Field Notes from the North Cascades / September 2023 eNewsletter
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As much as we love summer sunshine, you can imagine our relief with the much-needed rainfall over the past week—thank you water! 💦 The rain rinsed smoke out of the sky and helped calm the behavior of the Sourdough and Blue Lake fires in the North Cascades. While it will take much more precipitation to extinguish the fires—possibly not until October—the rain and cooler temperatures certainly help.
We are grateful for all the firefighters and land managers working so hard on the fires under difficult circumstances— we appreciate you!
SEPTEMBER 2023
▸ UPCOMING FIELD & ONLINE CLASSES
▸ FALL NATURE OF WRITING SPEAKER SERIES IN BELLINGHAM
▸ NEW BOOK: TEACHING IN THE RAIN: THE STORY OF NORTH CASCADES INSTITUTE
As you've likely heard by now, the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center is closed due to the Sourdough Fire and we have unfortunately decided to cancel all Learning Center-based programs for the rest of 2023. This has been an excruciating decision to make, but ultimately a necessary one because of ongoing firefighting efforts, campus operations, and the need to provide staff, partners and customers advance notice and predictability. You can read more about this hard decision on our blog at blog.ncascades.org, and check our Fire Update webpage for links to current information on the fire, air quality, and the status of Highway 20—as well as a photo gallery.
We will be using the rest of the year as a time to bolster our programs and strengthen our capabilities, and we will continue to offer educational programs including Field Excursions, Online Classes, Youth for the Environment and People (YEP!) and the Nature of Writing Speaker Series in Bellingham.
We’re so thankful for the outpouring of community support as we deal with impacts from the Sourdough Fire. Please consider making a donation to help us continue our mission to inspire environmental stewardship in 2023 and beyond: ncascades.org/give.
SOURDOUGH FIRE & LEARNING CENTER IN THE NEWS
The Sourdough Mountain Fire
—Mt Baker Experience
North Cascades Institute cancels 2023 Learning Center programs
—Skagit Valley Herald
Environmental Learning Center cancels programs for the rest of the year
—Cascadia Daily News
How wildfires are impacting outdoor recreation in Washington
—Crosscut
Learning Opportunities
FIELD EXCURSIONS, ONLINE CLASSES & EVENTS
Sept 13 | Historic Trails in the North Cascades with Judy Bentley—Online
Sept 14 | Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound—NoW* event with David Williams
Sept 28 | Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry—NoW* event with editors Elizabeth Bradfield & Derek Sheffield
Oct 1 | What Water Holds—NoW* event with Tele Aadsen and Holly Hughes
Oct 3 | Teaching in the Rain: The Story of North Cascades Institute—NoW* event with John Miles
Oct 14 | Birds, Butterflies and Wildflower Block Prints with Molly Hashimoto—Online
Oct 17 | Wander Brewing Community Tuesday Pint Night—Bellingham
Oct 21 | Wild Heart—NoW* event with Kim Freier
Oct 21 | Baker Lake Fungal Foray with Erin Moore—full, waitlist available
Oct 22 | Befriending Fungi AM and PM sessions with Evan Holmstrom—Bellingham
Oct 25 | Beyond Borders: Transboundary Conservation—Online
Oct 27 | Salmon, Cedar, Rock & Rain: Olympic Peninsula—NoW* event with Tim McNulty
Nov 5 & 15 | The Art of Maps with Véronique Robigou-Nelson—Online
Nov 8 | A Fine Line—NoW* event with Graham Zimmerman
Nov 9 | Hiking Mt Baker & The North Cascades—NoW* event with John D'Onofrio
*Nature of Writing (NoW) Speaker Series events are hosted by Village Books and take place in locations around Bellingham. See our blog for details and RSVP info.
BEFRIENDING FUNGI FIELD CLASS
AM & PM sessions, October 22
If you've wanted to dig into the rich world of fungi, naturalist Evan Holmstrom returns to offer this introductory course in the 100 Acre Woods south of Bellingham. Evan will help us connect with observable fungi using our innate skills of observation and to build our visual vocabulary so that we can begin to notice the salient characteristics of one mushroom type or another.
BIRDS, BUTTERFLIES and WILDFLOWER BLOCK PRINTS
Online, October 14
Learn how to create a hand-tinted block print in this fun online session with Molly Hashimoto. She will guide you through creating a design and carving it on easy-carve material to printing proofs, and then making oil-based ink prints which you can then hand-tint with watercolor paints.
YOUTH FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND PEOPLE!
A partnership of RE Sources and North Cascades Institute, the YEP! program is an opportunity for Whatcom and Skagit county high school students to share ideas and passions, learn about climate change solutions and engage together in local stewardship with an action project. Please spread the word to students who want to join—we offer a $150 stipend to compensate students for their time and efforts!
Goals for this fall's YEP! cohorts:
- Learn how climate change is affecting patterns of flooding in Skagit and Whatcom counties
- Understand how it affects members of our community and local wildlife
- Discover how we can become resilient to climate change impacts
Institute News
This fall, Village Books and North Cascades Institute are excited to host authors, poets and naturalists sharing their latest works. These in-person speaker events are a great opportunity to sample the new books you'll want to curl up with in the cooler nights ahead! Most events take place in Village Books Readings Gallery in Bellingham and pre-registration is encouraged.
UPCOMING EVENTS
September 14 at 7 pm:
Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound with David Williams
September 28 at 7 pm:
Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry with editors Elizabeth Bradfield and Derek Sheffield
October 1 at 4 pm:
What Water Holds with author Tele Aadsen in conversation with Holly Hughes
BOOK LAUNCH EVENT WITH JOHN MILES: OUR STORY, COMING TO PRINT!
In the early 1980s, five young men who loved teaching and the North Cascades dreamed of creating a field school to teach about the place and its many histories—natural and cultural. The North Cascades Institute emerged from that dream with the help of North Cascades National Park. John Miles' Teaching in the Rain tells how the Institute grew from humble beginnings to become a model environmental education organization. Join us Oct. 3 at 7 pm in Village Books Readings Gallery to celebrate John's book and the story it tells of the Institute’s history!
NEW ON BLOG: Languages—Barriers or Bridges in Youth Leadership Adventures?
At the end of another Youth Leadership Adventures summer season, our instructors are reflecting on their experiences leading high school students into the backcountry to canoe, backpack, and complete stewardship projects. Visit our blog for Talia Schmitt's observations on how these multilingual, multicultural trips form strong bonds and build community.
TARGET CIRCLE
We are honored and excited to announce that we have been chosen to participate in Target’s Community Giving Program! Vote for us now through September 30 to help determine how Target’s donation will be divvied up. Find out more at target.com/circle.
Top photo: Local residents share their gratitude for the fire crews working hard to protect our community—see more of their messages here.
