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Happy New Year! We are deeply grateful to the more than 700 individuals, families, and organizations who generously supported our work in 2025. Thank you for investing in the next generation of environmental stewards by helping make transformational learning experiences in nature more accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Read on to learn about upcoming spring Base Camp dates, summer Family Getaways, new Online Classes (orca whales, wolverines, and wolves—oh my!) and new Field Excursions. A few spots are still open for this Saturday's Bald Eagles of the Skagit Valley with Joe Ordoñez—to register, call 360-854-2599 by noon this Friday.
January 2026
▸ NOW HIRING AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING CENTER
▸ NEW BASE CAMP DATES, FIELD EXCURSIONS AND ONLINE CLASSES
▸ OUR FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2025
We hope your holiday season nourished you in the ways you needed—and that you found time to get outside, too. Each January 1, we like to flip through favorite poetry books in search of a mantra for the year ahead. This one by Mary Oliver appeared and felt just right:
“Attention is the beginning of devotion.”
Thank you for being part of North Cascades Institute.
REMT TRAINING AT THE LEARNING CENTER
January 19 - February 13, 2026
A comprehensive, all-Inclusive 20-day immersive program hosted at the Environmental Learning Center leading to Remote Emergency Medical Technician (REMT) certification. This instructor-led course by Remote Medical Training progresses from foundational theory to advanced application entirely through hands-on labs and high-fidelity scenarios.
Get 15% off with promo code "MERRYTRIAGE" and register before Friday, January 16.
MOUNTAIN SCHOOL OPENINGS
North Cascades Institute is now recruiting schools for Mountain School programs for the 2026 spring and fall seasons. We invite classrooms to join us at the Environmental Learning Center for three days of hands-on, field-based learning focused on ecological literacy, community building, and connection to place. Schools interested in securing dates or learning more about program options, group logistics, and pricing are encouraged to reach out soon, as sessions typically fill quickly.
Learning Opportunities
FIELD EXCURSIONS & ONLINE LEARNING
Jan 10 | Bald Eagles of the Skagit with Joe Ordoñez - call 360-854-2599 to register
Jan 31 | Skagit Valley Winter Birding with Brendan McGarry
Feb 18 | Orcas of the Salish Sea with Amanda Colbert - online
Mar 4 | Wolverines of the North Cascades with Cal Waichler - online
Apr 18 or 19 | Salish Seaweed Garden with Jennifer Hahn - Port Townsend
Apr 23 | Wolves in Washington Updates from the Wolf Advisory Group - online
May 10 | Snake Count with John Rohrer and Scott Fitkin - Methow Valley
Scholarships + military, student and disability discounts are available for most programs
Questions? Contact us at info@ncascades.org or (360) 854-2599
ORCAS OF THE SALISH SEA with Amanda Colbert |
WOLVERINES OF THE NORTH CASCADES with Cal Waichler |
STAY & PLAY IN THE NORTH CASCADES THIS SPRING
Looking for an overnight adventure in the North Cascades during the quiet season? BASE CAMP LEARNING & LODGING at the Environmental Learning Center offers guided seasonal learning activities with Institute naturalists, three meals and overnight accommodations in our guest lodges. Come for a night or an extended stay!
Now registering for March, April and May!
FAMILY GETAWAYS SUMMER 2026
Bring your family to the Environmental Learning Center for a weekend of adventure, connection, and fun! Each day, Institute naturalists lead hands-on activities—hikes, nature crafts, outdoor games, big canoe explorations, songs by the campfire, and stargazing the night sky. Lodging and meals included, and anyone you call family is welcome! 2026 DATES: July 3-5, 10-12, 24-26 & Aug 7-9, 14-16.
Institute News
NOW HIRING FOR 2026
We are looking ahead to another bustling year of outdoor educational programs for people of all ages at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center and recruiting for a wide variety of positions: Program Coordinator, Youth Leadership Instructors, Housekeepers, Cooks, Onsite Evening Host and other vital roles that make the magic happen!
NCI RECOMMENDS | "Reciprocity in the Age of Extinction" with Rena Priest
Save Our Wild Salmon’s RECIPROCITY webinar series offered an inspiring invitation to deepen respect and care for salmon—and their essential relationships to ecosystems, lands, waters, and people. We were honored to partner with them for a talk by Rena Priest, now available to watch online. Rena, an enrolled member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation and former Washington State Poet Laureate, has shared her work at the Environmental Learning Center and is the recipient of numerous honors, including the 2024 Washington State Book Award.
2025 NATURE OF WRITING FAVORITE READSOur Nature of Writing Speaker Series brings community together for presentations by authors, artists, naturalists and poets, illuminating the natural world with the turn of a page. From a meditation on the lives of rivers to reflections on how we are shaped in and by nature, 2025's books remind us of the transformative power of the living world and our connection to it. Our staff compiled a list of our favorite books from 2025 for your reading in the new year! |
HOST YOUR GROUP GATHERING AT OUR LAKESIDE VENUEReserve space for your 2026 family reunion, retreat, group training or other gathering at the Environmental Learning Center! On the wooded shore of Diablo Lake in the heart of North Cascades National Park, this unique venue inspires reflection and connection to the natural world as well as to each other. Lodging for 10-92 guests, meals and guided canoeing and hiking opportunities included. To learn more, call 360-854-2583 or use our Information Request Form. |
SUPPORTER SPOTLIGHT: GINNY DARVILL
We want to thank longtime Headwaters Club member Ginny Darvill who has been generously supporting the Institute for over 20 years. Ginny is incredibly passionate about our youth programs. In 2010, she started an endowment stating,
“I created an endowment focused on supporting youth programs because they offer kids of all backgrounds experience and knowledge of nature, personal growth, and leadership skills. Young people are growing up in a rapidly changing, challenging world for which they need all the support they can get to cope with the problems of climate change and to hopefully preserve the planet.”
Ginny and her late husband, Dr. Fred Darvill, have a fascinating history with the Institute and the North Cascades, including stewarding Hidden Lake and Park Butte lookouts, investing in the Wild Ginger Library at the Environmental Learning Center, and spending many summers in a cabin they built in the Stehekin Valley.
Top Image: Short-eared Owl, December 2025, Ferndale WA by Eric Ellingson; see more of his photography at flickr.com/ericellingson
