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Wilderness medicine courses at the Environmental Learning Center

Wilderness medicine courses at the Environmental Learning Center

Oct 18, 2018North Cascades Institute

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From the Trail: Bald Eagle Winter Migration
Supporter Spotlight: Ginny Darvill
2025 Nature of Writing Favorite Reads
Out There: Dispatches from My Personal Wilderness
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Inspiring environmental stewardship through education, exploration and connection since 1986.
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Did you know the North Cascades ecosystem contains

Did you know the North Cascades ecosystem contains a high diversity of both plants and animals? It contains more than 1600 vascular plant species.

🌱🐻 It is also home to over 75 species of mammals including some top predators like bald eagles, wolves, black bears, mountain lions and one day grizzly bears. There are also 200 species of birds that either migrate through or use it as a breeding area.

How neat is that?

📸: @capturedbysheilz

Calling all bird lovers! Join us at the La Conner

Calling all bird lovers! Join us at the La Conner Birding Festival this weekend at Maple Hall. Meet local organizations dedicated to bird conservation and appreciation, hear talks by experts and enthusiasts, and pop outside to birdwatch along the La Conner waterfront.

For more information, visit https://lovelaconner.com/la-conner-birding-festival/

See you there!

“It’s a dangerous business, going out your door. Y

“It’s a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” ~Bilbo Baggins

What adventure did you get swept off to this last weekend?

📸: @alpine_explorer

Did you know #BirdArtWeek starts Monday January 18

Did you know #BirdArtWeek starts Monday January 18?

🎨🦅 #BirdArtWeek is a mini art challenge on Instagram lasting only a week. @cornellbirds invites guest artists to share their work and allows the bird-enthusiast community to follow along with a series of creative prompts celebrating birds. Some past prompts include: drawing birds courtship dance moves, illustrate some of your favorite bird nests and our favorite, draw an alpine bird that you would be willing to climb a mountain and see.

🎨🦅 Art can be such a powerful way to process nature, learn about a landscape, immerse yourself in the environment and have fun!

🎨🦅 Plein air, French for in the open air, refers to the act of painting outdoors. How does art play a role for you when you go outside and what is your favorite medium? Are you a water color wizard, colored pencil curator, pen and pencil painter?

🎨🦅 Bonus question because we love the prompt so much. What alpine bird would you be willing to climb a North Cascades mountain to see?

Visit @cornellbirds for more information and how to participate.

And if you need more birds in your life visit ncascades.org/classes, to check out bird related classes North Cascades Institute is offering this month.

📸: @cornellbirds

First week of 2026 completed!! ⁣ How did the first

First week of 2026 completed!! ⁣
How did the first week of the New Year go? Inside with some couch comfy and cozy times, outside in a winter wonderland or somewhere in between?

📸: @thenomadicartist

The bald eagle is a bird of prey found near large

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 & photograph them in groups, feeding along riverbeds or roosting in trees in numbers that only occur from December to February when they come from as far as Alaska to feast on carcasses of salmon that have spawned, then die along the upper Skagit River. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
To see eagles up close: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🦅 Use a telescope, binoculars, or a telephoto lens⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🦅 Keep noise low and your movements slow ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🦅 Don’t drive and bird, pull over whenever possible, stay in your car and use it as a blind from which to photograph eagles.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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🦅 Stay away from the river’s edge & gravel bars where eagles are feeding, especially in the morning ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🦅 Use public areas along rivers and be courteous to local land owners. Do not walk across private property. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The Skagit Eagle festival takes place every weekend in January- mid February. For more info, check out the Skagit River bald Eagle interpretive center website: Skagiteagle.org⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

📸: @pnw.bolton.photography

‘‘Tis the last day of 2025. Happy New Year! Wish

‘‘Tis the last day of 2025.

Happy New Year! Wishing you a year of peace, joy and amazing moments in nature. May it bring many adventures, big and small. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

📸: @thenomadicartist

As we approach the end of the year, we invite you

As we approach the end of the year, we invite you to make an investment in learning that lasts. Your year-end gift helps ensure that transformative experiences in nature remain accessible to youth, families, and communities in the year ahead.

There’s still time to close the year with impact. Together, we can turn moments in nature into lessons that last a lifetime!

🌲 Visit ncascades.org/donate to make your year-end gift by December 31

As 2025 draws to a close, take a moment to reflect

As 2025 draws to a close, take a moment to reflect on your year, especially your year in nature.

🥾 What was one of your favorite hikes this year?

👯‍♀️ Who are some of your favorite people you got to spend time outside with? Tag them in the comments to let them know you love adventuring with them.

🏔️ Did you climb any mountains (literally, metaphorically) this year, what was your favorite or which are you most proud of?

🧘‍♀️ Did you slow down and take in the view?

📸: @haleygoeshiking

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