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 …
Read More of Between Fear and Fascination: Studying Vespids in the North Cascades
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 …
Read More of Bumblebees: An Essential Spring Harbinger
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 …
Read More of Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees
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 …
Read More of Takin’ Care of Beesinus: United States Native Bee Facts, Threats and Conservation
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 …
Read More of Springing into Learning: Graduate Spring Natural History Retreat
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 …
Read More of Cascadian Farm: It all started in the Skagit!
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 …
Read More of Mason Bees and Honey Bees: What's the Difference?
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 …
Read More of The Trifecta: C14's Last 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 …
Read More of Chasing Winter: A Natural History Retreat
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 …
Read More of Butterflies and Bee Bowls – Citizen Science in the North Cascades
