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 trips after a neighbor introduced them to the concept. 

Throughout her youth, there were very few opportunities for girls in athletics beyond dance classes. While attending nursing school at the University of Washington, Ginny signed up for a climbing course through Seattle Mountaineers and went on her first backpacking trip. While it’s hard to imagine it now, she was one of only three females in a class of 60 people. As a young woman in the 1960s, participating in a co-ed backpacking trip almost felt like an act of rebellion.

After nursing school, Ginny married her first husband, and they spent time living in New Jersey and California before moving back to Seattle. They raised two sons and spent time as a family exploring nature. Ginny even nursed both babies while backpacking and had them carry their own rucksacks during family vacations in the Washington Cascades. 

In 1973, Ginny moved to Mount Vernon, where she met her second husband, Dr. Fred Darvill. Fred was 13 years her senior and was a well-known internal medicine doctor in Skagit Valley. He was also an avid mountaineer, environmentalist, and writer of wilderness medicine books and hiking guides. 

Despite being a nature-lover, Ginny had limited experience with conservation until meeting Fred, stating that, “I wasn’t aware that the forests were not an infinite resource or that the earth was in danger. In college, my focus was on social issues, the Vietnam War, women’s rights, and civil rights. Later, it was the Cold War and the buildup of nuclear weapons, so I focused on starting the Skagit Citizens for Nuclear Disarmament.” 

Conservation was Fred’s biggest passion, and Ginny learned the fundamentals of advocacy from him. The two were married by a large tree on the bluff at Ebey’s Landing on Whidbey Island, and they worked hard to preserve the area later on when it was under threat of development. Fred was also instrumental in the establishment of North Cascades National Park, lobbying congressmen and speaking in local communities to gain support. Anticipating the Park’s official designation, Fred built a small cabin in Stehekin, which is now part of the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. They would regularly hike over Cascade Pass and use the cabin as a base camp while Fred was writing Hiking the North Cascades and Stehekin: The Enchanted Valley. Ginny continues to make the trek to the cabin to this day and even celebrated her 80th birthday along the trail. 

Fred was also the founder of the Skagit Alpine Club. During his time as president, he obtained a special use permit from the Forest Service for the club to restore and maintain Hidden Lake Lookout for public use. When the club decided to switch to managing Park Butte Lookout, Ginny and Fred took over as stewards of Hidden Lake Lookout, caring for both buildings for over 20 years. 

Fred and Ginny’s relationship with North Cascades Institute goes back many years. When our founder, Saul Weisberg, was a climbing ranger, he often used Fred’s books as a guide. During the early days of the Institute, Fred taught wilderness medicine classes for us.

When the Environmental Learning Center was being built in 2005, the Darvills invested in the Wild Ginger Library, which was later dedicated to Fred. By that time, Fred had advanced Alzheimer’s Disease, and Ginny had to give up working in preschool special education at SPARC to care for him. 

After Fred passed away in 2007, Ginny spent her first night away from home at the Environmental Learning Center. She says that she remains very grateful to be able to spend time there. In 2008, Ginny attended the Institute’s first international trip to Costa Rica.

While it was hard to revisit some of the same places she and Fred had been to together, she stated that it was an important part of her healing process. Touched by the library dedication and inspired by participating in our programs, Ginny began generously supporting the Institute with annual gifts.

Also in 2008, Ginny was introduced to Girls On Ice, a program previously sponsored by the Institute that introduced teenage girls to mountaineering, environmental science, and leadership. After visiting the program at Mount Baker, Ginny became a “gear fairy,” helping carry supplies up to the base camp on the moraine of the Easton Glacier. She later became the group’s “grandma” for a while, offering support during the first night camp, the hike down, and the last two nights at the Learning Center.

She noted that witnessing youth with no previous outdoor experiences develop a passion for learning and challenging themselves was when she began to understand how life-changing programs like these can be for youth. To ensure the program remained accessible after program sponsorship changed, Ginny stepped in to provide financial support for the girls’ stay at the Learning Center. 

In 2010, Ginny deepened her impact even more by establishing an endowment at the Institute, stating, “I created an endowment focused on supporting youth programs because they offer kids of all backgrounds experience and knowledge of nature, personal growth, and leadership skills. Young people are growing up in a rapidly changing, challenging world for which they need all the support they can get to cope with the problems of climate change and to hopefully preserve the planet.”

One such program that her endowment supports is Youth Leadership Adventures. Ginny has greatly enjoyed witnessing the impact of the program and getting to know participants while attending Youth Leadership Community Days on the last night of their backcountry trips. “They weren’t just learning about the outdoors. They were learning so much about themselves. Not just how to paddle a canoe, but how to work together as a team, and how to expand their social comfort zone,” she said. 

Another program that Ginny’s endowment supports is the Kulshan Creek Neighborhood Youth Program, a year-round educational program engaging Skagit Valley youth in a series of monthly field trips to explore the outdoors and learn about our local watersheds. Participants attend a modified version of Mountain School at the Learning Center each summer.

They are also encouraged to enhance their self-confidence and leadership skills by participating in Youth Leadership Adventures and the YMCA Earth Service Corps. Ginny not only has volunteered as a chaperone for the program for many years, but after funding was cut, she stepped in to cover the cost of Kulshan Creek staying at the Learning Center each summer.

We cannot thank Ginny enough for her incredible generosity and amazing partnership throughout the years! She has helped countless youth access the great outdoors and inspired them to become lifelong environmental stewards. We wholeheartedly thank you, Ginny, for making the world a better place!

Learn how you can become a supporter of the Institute and our diverse programs for youth by contacting our Development Director Sarah Meyer at sarah_meyer@ncascades.org or (360) 358-7577.