed something odd on the ground at the side of the path. We all stopped and got down on our hands and knees to see what he had found. At first, it looked like a
- [Leaving the Learning Center: A graduate student reflects back](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/leaving-the-elc/) - Lily the black bear and her two cubs stop by for a visit. They're seen almost every day! Photo by John Harter The summer has been whizzing by at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center! Families, children, adults, and black bears alike have been visiting and lounging amongst the Douglas firs and huckleberry bushes here
- [A Trip on the Mule with Ranger Gerry Cook](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/on-the-mule-with-ranger-gerry-cook/) - Story and photos by Zach Montes It is July 26th and 55 degrees at the Ross Lake trailhead. The Cascade Climate Challenge participants, about to embark on a 12-day backcountry trip, will literally be challenging the climate. Fortunately, they look battle ready, wielding 3-foot loppers, and bow saws, their battered cooking pots strapped to bulging
- [See the wild side with new North Cascades tours](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/north-cascades-expeditions/) - Seattle City Light's Skagit Tours has added a guided van-and-hiking day tour of its Skagit hydroelectric project and nearby falls, gorges and viewpoints of the North Cascades. Photo by Jessica Haag. By Mike McQuaide Originally published in The Seattle Times, August 3, 2011 Atop Diablo Dam, in the heart of the North Cascades, Sara Beaver
- [Service Learning through Stewardship](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/service-learning-stewardship/) - Going out on a stewardship day with Mike Brondi makes me feel like a kid again. True, he is old enough to be my father, but it's his style of storytelling, his kind face and vast knowledge that puts me in a child-like awe. Mirroring my wonderment was Alexia, the three-year-old steward out with her
- [A meeting of minds, a sharing of ideas](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/a-meeting-of-minds-a-sharing-of-ideas/) - In cultures around the world, oral tradition plays an important role in teaching people about the world around them. Through storytelling, elders can warn listeners of potential dangers, teach the medicinal uses of native plants and the importance of ecological balance, explain cultural norms and portend consequences of breaking mores. This tradition exists at North
- [Cascades Climate Challenge Leaders: Coming to a community near you](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/ccc-2011/) - Sixteen high school students hailing from Oregon and Washington arrived in the North Cascades on June 26th to begin an unforgettable adventure. These young leaders came to participate in the third year of Cascades Climate Challenge, one of North Cascades Institute's youth programs. The youth started off by splitting into two groups to go on
- [The Cascades Butterfly Project: Citizen Scientists Unite!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/the-cascades-butterfly-project-citizen-scientists-unite/) - On July 23rd, a group of volunteer scientists joined biologists from the North Cascades Institute, North Cascades National Park and Western Washington University to say farewell to "the winter that would never end" by kicking off the Cascades Butterfly Project. The Cascades Butterfly Project is a collaborative effort between biologists and citizen scientists, who will
- [25th Anniversary posters for sale](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/anniversary-posters-for-sale/) - We are pleased to offer a special limited-edition poster commemorating North Cascades Institute's 25th anniversary. This high-quality poster features a new painting by watercolor artist Molly Hashimoto, who also is the featured artist on our catalog this year and is teaching two workshops at the Learning Center. Her piece depicts an iconic view from the
- [New NW wildflower field guide for iPhones](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/nw-wildflowers-for-iphones/) - By Daniel Matthews Editor's note: Renowned Northwest naturalist Daniel Mathews, author of Cascade-Olympic Natural History, recently released a new field guide with a twist -- "Northwest Mountain Wildflowers" isn't the trailside book you might expect, but an iPhone app. Interested in this new format for field guides, we asked him to share some information on
- [Green Fire: A History of Huxley College](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/green-fire/) - by Bill Dietrich I've led a double life, writing about Nazis, pirates, and Napoleonic generals in my fiction but drawing on my newspaper experience to teach environmental journalism. I just ended a five-year stint of such teaching at Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University, and my swan song was completing work on
- [Institute recognized with NPS award](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/institute-recognized-with-nps-award/) - By Kurt Repanshek, originally published in National Parks Traveler July 7, 2011. For a quarter-century the North Cascades Institute has been working in partnership with the National Park Service to educate the public on the wonders of North Cascades National Park and its surrounding ecosystem. Those 25 years haven't been overlooked by the Park Service,
- [Stewardship: Immediate Gratification](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/stewardship-immediate-gratification/) - I’ve gotten used to the rush of the office day. My fingertips on a keyboard, phones ringing, get up, go to the bathroom, sit down, think about what’s next, check off the list, shut down the computer, go home. I marvel at how much time I’ve spent sitting in the same place trying to get
- [Exploring the Upper Skagit](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/exploring-the-upper-skagit/) - Back row, left to right: Jacob Belsher, Elise Ehrheart, Sarah Bernstein, Mollie Behn, Susan Brown, Katie Tozier, Kiira Heymann, Erin Soper, Ashley Kvitek, Alex Patia. Front row, left to right: Emmanuel Camarillo, Colby Mitchell, Jess Newley, Christen Kiser On June 21st, fourteen new students in North Cascades Institute's graduate residency program started their first quarter
- [Summer Youth Recon 2011](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/recon-2011/) - After a week of food and gear packing, the Summer Youth team ventured to Ross Lake for the annual recon trip. The purpose of the trip was to transport food and gear to Ross Lake Resort for the summer, familiarize ourselves with the lakeside campgrounds, learn program curriculum and test out the camping gear and
- [Road Trip: Yellowstone](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/road-trip-yellowstone/) - As much as we love North Cascadian landscapes, we here at the Institute are still called to visit and experience other amazing places on our planet. We publish accounts of the places Institute staff and graduate students visit in our Road Trip series. About this time last year, summer solstice, with its long days filled
- [A Greater Impact, What Teaching has Taught Me](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/changing-lives-2/) - Mountain School has ended for me, but this recent spring session changed my life as an educator. I have become more convinced that I am pursuing the right career and that my teaching techniques have had meaningful impacts in my students' lives. It is embarrassing for me to speak so candidly and arrogantly, but the
- [Summer Kicks Off with Stewardship](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/summer-kicks-off-with-stewardship/) - I have a motto for hiking in the Northwest: "I may not get a tan, but at least I'll get a shower." This winter did nothing but confirm my beliefs. During the longer-than-usual dark months of rain falling outside my office, I sat at my desk planning volunteer projects in the hopes that the sky
- [Lessons from Nature](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/lessons-from-nature/) - A group poem written by the 4th graders of Lummi Nation School, based on an Ute Prayer. The poem was drawn from inspiration during students' time at Mountain School. Earth Teach Me Earth teach me love...as the two ducks swimming in the pond together. Earth teach me to be happy...like the animals in nature are
- [Building Community Through Stewardship](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/building-community/) - Stewardship and friendship were at the heart of the efforts during the third North Cascades Wild spring day trip in May. More than a dozen participants from Whatcom and Skagit counties came together at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center as a final chance to meet with their peers before we set out together in
- [Closer Connections](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/closer-connections/) - Each season the graduate students at North Cascades Institute go on a retreat. The purpose is relaxation, fun, and to learn a little more about natural history. For the spring season, myself and the other planners decided that getting out and exploring places closer to home would be perfect. A canoe ride across the lake,
- [The Ephemeral Beauty of Solitude](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/beauty-of-solitude/) - It's been a long winter in Washington. Though it is late May, temperatures remain cool at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center and the surrounding mountains are still blanketed in snow. Leaf buds are just opening and most wildflowers have yet to make an appearance on our trails. An occasional errant butterfly gives us hope
- [Birding Tools of the 21st Century](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/birding-tools/) - As students in the Masters of Environmental Education program, naturalizing is at the forefront of our studies. Our curriculum encourages, and requires, us to get outside and document our experiences in nature. We keep journals marked with sketches, notes and questions that record our findings and observations as we explore the North Cascades landscape. As
- [Spring is Really Coming...](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/spring-is-really-coming/) - Two weeks ago I headed down valley on my spring break. Somewhere around Everett, it suddenly hit me that the world was GREEN. I realized that the 'green' had probably started happening before I got to Everett, but I was so accustomed to a landscape dominated by the darker shades of evergreens that suddenly noticing
- [Richard Louv & the Nature Principle](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/richard-louv-nature-principle/) - Please join North Cascades Institute and REI as we present Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and co-founder of the Children & Nature Network, Thursday, May 12; 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Seattle and Friday, May 13; 7 p.m. at Sehome High School, Bellingham. Tickets available online or at the door; information
- [In Search of the End of the Road](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/end-of-the-road/) - For several weeks I have had the goal of pedaling from the gate marking the seasonal road closure on Highway 20 (near mile post 134) to the snow wall--where clearing of the snow-covered highway ends. Near the end of each winter season, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) begins plowing the North Cascades Highway once the
- [The merry (and busy!) month of May](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/the-merry-month-of-may/) - This month, our 25th anniversary year really starts hopping with a wide range of public events, field excursions, readings, open houses and the first family getaway of 2011. Here's a round-up of what we're doing -- read on and see how you can plug in. May 6: Book release party for Ana Maria Spagna's Potluck:
- [Rockity Rock Rock](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/rockity-rock-rock/) - Why is it that kids, and adults, truth be told, love throwing rocks? Nearly every Mountain School student spends some time learning and exploring along the shores of Diablo Lake. And without fail (for my trail groups at least) the first question we hear as soon as we get to the shore is, "Can we throw rocks?"
- [Awaiting Spring](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/awaiting-spring/) - Spring is near. I can feel it. Here in the North Cascades, small changes signal the coming season. The surrounding forest echoes with bird song, swarms of robins and dark-eyed juncos flit between branches of deciduous alder, paper birch and vine maple. Within the last month, sounds of varied thrushes, pine siskins, red-breasted sapsuckers and
- [Working Together to Save our Environment](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/working-together/) - By Dr. James M. Ford Recently I attended the annual Skagit Land Trust fundraising auction where some 240 people gathered to raise more than $50,000 to help conserve land and critical habitat right here in Skagit County. Corporate sponsors from throughout the county and scores of volunteers stepped forward to lend a hand. The event
- [Institute Receives USFS Conservation Award](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/conservation-award/) - Who would have dreamed that a national forest, a housing non-profit and an environmental education organization would team up to provide Seattle-based Asian and Pacific Islanders with meaningful outdoor experiences? Starting in 2001, the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, the North Cascades Institute and the International District Housing Alliance began a partnership that has expanded over
- [Spring in the Smokies](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/spring-in-the-smokies/) - I recently had the opportunity to join Megan McGinty, North Cascades Institutes' Climate Challenge Program Coordinator, in Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a meeting with representatives from several other environmental learning centers that will all be offering trainings this summer on how to teach climate change in the classroom. The meeting was hosted by
- [NC Wild Springs into Stewardship](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/springs-into-stewardship/) - Many hands make light work. An old saying at the forefront of my mind throughout the first North Cascades Wild spring day trip. A dozen NC Wild participants, several North Cascades Institute instructors and national park staff came together for a day of stewardship work at the North Cascades National Park native plant nursery in
- [Full Moon Rising](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/full-moon-rising/) - At the beginning of the M.Ed. residency, every graduate student writes down several goals. These personal goals are for both our teaching practicum as well as for what we hope to accomplish during our residency experience. One of my residency goals was to go on a full moon canoe every month. So far, I have
- [C9 Graduation: The Mark of New Beginnings](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/c9-graduation/) - March 17 marked a day of recognition for the hard work and dedication of the graduate students of Cohort 9, and their completion of a Masters in Environmental Education from Western Washington University and a Certificate in Leadership and Non-profit Administration from North Cascades Institute. Friends and family of the graduating class, Institute staff and
- [Finding Our Inner Child](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/finding-our-inner-child/) - Despite the fact it seems like we just said goodbye to the final fall Mountain School group only a few weeks ago, the spring season is fast approaching. Staff and graduate students at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center  began spring Mountain School training on February 28th to share new ideas for programming, reacquaint ourselves with fun logistical
- [Unsolved Mystery: Dinner on Diablo's Shore](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/unsolved-mystery/) - Several weeks back, North Cascades Environmental Learning Center was abuzz with talk of an animal kill on campus near the Peninsula Trail behind the dining hall. A chunk of fur found on the peninsula by Remote Medical International instructor and former North Cascades Institute staff member, Adam Russell, was the first clue to the kill.
- [Living Life in the Here and Now](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/here-and-now/) - I like taking photos. I really like taking photos. I have taken tens of thousands of photos in my life, many of them over the course of the past three years. There is some human desire to capture and save moments of our lives, experiences, places, and people, and relive them. Today's technology allows for
- [Return of Winter](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/return-of-winter/) - After a month without snowfall and bare ground at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, it appeared our snow days had ended for the winter season and the landscape would quickly resemble spring. But nature reminded us that winter is still upon us as more than a foot of snow fell at the Environmental Learning
- [Poking Around in Wonder](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/poking-around-in-wonder/) - Last summer, during the first quarter of our graduate program, our professor John Miles had us read several excerpts by author Kathleen Dean Moore, a philosophy professor at Oregon State University. One of the first articles was "The Truth of the Barnacles: Rachel Carson and the Moral Significance of Wonder" from the journal Ethics &
- [2011 programs open for registration - sign up by spring equinox and save!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/2011-programs-open-for-registratio/) - In celebration of our 25th year of connecting people to nature through hands-on experiences in the outdoors, North Cascades Institute has opened over 50 new programs for registration, ranging from natural history classes focused on birds, butterflies and bugs to family camps, art and writing retreats and backcountry adventures in North Cascades National Park. All
- [2011 youth programs : now accepting applications!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/2011-summer-youth-programs/) - It's that time of the year when North Cascades Institute is gearing up for another year of exciting programs for youth and we're actively recruiting students to be a part of North Cascades Wild, Cascades Climate Challenge and Mountain School in 2011. Please help us spread the word to parents and teachers about these amazing
- [Kathleen Dean Moore & an ethical response to climate change](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/kathleen-dean-moore/) - Note: Kathleen Dean Moore will present her new book Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril at Village Books in Bellingham on Wed, February 9, at 7 pm; free! Because of humanity’s addiction to fossil fuels, we are warming our earth beneath a cloak of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Here in Washington
- [Exploring the Winter Forest](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/exploring-winter-forest/) - So far, winter in the North Cascades has brought us snow, rain, more snow, and until this week, several weeks of consistent rainfall. For now, the majority of snow at the lower elevations near the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center has disappeared. On a recent rainy Saturday, I slipped on my rain gear and headed
- [Remembering the Small Things](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/instructor-exchange-2011/) - When you bring 40 environmental educators together to share stories, songs, ideas, and experiences, the outcome can be amazing. On January 15th, instructors from IslandWood, Wilderness Awareness School, and Olympic Park Institute joined North Cascades Institute graduate students from Cohort 10 to spend a weekend of sharing knowledge, food, hugs, skits, songs, and stories. For
- [Adventures in My New Home](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/new-home/) - Though I was born in San Diego, California it doesn’t feel like home. For the last eight years I have lived and traveled in Japan and Chile. Each successive place in which I have lived or traveled has been nice, and my heart has slowly been pulled away from the sunshine and blue skies where
- [Union Bay Wild: An Artist's View](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/union-bay-wild/) - By Molly Hashimoto Teaching landscape watercolor in summer and autumn at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center on Diablo Lake encompasses everything I love best: peaks, forests, water, wildlife and enthusiastic fellow artists. When I am at home in Seattle, I seek out the quieter parks nearby, especially Union Bay Natural Area, also known as
- [Tracking Bob](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/tracking-bob/) - During my winter break back in the Midwest, I decided to visit a family place near a lake in northern Michigan for a few days for some “nature time.”  As much as I love seeing family and friends in the Chicago area, after a few days I start craving the abundant nature I have been
- [Winter Treasures of the Skagit Valley](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/winter-treasures/) - There’s a sense of amazement that overcomes me each winter when I approach a muddy farm field turned white. It’s not from snow, per se, but snow geese, who travel hundreds of miles from their Siberian nesting grounds to winter and feed in the lower Skagit Valley. The fields this time of year, particularly near
- [The Story of Hozomeen](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/hozomeen/) - Near Ross Lake reservoir in North Cascades National Park stands Hozomeen—a steep, jagged mountain that is the source of a locally abundant and distinctive tool stone, Hozomeen chert. This stone is found exclusively in the North Cascades range of Washington and British Columbia and was used by indigenous peoples. National Park Archaeologist Bob Mierendorf has
- [Road Trip: Exploring the Grand Canyon, part 3](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/grandcanyon3/) - [The third installment in our ongoing Road Trip series, in which Institute staff visit other amazing places around the country and bring back stories and photos to share! This article is the final installment in a three-part series.] After spending 11 days on the Colorado River, we took a rest on our twelfth day and
- [Road Trip: Exploring the Grand Canyon, part 2](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/grandcanyon2/) - [The third installment in our ongoing Road Trip series, in which Institute staff visit other amazing places around the country and bring back stories and photos to share! This article is the second of a three-part series.] Continuing our journey down the Colorado River, our fearless group reached Hance Rapid (rated an 8 on the
- [Road Trip: Exploring the Grand Canyon, part 1](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/grandcanyon1/) - [The third installment in our ongoing Road Trip series, in which Institute staff visit other amazing places around the country and bring back stories and photos to share! This article is the first of a three-part series.] On the morning of November 11th, one of our boatmen sat perched on the bow of his raft and read
- [North Cascades Institute : from concept to 25 years](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/from-concept-to-25-years/) - In January 2011, North Cascades Institute will begin its 25th year conserving and restoring Northwest environments through education. In the winter issue of Adventures NW, Bellingham-based writer and photographer John D'Onofrio tells the story of the Institute's inception and of its co-founder and executive director, Saul Weisberg. Here’s a secret: Saul Weisberg is changing the world. Saul is
- [2010 Annual Appeal : Help us conserve and restore NW environments](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/2010-annual-appeal/) - Did you receive a letter recently from our executive director Saul Weisberg? Thanks to you, North Cascades Institute is reaching more young people -- and affecting them more deeply -- than ever before. Because of what they have learned, they are inspired, informed and ready to tackle the daunting environmental challenges we face today. We
- [Natural Shifts in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/natural-shifts/) - The sheer power of water was apparent in the North Cascades this last weekend after a recent Pineapple Express hit the Northwest. Warming temperatures combined with a significant amount of rainfall fell onto several weeks worth of snow in the Cascades. Consequently, mountain creeks filled to the brim and several landslides covered Highway 20, closing
- [Expanded value gift certificate: $100 value for only $80!](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/expanded-value-gift-certificate/) - Back by popular demand...North Cascades Institute has the perfect gift that fits all sizes, never goes out of style and will create lasting memories. Share your love of the Pacific Northwest with friends, family and other loved ones by giving them an expanded-value gift certificate. For $80, you will receive a gift certificate with a
- [Snow at the Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/snow-at-the-learning-center/) - This week has brought the first significant snowfall to the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. Sitting at a relatively low ~1,200 feet in the range, the Learning Center is generally snow-free through the year, though the La Nina weather pattern this winter promises to bring us more of the white stuff than usual. With last
- [Exploring Winter's Arrival](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/exploring-winters-arrival/) - When I awoke the other morning to see a forest of snow-covered trees, I felt just as excited when I made the same discovery as a child in the winter season. A fresh layer of snow had fallen overnight, changing the already beautiful landscape of the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center into a wintery scene.
- [Mountain Schooling](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/mountain-schooling/) - Has it really been two months since the start of our fall Mountain School season? It seems like just yesterday I was welcoming my very first group of fifth graders from Carl Cozier Elementary. I'm certain that I was much more nervous than they were. The four years that have elapsed since I was a
- [A Confluence of Young Leaders](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/a-confluence-of-young-leaders/) - Last weekend, North Cascades Institute partnered with North Cascades National Park and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest to offer the North Cascades Youth Leadership Conference, A Confluence of Young Leaders, Nov. 12-14 at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. The conference included students from nearby communities such as Seattle, Mount Vernon and Concrete, Wash., as well as representatives from
- [Tony Angell eagles land at the Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/tony-angell-eagles/) - Last week, North Cascades Institute was the beneficiary of a major piece of artwork from Qwest Communications, thanks in large part to its creator, Northwest sculptor Tony Angell. "Ascending Eagles" is cast bronze, approximately 12 feet tall (including its granite base, part of the composition) and was commissioned by Qwest. It stood in front of
- [A Ghoulish Getaway](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/a-ghoulish-getaway/) - Large orange pumpkins, selected from a local farm, filled the kitchenette in the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center's dining hall. Parents and children soon arrived and eagerly selected the perfect gourds to carve. Slimy orange goo covered the tables and nearly four quarts of pumpkin seeds were collected as toothy grins and smirky smiles took
- [A Naturalist's Weekend: Exploring Fungi, Fire and Beetles](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/a-naturalists-weekend/) - After several weeks of preparing for and teaching fall Mountain School, graduate students of Cohort 10 momentarily stepped away from their roles as instructors and transitioned back to being eager students. The occasion was our fall graduate retreat, where we spent several days with various North Cascades Institute staff and friends studying and observing natural
- [North Cascades Wild's service in Seattle](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/nc-wild-service-in-seattle/) - September 25th marked a special day for North Cascades Wild. It was a day of reconnection—seeing the friends that were made over the past summer’s 12-day trips in North Cascades National Park and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. It was a day of remembering—recalling the beauty of the locations visited, the dedication of the people met,
- [The end of summer on Ross Lake](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/the-end-of-summer-on-ross-lake/) - The final North Cascades Wild trips of the 2010 summer embarked on their Ross Lake adventures during the middle of August. A total of eighteen students from Skagit, Whatcom, and King Counties and six instructors spent twelve days forming community, practicing leadership and outdoor skills, doing stewardship work, and learning about and exploring their extended
- [Hints of Autumn: Welcoming a New Season in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/life-at-the-learing-center/hints-of-autumn/) - Each season brings its own unique changes that are often welcomed when the time comes. Although I'm never ready for summer to end, and often in denial in September, I gladly accept the autumnal changes of October. In fact, if I had to choose a favorite season, it would be fall. Autumn reminds me of
- [Sahale Stars](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/sahale-stars/) - By Jack McLeod, guest blogger I recently took the Spirit of Place writing workshop at the Learning Center with Nick O'Conell. Here's my story from that workshop about a trip to Sahale Glacier. This is the third program I've participated in at the Institute and they've all been wonderful -- so thank you! My tent
- [Coming full circle in the North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/coming-full-circle-in-the-north-cascades/) - This is a time of transition. The warm summer season is changing as rapidly into a drenching autumn as is my progression from the residency with North Cascades Institute to the academia of Western Washington University. As the leaves of vine maples alter their hues from green to orange, I find myself pulled from the
- [Take your class on a free Electronic Field Trip to North Cascades National Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/take-your-class-on-a-free-electronic-field-trip-to-north-cascades-national-park/) - What: A free Electronic Field Trip to North Cascades National Park to explore climate change and its effects on people and ecosystems Who: Students 4th through 8th grade When: October 13, 2010, 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. PDT How: Register for free at http://www.northcascadeseft.com North Cascades Institute, North Cascades National Park and the National Park
- [NC Wild begins fall exploration](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/ncwild-begins-fall-exploration/) - To explore your own backyards and expand your sense of place—this was the central goal of the 2010 North Cascades Wild’s (NC Wild) first fall day trip, held on Saturday, September 18th. Sense of place. What is that? Ask any of this year’s students of NC Wild and they would be quick to tell you
- [Climate Challenge Students Explore Hydropower at the Diablo Powerhouse](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/hydropower-at-the-diablo-powerhouse/) - By Elisabeth Keating, Guest Blogger On a scorching Sunday morning in August, the Climate Challenge students headed a few miles north from our riverside campground on Highway 20. Our destination: Diablo Powerhouse is a key link in the massive Skagit hydroelectricity project which provides 30-40 % of Seattle's power supply. Our classroom for the day,
- [Teaching Climate Change: Tips from Park Rangers](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/teaching-climate-change-tips-from-park-rangers/) - By Elisabeth Keating, guest blogger How can you help kids retain their learning when you're teaching something as complex as climate change? These tips from park rangers Will George of Lewis & Clark National Park and Autumn Carlsen of North Cascades National Park can help convey climate change to children in a compelling and powerful
- [Changing Lives](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/changing-lives/) - This summer, “Changing Lives” became a rallying slogan for interpreters at the North Cascades National Park Visitor Center in Newhalem. This phrase reminded us of the impact that a single experience in a national park can have on an individual. In The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, National Park Service interpreter Shelton Johnson inspired many,
- [Summer's summit](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/summers-summit/) - What is a summit experience? For the 10th cohort of graduate students, in NCI's residency program, the 9-day backpacking trip that culminated their first quarter of graduate school was a summit experience, both literally and figuratively. This year the cohort split into two groups, with six students and one instructor with each group. Team veg
- [Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival, Sept 3-5](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/wild-and-scenic-films/) - It’s hard to believe but almost one year has gone by since I started my residency as a graduate student at the North Cascades Institute. Through a partnership with Western Washington University, NCI affords students the opportunity to live, learn, teach, and work in the North Cascades while working towards a Master’s in Education. As
- [Cliff Mass explains Diablo Lake area weather](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/cliff-mass-on-diablo-lake/) - We were very excited to have Cliff Mass as one of our instructors for the 2010 Northwest Naturalists Retreat, and then thrilled when he posted a piece about the weather in the Learning Center's neighborhood on his popular blog: A green-blue mountain lake with towering mountains, snowfields and glaciers, as well as a fascinating meteorology--the
- [Getting Wild with the US Forest Service](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/getting-wild-with-the-us-forest-service/) - Every North Cascades Wild trip is special, from the deep bonds formed in new communities of friends to the service projects to students’ self-discovery and leadership development to views of glacier-capped mountains seen from sweatily climbed mountain peaks to learning how to canoe to the close connections students feel to public lands by the end
- [Wildflower photography with Mark Turner](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/wildflower-photography/) - By Jessica Haag It's hard to imagine a more inspiring place than the blooming, alpine meadows of the North Cascades to take a wildflower photography class, or a better instructor than Mark Turner, co-author of the Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest handbook. On July 19-21st with 15 photographers under his wing Mark embarked on a 3-day
- [Base Camp in Northwest Cheapsleeps](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/base-camp-in-nwcheapsleeps/) - Northwest Cheapsleeps, the popular blog about "favorite places for budget travelers," recently visited the Learning Center for our Base Camp program. Here is a report on their family-friendly experiences: The North Cascades Institute has long been the premiere environmental education outfit in the Pacific Northwest, but I’d never before taken a class with them. Earlier
- [Changes, rapid and slow, at the Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/changes-rapid-and-slow/) - Does Justin go around mumbling about amphibians? Brandi about mycorrhizal fungi? Martine about the medicinal uses of Oregon grape? Natural history projects are the last big curricular piece of the residency portion of the graduate program. I wonder how Cohort 9’s projects may be pervading their everyday life, since I know my research has seeped
- [Welcome graduate cohort 10!](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/welcome-graduate-cohort-10/) - Summer has finally arrived at the Environmental Learning Center! Diablo Lake has regained its characteristic green color, peregrine falcon fledglings are learning to hunt near the dam, a new fawn is sporting spots around campus, and the tenth cohort of graduate students have begun their academic journey. Cohort 10 at Diablo Lake. Field journaling with
- [Young, WILD and free](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/young-wild-and-free/) - Oh, to be young and wild and free. That common saying, which most of us recognize, is wholly applicable to the wilderness of the North Cascades and of the youth adventures carried out by the first two trips of this summer’s North Cascades Wild program. After spending 12 days exploring North Cascades National Park (NOCA)
- [Cascades Climate Challenge update, week 2](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/cc-update-week-2/) - Guest post by Lilly Nash The first session of the Cascades Climate Challenge (CCC) is in full swing right now, with over 20 students from communities throughout Washington and Oregon learning about climate change and many interconnected over an intensive month of field studies in the North Cascades. Here's an update on some of what
- [Road Trip: The Olympic Peninsula](https://blog.ncascades.org/adventures/olympic-peninsula/) - As much as we love North Cascadian landscapes -- and with over 7,000,000 acres of protected public lands in Washington and British Columbia, there will never be an end to options for explorations -- we here at the Institute are still called to visit and experience other amazing places on our planet. We'll publish accounts
- [AP: Mountains Inspire in North Cascades Art Courses](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/ap-art-story/) - Watercolors and wildlife: North Cascades Institute courses offer arts and outdoors By SHANNON DININNY The Associated Press DIABLO, Wash. For their 10th wedding anniversary, Kori Crane's husband handed her a check and told her she could only spend it on an art class. Not just any art class. Crane designed and painted silk scarves in
- [Introducing the 2010 Cascades Climate Challenge Team!!  (Part 1)](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/introducing-the-2010-cascades-climate-challenge-team-part-1/) - The North Cascades Institute Staff and Graduate students have spent weeks packing food, preparing curriculum, shuttling canoes, calling students, organizing camping gear and finalizing lessons in preparation for the first of two Cascades Climate Challenge Programs. On June 29th twenty students from around the Pacific Northwest met for the first time at Sea-Tac Airport to
- [North Cascades Wild Recon 2010](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/north-cascades-wild-recon-2010/) - Summer is officially here, despite the gloomu weather’s persistence otherwise, and North Cascades Wild is near. With training and packing behind us, this summer’s crew leaders embarked upon our recon trip giving us a taste of what adventures the future holds. We set out Monday with the help of the Cascade Climate Challenge folks and
- [An Institute ode to summer](https://blog.ncascades.org/field-excursions/an-institute-ode-to-summer/) - The transition from spring to summer has been a long awaited and hopeful one to those of us living in the Pacific Northwest this year. This past week, our hopes have finally been fulfilled as the summer sun no longer conceals itself from behind overcast skies and the snow so prevalent upon the high peaks
- [Visit the Institute's new retail sites](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/new-retail-sites/) - Jim Alt, Institute naturalist, and Jan Healy, retail manager, at the Institute's new store inside the Newhalem Visitor Center.When you plan your next trip into the North Cascades, be sure to visit the retail sales areas located in NPS visitors centers in and around North Cascades National Park. Thanks to a new agreement with the
- [Taking on the Ski to Sea](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/taking-on-the-ski-to-sea/) - Most of the current North Cascades Institute graduate class - "C9" - participated in another year of the Bellingham Ski to Sea race over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The competition between the staff member team and the graduate student team has grown since last year. Some would even go as far as to call
- [From the Cascades to the Olympics](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/from-the-cascades-to-the-olympics/) - Spring is here and it was time for the North Cascades Institute cohort-ions of the ninth - C9 graduate students - to take our spring retreat on Sunday, May 23rd through Tuesday, May 25th. With itinerary in place, gear packed and risk managers appeased, it was time for our departure and to get peninsular at Olympic National Park. Â
- [NC Wild pulls weeds & plants seeds of excitement](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/pulling-weeds-planting-seeds/) - As spring slowly transitions to summer in North Cascades National Park, reminders of the adventures that await North Cascades Wild (NC Wild) participants are everywhere in the landscape. But before embarking on the 12-day backcountry journeys, these students must be prepared. Thanks to the third and final day trip of the 2010 spring season, eleven
- [Summer Youth Roadshow](https://blog.ncascades.org/youth-programs/summer-youth-roadshow-2/) - From sea to shining sea . . . Well, okay, not that far, but North Cascades Institute has been traveling far and wide recruiting students to join us for service learning, field science, leadership and fun in this year's two Summer Youth Programs for teenagers! Representatives from North Cascades Wild and Cascades Climate Challenge have
- [Painting a Washington spring portrait](https://blog.ncascades.org/naturalist-notes/painting-a-washington-spring-portrait/) - All over Washington, the earth is reawakening. Can you see it? In a period of only a few weeks, spring has come - a monumental paintbrush caressing the landscape, stirring it back to consciousness. Dabs of bright white, pink and yellow compliment deeper streaks of lavender, red and orange, all placed upon a backdrop of
- [Going solar: panels on Institute building will cut energy costs](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/going-solar/) - Byron Odion of Clinton installs solar panels March 10 at the Mount Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest and North Cascades National Park headquarters. Photo by Scott Terrell.Published in the Courier-Times on March 23, 2010 by Ralph Schwartz SEDRO-WOOLLEY The Park and Forest Information Center sits on prime real estate, near the intersection of Highway 20 and Highway 9.
- [Reflections on "The Circumference of Home"](https://blog.ncascades.org/institute-news/the-circumference-of-home/) - Kurt Hoelting, seen here at our Sedro-Woolley office in 2008 in the midst of his "yearlong experiment in car-free local living", will be at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center May 15-16. More details and registration on our Sourdough Speaker page.By Kurt Hoelting May 3, 2010 My new book The Circumference of Home: One Man's
- [Graduate M.Ed. class of 2012](https://blog.ncascades.org/graduate-med-program/graduate-m-ed-class-of-2012/) - Do you know anyone who is seeking a graduate program in Environmental Education? North Cascades Institute is seeking qualified applicants for our Master of Education residency program. This seven-quarter program includes twelve months of residency at the Institute's Environmental Learning Center, located in the heart of North Cascades National Park. Course work includes natural and
- [Koma Kulshan](https://blog.ncascades.org/odds-and-ends/koma-kulsan/) - John Miles will read from his book Koma Kulshan at Village Books on Sat, May 1, at 7 pm. Photo by Brett Baunton. Mount Baker was officially named by George Vancouver for Lieutenant Joseph Baker of the good ship Discovery who directed his captain’s attention to the dominant white peak on the eastern horizon in

## Pages

- [Sample Page](https://blog.ncascades.org/sample-page/) - This is an example page. It's different from a blog post because it will stay in one place and will show up in your site navigation (in most themes). Most people start with an About page that introduces them to potential site visitors. It might say something like this: Hi there! I'm a bike messenger
- [Instructions](https://blog.ncascades.org/instructions/) - General WordPress Instructions For general information on operating a WordPress site, see the WordPress codex. For detailed instructions on writing posts, see http://codex.wordpress.org/Writing_Posts. Photos in Blog Posts The Chattermarks blog features a photo-centric design that works well when attention is paid to how you include photos in posts. Authors have the option (and are encouraged) to
- [Site Credits](https://blog.ncascades.org/site-credits/) - Design by Benjamin Drummond Coding by Darin Reid
- [Chattermarks](https://blog.ncascades.org/chattermarks/) - A chatter mark is a signature in stone recording the movement of glaciers. They are formed by vibratory chipping of a bedrock surface by boulders carried in the base of a glacier. Chatter marks tend to be crescent-shaped and are commonly arranged in nested series, with the orientation of the fractures at right angles to

## Categories

- [Adventures](https://blog.ncascades.org/category/adventures/) - Reports from Institute staff, graduate students and participants having adventures in the outdoors
- [Field Excursions](https://blog.ncascades.org/category/field-excursions/) - Stories from adult programs & special events away from the ELC
- [Graduate M.Ed. Program](https://blog.ncascades.org/category/graduate-med-program/)
- [Institute News](https://blog.ncascades.org/category/institute-news/) - Institutional news and announcements
- [Life at the Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/category/life-at-the-learing-center/) - Posts about the Learning Center — including personal stories, weather, events, on-campus hijinks and more!
- [Naturalist Notes](https://blog.ncascades.org/category/naturalist-notes/)
- [Odds & Ends](https://blog.ncascades.org/category/odds-and-ends/)
- [Photography](https://blog.ncascades.org/category/photography/)
- [Youth Adventures](https://blog.ncascades.org/category/youth-programs/) - Inspiring reports from our youth programs including Youth Leadership Adventures
- [Mountain School](https://blog.ncascades.org/category/mountain-school/)
- [Nature of Writing](https://blog.ncascades.org/category/nature-of-writing/)

## Tags

- [25th anniversary](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/25th-anniversary/)
- [activism](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/activism/)
- [adaptation](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/adaptation/)
- [adult](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/adult/)
- [adult field classes](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/adult-field-classes/)
- [Adult Programs](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/adult-programs/)
- [adventures](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/adventures-2/)
- [agriculture](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/agriculture/)
- [Alaska](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/alaska/)
- [Aldo Leopold](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/aldo-leopold/)
- [alpine](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/alpine/)
- [alumni](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/alumni/)
- [amphibians](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/amphibians/)
- [Ana Maria Spagna](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ana-maria-spagna/)
- [analysis](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/analysis/)
- [Andy Porter](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/andy-porter/)
- [animal adaptations lesson](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/animal-adaptations-lesson/)
- [animals](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/animals/)
- [archaeology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/archaeology/)
- [Arctic](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/arctic/)
- [art](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/art/)
- [Artist-in-Residence](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/artist-in-residence/)
- [Artist's Point](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/artists-point/)
- [aspens](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/aspens/)
- [astronomy](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/astronomy/)
- [authors](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/authors/)
- [autumn](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/autumn/)
- [avalanche](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/avalanche/)
- [award](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/award/)
- [backcountry](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/backcountry/)
- [Backpacking](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/backpacking/)
- [Baker Lake](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/baker-lake/)
- [bald eagle](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/bald-eagle/)
- [bald eagles](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/bald-eagles/)
- [base camp](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/base-camp/)
- [bat](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/bat/)
- [bear tracks](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/bear-tracks/)
- [beat generation](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/beat-generation/)
- [Beats on the Peaks](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/beats-on-the-peaks/)
- [beavers](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/beavers/)
- [bees](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/bees/)
- [Bellingham](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/bellingham/)
- [Bellingham Bay](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/bellingham-bay/)
- [bicycling](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/bicycling/)
- [Big Beaver](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/big-beaver/)
- [big cats](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/big-cats/)
- [bioblitz](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/bioblitz/)
- [biology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/biology/)
- [bioregionalism](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/bioregionalism/)
- [bird migration](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/bird-migration/)
- [bird watching](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/bird-watching/)
- [birding](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/birding/)
- [birds](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/birds/)
- [birdsong](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/birdsong/)
- [black bears](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/black-bears/)
- [Blue Heron Farm](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/blue-heron-farm/)
- [Blue House](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/blue-house/)
- [Blue House Farm](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/blue-house-farm/)
- [book](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/book/)
- [book excerpt](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/book-excerpt/)
- [book reading](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/book-reading/)
- [book review](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/book-review/)
- [books](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/books/)
- [botany](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/botany/)
- [Braided River](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/braided-river/)
- [buds](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/buds/)
- [bumblebees](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/bumblebees/)
- [butterflies](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/butterflies/)
- [caddisflies](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/caddisflies/)
- [caddisfly](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/caddisfly/)
- [california](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/california/)
- [camera](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/camera/)
- [camp](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/camp/)
- [Camp Long](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/camp-long/)
- [campfire](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/campfire/)
- [campgrounds](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/campgrounds/)
- [camping](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/camping/)
- [campus](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/campus/)
- [canoe](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/canoe/)
- [canoeing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/canoeing/)
- [canoeing in the northwest](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/canoeing-in-the-northwest/)
- [Cape Flattery](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cape-flattery/)
- [capstones](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/capstones/)
- [Captain Cook](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/captain-cook/)
- [carlton](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/carlton/)
- [carnivore](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/carnivore/)
- [carnivores](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/carnivores/)
- [Carolina parakeet](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/carolina-parakeet/)
- [Cascade Carnivore Connectivity](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cascade-carnivore-connectivity/)
- [Cascade Pass](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cascade-pass/)
- [Cascade River](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cascade-river/)
- [Cascade River Road](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cascade-river-road/)
- [cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cascades/)
- [Cascades Climate Challenge](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cascades-climate-challenge/)
- [Cascades frog](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cascades-frog/)
- [Cascades Pass](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cascades-pass/)
- [Cascadian Farms](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cascadian-farms/)
- [Cedars](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cedars/)
- [celestial event](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/celestial-event/)
- [Channelled Scablands](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/channelled-scablands/)
- [chelan ridge](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/chelan-ridge/)
- [Cheryl Strayed](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cheryl-strayed/)
- [Chewach River Valley](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/chewach-river-valley/)
- [children](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/children/)
- [chilliwack](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/chilliwack/)
- [Chinook & Chantrelle](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/chinook-chantrelle/)
- [chinook salmon](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/chinook-salmon/)
- [Chip Jenkins](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/chip-jenkins/)
- [choices](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/choices/)
- [Chris Morgan](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/chris-morgan/)
- [christian martin](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/christian-martin/)
- [Chuckanut Writers](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/chuckanut-writers/)
- [citizen science](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/citizen-science/)
- [city of seattle](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/city-of-seattle/)
- [Cladonia chlorophaea](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cladonia-chlorophaea/)
- [Classroom in Bloom](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/classroom-in-bloom/)
- [Cliff Mass](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cliff-mass/)
- [climate](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/climate/)
- [climate change](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/climate-change/)
- [Climate Impacts Group](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/climate-impacts-group/)
- [climate literacy](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/climate-literacy/)
- [climbing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/climbing/)
- [Closing Circle](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/closing-circle/)
- [coarse woody debris](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/coarse-woody-debris/)
- [Coast Range](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/coast-range/)
- [coexistence](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/coexistence/)
- [Cohort 13](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cohort-13/)
- [Cohort 14](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cohort-14/)
- [Cohort 15](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cohort-15/)
- [Cohort 16](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cohort-16/)
- [cohort 17](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cohort-17/)
- [Cohort 3](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cohort-3/)
- [college access](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/college-access/)
- [college access coordinator](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/college-access-coordinator/)
- [Colonial Peak](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/colonial-peak/)
- [colorado](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/colorado/)
- [Colorado Plateau](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/colorado-plateau/)
- [Columbia](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/columbia/)
- [Columbia Plateau](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/columbia-plateau/)
- [Columbia River](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/columbia-river/)
- [community](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/community/)
- [community service](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/community-service/)
- [compassion](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/compassion/)
- [compost](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/compost/)
- [Concrete](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/concrete/)
- [concrete school](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/concrete-school/)
- [concrete summer learning adventure](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/concrete-summer-learning-adventure/)
- [cones](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cones/)
- [conference](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/conference/)
- [Confluence Garden](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/confluence-garden/)
- [connections](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/connections/)
- [connectivity](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/connectivity/)
- [conservation](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/conservation/)
- [conservation biology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/conservation-biology/)
- [constellations](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/constellations/)
- [contest](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/contest/)
- [copper ridge](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/copper-ridge/)
- [Cordilleran Ice Sheet](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cordilleran-ice-sheet/)
- [corporation for national and community service](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/corporation-for-national-and-community-service/)
- [corvid](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/corvid/)
- [corvids](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/corvids/)
- [Cosmos](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cosmos/)
- [cougar](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cougar/)
- [cougar encounters](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cougar-encounters/)
- [coyote](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/coyote/)
- [coyote brush](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/coyote-brush/)
- [Craig Childs](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/craig-childs/)
- [craig romano](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/craig-romano/)
- [Crater Mountain](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/crater-mountain/)
- [creative residence](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/creative-residence/)
- [creative residency](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/creative-residency/)
- [creative residency program](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/creative-residency-program/)
- [creative resident](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/creative-resident/)
- [creative writing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/creative-writing/)
- [cross country skiing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cross-country-skiing/)
- [crow](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/crow/)
- [crown of the continent](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/crown-of-the-continent/)
- [crustose lichen](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/crustose-lichen/)
- [cultural history](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cultural-history/)
- [cumberland creek](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/cumberland-creek/)
- [curiosity](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/curiosity/)
- [curriculum](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/curriculum/)
- [curriculum design](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/curriculum-design/)
- [curriculum design course](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/curriculum-design-course/)
- [Dalai Lama](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/dalai-lama/)
- [dandelion greens](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/dandelion-greens/)
- [dandelion syrup](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/dandelion-syrup/)
- [Darrington](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/darrington/)
- [David Douglas](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/david-douglas/)
- [David Hall](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/david-hall/)
- [david moskowitz](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/david-moskowitz/)
- [david neiwert](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/david-neiwert/)
- [David Sobel](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/david-sobel/)
- [David Williams](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/david-williams/)
- [day in the life](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/day-in-the-life/)
- [Dear Mountain School](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/dear-mountain-school/)
- [Debbie Miller](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/debbie-miller/)
- [decay](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/decay/)
- [Deception Pass State Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/deception-pass-state-park/)
- [decomposers](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/decomposers/)
- [decomposition](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/decomposition/)
- [deep ecology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/deep-ecology/)
- [deer](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/deer/)
- [Deer Creek](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/deer-creek/)
- [deer ears](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/deer-ears/)
- [deer in snow](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/deer-in-snow/)
- [democracy](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/democracy/)
- [desert](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/desert/)
- [design](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/design/)
- [Desolation Peak](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/desolation-peak/)
- [development](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/development/)
- [devil's club](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/devils-club/)
- [dharma bums](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/dharma-bums/)
- [diablo](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/diablo/)
- [diablo dam](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/diablo-dam/)
- [Diablo Downtime](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/diablo-downtime/)
- [Diablo Lake](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/diablo-lake/)
- [diobsud creek](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/diobsud-creek/)
- [disaster](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/disaster/)
- [dog pelt lichen](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/dog-pelt-lichen/)
- [dolos](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/dolos/)
- [dolosse](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/dolosse/)
- [donors](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/donors/)
- [Douglas maple](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/douglas-maple/)
- [Douglas squirrel](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/douglas-squirrel/)
- [dragonflies](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/dragonflies/)
- [dye](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/dye/)
- [E.O. Wilson](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/e-o-wilson/)
- [eagle](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/eagle/)
- [Eagle Watchers](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/eagle-watchers/)
- [eagle watching](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/eagle-watching/)
- [eagles](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/eagles/)
- [early childhood education](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/early-childhood-education/)
- [Earth Day](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/earth-day/)
- [Earthcorps](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/earthcorps/)
- [eastern Washington](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/eastern-washington/)
- [Easy Pass](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/easy-pass/)
- [eating](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/eating/)
- [Ebey's Landing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ebeys-landing/)
- [Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ebeys-landing-national-historical-reserve/)
- [eclipse](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/eclipse/)
- [ecological design](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ecological-design/)
- [ecology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ecology/)
- [ecosystem](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ecosystem/)
- [ecosystem services](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ecosystem-services/)
- [edible plants](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/edible-plants/)
- [Edible Seattle](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/edible-seattle/)
- [edible wild foods](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/edible-wild-foods/)
- [education](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/education/)
- [educational program](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/educational-program/)
- [educators](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/educators/)
- [EIS](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/eis/)
- [elementary students](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/elementary-students/)
- [elizabeth kolbert](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/elizabeth-kolbert/)
- [elk](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/elk/)
- [Elwha River](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/elwha-river/)
- [empathy](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/empathy/)
- [endangered species](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/endangered-species/)
- [engineering](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/engineering/)
- [entemology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/entemology/)
- [entomology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/entomology/)
- [entrance fees](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/entrance-fees/)
- [environment](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/environment/)
- [environmental education](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/environmental-education/)
- [environmental educators](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/environmental-educators/)
- [environmental ethics](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/environmental-ethics/)
- [Environmental Learning](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/environmental-learning/)
- [Environmental Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/environmental-learning-center/)
- [environmental policy](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/environmental-policy/)
- [environmental stewardship](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/environmental-stewardship/)
- [environmentalism](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/environmentalism/)
- [erosion](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/erosion/)
- [essay](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/essay/)
- [ethics](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ethics/)
- [Ethnobotany](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ethnobotany/)
- [events](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/events/)
- [Evolution of the Genus Iris](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/evolution-of-the-genus-iris/)
- [excursion](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/excursion/)
- [experiential learning](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/experiential-learning/)
- [exploration](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/exploration/)
- [extinction](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/extinction/)
- [Facing Climate Change](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/facing-climate-change/)
- [Fairhaven](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fairhaven/)
- [Fairhaven Mills](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fairhaven-mills/)
- [fairy barf](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fairy-barf/)
- [fall](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fall/)
- [fall colors](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fall-colors/)
- [Fall Graduate Retreat](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fall-graduate-retreat/)
- [Fall Natural History retreat](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fall-natural-history-retreat/)
- [false pixie cup](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/false-pixie-cup/)
- [families](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/families/)
- [family](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/family/)
- [family camps](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/family-camps/)
- [Family Getaways](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/family-getaways/)
- [Farm to Table Culinary Internship](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/farm-to-table-culinary-internship/)
- [farming](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/farming/)
- [farmlands](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/farmlands/)
- [Farms](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/farms/)
- [feathers](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/feathers/)
- [ferns](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ferns/)
- [fiddleheads](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fiddleheads/)
- [field biology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/field-biology/)
- [field classes](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/field-classes/)
- [Field Excursions](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/field-excursion/)
- [field guide](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/field-guide/)
- [field journal](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/field-journal/)
- [field science](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/field-science/)
- [findyourpark](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/findyourpark/)
- [Fire](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fire/)
- [fire ecology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fire-ecology/)
- [fire lookout](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fire-lookout/)
- [firefighters](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/firefighters/)
- [fireweed](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fireweed/)
- [first ascent](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/first-ascent/)
- [fisher](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fisher/)
- [fisherman](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fisherman/)
- [Fisherman's Thanksgiving](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fishermans-thanksgiving/)
- [fishing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fishing/)
- [Fishtown](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fishtown/)
- [Five Mile Camp](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/five-mile-camp/)
- [flasher trees](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/flasher-trees/)
- [flats](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/flats/)
- [flooding](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/flooding/)
- [floods](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/floods/)
- [Florian Schulz](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/florian-schulz/)
- [flour](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/flour/)
- [flowers](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/flowers/)
- [flying squirrels](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/flying-squirrels/)
- [folklore](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/folklore/)
- [food](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/food/)
- [food chain](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/food-chain/)
- [foodshed](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/foodshed/)
- [Foodshed Project](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/foodshed-project/)
- [foraging](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/foraging/)
- [forest](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/forest/)
- [fort worden](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fort-worden/)
- [forts](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/forts/)
- [Four Corners](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/four-corners/)
- [Fourth Corner](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fourth-corner/)
- [fred beckey](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fred-beckey/)
- [friction fire](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/friction-fire/)
- [frogs](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/frogs/)
- [frost](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/frost/)
- [fruits](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fruits/)
- [fundraising](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fundraising/)
- [fungi](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fungi/)
- [fungus](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fungus/)
- [fuzzy animals](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/fuzzy-animals/)
- [garden](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/garden/)
- [Gary Ferguson](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/gary-ferguson/)
- [Gary Snyder](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/gary-snyder/)
- [gear](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/gear/)
- [gendered pronouns](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/gendered-pronouns/)
- [Geography](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/geography/)
- [geology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/geology/)
- [Gerrut Vyn](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/gerrut-vyn/)
- [Gerry Cook](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/gerry-cook/)
- [gifford pinchot national forest](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/gifford-pinchot-national-forest/)
- [gifts](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/gifts/)
- [Girls Boat Project](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/girls-boat-project/)
- [girls on ice](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/girls-on-ice/)
- [glacial flour](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/glacial-flour/)
- [Glacier National Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/glacier-national-park/)
- [Glacier Peak Wilderness](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/glacier-peak-wilderness/)
- [glaciers](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/glaciers/)
- [global warming](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/global-warming/)
- [gnomes](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/gnomes/)
- [Golden Gate National Recreation Area](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/golden-gate-national-recreation-area/)
- [goldeneye ducks](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/goldeneye-ducks/)
- [Goodell Creek](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/goodell-creek/)
- [Goodell Creek Fire](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/goodell-creek-fire/)
- [Goodell Fire](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/goodell-fire/)
- [Goodyera oblongifolia](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/goodyera-oblongifolia/)
- [Gordon Hempton](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/gordon-hempton/)
- [gorge dam](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/gorge-dam/)
- [Gorge Lake](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/gorge-lake/)
- [goshawk](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/goshawk/)
- [government shutdown](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/government-shutdown/)
- [Graduate M.Ed. Program](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/graduate-m-ed-program/)
- [graduate natural history project](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/graduate-natural-history-project/)
- [graduate program](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/graduate-program/)
- [graduate school](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/graduate-school/)
- [graduate student](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/graduate-student/)
- [graduate student introductions](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/graduate-student-introductions/)
- [graduate students](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/graduate-students/)
- [graduation](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/graduation/)
- [Grand Coulee Dam](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/grand-coulee-dam/)
- [grassroots](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/grassroots/)
- [gratitude](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/gratitude/)
- [great bear rainforest](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/great-bear-rainforest/)
- [green](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/green/)
- [Green Gulch Farm](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/green-gulch-farm/)
- [Grey Wolf Series](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/grey-wolf-series/)
- [Greyhound](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/greyhound/)
- [grinnell journal](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/grinnell-journal/)
- [grinnell method](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/grinnell-method/)
- [Grizzly Bear Series](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/grizzly-bear-series/)
- [grizzly bears](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/grizzly-bears/)
- [Group Rentals](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/group-rentals/)
- [growth](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/growth/)
- [Habitat](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/habitat/)
- [habitat restoration](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/habitat-restoration/)
- [hair ice](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hair-ice/)
- [Hall of Mosses](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hall-of-mosses/)
- [halloween](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/halloween/)
- [hannah viano](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hannah-viano/)
- [hannegan pass](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hannegan-pass/)
- [harts pass](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/harts-pass/)
- [harvesting](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/harvesting/)
- [hawks](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hawks/)
- [hawkwatch international](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hawkwatch-international/)
- [heart](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/heart/)
- [heather](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/heather/)
- [helicopter](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/helicopter/)
- [Henry M Jackson High School](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/henry-m-jackson-high-school/)
- [Henry M. Jackson](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/henry-m-jackson/)
- [hidden lakes peak](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hidden-lakes-peak/)
- [hidden lives of owls](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hidden-lives-of-owls/)
- [high country](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/high-country/)
- [high school students](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/high-school-students/)
- [Highway 20](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/highway-20/)
- [highway 20 closure](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/highway-20-closure/)
- [Highway 20 Road Closure](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/highway-20-road-closure/)
- [hike](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hike/)
- [hiking](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hiking/)
- [Hinduism](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hinduism/)
- [historical](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/historical/)
- [history](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/history/)
- [HKP](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hkp/)
- [hoarfrost](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hoarfrost/)
- [Hob Osterlund](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hob-osterlund/)
- [Hoh Rainforest](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hoh-rainforest/)
- [Hoh River](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hoh-river/)
- [holidays](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/holidays/)
- [holly hughes](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/holly-hughes/)
- [Holly J. Hughes](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/holly-j-hughes/)
- [home](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/home/)
- [honeybees](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/honeybees/)
- [Hooked: A Season of Love](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hooked-a-season-of-love/)
- [hope](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hope/)
- [horses](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/horses/)
- [hot springs](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hot-springs/)
- [howard miller steelhead park](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/howard-miller-steelhead-park/)
- [Howling to be Heard](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/howling-to-be-heard/)
- [Hozomeen Chert](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hozomeen-chert/)
- [human spirit](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/human-spirit/)
- [humility](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/humility/)
- [hummingbirds](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hummingbirds/)
- [humpies](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/humpies/)
- [hunting](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hunting/)
- [Huxley College](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/huxley-college/)
- [Huxley College of the Environment](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/huxley-college-of-the-environment/)
- [Hydnellum peckii](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hydnellum-peckii/)
- [hydrology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hydrology/)
- [hydropower](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/hydropower/)
- [ice](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ice/)
- [ice cream](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ice-cream/)
- [icicles](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/icicles/)
- [illustration](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/illustration/)
- [in the news](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/in-the-news/)
- [iNaturalist](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/inaturalist/)
- [Indigenous People](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/indigenous-people/)
- [inflorescence](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/inflorescence/)
- [insects](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/insects/)
- [inspiration](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/inspiration/)
- [Instructor Exchange](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/instructor-exchange/)
- [internal combustion engines](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/internal-combustion-engines/)
- [International District Housing Alliance](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/international-district-housing-alliance/)
- [International District Housing Association WILD](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/international-district-housing-association-wild/)
- [internship](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/internship/)
- [interview](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/interview/)
- [introductions](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/introductions/)
- [invasive plants](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/invasive-plants/)
- [IslandWood](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/islandwood/)
- [Ivory-billed woodpecker](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ivory-billed-woodpecker/)
- [Jack Kerouac](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/jack-kerouac/)
- [Jack Mountain](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/jack-mountain/)
- [Jack Nisbet](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/jack-nisbet/)
- [Jennifer Hahn](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/jennifer-hahn/)
- [Jill Lightner](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/jill-lightner/)
- [Jim Dodge](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/jim-dodge/)
- [john marzluff](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/john-marzluff/)
- [John McMillan](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/john-mcmillan/)
- [john mcphee](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/john-mcphee/)
- [john miles](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/john-miles/)
- [John Muir](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/john-muir/)
- [John Scurlock](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/john-scurlock/)
- [john suiter](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/john-suiter/)
- [Jon Jarvis](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/jon-jarvis/)
- [Jon Riedel](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/jon-riedel/)
- [journal](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/journal/)
- [Judith Bentley](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/judith-bentley/)
- [Judy Bentley](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/judy-bentley/)
- [jumping mouse](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/jumping-mouse/)
- [junior ranger](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/junior-ranger/)
- [junior ranger program](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/junior-ranger-program/)
- [kathleen dean moore](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/kathleen-dean-moore/)
- [kayak](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/kayak/)
- [kayaking](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/kayaking/)
- [Key Largo](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/key-largo/)
- [killer whales](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/killer-whales/)
- [Kim Stafford](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/kim-stafford/)
- [Klondike National Historical Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/klondike-national-historical-park/)
- [komo kulshan](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/komo-kulshan/)
- [Kulshan Creek Neighborhood Program](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/kulshan-creek-neighborhood-program/)
- [kulshan creek neighborhood youth program](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/kulshan-creek-neighborhood-youth-program/)
- [kurt hoelting](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/kurt-hoelting/)
- [Lake Ann](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lake-ann/)
- [Lake Chelan](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lake-chelan/)
- [Lake Ozette](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lake-ozette/)
- [Lamar Valley](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lamar-valley/)
- [laminated root rot](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/laminated-root-rot/)
- [Langdon Cook](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/langdon-cook/)
- [larch](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/larch/)
- [last child in the woods](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/last-child-in-the-woods/)
- [Latino Outdoors](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/latino-outdoors/)
- [Lawrence Cheek](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lawrence-cheek/)
- [leadership](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/leadership/)
- [leadership corps](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/leadership-corps/)
- [Leadership Track](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/leadership-track/)
- [Leadership Tracks](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/leadership-tracks/)
- [learning](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/learning/)
- [learning center](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/learning-center/)
- [learnyourpark](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/learnyourpark/)
- [leaves](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/leaves/)
- [legacy](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/legacy/)
- [legend](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/legend/)
- [legends](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/legends/)
- [Leigh Calvez](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/leigh-calvez/)
- [lepidopterist](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lepidopterist/)
- [letter](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/letter/)
- [Lewis and Clark National Historical Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lewis-and-clark-national-historical-park/)
- [library](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/library/)
- [lichen](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lichen/)
- [listening](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/listening/)
- [literacy](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/literacy/)
- [literature](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/literature/)
- [Little Beaver](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/little-beaver/)
- [little mountain](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/little-mountain/)
- [local food](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/local-food/)
- [log jams](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/log-jams/)
- [long boats](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/long-boats/)
- [lookout mountain](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lookout-mountain/)
- [loons](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/loons/)
- [Lopez Island](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lopez-island/)
- [Lost Horse Press](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lost-horse-press/)
- [love](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/love/)
- [lunar](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lunar/)
- [lunar eclipse](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lunar-eclipse/)
- [lupine](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lupine/)
- [Lyrids](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/lyrids/)
- [M.Ed](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/m-ed/)
- [m.ed graduate program](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/m-ed-graduate-program/)
- [M.Ed program](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/m-ed-program/)
- [M.Ed. Graduate Program](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/med-graduate-program/)
- [macromoths](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/macromoths/)
- [magic](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/magic/)
- [Mahonia](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mahonia/)
- [Makah](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/makah/)
- [Makah Tribe](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/makah-tribe/)
- [mammal](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mammal/)
- [manzanita](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/manzanita/)
- [map](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/map/)
- [Maple Heather Pass Loop](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/maple-heather-pass-loop/)
- [Maple Pass](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/maple-pass/)
- [marbled murrelet](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/marbled-murrelet/)
- [Marblemount](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/marblemount/)
- [marblemount fish hatchery](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/marblemount-fish-hatchery/)
- [Marblemount Nursery](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/marblemount-nursery/)
- [Marin Headlands](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/marin-headlands/)
- [marine ecology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/marine-ecology/)
- [Mark Turner](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mark-turner/)
- [marmot](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/marmot/)
- [marriage](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/marriage/)
- [married](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/married/)
- [Mars](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mars/)
- [Mary Oliver](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mary-oliver/)
- [Masters in Education](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/masters-in-education/)
- [Maya Whole Health Studio](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/maya-whole-health-studio/)
- [mazama](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mazama/)
- [McNett](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mcnett/)
- [media](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/media/)
- [meditation](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/meditation/)
- [Meet A Tree](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/meet-a-tree/)
- [mega-rocks](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mega-rocks/)
- [memoir](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/memoir/)
- [meteors](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/meteors/)
- [Methow Beaver Project](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/methow-beaver-project/)
- [Methow Natives](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/methow-natives/)
- [Methow Salmon Recovery Foundation](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/methow-salmon-recovery-foundation/)
- [Methow Valley](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/methow-valley/)
- [middens](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/middens/)
- [midges](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/midges/)
- [Migratory Bird Festival](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/migratory-bird-festival/)
- [Migratory Birds](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/migratory-birds/)
- [Mike Brondi](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mike-brondi/)
- [Missoula Floods](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/missoula-floods/)
- [mist](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mist/)
- [molly hashimoto](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/molly-hashimoto/)
- [monkshood](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/monkshood/)
- [montana napier](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/montana-napier/)
- [moss](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/moss/)
- [moths](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/moths/)
- [Mount Baker](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mount-baker/)
- [Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mount-baker-snoqualmie-national-forest/)
- [Mount Rainier](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mount-rainier/)
- [Mount Rainier National Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mount-rainier-national-park/)
- [Mount Shuksan](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mount-shuksan/)
- [mount vernon high school](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mount-vernon-high-school/)
- [mountain biking](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mountain-biking/)
- [mountain goats](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mountain-goats/)
- [mountain heather](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mountain-heather/)
- [mountain lions](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mountain-lions/)
- [mountain pine beetle](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mountain-pine-beetle/)
- [Mountain School](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mountain-school/)
- [mountaineering](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mountaineering/)
- [mountains](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mountains/)
- [Mountian School](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mountian-school/)
- [MS25](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ms25/)
- [mt despair](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mt-despair/)
- [mt waddington](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mt-waddington/)
- [Mt. Baker](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mt-baker/)
- [mt. baker ski area](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mt-baker-ski-area/)
- [Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mt-baker-snoqualmie-national-forest/)
- [Mt. Rainier National Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mt-rainier-national-park/)
- [mudslides](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mudslides/)
- [multimedia](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/multimedia/)
- [mushrooms](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mushrooms/)
- [music](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/music/)
- [mythology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/mythology/)
- [Naming](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/naming/)
- [Naomi Klein](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/naomi-klein/)
- [nasa](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nasa/)
- [National Forest Foundation](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/national-forest-foundation/)
- [national forest service](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/national-forest-service/)
- [National Geographic](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/national-geographic/)
- [national landmark](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/national-landmark/)
- [national park entrance fees](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/national-park-entrance-fees/)
- [National Park Service](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/national-park-service/)
- [national parks](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/national-parks/)
- [National Petroleum Reserve](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/national-petroleum-reserve/)
- [National Wildlife Refuge](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/national-wildlife-refuge/)
- [nationl park service](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nationl-park-service/)
- [native peoples](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/native-peoples/)
- [Native Plant Nursery](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/native-plant-nursery/)
- [native plants](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/native-plants/)
- [native pollinators](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/native-pollinators/)
- [natural history](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/natural-history/)
- [natural history field excursion 2018](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/natural-history-field-excursion-2018/)
- [natural history field-excursion 2017](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/natural-history-field-excursion-2017/)
- [natural history project](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/natural-history-project/)
- [Natural History Retreat](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/natural-history-retreat/)
- [natural history winter](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/natural-history-winter/)
- [natural history winter field seminar](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/natural-history-winter-field-seminar/)
- [natural learning tendencies](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/natural-learning-tendencies/)
- [natural world](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/natural-world/)
- [naturalist](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/naturalist/)
- [naturalist note](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/naturalist-note/)
- [naturalist notes](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/naturalist-notes/)
- [naturalist staff](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/naturalist-staff/)
- [naturalists](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/naturalists/)
- [Naturalizing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/naturalizing/)
- [nature](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nature/)
- [nature in the city](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nature-in-the-city/)
- [nature in writing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nature-in-writing/)
- [nature journal](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nature-journal/)
- [nature journaling](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nature-journaling/)
- [Nature of Writing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nature-of-writing/)
- [nature photography](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nature-photography/)
- [nature principle](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nature-principle/)
- [nature writing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nature-writing/)
- [NC Wild](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nc-wild/)
- [NCCC](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nccc/)
- [NCI programs](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nci-programs/)
- [New Wilderness Project](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/new-wilderness-project/)
- [new year](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/new-year/)
- [new year's resolutions](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/new-years-resolutions/)
- [newhalem](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/newhalem/)
- [news](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/news/)
- [newt](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/newt/)
- [next generation science standards](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/next-generation-science-standards/)
- [night](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/night/)
- [night sky](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/night-sky/)
- [nitrogen 15](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nitrogen-15/)
- [nitrogen fixing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nitrogen-fixing/)
- [noise pollution](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/noise-pollution/)
- [non-profit administration](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/non-profit-administration/)
- [non-profit organizations](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/non-profit-organizations/)
- [non-profit project](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/non-profit-project/)
- [nonprofit administration](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nonprofit-administration/)
- [nonprofit administration class](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nonprofit-administration-class/)
- [Nooksack](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nooksack/)
- [Nooksack salmon enhancement association](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nooksack-salmon-enhancement-association/)
- [North Cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/north-cascades/)
- [North Cascades Conservation Council](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/north-cascades-conservation-council/)
- [north cascades ecosystem](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/north-cascades-ecosystem/)
- [North Cascades elk herd](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/north-cascades-elk-herd/)
- [north cascades environmental learning center](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/north-cascades-environmental-learning-center/)
- [North Cascades Highway](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/north-cascades-highway/)
- [North Cascades Institute](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/north-cascades-institute/)
- [North Cascades Institute Environmental Learning Center](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/north-cascades-institute-environmental-learning-center/)
- [North Cascades National Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/north-cascades-national-park/)
- [North Cascades National Park Complex](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/north-cascades-national-park-complex/)
- [North Cascades Stewards](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/north-cascades-stewards/)
- [North Cascades Wild](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/north-cascades-wild/)
- [North Cascadia Adaptation Partnership](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/north-cascadia-adaptation-partnership/)
- [northern goshawk](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/northern-goshawk/)
- [northwest avalanche center](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/northwest-avalanche-center/)
- [Northwest Coast Indian Art](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/northwest-coast-indian-art/)
- [Northwest Passage](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/northwest-passage/)
- [Northwest Straits Foundation](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/northwest-straits-foundation/)
- [northwest youth leadership summit](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/northwest-youth-leadership-summit/)
- [Notes from the Porch](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/notes-from-the-porch/)
- [NPS](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nps/)
- [NPS Mule](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nps-mule/)
- [nsea](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nsea/)
- [nutrient cycling](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nutrient-cycling/)
- [NWYLS](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/nwyls/)
- [Observation](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/observation/)
- [ocean](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ocean/)
- [oceanspray](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/oceanspray/)
- [Okanogan National Forest](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/okanogan-national-forest/)
- [old growth](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/old-growth/)
- [old growth forest](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/old-growth-forest/)
- [old growth forest washington](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/old-growth-forest-washington/)
- [Olympia](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/olympia/)
- [olympic](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/olympic/)
- [Olympic National Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/olympic-national-park/)
- [olympic peninsula](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/olympic-peninsula/)
- [Olympics](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/olympics/)
- [One Square Inch Project](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/one-square-inch-project/)
- [open letter](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/open-letter/)
- [Operations Director](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/operations-director/)
- [orca whales](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/orca-whales/)
- [orcas](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/orcas/)
- [Oregon grape](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/oregon-grape/)
- [organic](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/organic/)
- [organic produce](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/organic-produce/)
- [Oso landslide](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/oso-landslide/)
- [Osprey](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/osprey/)
- [Osprey Hill Farm](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/osprey-hill-farm/)
- [Osprey Hills Farm](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/osprey-hills-farm/)
- [otters](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/otters/)
- [outreach](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/outreach/)
- [Ozette](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ozette/)
- [pablo mcloud](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pablo-mcloud/)
- [pacific coast flyway](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pacific-coast-flyway/)
- [Pacific Crest Trail](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pacific-crest-trail/)
- [Pacific Feast](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pacific-feast/)
- [Pacific Northwest](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pacific-northwest/)
- [Pacific Ocean](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pacific-ocean/)
- [pacific salmon](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pacific-salmon/)
- [Padilla Bay](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/padilla-bay/)
- [painting](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/painting/)
- [palm trees](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/palm-trees/)
- [parentmap](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/parentmap/)
- [Park Creek Pass](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/park-creek-pass/)
- [Parks Climate Challenge](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/parks-climate-challenge/)
- [partnership](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/partnership/)
- [Partnerships](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/partnerships/)
- [party](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/party/)
- [Pasayten Wilderness](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pasayten-wilderness/)
- [Passing the Paddle](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/passing-the-paddle/)
- [Passings](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/passings/)
- [Patagonia](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/patagonia/)
- [Path for Youth](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/path-for-youth/)
- [Pathways for Youth](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pathways-for-youth/)
- [paul willis](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/paul-willis/)
- [Paula Wild](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/paula-wild/)
- [Peaks](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/peaks/)
- [pelicans](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pelicans/)
- [Peltigera membranacea](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/peltigera-membranacea/)
- [penumbra](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/penumbra/)
- [peregrine falcon](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/peregrine-falcon/)
- [phenology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/phenology/)
- [philanthropy](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/philanthropy/)
- [Philip Whalen](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/philip-whalen/)
- [philosophy](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/philosophy/)
- [Photography](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/photography/)
- [photos](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/photos/)
- [photos of the week](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/photos-of-the-week/)
- [photosynthesis](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/photosynthesis/)
- [Picket Range](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/picket-range/)
- [picnic](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/picnic/)
- [Pine Marten](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pine-marten/)
- [Pink Floyd](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pink-floyd/)
- [pixie cup lichen](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pixie-cup-lichen/)
- [place](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/place/)
- [place-based](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/place-based/)
- [place-based education](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/place-based-education/)
- [place-based learning](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/place-based-learning/)
- [plant communities](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/plant-communities/)
- [plants](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/plants/)
- [plate techtonics](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/plate-techtonics/)
- [pnw old growth forest](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pnw-old-growth-forest/)
- [poem](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/poem/)
- [poems](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/poems/)
- [poetry](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/poetry/)
- [poets](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/poets/)
- [Poets on the Peaks](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/poets-on-the-peaks/)
- [poking around](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/poking-around/)
- [pollination](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pollination/)
- [pollinator garden](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pollinator-garden/)
- [pollinators](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pollinators/)
- [polly dyer](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/polly-dyer/)
- [ponderosa pine](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ponderosa-pine/)
- [Port Townsend](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/port-townsend/)
- [Portland](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/portland/)
- [predator](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/predator/)
- [prey](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/prey/)
- [primitive skills](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/primitive-skills/)
- [Prince](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/prince/)
- [printmaking](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/printmaking/)
- [Profiles from the Wild Nearby](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/profiles-from-the-wild-nearby/)
- [public comment](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/public-comment/)
- [Pulling Blackberries](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pulling-blackberries/)
- [pumpkins](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pumpkins/)
- [purple](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/purple/)
- [purple monkeyflower](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/purple-monkeyflower/)
- [pyramid peak](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/pyramid-peak/)
- [q&a](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/qa/)
- [quiet](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/quiet/)
- [rachel carson](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rachel-carson/)
- [rafting](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rafting/)
- [rain](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rain/)
- [raincoats](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/raincoats/)
- [rainshadow effect](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rainshadow-effect/)
- [Rainy Pass](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rainy-pass/)
- [Ranger](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ranger/)
- [rangers](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rangers/)
- [rattlesnake plantain](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rattlesnake-plantain/)
- [raven](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/raven/)
- [ravens](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ravens/)
- [reading](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/reading/)
- [recollection](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/recollection/)
- [recreation](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/recreation/)
- [Red alder](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/red-alder/)
- [red moon](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/red-moon/)
- [red rocks](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/red-rocks/)
- [Rees Hughes](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rees-hughes/)
- [Reflection](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/reflection/)
- [reflections](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/reflections/)
- [registration](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/registration/)
- [reintroduction](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/reintroduction/)
- [relief](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/relief/)
- [Remote Medical International](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/remote-medical-international/)
- [remote medicine](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/remote-medicine/)
- [reptiles](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/reptiles/)
- [research](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/research/)
- [researchers](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/researchers/)
- [restoration](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/restoration/)
- [retail](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/retail/)
- [retirement](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/retirement/)
- [reunion](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/reunion/)
- [rewilding](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rewilding/)
- [Ribes lacustre](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ribes-lacustre/)
- [Ribes sanguineum](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ribes-sanguineum/)
- [Richard Louv](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/richard-louv/)
- [riparian area](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/riparian-area/)
- [Riverhead Books](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/riverhead-books/)
- [road closure](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/road-closure/)
- [Road Trip](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/road-trip/)
- [roads](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/roads/)
- [Robert Michael Pyle](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/robert-michael-pyle/)
- [Robert Steelquist](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/robert-steelquist/)
- [Robert Sund](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/robert-sund/)
- [rock climbing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rock-climbing/)
- [Rockport](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rockport/)
- [Rockport State Park](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rockport-state-park/)
- [rockport state park discovery center](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rockport-state-park-discovery-center/)
- [rockport state park junior ranger](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rockport-state-park-junior-ranger/)
- [rockport state park junior ranger program](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rockport-state-park-junior-ranger-program/)
- [rocks](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rocks/)
- [rockslide](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rockslide/)
- [rodents](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rodents/)
- [Ron Judd](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ron-judd/)
- [rose hips](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rose-hips/)
- [ross dam](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ross-dam/)
- [Ross Lake](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ross-lake/)
- [Ross Lake National Recreation Area](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ross-lake-national-recreation-area/)
- [Ross Mule](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ross-mule/)
- [Rufous Hummingbird](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/rufous-hummingbird/)
- [Ruth Kirk](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ruth-kirk/)
- [ryan zinke](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ryan-zinke/)
- [Sahale Arm](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sahale-arm/)
- [sailing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sailing/)
- [Sailing by Ravens](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sailing-by-ravens/)
- [salal](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/salal/)
- [salamander](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/salamander/)
- [salamanders](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/salamanders/)
- [salish sea](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/salish-sea/)
- [salmon](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/salmon/)
- [salmon in the trees](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/salmon-in-the-trees/)
- [San Juan Islands](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/san-juan-islands/)
- [sandhill crance](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sandhill-crance/)
- [sandstone](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sandstone/)
- [santa cruz](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/santa-cruz/)
- [Sauk Mountain](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sauk-mountain/)
- [Saul Weisberg](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/saul-weisberg/)
- [save the world](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/save-the-world/)
- [scat](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/scat/)
- [Scenariou-based learning](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/scenariou-based-learning/)
- [scholarships](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/scholarships/)
- [schools](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/schools/)
- [science](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/science/)
- [scientists](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/scientists/)
- [Scotch broom](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/scotch-broom/)
- [sculpture](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sculpture/)
- [sea of peaks](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sea-of-peaks/)
- [SEA Program](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sea-program/)
- [sea stars](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sea-stars/)
- [seasonal](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/seasonal/)
- [seasons](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/seasons/)
- [Seat](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/seat/)
- [Seattle](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/seattle/)
- [Seattle City Light](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/scl/)
- [Seattle P-I](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/seattle-p-i/)
- [Seattle Times](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/seattle-times/)
- [secretary zinke](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/secretary-zinke/)
- [Sedro-Woolley](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sedro-woolley/)
- [seeds](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/seeds/)
- [sense of place](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sense-of-place/)
- [sense of wonder](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sense-of-wonder/)
- [senses](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/senses/)
- [sensory awareness](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sensory-awareness/)
- [sepals](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sepals/)
- [Sex](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sex/)
- [sharks](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sharks/)
- [Shi Shi Beach](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/shi-shi-beach/)
- [shorebirds](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/shorebirds/)
- [shrubs](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/shrubs/)
- [silence](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/silence/)
- [sinlahekin](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sinlahekin/)
- [sinlahekin valley](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sinlahekin-valley/)
- [Sit Spots](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sit-spots/)
- [Sit Walk Write poetry series](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sit-walk-write-poetry-series/)
- [skagit](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit/)
- [skagit bald eagle interpretive center](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit-bald-eagle-interpretive-center/)
- [Skagit City Light](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit-city-light/)
- [skagit eagle festival](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit-eagle-festival/)
- [Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit-fisheries-enhancement-group/)
- [Skagit Flats](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit-flats/)
- [skagit hydro-electric project](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit-hydro-electric-project/)
- [skagit land trust](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit-land-trust/)
- [Skagit Queen Camp](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit-queen-camp/)
- [Skagit River](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit-river/)
- [skagit river flooding](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit-river-flooding/)
- [Skagit River Permanent Restoration Project](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit-river-permanent-restoration-project/)
- [Skagit Tours](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit-tours/)
- [Skagit Valley](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit-valley/)
- [Skagit Valley College](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skagit-valley-college/)
- [Skalitude](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skalitude/)
- [skalitude retreat center](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skalitude-retreat-center/)
- [sketch](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sketch/)
- [Ski to Sea](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/ski-to-sea/)
- [skiing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/skiing/)
- [slowing down](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/slowing-down/)
- [snake](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/snake/)
- [snorkeling](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/snorkeling/)
- [snow](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/snow/)
- [snow school](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/snow-school/)
- [snow sedge](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/snow-sedge/)
- [snowberry](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/snowberry/)
- [snowboarding](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/snowboarding/)
- [snowpack](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/snowpack/)
- [snowschool](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/snowschool/)
- [snowshoe](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/snowshoe/)
- [snowshoeing](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/snowshoeing/)
- [snowshoeing in north cascades](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/snowshoeing-in-north-cascades/)
- [snowy owls](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/snowy-owls/)
- [solitude](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/solitude/)
- [sound mapping](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sound-mapping/)
- [Sourdough Creek](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sourdough-creek/)
- [Sourdough Creek Trail](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sourdough-creek-trail/)
- [Sourdough Mountain](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sourdough-mountain/)
- [Sourdough Speaker Series](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sourdough-speaker-series/)
- [south resident orcas](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/south-resident-orcas/)
- [space](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/space/)
- [space.com](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/space-com/)
- [speaker series](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/speaker-series/)
- [special deals](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/special-deals/)
- [splitboarding](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/splitboarding/)
- [sponsors](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sponsors/)
- [spotted owl](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/spotted-owl/)
- [spring](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/spring/)
- [Spring Graduate Retreat](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/spring-graduate-retreat/)
- [spring phenology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/spring-phenology/)
- [squirrels](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/squirrels/)
- [SR20](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/sr20/)
- [stars](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/stars/)
- [Stehekin](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/stehekin/)
- [Stettatle Creek](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/stettatle-creek/)
- [stewardship](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/stewardship/)
- [stewardship weekend](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/stewardship-weekend/)
- [stewarship](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/stewarship/)
- [stinging nettle](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/stinging-nettle/)
- [stories](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/stories/)
- [storytelling](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/storytelling/)
- [stream ecology](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/stream-ecology/)
- [Student Conservation Association](https://blog.ncascades.org/tag/student-conservation-association/)

## Blog Series

- [Methow Valley Graduate Natural History Intensive](https://blog.ncascades.org/blog-series/methow-valley/) - A series describing Graduate M.Ed. students’ ten-day field seminar to the Methow Valley, as an extension of their Natural History Course.
- [Graduate Natural History Projects](https://blog.ncascades.org/blog-series/graduate-natural-history-projects/)
- [Meet the Graduate M.Ed. Students](https://blog.ncascades.org/blog-series/graduate-student-bios/)
- [Mountain School at Home](https://blog.ncascades.org/blog-series/mountain-school-at-home/)
- [From the Trail](https://blog.ncascades.org/blog-series/from-the-trail/)