Happy Spring! We're enjoying the nice weather — and the rain too — as the season progresses in the North Cascades. The highway is open and people are filtering back in to the mountains, or crossing between the Skagit and Methow Valleys, though there is a lot of snow in the high country. Down low in the Skagit, it's tulips and daffodils, lots of returning birds adorned in breeding colors, and longer days. All Institute programs for the rest of the year have opened for registration — including Skagit Tours, Family Getaways, Base Camp Learning & Lodging and dozens of small-group classes — so hopefully you are making plans to visit us soon!
May 2019
▶ GIVE BIG MAY 8
▶ TEACHING TEACHERS
▶ MARBLEMOUNT QUARRY
▶ UPCOMING CLASSES
▶ BIRDS OF THE WEST
Two of our programs for school students are in full swing — Mountain School at the Environmental Learning Center and the new Forest School at the Gordon Carter site on Lake Whatcom. We couldn't be more excited to be teaching thousands of students this Spring in the great outdoors. It's good for the individual student, and for our larger collective society because shared experiences in nature strengthen community. Coming together outside, we can leave behind the pressures that isolate, distract and divide us. We learn, explore, and challenge ourselves, and find common ground when sharing stories under a night sky. These transformative experiences are even more important for our children!
"Mountain School helps students see that they are all part of a larger community and that their actions can make a difference" – Elementary School Teacher
You can help build and strengthen community by making a *GiveBIG for Youth* gift omaking a gift on or before May 8, when every dollar you donate will be matched. Thanks to a few generous donors, the first $45,000 donated on GiveBIG will be doubled!
Institute News
Youth Leadership Adventures
Youth Leadership Adventures staff is busy preparing for summer. We have welcomed our new coordinator, Elle Gasperini, as well as hired summer Field Instructors and Interns. This summer, YLA will be offering students — primarily from Whatcom and Skagit counties — four 12-day programs which will traverse North Cascades National Park by canoe and trail. These high school students will connecting with the ecosystem, gaining outdoors and camping skills, acquire hands-on understanding of how climate change is affecting our local landscapes and build leadership skills. For most, these trips will be the first of many new accomplishments: first time backpacking, first time sleeping under the stars, first time in the national park, first time leaving home for an extended period with a group of strangers....strangers who will transform in to close community by the end of each trip.
You can support this next generation of conservation leaders with your GiveBIG gift on May 8 making a gift on May 8.
TEACHING THE TEACHERSRead a great story in the Cascadia Weekly about the new Climate Science Teacher Training program — a four-part series that is empowering Whatcom and Skagit K-12 teachers to take their students outside and provide lessons focused on climate science. We're proud to support Washington's Next Generation Science Standards by providing local teachers knowledge and tools so they are confident in extending their teaching beyond the walls of the classroom! |
STATEMENT ON MARBLEMOUNT QUARRYNorth Cascades Institute joins our upriver neighbors — including the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, Seattle City Light and homeowners in the region (including Institute staff and graduate students) — in opposing the Marblemount Quarry proposal. We have grave concerns about the project's impacts on wildlife, water quality, the local community and economy, cultural resources and values that our organization is based on. Read our letter to Skagit County and learn how to submit your own comments too. |
Upcoming Classes & Events
July 5-7 — Early July Family Getaway
July 12-14 — The Watercolor Journal with Michelle Cooper (ELC)
July 19-21 — Mid-July Family Getaway
July 28 — Sauk Mountain Wildflower Wander with Shelley Weisberg
July 31 — Night Photography at Artist Point with Andy Porter
August 2-4 — Early August Family Getaway
August 9-11 — Mid-August Family Getaway
August 17 — Music of the North Cascades with David Boye
August 18 — Moving Water Photography with Juan Aguilera
August 23-25 — Late August Family Getaway
September 6-8 — Adventures NW Photography Workshop (ELC)
September 13-15 — Fall Watercolors with Nikki Frumkin (ELC)
September 28-29 — Hawkwatching at Chelan Ridge
Many more classes, information and registration at ncascades.org/get_outside, info@ncascades.org or (360) 854-2599.
Scholarships, student and military discounts and teacher credits may be available.
Free readings and art demos with Molly Hashimoto
Congratulations to Molly Hashimoto, one of our longest-running art teachers, on the publication of her new book Birds of the West. Molly excels at capturing birds through different media, from quick sketches with pen and wash to more carefully planned block prints. Each medium has a unique way of revealing different avian qualities--elegant lines or imposing silhouettes, a delicate bill or brilliant plumage. In her new book, Molly shares this range of artwork as a way to encourage readers, whether artists or not, to observe more closely the feathered friends around us.
May 2 — 6-9:30 pm, University of Washington Friends of the Libraries author dinner
May 4 — 11am–12:30 pm, Daniel Smith Artists’ Materials, Seattle: Book signing and demo
May 14 — 5-7:30 pm, Seattle Audubon book signing
May 16 — 5-8 pm, Cascadia Art Museum Edmonds Artwalk event: book signing and demonstration
May 17 — 1-3 pm, hands-on mini-workshop, book signing from 3-4 pm, Leavenworth Birdfest
May 23 — 7-8 pm, Village Books, Bellingham, book signing and presentation ~ sponsored by North Cascades Institute
May 30 — 7 pm, Lake Forest Park Third Place Books, book signing and presentation
Family Getaways in North Cascades National Park
Family Getaways are popular gatherings that offer a wide variety of engaging, hands-on activities for people of all ages — this summer's sessions are filling fast!
A 'Top Adventurous Family Vacation You Can Afford'... the Environmental Learning Center is not only a place to learn about conservation and stewardship but also a great getaway to relax and have fun!
— Outside Magazine
Naturalist Note
A Year of Changes on the Confluence
OBSERVATIONS FROM THE UPPER SKAGIT RIVER
From first blooms to salmon runs, bird migrations to wildlife tracks, Graduate M.Ed. student Brendan McGarry shares a year of observations at the confluence of Diobsud Creek and the Skagit River at the Institute's Confluence Property on our blog.
Read more ⤑
"Crow, Cherry Blossoms & Moon" block print by Molly Hashimoto
Youth Leadership Adventures students at Mazama Camp by Benj Drummond / iLCP
Varied Thrush by Brendan McGarry
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Connecting people, nature and community since 1986
Explore more at ncascades.org | (360) 854-2599
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810 State Route 20, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284
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