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Blog

  • Blog Home
  • Naturalist Notes
  • Life at the Learning Center
  • Mountain School
  • Youth Adventures
  • Nature of Writing
  • Adventures
  • Field Excursions
  • Photography
  • Odds & Ends

Recent Articles

  • “Crossing the Threshold” with Tom Fleischner
  • From the Trail: Phenology and Climate Change in the North Cascades
  • Service Days in Action: How Institute Staff Are Showing Up for Community, Conservation, and Care
  • From the Trail: The Secret Winter World Underwater in the North Cascades
  • YLA Life: Trust, Solving Problems, and Living inside a Garmin!
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ncascades

Inspiring environmental stewardship through education, exploration and connection since 1986.
⬇️ 🌲Help youth Take Root & Rise - DONATE TODAY🌲 ⬇️
We’re a bit over a month into Spring and while alp We’re a bit over a month into Spring and while alpine wildflower season is farther down the road, we can appreciate our early spring flowers like Trillium. 🌷 The most widespread amongst the western states, western white trillium (Trillium ovatum) is the most common to the Pacific Northwest. 🌷 All trillium species belong to the Liliaceae (lily) family and are rhizomatous herbs with unbranched stems meaning a plant stem that grows horizontally under or along the ground and often sends out roots and shoots. 🌷 Morphologically, trillium plants produce no true leaves or stems above ground. The “stem” is just an extension of the horizontal rhizome and produces tiny, scale like leaves (cataphylls). 🌷 The above-ground plant is technically a flowering scape, and the leaf-like structures are bracts subtending the flower. 🌷 Several species of Trillium contain chemical compounds called sapogenins that have been used medicinally as astringents, coagulants, expectorants, and uterine stimulants How neat is that? Have you seen these early indicators of Spring in your area? 🙋🏻‍♀️ 📸: @findingbeauty9
Join us at Backcountry Essentials tomorrow – Thurs Join us at Backcountry Essentials tomorrow – Thursday, April 30th from 6-8pm – to connect with 18 local nonprofits from Bellingham and beyond. Come meet the people and organizations doing amazing work in our community, learn what they’re all about, and discover ways to get involved! There will be drinks & snacks, inspiring presentations, raffle prizes, and plenty of good conversation. Stop by, connect with your community and learn how YOU can make an impact this year!
Your support strengthens our roots, so that great Your support strengthens our roots, so that great things happen for both kids and nature. In honor of our 40th Anniversary, join us today through May 26 and have your gift matched 1:1 up to $40,000! Together, we will create a brighter future and inspire the next generation of conservation leaders. 🌲 GIVE TODAY at wagives.org/ncascades
With the seasonal transition to summer on its way, With the seasonal transition to summer on its way, we will be saying goodbye to winter conditions in the high elevations before we know it. A snow covered landscape can bring a different, often quieter or muted feeling to a space and the same space in summer can bring energy and vibrance. Both are very much alive and worth experiencing, but do you have a preference? Are you all about team summer ☀️ or team winter ❄️? Or team both? Sinter? Wummer? ☀️❄️ 📍Ancestral homelands of the Nlaka’pamux, Syilx (Okanagan), Sauk Suiattle & Confederated Tribes of the Coleville reservation 📸: @haleygoeshiking
Join us in the Village Books Readings Gallery tomo Join us in the Village Books Readings Gallery tomorrow – Sunday, April 26 at 4PM – to discover the lively and heartfelt natural history of the Pigeon Guillemot–a charismatic seabird with a surprising story to tell. In "The Bird with Flaming Red Feet," author and longtime volunteer surveyor Maria Mudd Ruth weaves together science, field observation, and community storytelling for an engaging exploration of one bird’s life. Part field guide, part memoir, Mudd Ruth's new work invites readers to slow down, look closely, and reconnect with the wild places--and creatures--just outside their door. 📚 Reserve your seat at ncascades.org/now
On Monday, April 27, raise a glass in support of o On Monday, April 27, raise a glass in support of outdoor education and test your knowledge of our local region during North Cascades Trivia Night at Stones Throw Brewery in Fairhaven. 10% of sales will benefit the Institute, and you'll have the chance to win great prizes, connect with fellow nature lovers and learn about all the ways you can outside with the Institute this year. 🍻 See you there - cheers!
Peak spring migration is here for some regions of Peak spring migration is here for some regions of the United States and is fast approaching for areas of Washington state and birds need our help. Millions of birds die annually due to collisions with building after being attracted to or disoriented by lights. To help it’s as easy as flipping a switch and turning off your lights. 💡 Turning off your exterior and interior lights not only saves you energy, but helps birds make their migration journey safer and easier. 💡 As we get closer to peak migration season in western Washington, we’ll share easy tips on how to help birds in their migration and fun facts about how many birds may be flying over our heads as we are comfy sleeping in our beds. ​​​​ 📸: @cornellbirds ​​​​​​​​
In celebration of Earth Month, make plans to give In celebration of Earth Month, make plans to give back to our shared wildlands by registering for Spring Stewardship Weekend | May 15-17 at the Environmental Learning Center. During this specially-priced weekend, you can: 🌎 Pitch In : plant, clean, and restore to beautify the Learning Center and surrounding public lands 🌎 Connect : get to know other passion nature lovers & stewards 🌎 Stay engaged : learn about upcoming volunteer opportunities All ages and abilities welcome! With rates starting at $105/person for shared rooms and all meals, AND a special student rate of $50/person! To learn more and register today, call 360-854-2599 or visit https://ncascades.org/signup/programs/spring-stewardship-weekend
On June 20, get to know your local frogs and salam On June 20, get to know your local frogs and salamanders as we jump into the wonderful world of Pacific Northwest wetlands with biologists Stephen Nyman and Vikki Jackson. During this immersive spring field course, we'll learn about amphibian adaptation and survival in the Anthropocene—the era of human-driven environmental change. As we explore lands along the South Fork Nooksack and Samish River Valley, stewarded by our friends at Whatcom Land Trust, you’ll practice field identification, compare methods used for species inventories versus population sampling, and deepen your understanding of amphibian natural history and habitat relationships. Anyone who registers for this field course will also have access to our Frogs and Salamanders of the Puget Trough online course on June 3. 🐸 Learn more and register today at https://ncascades.org/signup/programs/amphibians-of-pnw-ponds-and-wetlands 📸: Stephen Nyman and Hannah Black
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    • Overview
    • North Cascades Institute
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    • Overview
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    • Family and Adult
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    • Saul Weisberg Catalyst Fund

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