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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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Summertime at the Institute
Nature of Writing Speaker Series at Village Books
The Power of Diversity in Youth Leadership Adventures
Welcome Back Overnight Mountain School!
Eric Buher’s Mountain School Journey

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Looking back at our favorite summer pics, one can

Looking back at our favorite summer pics, one can appreciate how much learning feels like play. Check out our latest collection of Institute photos showing the season’s best moments, now on our blog.

💚 blog.ncascades.org

📸: The “Wild Crocs” with instructors Sydney Kahl (center) and Talia Schmitt (left) take a dip in Ross Lake during their August Youth Leadership Adventure.

📍Ancestral home lands of the Upper Skagit, Nlaka’pamux, Sauk-Suiattle, and Swinomish peoples

#throwbacktosummer #learningisfun #environmentallearningcenter #northcascades #northcascadesinstitute

“In Washington, therapy is cheap ✨🌳🏔”

“In Washington, therapy is cheap ✨🌳🏔”

From a stroll through a city park to a day spent hiking in the wilderness, exposure to nature has been linked to a host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders and even upticks in empathy and cooperation.

Where are you going outside this weekend?

📍Ancestral homelands of the Nlaka’pamux, Sauk Suiattle, Syilx (Okanagan) & Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
📸: @withnamd

🐝 A look back at NORTHWEST POLLINATOR DIVERSITY

🐝 A look back at NORTHWEST POLLINATOR DIVERSITY, last month’s field course with Bob Gillespie (and contributions from other experts in our group!)

This year's iteration of Bob's pollinator workshop featured an array of educational activities enjoyed by experts and new-bee’s alike: an upclose view of Bob’s extensive pollinator collection, netting active pollinators for identification, and touring the experimental gardens at WSU’s Northwestern Washington Research Center—all in a veritable cloud of pollination information stirred by our instructor and the enthusiastic participants.

Sign up for Field Notes to learn about future Institute courses like this! >> ncascades.org/fieldnotes

#pollinators #savethebees #plantnatives #entomology #wsu #bugpuns #northcascades #northcascadesinstitute #learningisfun

“We all want to skip to the good part, the end g

“We all want to skip to the good part, the end game, the final destination. We forget sometimes that the journey itself can be beautiful too.”

We couldn’t agree more with these words. Next time you’re out in nature slow down and try this grounding exercise.

👀 what are 5 things you can see

👂what are 4 things you can hear

❤️ what are 3 things you can feel (literally by touch or emotionally)

👃 what are 2 things you can smell

👅 what is one thing you can taste

📍Ancestral homelands of the Nlaka’pamux, Sauk Suiattle, Syilx (Okanagan) & Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
📸: @ms_elanie

608 hours! That’s how much time 2022 Youth Leade

608 hours! That’s how much time 2022 Youth Leadership Adventures participants and instructors contributed this summer to stewardship projects that improve the vitality of our National Parks and Forests.

Working with @ncascadesnps, this summer’s YLA groups stabilized trails impacted by a washout, cleaned up and reconfigured a campsite, removed rocks and brush from several miles of trail, and maintained drainage ditches and culverts. They also installed trail signs and helped brush off a helicopter pad.

Since 2006, this program has contributed 25,000+ service hours to stewardship projects in the North Cascades! 💪

Learn more about YLA: ncascades.org/youth

📍 The North Cascades region is the ancestral homeland of many Native Nations who have stewarded this land since time immemorial: Nłeʔkepmx Tmíxʷ (Nlaka'pamux), Nooksack, Coast Salish, Sauk Suiattle, Skagit, Colville, Yakama and others

October 29: BIRDING THE SALISH SEA 🦅 Join us ab

October 29: BIRDING THE SALISH SEA
🦅 Join us aboard the Snow Goose, a spacious 65-foot vessel captained by Dan Liden, as we explore the waters of Bellingham Bay, Lummi Island and surrounding areas in search of harlequin, long-tailed ducks, pacific loons, black oystercatchers, surf scoters and others. Our naturalist guide Amanda Colbert will help us identify and share the natural history of the bird species we encounter along the way. Rain or shine, all levels of birders welcome!

SIGN UP: ncascades.org/classes

📸: Photos from last year's excursion by Evan Holmstrom (1, 3, 5); Nancy Schilling (2,6); Bob Turner (4)

📍Ancestral homewaters of the Coast Salish, Lummi, Semiahmoo, Samish peoples and others

#birding #salishsea #seabirds #northcascadesinstitute #seabirdsaturday #whatcomtalk #skagittalk

North Cascades National Park Service Complex is ho

North Cascades National Park Service Complex is home to over 300 glaciers and is the most glaciated national park in the lower 48 states (sorry Glacier Natl. Park)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Glaciers play an integral role in the region's hydrologic, ecologic, and geologic systems. The melt water during the peak of the hot dry summer season, helps buffer our ecosystems during droughts. On the Skagit River, glaciers contribute between 6-12% of summer streamflow.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Glaciers in the Pacific Northwest are retreating rapidly and have shrunk over 53% in the last century. This is due to the combined effects of less precipitation and warmer summers, which scientists now attribute to climate change. Glaciers mirror the trends of climate change, resulting in broad ecosystems changes effecting everything from soil development to salmon spawning. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Have you ever seen a glacier or even walked on one? !? What can we do now to make sure people a hundred years from now can share in that glacial experience?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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📸: @alpine_explorer

By popular request, our recipe for Mountain School

By popular request, our recipe for Mountain School Trail Cookies! 🍪🍪🍪 DOUBLE your gift to Mountain School this month up $10,000—thanks to 1:1 matching funds from a generous donor!

💚 ncascades.org/donate

#elvistheraven #trailcookies #mountainschool #environmentallearningcenter #learnoutside #teachoutside #outdoorsforall #northcascades #northcascadesinstitute

Are you ready to have some fungi? 🤓 Oct 9 Fie

Are you ready to have some fungi? 🤓

Oct 9 Field Course: BEFRIENDING FUNGI 🍄🍄🍄 If you have ever wanted to dig into the rich world of fungi, this basic course may be your shovel of knowledge!

In Bellingham’s lush Hundred Acre Woods, Institute naturalist and expert guide Evan, will help you connect with fungi using hand lenses, diagrams, field guides, and your innate observation skills. We’ll begin to build a visual vocabulary that helps us notice the salient characteristics of one mushroom type or another.

Evan will also cover basic fungus ecology, the broader implications of fungus health, and probably some silly mushroom poems.

REGISTER > ncascades.org/classes

#fungusamoungus #mushroomnerd #learningisfun #northcascades #mushrooms #fantasticfungi #northcascadesinstitute #northcascadesinstitute #environmentaleducation #environment #learnoutside #teachoutside

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