2009

2009

You Are

HERE

©DAVID PLOUTH

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2 ©AMY BROWN

©AMY BROWN

© B E N J D R U M M O N D W W W. B E N D R U M . C O M

©AMY BROWN

© T O M G OT C H Y

and HERE and HERE

and HERE

and HERE!

©DAVID SNYDER

E X P LO R E Y OU R W ILD BACKYAR D W IT H NO R T H C ASCADES INST IT U T E I’M HEARTENED TO SEE PEOPLE EXPRESSING a renewed interest in getting to know their own extended neighborhoods.

Families are rediscovering the joys of simple vacations.

Couples are choosing to spend their leisure time closer to home. In 2008, North Cascades Institute served a record number of people at the Learning Center and across the state; more families communing at our Family Getaways, more artists and writers participating in our creative retreats, more friends enjoying Diablo Downtimes and Field Excursions, more adults taking natural and cultural history classes and more children learning about the North Cascades ecosystem in Mountain School.

Yahoo News recommends that we “chill out, stay green and explore the wild side without burning through your budget” while Green Living Ideas notes “with a little creativity, you can create an affordable retreat in

your own backyard…staycations allow you to explore the activities in your area that you usually brush aside, assuming that one day you’ll have time for them.”

The popularity of staycations is a positive trend for many reasons—environmental, economic, spiritual—and they dovetail with our goals at the Institute. For 24 years, we’ve been working to conserve and restore Northwest environments through education and hands-on experiences, believing that learning about and feeling the intimate details of a place naturally lead to caring about the integrity of that place. Knowledge precedes connection—we need both before action.

We’ve seen it happen again and again, and it never gets old: the wonder that washes over the faces of students as they make a new discovery alongside Deer Creek; families forging memories on a hike to Sourdough Waterfall, the

amazement of kids paddling a canoe for the first time on Ross Lake. Learning the names of our neighbors—maidenhair fern, pika, greenschist, lazuli bunting, green darner—changes and enriches our lives.

What are you waiting for?

Flip through this catalog (or visit www.ncascades.org for expanded listings) and find the program that is right for you. Bring along your family, your partner or your friends. Rediscover the simple pleasures of learning and playing in nature. This year we offer more ways than ever to rediscover and reconnect with this amazing place we are so fortunate to call home. By choosing to explore your own backyard, you’ll not only benefit the environment and your budget—you’ll also give yourself the gift of connection, community and hope for the future.

Saul Weisberg, Executive Director

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March 28-29

CONT ENTS

Sourdough Speaker Series I: In the Company of Tony Angell

April 10-12

Booklovers Weekend with Nancy Pearl

17-19 A Sense of Place: Writing about the Outdoors

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5-7

The Secret Life of Lichens Simple Elegance: Block Printing in the North Cascades 25-26

Sourdough Speaker Series II: Abby Hill’s Legacy of Art and Conservation

1-3

9-10

6

Free Day Trip I

7

Wild Whatcom: The Nature of Bellingham

12-14

Greening Your Garden The North Cascades in Plein Air Watercolor

Hands to Work: Learning Center Stewardship Weekend

Beats: The Rhythmic Experience of the North Cascades

Colors and Calls: Birding By Ear and Eye

San Juan Islands Botany

Sourdough Speaker Series III: The Skagit River Dams 15-17

Landscape and Lens: Photographing the North Cascades Spring Birding Weekend: Neo-Tropical Migrants

May

May Diablo Downtime

23-25 Memorial Day Family Getaway Š 1)+%2 1'+-28=

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June

14 19-21 21

Field Sketching: Deception Pass June Diablo Downtime Wild Whatcom: The Nature of Bellingham

27

An Evening with Gary Snyder

26-28

Late June Family Getaway

30

Duwamish River Kayak Excursion

26-28

Methow Migrations: Birds

28-2

Grantwriting in the North Cascades

Institute Annual Picnic

August July 2-5

Fourth of July Family Getaway

9-12

Family Backpacking I

10-12

1

Wildflowers of Mount Baker II

2

Free Day Trip III

6-9

Geology of Mount Baker II: Easton Glacier Backpack

7-9

August Diablo Downtime

Ross Lake by Boat and Boot: People and Places of the Upper Skagit

10-12

Early August Family Getaway

July Diablo Downtime

12-16

Easy Pass Backpack: Thunder Creek to Fisher Basin

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Skagit Valley Farm Tour I

13-15

Mid July Family Getaway

16–19

Art Afield: Diablo Creative Arts Retreat

13-16

17-19 The Night Sky in the High Desert 19

4-7 11-13

Labor Day Family Getaway Constructive Capitalism: Opportunities of Sustainability

Family Backpacking II

Forest Carnivores of the North Cascades

Beats on the Peaks: Lookout Poets and Backcountry Tales on Ross Lake

Digital Outdoor Photography: Capturing the Cascades

Northwest Naturalists Weekend

Free Day Trip II

September

12

Toadstools, Fairy Rings and Witch’s Butter: Northwest Mushrooms 101

September Diablo Downtime

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22

26

Wildflowers of Mount Baker I

Geology of Mount Baker III: Ptarmigan Ridge

Skagit Valley Harvest Tour III: Upriver Bounty

26

Seattle’s Wild Side: Natural History in the Streets

Eleventh Annual Thunder Arm Writing Retreat

28-30

Mutual Destinies: HumanCorvid Interactions

27

Sourdough Speaker Series V: Border Songs with Jim Lynch

24-25

18-20

Late August Family Getaway

30Aug 2

10-11

Sit, Walk, Write: Nature and the Practice of Presence

17-19 Mid-August Family Getaway

26-27

Shades of Fall: Arboretum Watercolor Expedition

Shack Medicine: A Fishtown Excursion

21-23

Skagit Valley Farm Tour II

3

October Diablo Downtime

Geology of Mount Baker I: Lake Ann

Sourdough Mountain Celebration

Will Write for Change: Communication Tools and Techniques for Activists

16-18

Late July Family Getaway

27-30

2-4

23-25

25

23-26

October

Sourdough Speaker Series IV Free Day Trip IV

November 7-8 25-28

Sourdough Speaker Series VI Thanksgiving Family Getaway 5

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F A M I LY G E T A W A Y S GATHER YO U R F A M ILY IN TH E N O R T H C A S C A D E S

(KKGEJC BKN PD=P elusive combination of adventure and comfort?

Searching for a way to experience the great outdoors without traveling too far afield? Want to feel like you’ve left behind your day-to-day life without the burden of a large credit card or carbon footprint?

In the spirit of eco-friendly “stay-cations,” North Cascades Institute offers a way to connect with your family—and nature too—at our Learning Center on Diablo Lake. Spend time together enjoying the invigorating mountain air and starry skies of the North Cascades, but leave the tent at home because our lodges offer the excitement of camping without all the complications! We’ve created a slate of activities perfect for introducing people of all ages to nature, from hikes through ancient woodlands along Thunder Creek to story-telling, games and arts and crafts to an exploration of forest life we call “Slugs, Snags and Sapsuckers.”

With the tastes of multiple generations in mind, our kitchen staff serves three scrumptious, healthful, buffet-style meals a day in our lakeside dining hall. After evening campfires, you and your family can retire to your private room, spend some time with a book in the Wild Ginger Library or stay up late chatting with new friends in one of our comfortable lounges.

We welcome families that include parents, guardians, grandparents, children and extended family. Three-day Family Getaways are $225 per adult (18 and older) and $155 per child (ages 3-17); four-day Getaways are $295 per adult (18 and older) and $195 per child (ages 3-17). Children ages two and younger can be added to the “family” registration at no charge.

Children under the age of six are the responsibility of a parent throughout the program.

Make this summer’s close-to-home getaway one your family will look forward to year after year!

2368, '%7'%()7 -278-898)©7 *EQMP] +IXE[E]W May 23–25 (Memorial Day) June 26–28 July 2–5 (4 day/4th of July) July 13–15 (midweek) July 23–26 (4 day) Aug 10–12 (midweek) Aug 17–19 (midweek) Aug 21–23 Sept 4–7 (4 day/Labor Day) Nov 25–28 (4 day/ Thanksgiving)

l FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER, VISIT WWW.NCASCADES.ORG/FAMILY OR CALL (360) 856-5700 EXT. 209.

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*EQMP] +IXE[E] %GXMZMXMIW k Big Canoe: Adventure on Diablo Lake “Big Trees and Big Views” “Birds to Bears” Wildlife Tracking Children’s Story Hour “Geology Rocks!” Waterfall Hike “Slugs, Snags and Sapsuckers” Forest Life Introduction

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DIABLO DOWNTIME H IKING AN D C A N O E IN G , Y O G A A N D S LO W F O O D

5KQ =OGA@ BKN EP a weekend to relax. Diablo Downtime is for anyone looking for a break from the hurried life, a laid-back stretch in the mountains with only the simplest decisions to make: What kind of adventure should I choose today? Paddling on Diablo Lake or the hike to the Sourdough Creek waterfall? How about a little yoga in the morning? Should I have seconds of that organic blueberry cobbler? Or just stroll to the dock to enjoy the sunset...

Named for the beautiful lake at our doorstep, Diablo Downtime is a getaway for adults—singles, couples, siblings, friends, even parents looking for a hideout. Arriving Friday afternoon, you’ll settle into our cozy lodges, and then gather as the sun sets over Diablo Lake for a welcome with hors d’oeuvres. Each day, you can choose from a range of activities, from invigorating hikes with local naturalists to canoe trips through pine-studded islands and fern-draped cliffs to beginning and intermediate yoga.

You’ll also appreciate “slow foodâ€?—delicious meals that celebrate food gathered from the bounty of the Skagit Valley. Our talented kitchen staff will offer an introduction to the Institute’s Foodshed Project, our initiative to use local and organic products at the Learning Center and teach about food choices, sustainable agriculture and culturally important foods in the PaciďŹ c Northwest.

Then, of course, there’s the peace and quiet of the North Cascades, which you’re more than welcome to indulge in. Just come upriver, settle in and relax. We’ll be waiting for you.

Charles Claassen, Adam Russell, Hannah Sullivan and Institute Naturalists (Fri eve–Sun) 1E] ¤ .YRI ¤ .YP] ¤ %YK ¤ 7ITX ¤ 3GX ¤ Learning Center t $325 includes 2 nights double-occupancy lodging and 6 meals $80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY $160 PREMIUM FOR PRIVATE ROOM

l FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER, VISIT WWW.NCASCADES.ORG/DOWNTIME OR CALL (360) 856-5700 EXT. 209.

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Diablo Downtime yoga instructor Hannah Sullivan practices a headstand

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LE ARNING CENTER DAY TRIPS *OTUJUVUF /BUVSBMJTUT BOE /BUJPOBM 1BSL 4FSWJDF SBOHFST t 'SFF EPOBUJPOT XFMDPNF

'JSTU DPNF mSTU TFSWFE 1SF SFHJTUSBUJPO JT OPU PGGFSFE BOE HSPVQ TJ[F JT MJNJUFE 7EXYVHE]W .YRI .YP] %YK ERH 7ITX ˆ EQ¤ TQ Ramble through the mossy woods. Hike to a hidden waterfall. Paddle on emerald-green Diablo Lake.

Learn more about the Institute, our programs and our eco-friendly Learning Center campus. Our free Day Trips are easy to enjoy—just lace up your boots, pack your lunch and venture to our campus off Highway 20. Bring personal gear, appropriate clothing, food and water. This is a day program only; participants are responsible for their own lodging and meals off campus. Doors open for signup at 8:30 am for the following activities:

*SVIWX ERH ;EXIVJEPP ,MOIW Gently paced, naturalist-led hikes departing from the Learning Center ofďŹ ce. Visitors may hike independently as well.

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(MEFPS 0EOI 'ERSIMRK Voyager canoe trips are weather-dependent and ďŹ rst come, ďŹ rst served. Twelve passengers maximum per trip; must be over six years of age. Prior experience is not necessary and all canoeing equipment will be provided. l MORE INFORMATION, INCLUDING DRIVING DIRECTIONS, AT WWW.NCASCADES.ORG/DAYTRIPS. 9

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SOURDOUGH SPEAKER SERIES ONE-NIGHT GATHERINGS AT THE LEARNING CENTER In the Company of Tony Angell

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an important part of the cultural landscape of the North Cascades for centuries, from when the first native people searched for trading routes through the crest to the colorful parade of miners, loggers, hikers, fire lookouts, climbers, rangers and dam workers that followed. Nestled at the foot of Sourdough Mountain, our Learning Center is the latest venue in the Upper Skagit for intimate gatherings of Northwest artists, writers, naturalists and historians to share their own stories from the region.

Each Sourdough Speaker Series engagement begins Saturday around sunset with wine and hors d’œuvres on the deck of our lakeside dining hall before moving inside for an informal gourmet dinner of local and organic foods prepared by our renowned kitchen staff. A presentation by our guest speaker will follow, with ample time for questions, discussion and getting acquainted with others. Following Sunday morning’s coffee and breakfast, we’ll offer an optional activity designed to get you outdoors, exploring the Learning Center’s neighborhood.

Your ticket includes two meals, a one-of-a-kind presentation and overnight accommodations in our comfortable guest lodges, as well as access to the Wild Ginger Library, our trail system and after-hours lounges. Dress is casual, of course. Your ticket confirmation will include travel directions, check-in information and other details. Attendance is limited to 40 guests; $95 per person for each event.

“The setting and the campus were beautiful and the other attendees were so congenial.

Sourdough Speaker gatherings offer a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere created by the staff, the delicious, healthy food and, of course, last weekend’s perfect weather.”

l FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER, VISIT WWW.NCASCADES.ORG/SPEAKERSERIES OR CALL (360) 856-5700 EXT. 209.

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Tony Angell, artist 1EVGL ¤ (Sat–Sun) Tony Angell’s remarkable sculptures celebrate nature in its many forms and can be seen in public places throughout the Northwest— the ravens guarding the entrance to the Mt. Baker Ski Area are a local favorite—as well as in prominent public and private collections.

He is the illustrator of many books beloved by Northwest naturalists including In the Company of Crows and Ravens, written with John Marzluff and awarded a Washington State Book Award in 2006, and the classic field guide Marine Birds and Mammals of Puget Sound.

Tony has served as a board member of Washington’s chapter of the Nature Conservancy, is an elected Fellow of the National Sculpture Society and retired in 2002 as Director of Environmental Education for the state of Washington after 30 years. He is a longtime supporter of North Cascades Institute as well as other nonprofits that work to conserve Northwest environments.

“My art is intended to be my aesthetic invitation to a broad audience,” Tony said. “My hope is that, through art, they will discover and cherish the living systems of this special place — from the Cascade watersheds to the open waters of Puget Sound.”

During this special evening, Tony will share images and stories of a lifetime spent bringing people closer to nature through art.

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The Skagit River Dams: A story of water, rock and human imagination

Andrea Moody, consulting curator, Abby Williams Hill Collection; Molly Hashimoto, artist

Jesse Kennedy, North Cascades National Park Archives

%TVMP ¤ (Sat–Sun) Lured by a marketing campaign promoting the Northwest’s epic landscapes and mountain scenery, Abby Williams Hill arrived in Washington with her husband about the time the remote territory became a state. Driven by an artistic desire to capture the largely unknown landscapes, Hill rejected the conventional expectations of women of her generation and went on to establish herself as a preeminent and widely exhibited landscape painter. Along the way, she spent a good deal of her life in the wilderness, raising and educating four children and working for educational reform. She was a popular artist for promotional railway commissions and, thanks to a special agreement, Hill was able to retain much of the work she created. Today, the intact collection resides at the University of Puget Sound where it is curated and interpreted by art historian Andrea Moody.

Andrea will share the images and stories of this remarkable woman. She will be joined by Molly Hashimoto, a popular Institute instructor and artist with a passion for Hill’s work and for her place in the history of the Northwest art and culture.

1E] ¤ (Sat–Sun) The three dams on the Skagit River—Gorge, Diablo and Ross— generate about 17 percent of the electrical power consumed in Seattle but, remote and inaccessible, they remain a mystery to many of us. Planning for the dams began in the early 1900s, climaxed with the completion of Ross in 1961 and continues even today. As one historian noted, during those decades “the project had to overcome competition, politics, international diplomacy, the weather and the mountains themselves.” This massive hydroelectric project is inexorably linked to the cultural history of the Skagit Valley and the North Cascades and is rich with intertwined tales of visionaries, nature and feats of engineering. Interpreting this history in story and rare achival photos will be Jesse Kennedy, chief of Cultural Resource Management for North Cascades National Park, who will be joined by Seattle City Light experts who can answer most any esoteric question you may have about dams and how they work. As a special bonus, we are working with SCL to arrange a special Sunday-morning cruise aboard the 50-foot Alice Ross III to see Ross and Diablo dams up close and imagine, if concrete could talk, the stories they have to tell. (Optional boat tour is pending and requires additional fee.)

+-97)44) 136)88-

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A Woman Lured West: Abby Hill’s legacy of art and conservation

AN E VENING WITH GARY SNYDER MAY 27, BENAROYA HALL, SEATTLE Join Seattle Arts & Lectures and North Cascades Institute in welcoming Gary Snyder back to the Pacific Northwest for a very special engagement at Benaroya Hall. Snyder is the author of several volumes of poetry, including Turtle Island, Mountains and Rivers Without End and Danger on Peaks, and collections of essays like The Practice of the Wild, A Place in Space and Back on the Fire. This year marks the 50th anniversary of his landmark compendium of mountain poetry, Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems. Snyder served as a fire lookout on Sourdough and Crater mountains in the North Cascades during the summers of 1952-53, writing some of his most inspired verse on a ridge high above North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. Join the Institute in giving Snyder a warm welcome back to his old stomping grounds in Washington State!

l TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT WWW.LECTURES.ORG/BOXOFFICE OR (206) 621-2230 ext.10.

CAN’T MAKE IT TO SEATTLE? JOIN US FOR “BEATS ON THE PEAKS” AUG 13–16 (PG. 29) OR “SOURDOUGH MOUNTAIN CELEBRATION” AUG 27–30 (PG. 31)!

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%J PDA BKHHKSEJC pages, North Cascade Institute offers two distinct routes for you to explore and interact with the natural and cultural history of the Pacific Northwest.

One pathway leads to the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, our field campus on the shores of Diablo Lake in the heart of the North Cascades.

When you sign up for a program at the Learning Center, you are purchasing more than a world-class educational experience. Along with hands-on instruction from the Pacific Northwest’s finest artists, scientists, naturalists and writers, most Learning Center programs include accommodations in one of our comfortable ADA-accessible lodges, delicious, fresh and healthful meals served in our lakeside dining hall, access to multimedia classrooms, the amphitheater and Wild Ginger Library, intimate proximity to Diablo Lake, trails leading into the national park and secluded shelters in nearby woodlands and personalized attention from our dynamic staff of naturalists and educators. Considering the combined value of instruction, content, lodging, meals and Learning Center amenities, our programs are easily one of the greatest getaway deals in the Pacific Northwest!

Sign up for a Learning Center program–Diablo Downtime, adult seminars and retreats, Sourdough Speaker Series, Family Getaways and more–and find out why the Seattle Times, after visiting us in the summer of 2008, wrote “What in the name of Eden had we stumbled upon?”

The other pathway winds throughout Washington State, from Seattle to the Skagit Valley to Mount Baker to the Columbia Plateau, from mountaintops to

riverbanks to city streets. Field Excursions explore the diversity of ecosystems and communities that exist in our corner of the planet in ways both educational and entertaining. Register for a kayaking trip, a backcountry hike, a visual art excursion, a farm tour or a stroll through urban woodlands and let the Institute and our instructors–each a leader in their respective field–lead you to a deeper appreciation of the Pacific Northwest.

Whether you choose a Field Excursion, a Learning Center program or both, we hope you’ll join us in 2009 to strengthen your connections with the land, people and communities of this amazing place we are so lucky to call home. By choosing to explore your own backyard this year, you’ll not only benefit the environment and your budget, you’ll be giving yourself the gift of connection, community and hope for the future.

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© T O M G OT C H Y

LEARNING CENTER PROGR AMS AND FIELD E XCURSIONS

Explore the side canyons of Ross Lake on the Mule, July 9–12 or Aug 13–16

© C A R O LY N W AT E R S

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© J O H N S C U R LO C K

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Booklovers Weekend with Nancy Pearl Nancy Pearl, Christina Claassen and Institute Naturalists

APRIL /M A Y

%TVMP ¤ (Fri–Sun) 18 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 7 meals $355 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY $80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY

“Sunflower Bee.” Make block prints with Ruthy Porter, April 17–19

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The Northwest has a reputation as being one of the most literary or “bookish” regions in the country. Some say it’s because of our winters, when short days and long stretches of drizzle inspire many to stay inside with a good read. Celebrate the dawn of spring by emerging from hibernation to join Nancy at the Learning Center for a celebration of all things books. Nancy will share selections from her popular series Book Lust and open up pathways to new books and authors of the Pacific Northwest. Together with Christina, our talented librarian, we’ll get in touch with our inner bookworms while enjoying a weekend of reading, discussion and inspiration with plenty of time to stretch your legs on the greening trails.

© M A R CO P R OZ ZO

$160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

A Sense of Place: Writing About the Outdoors Nick O’Connell

Simple Elegance: Block Printing in the North Cascades Ruthy Porter

%TVMP ¤ (Fri–Sun) 18 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 7 meals

%TVMP ¤ (Fri–Sun) 18 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 7 meals

$355 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY

$295 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY

$80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY

$80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY

$160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

$160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

Writing is an abstract art, relying on tiny black symbols against a white background to re-create the physical world in all of its color and complexity.

How can writers conjure a sense of a place in their work? This workshop will teach you how to make a place come alive through the use of speciďŹ c imagery, concrete language, dramatic scene and point of view to bring the reader into the world you’re describing. We’ll read travel and nature writing from Paul Theroux, Edward Abbey, Brenda Peterson and George Orwell and discuss how these authors manage to capture a sense of place in their work.

Through free writing, short exercises and discussion, writers will complete a short story of their own evoking a strong sense of place. Nick O’Connell is the author of On Sacred Ground: The Spirit of Place in PaciďŹ c Northwest Literature and At the Field’s End: Interviews with 22 PaciďŹ c Northwest Writers. Learn more about his work at www.thewritersworkshop.net.

Emerging wildowers, towering evergreens and jagged Cascade peaks reected in cool, rippling waters inspire awesome works of art. Join us in an amazing setting and try your hand at the classic and elegant medium of block printing with Ruthy, a graphic designer and environmental educator. You’ll learn about materials—we’ll use Safety-Cut blocks, which cut like butter—as well as pre-drawing planning and the consideration of subject matter, composition, technique, values and reverse images.

Ruthy will also address the challenge of capturing the essence—or “is-nessâ€?—of your subject. On the ďŹ rst day, you’ll carve and print one simple miniature block to get the feel of the tools and the process. During the next two days, you’ll explore the site in search of intriguing subjects, cut two card-size blocks and experiment with printing on various papers. Materials and tools will be provided and you’ll go home with everything you need to pursue your newfound passion!

ŠSAUL WEISBERG

ON THE WEB: W W W.NCASCADES.ORG/GET_OUTSIDE k

LEARNING CENTER R E G IS T R AT I O N I N F O *MVWX XMQIV HMWGSYRX If you’ve never attended an Institute adult program, you may be eligible for a ďŹ rst-timers discount!

See page 36 for complete details.

4VMGMRK ERH EGGSQQSHEXMSRW Classes at the Learning Center offer several enrollment options, and pricing varies according to sleeping arrangements. The campus includes 23 rooms in three guest lodges, each with one twin bed and a set of twin bunk beds. Depending on availability, you may choose one of the following: The standard price listed is per person, sharing a room with one other person. Triple occupancy

is sharing a room with two other people. This may require use of an upper bunk, accessible by an easyto-climb ladder. Single occupancy is for a room for one person.

Shared occupancy is assigned on a gender-speciďŹ c basis unless a particular roommate(s) is requested at time of registration. Single occupancy is limited and offered on a space-available basis. If you register for triple occupancy, please be prepared to use the top bunk, even though you might not be required to.

All Learning Center classes include meals prepared by our kitchen staff and feature local and organic foods. To learn more about accommodations, visit

www.ncascades.org/learning_center .

Prices listed next to Field Excursions are per person.

Participants in Field Excursions are responsible for their own food and lodging unless otherwise speciďŹ ed in the course description.

7GLSPEVWLMTW EGEHIQMG GVIHMX ERH GPSGO LSYVW To make programs available to a wide audience, we have scholarship funds available. Many Learning Center classes are offered for optional academic credit through Western Washington University and/or teacher clock hour certiďŹ cation approved by the OfďŹ ce of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. See page 36 for complete details.

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The Secret Life of Lichens Katherine Glew %TVMP ¤ (Fri eve–Sun) 15 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 6 meals $295 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY $80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY

Š C A R O LY N W AT E R S

$160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

Learn about the microscopic world of lichens, like these “Pixie cups,� April 17–19

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Crustose, fruticose, foliose, squamulose, thallus, medulla, apothecia—lichens are so unique that they require their own special vocabulary. True cooperators that can be composed of members of three different kingdoms, these amazing organisms exist in places where other things can’t survive, like on arctic soil, building stones or window glass. Lichens are also becoming a valuable key to unlocking mysteries of natural history, providing time-clues for geologic events, markers for measuring air quality and displaying the ability to repel insects. With Katherine, a lichenologist, educator and researcher, we’ll learn lichen ecology and identiďŹ cation while discovering their economic and social uses and the vital roles they play in nutrient- and mineral-cycling.

ON THE WEB: W W W.NCASCADES.ORG/GET_OUTSIDE k

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Hands to Work: Learning Center Stewardship Weekend

Colors and Calls: Birding

By Ear and Eye Libby Mills

Duwamish River Kayak Excursion

Mike Brondi and Staff Naturalists

1E] ¤ (Sat–Sun) 12 Bellingham area t $165 includes box lunches & van transportation

Cindy Updegrave and Alki Kayak Tours

1E] ¤ (Fri eve–Sun) 15 Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 6 meals $120 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY $40 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY

During the months following the construction of the Learning Center, dozens of volunteer Plant Stewards helped the Institute hand-plant more than 22,000 native shrubs and trees throughout the campus in an effort to rehabilitate the long-used site. Four years later, those plants are doing better than we ever imagined. This spring, we’re hosting a special gathering to express gratitude to the hands that put all of those vine maples and Oregon grapes in the ground, and offering new stewards the opportunity to form a relationship to this piece of earth by giving back to it. Join Mike, National Park Service staff and Institute naturalists as we tend to our native flora and the habitat surrounding the Learning Center. There will be projects for all abilities and interests, from thinning, weeding and trail maintenance to cataloging projects in the Wild Ginger Library. Your hard work will be rewarded when our talented kitchen crew serves up delicious, locally grown meals and local experts share evening presentations and campfire discussions.

© C H R I S T H O R N L E Y W W W. S O U R C E C R E AT I V E . CO . U K

$80 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

As spring comes to Washington, our location on the Pacific Coast flyway provides a view of feathered migrants arriving on the wave of warmer weather and longer days. Join Libby, who has spent her life observing and recording bird life across the Americas, as she teaches us how to identify different bird languages, including the distinctions between the mating and territorial songs that are so abundant in the spring. Traveling as a group, we’ll tune in to the rich breedingseason display of song and plumage, using our senses to catch glimpses of species arriving to nest in the area as well as those on their way to breeding grounds in the north. We’ll spend one day exploring shorelines looking and listening for shore and water birds and another in the hills searching for forest- and mountain-dwelling bird life of higher ground.

Participants are responsible for lodging Saturday night.

1E] (Sat) 6 Seattle t $160 includes box lunch, kayak instruction & equipment Emptying into Elliot Bay south of downtown Seattle, the Duwamish River is like a historical document. Reading it reveals a history of ice sheets, earthquakes, lahars from Mt. Rainier and thousands of years of human occupation. Existing simultaneously as both sacred land and a Superfund site, the river holds tales from the past and promises for the future.

Come groundtruth its stories as we explore the river by kayak, talking with members of the Duwamish tribe, examining evidence of the Seattle fault, observing restoration sites and experiencing the waterway from a rarely seen vantage point.

Alki Kayak Tours will provide boats and keep us safe on the water while Cindy, a University of Washington ecologist, will be the river’s interpreter on this journey through restoration.

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Wild Whatcom: The Nature of Bellingham I Megan McGinty .YRI (Sun) 10 am–noon Bellingham Marine Life Center t $10

Š B R ET T B A U N T O N W W W. B R ET T B A U N T O N . CO M

JUNE

Learn how to master your digital camera while exploring the North Cascades with Brett Baunton, June 5–7

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Nestled between Puget Sound and Mt. Baker, Bellingham’s charm is deďŹ ned by its geography. Easy access to urban green spaces, wildlife and shorelines are often touted as what makes Bellingham a great place to live.

But how much do you really know about the rich natural and cultural history of the area? Join the Institute for an illuminating stroll through the city with a personable ďŹ eld naturalist.

Our specially priced excursion begins and ends on the banks of Whatcom Creek, the resurgent pulse that courses through Bellingham’s past, present and future. Together, we’ll unbraid the many stories the creek keeps and learn about its major characters. Salmon running under sidewalks, falcons hunting overhead, Chuckanut sandstone supporting downtown buildings—the very streets will come alive when you begin to look at them with a naturalist’s eye!

Landscape and Lens: Photographing the North Cascades Brett Baunton .YRI ¤ (Fri–Sun) 18 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 7 meals $385 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY $80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY $160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

Rivers and ridges, blossoms and buttes, summits and sky— reďŹ ne your skills in transforming the beauty of our planet into pixilated masterpieces. Learn photography ďŹ eld techniques, composition tips and digitalprocessing strategies from an award-winning photographer.

Brett will introduce you to the North Cascades’ high country, including sojourns to the alpine realms of Rainy and Washington passes. Over the weekend, in an inspirational setting and with a group small enough to provide for one-on-one interactions, you’ll share your work for friendly feedback and experiment with digital processing.

Open to all skill levels, but a digital camera capable of manual operation is required, SLR preferred.

ON T HE WEB: W W W.NCASCADES.ORG/GET_OUTSIDE k

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Spring Birding Weekend: Neo-Tropical Migrants Jim Alt, Libby Mills and Kent Woodruff .YRI ¤ (Fri eve–Sun) 15 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 6 meals $295 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY

$80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY

Join us in the mountains for our third annual Spring Birding Weekend and gain deeper awareness of those wonderful creatures that bring beauty and song to our days. Led by skilled birders and all-around naturalists, we’ll investigate forests, meadows and meandering streams in the Methow and Skagit valleys. Because of the gradient of rain from rainforest to shrub-steppe, these two valleys have great habitat and species diversity. Heading east to ponderosa pine forests, we may observe ďŹ re-dependant woodpeckers, admire the cerulean blue of the lazuli buntings or hear the ethereal utings of veery and other thrushes. West, among the wetlands and pastures of the Upper Skagit, we’ll keep our eyes and ears open for songbirds, raptors and waterfowl seeking refuge in the wild lands of the North Cascades. Each day, we’ll divide into instructor-led groups with our attention directed at not only what birds we see but also why and how they came to be in the Northwest. All skill levels are welcome; plenty of binoculars, spotting scopes and ďŹ eld guides will be on hand.

As an added bonus, Paul Bannick, author of the acclaimed new book The Owl and the Woodpecker, will join us to present his stunning photography and inspiring narratives from the ďŹ eld as he studied these two families and how they deďŹ ne the habitats they inhabit.

For those who would like more time in the ďŹ eld, join our instructors to warm up your birding skills where the forest meets the Skagit and Sauk rivers at Howard Miller Steelhead County Park from 10 am-2 pm Friday before the Spring Birding Weekend ofďŹ cially gets underway.

Š PA U L B A N N I C K W W W. PA U L B A N N I C K . C O M

$160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

Paul Bannick, photographer and author of The Owl and the Woodpecker, will present a slideshow for the Landscape and Lens and Spring Birding classes, June 5–7

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Beats: The Rhythmic Experience of the North Cascades

Greening Your Garden

Molly Hashimoto

Thor Hanson

$325 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY

.YRI ¤ (Fri–Sun) 18 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 7 meals

$80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY

$355 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY

.YRI ¤ (Fri eve–Sun) 15 /1CP San Juan Island t $195 includes group campsite fee

$160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

$80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY

.YRI ¤ (Fri eve–Sun) 15 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 6 meals

.YRI ¤ (Fri–Sun) 18 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 7 meals $325 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY $80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY

© J O C E LY N C U R R Y

$160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

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San Juan Islands Botany Excursion

Dave Sansone

Keenan Webster

“In these mountains, the Earth’s rhythm is strong,” observed National Park Service geologist Jon Riedel. Celebrate the passion of music at the crossroads where drumbeats meet the peaks of the Beat poets. Join multi-instrumentalist Keenan as he weaves roots music with innovative artistry and compassion at the Learning Center. Together we’ll create a diverse and vibrant musical experience inspired by jazz improvisation as Keenan guides us through the fundamentals of West African drums, balafon and Afro-Cuban drumming. Your weekend will embody the gifts one seeks in making music: clarity, connection, spirituality and inspiration.

The North Cascades in Plein Air Watercolor

Growing your own food is a great way to reduce the impact of your ecological footprint, increase your food security and connect with the nature in your own neighborhood. Home gardens can be more productive, nutritious and sustainable by following nature’s lessons and using locally adapted plant varieties and animals. Together we’ll tour three ecologically designed gardens in the Upper Skagit that will inspire and inform gardeners of all skill levels. Learn about the sustainable cultivation of veggies, fruits, berries, perennial salad greens, rare and superfood plants, medicinal herbs, chickens, ducks and goats. Whether you are planning your first garden or are a certified master gardener, you’ll be able to create a foodshed out your own backdoor.

$160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

Towering above the Learning Center, the banded gneiss monoliths of Colonial and Pyramid peaks cradle snowfields and reflect light. With Molly as our mentor, we’ll begin our weekend modeling their forms in watercolor before traveling to the sunny side of the crest to paint the soaring granite walls of Liberty Bell and the Early Winters spires. Back at the Learning Center, we’ll spend evenings refining our plein air work in a supportive community of artists both new and experienced. A highlight of the weekend will be Molly’s slideshow presentation on her recent research of historic painters in the national parks. Learn about the connections between art and conservation while exercising your own creativity.

The geographical location of the San Juan Islands creates a complex of unusual habitats unique to our state.

Subject to all the famous moisture of the Pacific Northwest, yet tucked behind the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains, the archipelago holds remnant prairies, dry oak woodlands, coniferous forests and tidal and freshwater plant communities. Such a wide range of variances in a relatively small area presents us an outstanding opportunity to study a bewildering diversity of vegetation, including species rarely found elsewhere west of the Cascades. We’ll camp together in San Juan County Park, or participants can opt to find their own lodging on the island.

© C A R O LY N W AT E R S

© K AT I E R O LO S O N

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Field Sketching at Deception Pass Libby Mills .YRI (Sun) 6 Deception Pass t $95 includes box lunch Dramatic cliffs rising from the sea. Tidepools teeming with marine life. Seabirds in the air and on the water. Windswept grass bluffs. Gnarled shore pines sculpted by storm. We’ll find plenty of natural subjects to study and sketch as master naturalist and artist Libby leads us on a plein air journey through Deception Pass State Park. Throughout the day, she’ll introduce us to basic sketching techniques—demonstrating how pencils can make manifest the play of light and shadows on the landscape—as well as valuable tips for working outside in the elements.

Wild Whatcom: The Nature of Bellingham II Megan McGinty .YRI (Sun) 10–noon Bellingham Marine Life Center t $10 Nestled between Puget Sound and Mt. Baker, Bellingham’s charm is defined by its geography. Easy access to urban green spaces, wildlife and shorelines are often touted as what makes Bellingham, named one of the “Best Outside Towns” by Outside Magazine, a great place to live. But how much do you really know about the rich natural and cultural history of the area? Join the Institute for an illuminating stroll through the city with a personable field naturalist, visiting with local experts and historians along the way. Our specially priced excursion begins and ends on the banks of Whatcom Creek, the resurgent pulse that courses through Bellingham’s past, present and future.

Together, we’ll unbraid the many stories the creek keeps and learn about its major characters: fish, humans, hatcheries, birds, urban living, art, commerce, fire and restoration. Salmon running under sidewalks, falcons hunting overhead, Chuckanut sandstone supporting downtown buildings—the very streets will come alive when you begin to look at them with a naturalist’s eye!

Methow Migrations: Spring Birding

Grant Writing in the North Cascades

Libby Mills

Eric Chambers

.YRI ¤ (Fri–Sun) 18 /1CP Methow Valley t $195 includes group campsite fee

.YRI ¤.YP] (Sun eve–Thurs) 30 /1CP Learning Center t 4 nights lodging & 13 meals

Explore wetlands, sagelands and the meandering Methow River while seeking the melody and color of the avian world east of the Cascade Crest. As breeding birds fledge their young, we’ll investigate their hidden haunts and identify a broad range of species and their corresponding birdsong. During breaks, we’ll discuss adaptations, habitat requirements and the challenges migratory birds face traveling across continents. We’ll camp together at Pearrygin Lake State Park near Winthrop and spend our days poking around the Methow Valley.

Don’t miss this relaxing summer weekend excursion with one of the Northwest’s most knowledgeable and fun-loving birders. All levels welcome!

$595 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY $100 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY $180 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

Part science and part art, successful grant writing requires a generous helping of passion, an abundance of ingenuity and knowledge of how to get from “Application Available Here” to “Congratulations on Receiving Funding!” During these uncertain economic times, nonprofit organizations must work harder and smarter to sustain worthy programs and fund new ones. Our interactive five-day Grant Writing Workshop will teach you the skills you need to write and submit competitive grant proposals. Led by Eric, a Northwest Educational Service District development officer, we’ll spend four

days and nights at the Learning Center, drawing inspiration from your dramatic wilderness surroundings and enjoying fresh and delicious meals in the Wild Ginger dining hall.

Working in small groups with plenty of personal coaching, you’ll master four areas of grantsmanship: Session One: Program Planning and Evaluation.

Session Two: Grant Writing Fundamentals.

Session Three: Grant Research.

Session Four: Advanced Writing Techniques. Held one month after the first three sessions at a different location, this followup will give you an opportunity to reflect upon and expand the skills developed during the first three sessions.

In addition to sharpening your grant-writing skills, you’ll enjoy plenty of down time to explore your surroundings and learn from Institute naturalists about this hidden gem in the North Cascades. You’ll return home inspired, energized and ready to save the world!

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Ross Lake By Boat and Boot: People and Places of the Upper Skagit Gerry Cook and Bob Mierendorf .YP] ¤ (Thu eve–Sun) 21 /1CP Learning Center/Ross Lake t $255 includes 1 night shared lodging & 3 meals at Learning Center, boat transportation and trailhead shuttle

© T O M G OT C H Y

J U LY

Follow in the footsteps of miners and mountaineers on the trails surrounding Ross Lake, July 9–12 or Aug 13–16

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Experience the wilderness setting of Ross Lake, a fjord-like jewel in the international Upper Skagit River valley, and learn about the cultural history that has crisscrossed this remote terrain for eons.

From a comfortable perch onboard the Ross Mule, at our lakeside camp and on hiking trails, you will hear vivid accounts about the ice age geology and 10,000 years of indigenous presence, hardscrabble explorers, miners, dam builders, fire lookouts and even Beat poets. With more than 60 years of National Park Service employment between them, Gerry and Bob share a treasure trove of local knowledge and intimacy with the North Cascades. The generosity with which they impart their wisdom will make this a backcountry adventure you’ll never forget.

We’ll get acquainted over dinner at the Learning Center Thursday night before boarding the Ross Mule Friday morning, an open-decked boat helmed by Captain Cook. Camping at Lightning Creek at the foot of storied Desolation Peak, our group will share meals, campfires and starry night skies unmarred by city lights. We’ll spend our days exploring ferndraped canyons, balmy meadows and spirited waterfalls, taking time for botanical forays, exploration of archaeological sites and swims in the lake. Sunday will include an eight-mile hike over gentle terrain to witness the immense, centuries-old cedars along Big Beaver Creek.

Participants must provide their own equipment and food for the camping portion of this trip and be able to carry personal gear one mile down a steep trail to the boat dock Friday and back up Sunday. Tuition includes boat transportation and shuttle to and from the Ross Dam Trailhead.

ON T HE WEB: W W W.NCASCADES.ORG/GET_OUTSIDE k

www.ncascades.org

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Skagit Valley Farm Tour I: First Fruit Charles Claassen and Institute Staff

©BENJ DRUMMOND

.YP] (Sun) 6 Skagit Valley t $95 includes box lunch & transportation

Family Backpacking Adventure I: Ross Lake Adam Russell and Institute Naturalists

Does taking the family on a backpacking adventure sound exciting, but also challenging? Let our Learning Center naturalists take care of the logistics to get you and your family in to the North Cascades backcountry! Together, we’ll meet with park rangers for an orientation to the landscape, learn about safety, Leave No Trace techniques and camping skills and generate excitement for the natural world as we hike through deep forests and across rushing glacier-fed rivers. Your family will spend Thursday evening at the Learning Center meeting fellow hikers over a meal. Come Friday morn, we’ll strap on our packs and head out for three days and two nights of education and adventure in the world-class terrain of Ross Lake. Along the way, your guides will share stories from the mountains, making the natural and cultural history of this place come alive in the imagination of your youngsters.

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© B E N J D R U M M O N D W W W. B E N D R U M . C O M

.YP] ¤ (Thu eve–Sun) Learning Center t $245 per adult, $170 per child includes 1 night shared lodging & 3 meals at Learning Center and trailhead shuttle

An interest in “farm-to-table” shopping, cooking and eating is on the rise—we’re all hungry for fresher, healthier food and want to know more about who grows it and where. This excursion will introduce you personally to the Skagit Valley’s leading small farmers and provide a behindthe-scenes look at the practices that sustain their operations.

Past trips have included a visit to a farmer growing a bounty of lush vegetables using remarkably little water, a tour of a 100-year-old family farm and an introduction to a shellfish farm nestled on the shores of Samish Bay. We’ll stop for lunch and enjoy a menu of fresh foods harvested from the farms we visited.

Don’t worry: we’ll taste samples along the way, too! Your guide for the day will be Chef Charles, head of the Learning Center’s culinary operations.

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Art Afield: Diablo Creative Arts Retreat Molly Hashimoto, Jocelyn Curry and Kristen Gilje .YP] ¤ (Thu–Sun) 24 /1CP Learning Center t 3 nights lodging & 10 meals $385 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY $120 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY

©KRISTEN GILJE

$240 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

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In the heart of the Cascadian summer, renew your artistic inspiration at our fifth annual retreat for aspiring and experienced artists.

Gather together with a community of creative minds at our inspiring lakeside getaway in North Cascades National Park. With grand views of Diablo Lake and Colonial and Pyramid peaks, our campus offers many inspiring vistas as well as ready access to Thunder Creek’s deep green woods, the wildflower meadows and pink granite spires of Washington Pass, and the tawny fields and pine forests of the upper Methow.

Upon registration, you’ll choose one instructor and her area of concentration for the duration of the retreat (group sizes are limited; all skill levels welcome). This year’s options include:

Nature Journaling with Jocelyn Curry: Create a handcrafted art journal and fill its pages with drawings and nature notes using pen, ink, watercolor and light collage. We’ll learn several handy bookbinding skills, decorative techniques, basic page design and lettering tips. Jocelyn will also share sketching and watercolor methods handy for on-the-go use as we take special excursions for field studies in the Learning Center’s wild neighborhood.

Watercolor with Molly Hashimoto: Learn the basics of watercolor painting from choosing the paper, brushes and paint that are right for you to plein air techniques for trailside work. Emphasizing outdoor practice, we’ll focus on the summertime landscape—sun-dappled forests, Diablo Lake’s emerald green waters and rocky ridgelines shedding their snowy winter coats. Beginners and veterans alike will enjoy Molly’s graceful balance of mentorship and independent work.

Silk Painting with Kristen Gilje: Come and play with luxurious silk and beautiful bright dyes to make colorful scarves or wall hangings. The techniques are easy to learn and fun to practice. We’ll employ simple painting techniques, as well as wax and gutta resists and salt, alcohol and other texturing agents. Walks in the forest and along the lakeshore will provide inspiration for color and design and you’ll leave the Learning Center with at least three painted scarves.

Although participants must choose an area of emphasis, instructors will offer short, communal workshops too. In addition to top-notch instruction, the Diablo Creative Arts Retreat also offers comfortable lodging, delicious and healthful meals, recreational opportunities and interesting evening presentations. During your free time, you can paddle a canoe, hike to a nearby waterfall or simply soak up the scenery with a new friend. Known for its welcoming atmosphere, this retreat will rejuvenate your spirit.

ON T HE WEB: W W W.NCASCADES.ORG/GET_OUTSIDE k

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The Night Sky in the High Desert Karl Schroeder

Geology of Mt. Baker I: Lake Ann

Skagit Valley Farm Tour II: Summer’s Table

.YP] ¤ (Fri–Sun) 18 /1CP Brooks Memorial State Park t $195 includes group camping fee & admission to observatory

Dave Tucker and Megan McGinty .YP] (Sat) 6 Mt. Baker/Lake Ann t $95 includes box lunch

Charles Claassen and Institute Staff

The night sky is an inďŹ nite canvas painted with the everchanging moon, planets and constellations. In the crisp air of the high desert, far from urban light pollution, we’ll observe these and other nighttime wonders. Guided by an enthusiastic teacher and former president of the Seattle Astronomical Society, we’ll learn to identify galaxies, red giants, white dwarfs and other celestial objects while discussing their natural history and sharing the stories that people have told about them for centuries. During the day, we’ll learn about sundials, our solar system and the Milky Way. A highlight of the course will be a visit to the Maryhill Stonehenge replica and the Goldendale Observatory to view the sky through a 24.5-inch Cassegrain telescope, one of the largest public telescopes in the nation.

Explore 225 million years of geologic history on a hike along the Shuksan Arm through old-growth forest and beautiful alpine meadows. We’ll pass beneath a collonaded lava ow that erupted from one of Mt. Baker’s predecessor volcanoes, examine intrusive dikes, witness folded metamorphic rocks deposited as sea-oor sediment and touch the contact zone of one of the youngest granite bodies in the Cascades. Meandering across the margin of the onemillion-year-old Kulshan caldera, we’ll search for rocks left behind from the hot ash ows that emerged from an ancient catastrophic eruption. All the while, Mt. Shuksan’s rumbling, tumbling Curtis Glacier will tower above us as we explore the glacially sculpted basin at Lake Ann. Round-trip distance is eight miles, with 1,700 feet of total elevation gain.

Š CH R IST I A N M A RT I N

.YP] (Sun) 6 Skagit Valley t $95 includes box lunch & transportation

Wildowers of Mt. Baker I: High Divide Shelley Weisberg .YP] (Sun) 6 Mt. Baker area t $95 includes box lunch In the summertime, meadows beneath the white-mantled massif of Koma Kulshan are beguilingly rich with wildowers, belying the true story of life above the treeline. Plants found in this fragile ecosystem have developed unique strategies for survival in this exceptionally

challenging habitat, adapting to a short growing season, heavy snows, arid summers, harsh winds and dramatic uctuations in temperature. Join skilled ďŹ eld botanist Shelley for a walk in the high country surrounded by spectacular peaks and fragrant alpine meadows, and

investigate alpine habitats and wildower adaptation. Learn the basics of alpine botany and discover the habitat of your favorite owers. Expect to hike six to seven miles round trip with moderate elevation gain; exact location will depend upon access and snow levels.

An interest in “farm-to-table� shopping, cooking and eating is on the rise—we’re all hungry for fresher, healthier food and want to know more about who grows it and where. This excursion will introduce you personally to the Skagit Valley’s leading small farmers and provide a behindthe-scenes look at the practices that sustain their operations.

Past trips have included a visit to a farmer growing a bounty of lush vegetables using remarkably little water, a tour of a 100-year-old family farm and an introduction to a shellďŹ sh farm nestled on the shores of Samish Bay. We’ll stop for lunch and enjoy a menu of fresh foods harvested from the farms we visited.

Don’t worry: we’ll taste samples along the way, too! Your guide for the day will be Chef Charles, head of the Learning Center’s culinary operations.

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E LEVENTH A N N U A L

THUNDER ARM W R I T I N G R E T R E AT

Rick Bass

Kathleen Dean Moore

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of our annual writing retreat continues this summer at the confluence of four far-flung writers from the Pacific Northwest gathering together to teach in the North Cascades. Rick Bass, hailing from the Yaak Valley in remote northwestern Montana, is a master of the short story form and renowned environmental nonfiction writer. Kathleen Dean Moore composes essays rich with natural detail and philosophical depths from her homebase in the Willamette Valley. Holly Hughes, who has spent the past 28 summers working on southeast Alaskan waters, winters on the Olympic Peninsula where she teaches and writes poetry and essays. Jim Bertolino spent 14 years living on Guemes Island, 12 years teaching at Western Washington University and now thrives near the woods east of Bellingham writing poetry. Arriving from the near and far, Rick, Kathleen, Holly and Jim represent one of our strongest writing teams yet!

The Thunder Arm Writing Retreat—so named for our location on Diablo Lake near the mouth of Thunder Creek—takes place at our Learning Center in North Cascades National Park, which has a distinct literary history of its own.

Our neighborhood includes Sourdough Mountain and Desolation Peak, where writers Gary Snyder and Jack Kerouac served as fire lookouts during the 1950s.

From hardscrabble explorers and trail crew hands to Beat poets and park rangers, the North Cascades have inspired many to put pen to paper.

Under the mentorship of four different writers with experiences in a wide

diversity of genres, you’ll learn techniques for crisp, powerful writing inspired by nature. We strive for a nourishing, professional and noncompetitive atmosphere in which student groups rotate through instructors each day, enjoying a combination of presentations, discussions and individual writing activities.

Throughout the weekend, our kitchen staff will prepare delicious, nourishing meals with local and organic ingredients, and you’ll repair each night to comfortable accommodations in our lodges. You’ll also have ample time to enjoy our trails or canoe on Diablo Lake, as well as quiet moments to peruse our Wild Ginger Library, filled with more than a thousand different titles.

Whether you’re a seasoned writer or eager newcomer, we hope you’ll join us for this unique literary mountain rendezvous!

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Holly Hughes

James Berlotino

Eleventh Annual Thunder Arm Writing Retreat .YP] ¤%YK (Thurs–Sun) 24 /2CP Learning Center t 3 nights lodging & 10 meals $495 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY $120 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY $240 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

© CH R IST I A N M A RT I N

© CH R IST I A N M A RT I N

July

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AUGUST

Explore the ancient geological story of Mt Baker, Aug 6–9

© J O H N S C U R LO C K

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Geology of Mt. Baker II: Easton Glacier Backpack

Shelley Weisberg

Dave Tucker and Megan McGinty

%YK (Sat) 6 Mt. Baker area t $95 includes box lunch

%YK ¤ (Thurs–Sun) 24 /2CP Mt. Baker/Morovitz Meadows t $295

In the summertime, meadows beneath the white-mantled massif of Koma Kulshan are beguilingly rich with wildflowers, belying the true story of life above the treeline. Plants found in this fragile ecosystem have developed unique strategies for survival in this exceptionally challenging habitat, adapting to a short growing season, heavy snows, arid summers, harsh winds and dramatic fluctuations in temperature. Join skilled field botanist Shelley for a walk in the high country surrounded by spectacular peaks and fragrant alpine meadows, and investigate alpine habitats and wildflower adaptation. Learn the basics of alpine botany and discover the habitat of your favorite flowers. Expect to hike six to seven miles round trip with moderate elevation gain; exact location will depend upon access and snow levels.

Welcome to Mt. Baker’s southwest side, where igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic deposits abound and geologic ages range from Precambrian to the present. Join Dave and Megan for an excursion focused on the fascinating geology of Mt. Baker. After a four-mile backpack to our base camp near Easton Glacier, we’ll explore evidence of awe-inspiring geologic processes, including cataclysmic volcanic eruptions, gigantic landslides and glacial dynamics.

We’ll explore the sharp crest of the Railroad Grade moraine, visit the Park Butte Lookout and journey to a point overlooking Baker’s dramatic Deming Glacier.

Learn about historic glacial advances and recessions and see the resulting landscape with your own eyes. Beginners welcome, but everyone is expected to be reasonably fit and have basic backpacking skills.

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Beats on the Peaks: Lookout Poets and Backcountry Tales on Ross Lake Gerry Cook and Jeff Muse

© CH R IST I A N M A RT I N

Wildflowers of Mt. Baker II: Skyline Divide

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Easy Pass Backpack: Thunder Creek to Fisher Basin Institute Naturalists %YK ¤ (Wed eve–Sun) 27 Learning Center t $255 includes 1 night shared lodging & 3 meals at ELC & trailhead shuttle Join our small, naturalist-led backpacking group for a memorable adventure in the wild heart of North Cascades National Park. After orientation at the Learning Center Wednesday night, we’ll depart for four days and three nights camping beneath big trees and starry skies. Together, we’ll journey along Thunder Creek, then head east under the flanks of Mt. Logan, eventually reaching the alpine wonderland of

remote Fisher Basin. Our trip will pass through spectacular old-growth forest as we follow the most heavily glaciated tributary in the Lower 48, and we’ll search for wildflower meadows, abandoned miner cabins and animal tracks. When we arrive at Easy Pass, elevation 6,524 feet, we’ll be greeted by one of the most stunning views anywhere in the country: a panorama of glaciers, waterfalls and craggy peaks! This

late-summer sojourn into the mountains, taken in good company and with an abundance of storytelling and nature interpretation, will be the trip of a lifetime. Although beginners are welcome to attend, participants should be prepared for moderately strenuous backpacking (as many as eight miles per day with 2,000-foot elevation gains) and must provide their own equipment and food for Thursday through Sunday.

%YK ¤ (Thur eve–Sun) 21 /1CP Learning Center/Ross Lake t $255 includes 1 night shared lodging & 3 meals at ELC, boat transportation & trailhead shuttle Venture up Ross Lake and hike to the top of Desolation Peak where Jack Kerouac penned tales of his Cascadian adventure in 1956. Led by a former lookout and a book-toting naturalist, we’ll gather at the Learning Center Thursday to share camaraderie. Friday, we’ll board the open-decked Ross Mule, the perfect floating venue for backcountry storytelling and adventurous scribbling.

Base camping for two nights at Lightning Creek, we’ll hike up to the Desolation Peak Fire Lookout to share readings by Kerouac and others who spent time in these mountains. Don’t miss this annual expedition of books, rucksacks, campfire tales and jaw-dropping views!

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Northwest Naturalists Weekend Ralph Haugerud, Dennis Paulson and Robert Micheal Pyle

Family Backpacking Adventure II: Ross Lake

%YK ¤ (Thu eve–Sun) 21 /1CP Learning Center t 3 nights lodging & 6 meals

Adam Russell and Institute Naturalists

$385 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY

$120 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY

%YK ¤ (Wed eve–Sun) Learning Center t $265 per adult, $180 per child includes 1 night shared lodging & 3 meals at Learning Center, boat transportation and trailhead shuttle

Whether you are a novice to the natural world or a skilled naturalist, join the Institute in celebrating the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, which introduced the theory of evolution to the world, with a long weekend in the North Cascades immersed in nature. We’ll provide you with tools you need to delve into the “mystery of mysteries” that Darwin himself sought to unravel.

This annual retreat has been attracting eager learners from across the country and our own backyard for more than two decades. Its success is built on the expertise of remarkable naturalists and this year’s team is one of our most exciting. Robert Michael Pyle, who recently concluded his Butterfly Big Year in which he sought out as many of the 800 species of butterflies in North America as possible in one calendar year, has a passion for lepidoptera and broad knowledge of native species and ecology. Ralph Haugerud, co-author of Geology of the North Cascades: A Mountain Mosaic, is a veteran researcher and skilled teacher with the U.S. Geological Survey at the University of Washington. Dennis Paulson, one of the most experienced biologists in the Northwest, will search lakesides, wetlands and wildflower meadows for the diurnal “bats of the skies”—dragonflies—while sharing his knowledge of birds, snakes and large-scale ecosystem dynamics. Throughout the weekend, we’ll divide into instructor-led groups to explore various topics in diverse terrain. Possibilities include birds and butterflies of the Cascades, wildflowers at Rainy Pass and the geologic history of the Pacific Crest. Wherever we roam, you can count on spirited camaraderie and plenty of mentorship on the use of field guides, hand lenses and other equipment that will deepen your outdoors experiences.

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$240 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

Does taking the family on a backpacking adventure sound exciting, but also challenging? Let our Learning Center naturalists take care of the logistics to get you and your family into the North Cascades backcountry! Together, we’ll meet with park rangers, learn about safety, Leave No Trace techniques and camping skills and generate excitement for the natural world.

Your family will spend Wednesday evening at the Learning Center meeting fellow hikers over a meal.

Come Thursday morn, we’ll head out for four days and three nights of education and adventure as we journey along the East Bank Trail of Ross Lake. Your guides will share stories from the mountains, making this place come alive in the imagination of youngsters. 1MRMQYQ EKI MW XIR ]IEVW SPH *EQMPMIW TVSZMHI XLIMV S[R KIEV

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Geology of Mt. Baker III: Ptarmigan Ridge

Sourdough Mountain Celebration

Dave Tucker and Lee Whitford

%YK ¤ (Thu eve–Sun) 21 /1CP Learning Center t 3 nights lodging & 9 meals

Experience time travel by foot on the Ptarmigan Ridge trail in Mt. Baker’s radiant latesummer high country. Our ďŹ eld excursion will begin above treeline at Artist’s Point before venturing out toward the simmering, glaciated volcano.

Along the way, we’ll travel over an ancient record of volcanism as we traverse the one-millionyear-old Kulshan caldera, a crater that erupted cataclysmically through the thick continental ice sheet before the mountain built itself from stacks of lava.

As we hike past lava domes, we’ll lay hands on columnar andesite that predates Mt. Baker, discuss the origin of the eroded table at Table Mountain and examine layers of volcanic ash preserved in the soil, including the famous Mt. Mazama layer. Our route can be up to 10 miles round trip, with minimal elevation gain.

Tim McNulty, Ron Dart and Jeff Muse

$355 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY

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Mutual Destinies: Human-Corvid Interactions John Marzluff %YK ¤ (Fri–Sun) 18 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 7 meals

$120 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY

$240 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

$325 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Gary Snyder’s landmark compendium of mountain poetry, Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems. Snyder served as a ďŹ re lookout on Sourdough Mountain during the summer of 1953, writing some of his most inspired verse on a ridge high above North Cascades Environmental Learning Center.

Many decades later, Snyder and countless other Cascadian scribes’ work have accumulated to form a fascinating literary history informed by rock, river and rain.

Join three dynamic instructors who are passionate about the North Cascades for a long weekend of exploration—both physical and cerebral—in the rugged wildlands of the Learning Center neighborhood. Tim, the author of many volumes of poetry and natural history, a tree-

planter and former Sourdough Mountain ďŹ re lookout, will lead writing workshops on local trails covering nature poetry, journaling and the art of attentiveness. Joining us from British Columbia, author, scholar and professor Ron will introduce us to the little-known legacy of John Muir in the Cascades, the spiritual interconnections of the Beat Poets and Thomas Merton and the vast wealth of Canadian mountain literature.

Finally, former Learning Center director and NPS backcountry ranger Jeff will offer the piece de resistance: an optional guided hike up Sourdough Mountain to the world-famous ďŹ re lookout immortalized in Snyder’s poetry.

Throughout the weekend, we’ll explore these storied mountains, share campďŹ re readings and canoe trips and eat, drink and be merry.

$80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY $160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

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%YK (Sat) 6 Ptarmigan Ridge t $95 includes box lunch

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A murder and unkindness are more amicable than they might seem when you ďŹ nd out that a “murderâ€? is a ock of crows and an “unkindnessâ€? a ock of ravens. These intriguing birds, along with jays, magpies and nutcrackers, comprise the corvid family. The iridescence of their black-blue plumage glimmers with the mythology they embody for many cultures across the world. Visit Skagit forests, Methow meadows and the passes in between in search of the birds in their various habitats. John, professor of wildlife biology, will be your guide, bringing to life concepts from his book, In the Company of Crows and Ravens.

Observe corvids’ personalities ďŹ rsthand and realize your part in the “cultural co-evolutionâ€? corvids and humans have long shared.

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SEPTEMBER

Explore the natural and cultural history of the Skagit Delta and Fishtown, Sept 12

“Fishtown existed on the edge of the world. It was a wild place, with hawks and owls, snow geese and salmon, herons, loons, coyotes often sighted. They were the denizens, your neighbors. ~Robert Sund They appear frequently in poems written there.�

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Constructive Capitalism: Opportunities of Sustainability

Forest Carnivores of the North Cascades

Shack Medicine: A Fishtown Excursion

Scott Fitkin and John Rohrer

Casey Bates, Zac West, Jared Silliker and Jessie Alan

7ITX ¤ (Fri eve–Sun) 15 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 6 meals

Institute Naturalists and special guests

$325 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY $80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY $160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

Strengthen your organization by learning the tools to help reduce your environmental footprint, create positive social impact and strengthen financial performance.

We’re bringing together local sustainability leaders for a weekend workshop focused on sustainability benchmarking, sustainability implementation, forming and managing a “Green Team,” energy and waste reduction and green marketing. This class is developed with the business owner and organizational leader in mind, but anybody with an interest in and passion for creating a green, sustainable future is invited. We hope you’ll join us for a weekend of brainstorming, strategizing, problem-solving and networking with likeminded leaders!

7ITXIQFIV (Sat) 6 Lower Skagit Delta t $95 includes box lunch & canoe equipment

$325 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY $80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY © B E N J D R U M M O N D W W W. B E N D R U M . CO M

7ITX ¤ (Fri eve–Sun) 15 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 6 meals

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$160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

For the first time in nearly a century, gray wolves have been confirmed to have taken up residence in Washington State.

Recently, a breeding pair of wolverines was discovered miles from the Learning Center, and researchers are still searching for signs of grizzly bear. Does it sometimes seem the North Cascades wilderness is getting wilder? Come explore the haunts of fascinating mountain carnivores and spend your weekend with Scott and John, who have been leading the research into these elusive animals. We’ll learn about their ecology and examine a variety of habitats, take a closer look at wolverine live traps and check on the radio-collared wolves to see if they are in the neighborhood with the help of radio-telemetry.

Digital Outdoor Photography: Capturing the Cascades Benj Drummond 7ITX ¤ (Fri–Sun) 18 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 7 meals $385 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY

$80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY

You’ve tried your hand at capturing the true colors of translucent autumn skies, but were you able to get every hue? Have you truly recorded the burgundy of bog blueberry leaves, the gold of slide alder, the fire in a vine maple? Venture into deep forests and up mountain passes with accomplished photographer

$160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

Benj. With his technical skills and knowledge of field techniques, he’ll help you compose, execute and process your photographs at a higher level. After shooting in locations throughout the North Cascades, we’ll return to the Learning Center each day to practice RAW file processing and digital workflow in our

computer lab. Individual instruction time will be plentiful in this intimate class, and you’ll learn from your fellow photographers in a friendly review of your best work at the end of the weekend.

Open to all skill levels, but a digital camera capable of manual operation is required, SLR preferred.

Among the brackish backwaters of the Skagit delta in the 1960s and 70s, a cultural oasis blossomed. A collection of writers, artists, vagabonds and scholars lived in a village of abandoned fishermen’s shacks scattered throughout the northern delta of the Skagit River, a settlement whose existence was always dependent on permission from the river. “Fishtown” — the name used to refer to this region – lives on in relics that still stand today, as well as in the poetry, pottery and paintings that emerged from the creative community. Travelling in a giant voyageur canoe, we’ll seek out the sloughs and shacks that inspired painters and poets among cat-tails and beaver dams, investigate the ever-changing topography of the delta and hear stories of the characters and the era they personified.

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Charles Claassen

Seattle’s Wild Side: Natural History in the Streets David Williams

Shades of Fall: Arboretum Watercolor Expedition

7ITX (Sun) 6 Skagit Valley t $95 includes box lunch & van transportation

7ITX (Sat) 6 Seattle t $95 includes box lunch & van transportation

Maria Coryell-Martin

Salmon, kale, carrots, oysters, pumpkins, wine, cheese, spinach, corn, tomatoes, beer, broccoli, raspberries, lamb, blueberries, potatoes, beets, apples, pears, plums, cabbage, peas, beef, cucumbers, cauliflower and radishes, oh my!

There’s no doubt, the Skagit Valley is a rich and bountiful place and we’d like to introduce you personally to the farmers and producers who feed us. In addition to exploring the practices and places that sustain their healthful, holistic operations, our popular behind-thescenes tour samples the fruits of the land. We’ll enjoy a lunch menu of fresh foods harvested from the farms we visit as well as indulging in samples along the way. Your guide for the day will be Chef Charles, head of the Learning Center’s culinary program and coordinator of the Institute’s FoodShed initiative.

You don’t have to drive to the Cascades to engage your connection with the earth—even in the heart of the Emerald City, we are surrounded by nature.

Explore Seattle’s wild side with David, author of Stories in Stone: Travels in Urban Geology and The Street-Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from Seattle. With humor, enthusiasm and sharp observation skills, he’ll open our eyes to the secrets previously hidden beneath the hustle and bustle of the city. The day will begin beneath the Magnolia Bluff, the perfect spot for seeing coastal geological processes.

We’ll then proceed along the Duwamish River, where we’ll read the record of Seattle’s most active earthquake zone. Next we’ll head to Pioneer Square to start a two-mile-long transect to investigate 330-million-year-old fossils and see where mammoths once roamed.

3GX (Sat) 6 Seattle t $115 includes box lunch & pocket watercolor kit

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Skagit Valley Harvest Tour III: Upriver Bounty

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Explore the wild side of Seattle with a “street-smart naturalist,” Sept 26

Autumn color is an ephemeral spectacle, and learning to capture it requires attention and skill. Under the tutelage of expeditionary artist Maria Coryell-Martin, this day trip will venture into Seattle’s Washington Park Arboretum to experience fall in its full glory and set about sketching what we see in pencil, ink and watercolor media.

Each participant will receive a pocket-sized watercolor field set custom designed for this trip. Maria will share suggested palette choices and unique approaches to field sketching that she’s gained from her experiences painting around the world, from Africa to Greenland to Antarctica. Learn more about Maria’s work at www.expeditionaryart.com.

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Will Write for Change: Communication Tools and Techniques for Activists William Dietrich, Eric DePlace, Karen Uffelman and Benj Drummond and Sara Joy Steele 3GX ¤ (Fri eve–Sun) 15 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 6 meals $355 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY

$80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY

$160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

In a world hurtling toward the future, modes and methods of communication are rapidly evolving and audiences are fragmenting into specialized peer groups. In this challenging environment, how can nonprofit organizations and activists effectively communicate their message to the masses? How do we successfully compete for, and then retain, the highly prized attention of constituents? “Will Write for Change” gathers together leaders of local environmental nonprofits at the Learning Center to share techniques and tools of communicating their groups’ stories clearly, persuasively and in a way that reaches the largest audience possible.

In both large-group presentations and small-group breakout sessions, this workshop will teach how to write for the Web (and how is it different than writing for print) and how to use specific Web technologies, such as RSS feeds, blogs, Twitter and dynamically-generated website content. We’ll discuss the culture of the Internet, how it differs from other conversations and how you can get your issue into the public discourse. Environmental storytelling, photojournalism and Web-based presentations are other genres we’ll examine. Benj and Sara will share their experiences with working on a documentary project in a changing media landscape and discuss their effort to distribute their work–through blogs, multimedia, magazines, gallery shows, public art installations and live presentations– to as wide an audience as possible. Finally, we’ll host a panel on some of the nitty-gritty business of activist communications, including the business of grant writing, partnerships, publicity and publication.

We’ve assembled an awesome team of Internet-savvy visionaries to make this workshop as useful and productive for participants as possible:

BILL DIETRICH won a Pulitizer Prize at the Seattle Times for his coverage of the Exxon Valdez disaster, is the author of The Final Forest: The Battle for the Last Great Trees of the Pacific Northwest and is currently the faculty editor of The Planet, Huxley College’s renowned environmental magazine.

ERIC DEPLACE, senior researcher at the Seattle-based Sightline Institute, contributes research and writing for the annual Cascadia Scorecard. He also writes for the Daily Score blog and contributes to a number of other Sightline projects, especially climate policy in the western states.

KAREN UFFELMAN, director of client strategy at ONE/ Northwest, works with environmental organizations to engage their audiences through smart use of technology and the development of valuable content. She consults on both format and substance, and combines the best practices of relationship marketing, grassroots organizing, and analysis of web and email statistics to help organizations tell their stories effectively.

BENJAMIN DRUMMOND AND SARA JOY STEELE are working on a long-term documentary project called Facing Climate

Change, which combines photographs, field audio and writing to tell the story of global change through local people. Their work has appeared in Orion, Mother Jones, American Photo, National Geographic and the Seattle PostIntelligencer.

Join us for a weekend of active learning, networking and brainstorming, where together we’ll share tools and build connections, getting ready for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

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Sit, Walk, Write: Nature and the Practice of Presence

Toadstools, Fairy Rings and Witch’s Butter: Northwest Mushrooms

Kurt Hoelting and Holly Hughes

3GX (Sat) Lee Whitford

3GX ¤ (Fri–Sun) 18 /1CP Learning Center t 2 nights lodging & 7 meals

3GX (Sun) Fred Rhoades and Lee Whitford 6 /per day Baker Lake Area t $95/one day $180/both days includes box lunch

$355 PER PERSON, SHARED OCCUPANCY $80 DISCOUNT FOR TRIPLE OCCUPANCY $160 PREMIUM FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY

Experience a nourishing weekend with meditation teacher Kurt from the Zen tradition and writer Holly. We’ll combine meditation practice—both moving and still—with time to write and ponder the works of several reflective authors.

We’ll start each day with sitting meditation and Qi gong movement, share poems and short nature essays, and then put our own thoughts into words following the freewriting practices pioneered by Natalie Goldberg.

Outdoors, we’ll enjoy hiking, meditation and gentle observations with Institute naturalists as a way to deepen our connection with the natural world.

After healthy, organic dinners, our days will end with discussion and silent reflection.

Autumn rains nourish a proliferation of mushrooms in our region, and this field excursion will venture in to the forest to learn more about the fungus among us. Institute naturalist Lee, a member of the Washington state key council and expert in mushroom field identification, will provide an overview of fungi, their habitats and helpful I.D. techniques.

Fred Rhoades joins us on Sunday and we’ll delve deeply into mycological mysteries such as fungal structure, biology and evolution as well as important ecological roles like mycorrhizal associations and decomposition. We’ll see a wide variety of species and learn characteristics that make each one unique.

Grab your rain gear, basket and hand lens and learn more about the fungus beneath our feet.

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2 0 0 9 R E G IS T R AT I O N I N F O R M AT I O N LEARNING CENTER AND FIELD PROGRAMS 6IKMWXVEXMSR ERH 8YMXMSR Register online at www.ncascades.org or by phone at (360) 856-5700 ext.

209. Mail-in registration forms are available online. Online registration is not available for Family Getaways. Tuition is on a per-person basis and includes a non-refundable registration fee (see Cancellations below). No discounts for alternative lodging. Attendance is for paid registrants only.

Western Washington University. The number of credits available is listed near the title of each seminar preceded by a “C.” (“CP” denotes credits pending approval.) WWU will bill you $48/credit. The Institute is approved by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to grant teachers clock hour certification. The number of clock hours available appears with a clock symbol ( ) near the title of each seminar. The Institute will bill you $3.50/clock hour.

*MVWX XMQIV HMWGSYRX If you’ve never attended an Institute program, you may be eligible for a $30 discount! Our first-timer discount applies to new participants in adult programs that cost $100 or more per person. Offer does not apply to Family Getaways and may not be combined with other discounts or scholarships.

Standard cancellation policy applies.

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If registration is cancelled 21 days or more before a program starts, we will refund the tuition minus a registration fee. Fees are $25 for tuition of $99 or less; $50 for $100-299; $75 for $300-799; $125 for $800 or more.

Cancellations received less than 21 days before the start of a program will not receive a refund. If we are forced to cancel a program, participants will receive a full refund or transfer option.

Accommodations range from our Learning Center to campgrounds. See class descriptions for details.

The Learning Center has three guest lodges, each with shared genderspecific bathrooms with showers. Guest rooms contain one twin bed and a set of twin bunk beds and pricing varies according to the sleeping arrangements—see class description for rates. Participants are asked to bring their own bedding and towels. Overnight accommodations are for paid registrants only. We cannot accommodate pets.

Delicious, healthy meals incorporating local and organic foods are pro-

%GEHIQMG GVIHMX ERH GPSGO LSYVW Many Institute classes are offered for optional academic credit through 36

Scholarship funds are available for pre-service teacher education students, teachers, seniors over 60, environmental educators, conservation professionals and low-income participants. Applications are available online or by phone.

vided for paid registrants in Learning Center programs. If you have special dietary requirements or food allergies, we will gladly attempt to accommodate them with advance notice.

Participants in Field Excursions are responsible for their own food and lodging unless otherwise specified in the course description.

'LMPHVIR Adult Learning Center and Field Excursion programs are for adults only.

Youth ages 14-17 may sometimes participate, pending approval by the program coordinator prior to registration. Approved minors must be accompanied by a responsible, participating adult.

6MWO ERH VIWTSRWMFMPMX] Most of our programs are conducted in the field; participants should be in good physical condition and prepared to spend full days outdoors.

The Learning Center and most Field Excursions are more than one hour from definitive medical care and those with medical conditions should consult their physicians before enrollment. We may encounter insects, inclement weather and other unpredictable circumstances. Participants assume full responsibility for their own safety and must provide their own health and accident insurance. You will be required to sign a health/risk and holdharmless waiver before the course begins. Please read and follow pre-trip letter recommendations carefully.

&EGOTEGOMRK Participants in backpacking classes must be in good physical condition, have previous experience and provide their own gear and food. You must be able to carry a full pack, weighing 50 pounds, for an average of 4-6 hours/ day. The exceptions are “Ross Lake by Boat and Boot,” “Beats on the Peaks” and Family Backpack Adventures. Group success in a backcountry experience is dependent upon how well each individual is prepared. Your class letter will have an itinerary and a list of essential items. Anyone not appropriately equipped may not be allowed to participate and no refund will be issued.

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2009 INSTRUCTOR PROFILES ALKI KAYAK TOURS guides sea kayak tours exploring Puget Sound. They are committed to the conservation and preservation of Puget Sound as a working marine ecosystem that supports the industries of Seattle as well as the spawning salmon headed up the Duwamish River.

JESSIE ALAN works at Sustainable Business Consulting, a Seattle firm that develops sustainability strategies for businesses. Jessie worked for several years in the environmental nonprofit sector. She is a master’s candidate at Bainbridge Graduate Institute, an experienced public speaker and an avid recreationist with firsthand knowledge of the outdoor industry.

JIM ALT, a “wet-sider,” keeps moss off his back by birdwatching in the Upper Skagit. He leads the Northwest Interpretive Association’s bookstores in North Cascades National Park and conducts eagle counts for the Nature Conservancy.

TONY ANGELL’S sculptures can be seen throughout the Northwest. He is the illustrator of books, including his upcoming book Tony Angell; Puget Sound and the Artist’s Eye, due out in 2009 from University of Washington Press. Tony retired in 2002 as Director of Environmental Education for the state of Washington.

PAUL BANNICK is a naturalist and photographer specializing in the wildlife of North America. Paul’s first book, The Owl and The Woodpecker, was published by the Mountaineers Books in October 2008. In addition to working as a professional photographer, Paul serves as the director of development for Conservation Northwest. www.paulbannick.com RICK BASS is the author of 24 books of fiction and nonfiction that explore the interconnections between humans and nature, including the forthcoming memoir, The Wild Marsh. He occasionally teaches writing at the University of Montana and is active in the efforts to designate wilderness in Montana’s Yaak Valley.

CASEY BATES is a member of the Sustainable Outdoor Industry Concentration at Bainbridge Graduate Institute. He is the sustainability advisor to Brooks Sports Inc. and Feathered Friends where he has been developing a sleeping bag for Backpacker Magazine’s Zero Impact Challenge.

BRETT BAUNTON is an award-winning landscape and outdoor adventure photographer whose work has been published in magazines such as National Geographic, National Wildlife, Wilderness and Backpacker. A Seattle native, he lives in Bellingham while operating his scanning and printing business, ArtScan. www.brettbaunton. com, www.artscan.com JAMES BERTOLINO’S work has appeared in many journals and anthologies. His awards include a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and the 2007 Jeanne Lohmann Poetry Prize for Washington State poets. Jim taught creative writing for more than 30 years and now thrives in the forest east of Bellingham.

nonprofit management and grant writing at Western Washington University.

He has more than 10 years experience winning grants. Eric has a goal of visiting each national park. He lives in Skagit County.

CHARLES CLAASSEN is the Institute’s chef, foodservice manager and Foodshed Project leader. He has led professional kitchens for more than 15 years, from hotels and private restaurants to corporate dining rooms and universities. An avid alpinist and certified climbing instructor with the American Mountain Guide Association, Charles lives on campus at the foot of Sourdough Mountain with his family.

CHRISTINA CLAASSEN is the librarian for the Institute’s Wild Ginger Library.

She lives at the Learning Center with her family. In addition to homeschooling Olivia, freelance writing and editing as a part-time gig, Christina enjoys hiking, climbing, painting and sitting on the deck with the wilderness around her.

MIKE BRONDI has worked for North Cascades National Park for more than two decades. He lives in Skagit County and has worked as a logger, carpenter, farmer and nurseryman. Mike is an active volunteer and currently serves as volunteer coordinator and horticulturist for North Cascades National Park.

GERRY COOK is the most senior employee at North Cascades National Park. He is an artist and naturalist with a passion for backcountry tales and wilderness preservation. Captain of the Ross Mule, a boat that shuttles students and trail crew workers alike, Gerry loves the lake as much as the high country.

From 1970-72, he served as a fire lookout on Desolation Peak, Copper Ridge and Sourdough Mountain.

ERIC CHAMBERS is a development officer at the Northwest Educational Service District and teaches courses in

MARIA CORYELL-MARTIN is an “expeditionary artist” based in Seattle. She explores polar and glaciated regions to

2009

record climate change through art. In the field, Maria works with pen, ink, watercolor and gouache. In the studio, she paints with oils on canvas. www.expeditionaryart.com.

JOCELYN CURRY, a Seattle native, is trained in the fine arts, traditional calligraphy and contemporary lettering design. When not working on assignments for diverse clients such as Nordstrom, Seattle Chocolate and Edmonds Community College, she delights in creating personal artworks, sketching, tending her garden or traveling to inspiring destinations. www.jocelyncurry.com RON DART has studied mountaineering culture and literature in the Cascadia region of North America, from John Muir in the United States to the Swiss Alpine Guide tradition in Canada. Ron has taught at University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC since 1990. He’s published more than 20 books, including Thomas Merton and the Beats of the North Cascades, and Mountaineering and the Humanities.

BENJAMIN DRUMMOND is a Seattlebased freelance photojournalist and graphic designer who explores the connection between people and landscape. He is currently working with his partner, writer and producer Sara Joy Steele, on Facing Climate Change, a long-term project that illustrates global climate change through local people. www.bendrum.com KATHLEEN DEAN MOORE writes about cultural and spiritual connections to

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places. A new book, Wild Comfort, will be published next year by Shambhala.

She is working on a book about the ethics of climate change, collecting stories from leaders around the world.

Kathleen is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Writer Laureate at Oregon State University.

ERIC DEPLACE, senior researcher at Sightline Institute, contributes research and writing for the annual Cascadia Scorecard on sprawl, economic security, wildlife and other topics. He also writes for the Daily Score blog and contributes to a number of other Sightline projects, especially climate policy in the western states.

WILLIAM DIETRICH won a Pulitizer Prize at the Seattle Times for coverage of the Exxon Valdez disaster, is author of The Final Forest: The Battle for the Last Great Trees of the Pacific Northwest and several best-selling novels and is the faculty editor of The Planet, Huxley College’s environmental magazine.

SCOTT FITKIN, is a wildlife biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Scott is a carnivore expert and has studied animals all over Washington state. His current projects include international efforts focusing on wolverines and gray wolves, ranging from the Pasayten Wilderness and North Cascades National Park to Canada.

KATHERINE GLEW is associate curator of lichens and bryophytes at the University of Washington Herbarium.

Presently curating historic collections

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and processing lichens collected from the Russian Far East, her research interests include studying alpine community structure on Mt. Rainier and lichens from island ecosystems.

KRISTEN GILJE works in her Bellingham studio, painting in oil, acrylic, watercolor and silk dye on silk. Kristen has lived in the North Cascade Mountains and paints as a way to share her love of the outdoors with others.

THOR HANSON is a Switzer Environmental Fellow, member of the Human Ecosystems Study Group at University of Idaho and an independent conservation biologist based on San Juan Island. He is the author of The Impenetrable Forest: My Gorilla Years in Uganda.

MOLLY HASHIMOTO is an artist and teacher, appreciated for her patient tutelage as much as for her paintings.

In addition to many years with North Cascades Institute, she has taught at the Haystack Institute, Sitka Center for Art and Ecology and Yellowstone Association Institute. She connects students with nature and cultural history through watercolor workshops.

RALPH HAUGERUD, coauthor of Geology of the North Cascades: A Mountain Mosaic, is a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey at the University of Washington. His maps tell stories about some of the most unique and complex landforms in the world. Ralph maps the geology of mountains as well as the Salish lowlands.

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KURT HOELTING is a wilderness guide, meditation teacher and commercial fisherman. For 15 years, he has taught meditation during Alaska sea-kayaking trips through his company, Inside Passages. He has worked as a commercial fisherman in Alaska and Puget Sound for more than 30 years.

and for the National Park Service as a wilderness ranger.

NICHOLAS O’CONNELL is the author of On Sacred Ground: The Spirit of Place in Pacific Northwest Literature, At the Field’s End: Interviews with 22 Pacific Northwest Writers, Contemporary Ecofiction and Beyond Risk: Conversations with Climbers. Nick also teaches writing classes from Seattle for www.thewritersworkshop.net.

HOLLY HUGHES’ work has appeared in several anthologies. Her poetry chapbook Boxing the Compass won the Floating Bridge chapbook contest in 2007. She teaches writing at Edmonds Community College and spends summers working as a naturalist in Southeast Alaska and winters on the Olympic Peninsula.

JESSE KENNEDY has worked in cultural resource management for North Cascades National Park for more than 20 years. A Pacific Northwest native, he continues to explore its history through the images, stories and structures of this environment.

JIM LYNCH is the author of The Highest Tide, which won the 2006 Pacific Northwest Bookseller Award. His second novel Border Songs is due out in June.

JOHN MARZLUFF is an assistant professor of wildlife science at the University of Washington College of Forest Resources and is the author of In the Company of Crows and Ravens, which was awarded a Washington State Book Award in 2006. He’s conducted long-term studies of urbanization on songbirds in the Seattle area, responses of predators and songbirds to settlements, recreation and forest fragmentation on the

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Gerry Cook, the friendly Ross Mule captain for “Ross Lake by Boat and Boot” and “Beats on the Peaks”

Olympic Peninsula and endangered species conservation.

MEGAN MCGINTY is the Institute’s Community Programs naturalist. With more than 20 years of experience of teaching in the outdoors, she has guided and taught in places such as Mt. Rainer, the Florida Everglades, Patagonia and Costa Rica. She has conducted field research in glacier monitoring, raptor migration and black swift nesting sites. She oversees the Institute’s field excursions.

TIM MCNULTY’S volumes of poetry include Pawtracks, In Blue Mountain Dusk, Reflected Light and, most

recently, Through High Still Air, A Season at Sourdough Mountain. He is a noted conservationist and the author of two nonfiction books, Olympic National Park: A Natural History and Mount Rainier National Park. He has served as a fire lookout in the North Cascades and a tree-planter on the Olympic Peninsula.

BOB MIERENDORF has been an archaeologist and anthropologist with North Cascades National Park for more than 20 years. One of the few experts in alpine archaeology, Bob has taught field seminars since 1986, emphasizing the connections all people have with their environment.

LIBBY MILLS is a wildlife biologist and artist who has studied birds for nearly 40 years. Respected for her knowledge of the Skagit and Methow valleys, she has taught natural history from Alaska to Baja to Costa Rica. Libby records the sights and sounds of nature in field journals, sketchbooks and on audiotape.

JEFF MUSE is an educator and writer who splits time between his Skagit Valley home and the Evergreen State College, where he’s launching the university’s sustainable prisons project with the Department of Corrections.

Jeff worked a decade for the Institute,

DENNIS PAULSON recently retired as director of the Slater Museum of Natural History at the University of Puget Sound. He has researched birds and dragonflies and taught classes on wildlife, ecology and evolution. Dennis is the author of six books, including Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest, and Dragonflies of Washington.

NANCY PEARL is the author of the Book Lust series from Sasquatch Books and serves as the inspiration for the world’s only librarian action figure.

She is a regular commentator about books on National Public Radio and in 2004 won the Women’s National Book Association Award.

RUTHY PORTER is an artist, illustrator and graphic designer whose primary influences spring from her passion for the details found in nature. With a background in environmental education and educational publishing, Ruthy employs art as a teaching tool—a window into the natural sciences and interrelationships between people and landscapes.

ROBERT MICHAEL PYLE is a full-time writer and independent biologist and teacher. His 15 books include Walking

DAVE SANSONE is a naturalist who has a passion for sustainability.

Known for being outdoors as much as possible, he has observed natural processes and applied them to the design of his homestead. Dave has experience in organic farming, permaculture gardening and is a wild edible and medicinal plant educator.

KARL SCHROEDER is an amateur astronomer, former president of the Seattle Astronomical Society and a builder of telescopes. When he is not teaching, working with the elementary school science program Project Astro or giving talks to astronomy clubs, Karl

SARA JOY STEELE is a freelance writer based in Seattle, Washington.

She is currently working with photographer Benjamin Drummond on a long-term documentary project that tells the story of global warming through local people. To learn more about their print and Web media, presentations and exhibitions visit www.facingclimatechange.org.

KEENAN WEBSTER began his music studies with master teachers from Africa and Cuba and concentrates his studies on religion, history and music. His musical influences include John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Taj Mahal, El Hadj Kouyate and music of Latin America, Sumatra and India. He extends experimentation and improvisation to the balafon and kora.

DAVE TUCKER researches volcanic stratigraphy in the North Cascades.

He is currently studying the Holocene eruptive history of Mt. Baker, and will soon begin a geologic mapping project of volcanic rocks near Ross Lake. He is a resident of Bellingham, retired mountaineering guide and instructor at Western Washington University.

SHELLEY WEISBERG is a field botanist who delights in teaching about native plants. She has studied plant communities throughout Washington, coordinated plant restoration projects for North Cascades National Park and worked at local nurseries. Shelley is the owner of Moonstone Garden Design, specializing in native plants and environmentally responsible practices.

CYNTHIA UPDEGRAVE studied biology teaching at the University of Washington, working closely with Estella Leopold for many years in the historic and biogeographical aspects of regional floras. Cynthia uses an interdisciplinary, place-based approach to teaching, focusing on bioregional literacy.

ZAC WEST is founding principal of IDeologyfirm.com. He has more than 10 years experience in product design and project management. Zac holds an MBA in Sustainability from Bainbridge Graduate Institute. His studies examined optimizing profitability through system streamlining. He is a member of OIA’s Eco Working Group,

Access Fund and Carbon Concierge.

LEE WHITFORD has served the Institute for many years as a naturalist, coordinator for Institute Stewardship programs and honorary mom at the Learning Center. In 2004, she earned her MEd in Environmental Education through the Institute’s Graduate Residency program with Western Washington University. Lee resides in Bellingham and can be found out and about collecting fungi, observing sea creatures or studying rocks.

DAVID B. WILLIAMS is a freelance natural history writer and author of The Street-Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from Seattle. His next book, Stories in Stone, is about the cultural and natural history of building stone from around the United States. www.streetsmartnaturalist.com.

KENT WOODRUFF is an outstanding naturalist and wildlife biologist with the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forest. His classroom is where you can smell and hear and feel the subjects under investigation. His favorite subjects are birds, bats and butterflies and how they fit in the web of life.

© BENJ DRUMMOND

ADAM RUSSELL is the Learning Center’s naturalist and specializes in paddling canoes, hiking trails and teaching about rocks and plants, wildlife and history. An athlete and aspiring mountaineer, Adam has spent time conducting field research in the Amazon, Galapagos Islands, Andes and North Cascades.

JARED SILLIKER works at the Cadmus Group, an environmental consulting firm, to encourage high-performance building designs. For more than five years, he has supported EPA’s Energy Star program and currently splits his time between new building design and consumer electronics. He is a sustainable business MBA candidate at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute.

DANA VISALLI is a field botanist specializing in rare plants. As director of the Methow Biodiversity Project, he coordinates a biological inventory of the Methow River watershed and publishes The Methow Naturalist, a natural history journal. He is author of Northwest Dryland Wildflowers, Sagebrush-Ponderosa, Northwest Coastal Wildflowers and Northwest Mountain Wildflowers.

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JOHN ROHRER studies wildlife management at Humboldt State University and has held positions as a biologist for both the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Forest Service. He currently works as a biologist for Methow Valley Ranger District in Okanogan National Forest.

enjoys hosting star parties to show people the wonders of the heavens.

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the High Ridge, Wintergreen and The Butterflies of Cascadia. His recent book, Sky Time in Gray’s River, won the 2007 National Outdoor Book Award for natural history literature. He recently completed the first nationwide Butterfly Big Year for a new book.

YOU ’RE INVITED! INST IT U T E ANNU AL P ICNIC Saturday, May 30, FREE Come to our Upper Skagit neighborhood party. Enjoy a day at our Learning Center campus with sustainability tours, children’s activities, naturalist walks, canoe trips, live music and a scrumptious barbecue picnic buffet. Find out more about what the Institute is up to in 2009 at this popular annual event. l MORE INFORMATION AT WWW.NCASCADES.ORG/EVENTS HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE! 39

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M A S T E R ’S O F E D U C AT I O N GR ADUATE PRO G RA M : L IV E , LE A R N A N D T E A C H I N T HE NO RTH C ASC A DE S L E A RN IN G C E N T E R

wilderness—craggy peaks, cascading waterfalls, meadows full of wildflowers and more glaciers than anywhere else in the Lower 48—located in the heart of the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Visualize studying in a community that includes the region’s best and brightest environmental educators, field scientists, writers, naturalists, artists, conservationists and visionary leaders in the nonprofit sector.

Picture an academic experience that incorporates the rigorous training of a university, the experience of teaching, the practicality of nonprofit organizational management and the organic insights born from wide-ranging outdoor explorations.

Envision yourself as a graduate student with North Cascades Institute and Western Washington University, earning your Master’s in Environmental Education and a Certificate in Leadership and Nonprofit Administration while enjoying the very best the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

Working in partnership with Huxley College of the Environment at WWU, the Institute offers an integrated Master of Education program that blends leadership and nonprofit administration, curriculum development and instructional strategies, natural and cultural history and residential program operations. Over the course of our one-of-a-kind, seven-quarter program, you’ll live and work at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, our wilderness campus in North Cascades National Park, pursue coursework at WWU’s Bellingham campus, teach kids from all backgrounds about their natural heritage through Mountain School, survey Northwest 40

environments from high alpine trails to the Skagit Valley and the San Juan Islands and make lifelong friends and professional contacts in our close-knit community.

The professional residency at the Institute is the only one of its kind that is fully integrated into a degree program. Unlike other comparable graduate programs, at the end of your academic journey you’ll have secured your M.Ed. degree from WWU, a venerable institution that, for 10 years in a row, was rated second among Western-region public universities that grant Master’s degrees by U.S.

© CH R IST I A N M A RT I N

%I=CEJA = ?H=OONKKI that is 505,000 acres of pristine

News & World Report.

When you complete the Institute’s integrated M.Ed. program, you are ready for doors to open to an inspiring career in environmental education and nonprofit leadership!

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE GRADUATE PROGRAM , VISIT WWW.NCASCADES.ORG/GRADUATE OR CALL (360) 856-5700 EXT. 209.

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ŠLEE WHITFORD

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ŠBEN J DRUMMOND

Š LAU R E N SA L ZM A N

I believe the experiences I gained through my classes at Western and the Professional Residency set me apart from the other applicants and will help me make a real positive impact on Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute.

This is just the type of position I wanted postgraduation. _+FOJDB 8PPE #FBVDIBNQ $MBTT PG

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© N O RT H C A SC A D ES I NST I T UT E

MO U N TA I N S C H O O L B RING YOU R C L A SSRO O M TO T HE MO U NTA I N S

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outdoor learning opportunities. Participants stay in guest lodges and fresh, delicious and nutritious meals featuring local, fresh foods are served in the lakeside dining hall.

The multi-disciplinary Mountain School curriculum is aligned with Washington State’s EALRs and GLEs to better facilitate the integration of information learned at Mountain School into the classroom curriculum and into each student’s daily life. In addition to academic lessons, students develop important social skills and a sense of respect for one another and their surrounding environment as they live and work together in a cooperative community.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW YOUR CHILD’S CLASSROOM CAN EXPERIENCE THE TRANSFORMATIVE EFFECTS OF MOUNTAIN SCHOOL, VISIT WWW.NCASCADES.ORG/SCHOOL OR CALL (360) 856-5700 EXT. 209.

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believes children exposed to nature and educated in the natural sciences gain a valuable connection that will serve them their whole lives. Mountain School, which has served more than 14,000 children since 1989, is our nationally recognized residential environmental education program offered in cooperation with North Cascades National Park. Mountain School students come to the North Cascades for three days and two nights with their school class to learn about ecosystems, scientific investigation, geology and the natural and cultural history of the mountains through hands-on, experiential-based activities.

In 2008, Mountain School served nearly 1,500 4th–12th grade students and adults from Anacortes, Mount Vernon, Highline, the San Juan Islands, Edmonds, Tukwila, Clover Park, Bellingham, Bellevue and Seattle.

North Cascades Institute offers Mountain School programs for upper elementary through high school students at our expansive Environmental Learning Center, a wilderness campus located on the shores of Diablo Lake that includes well-equipped classrooms and labs, a library and experienced staff and hike leaders. Mountain School students come with their classmates, teachers and chaperones to learn why Northwest mountains are important to our plants and wildlife, our rivers and sea, and our communities and cultures. A unique network of trails and shelters surrounding the Learning Center provides quick and easy access to the surrounding wilderness and incredible

“I never knew I live in such a cool place!� ~5th grade Mountain School student, Mount Vernon

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YOUT H ADV E NT URE S C O NNECTING TH E N E XT G E N E R AT I O N T O N AT U R E

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in an Institute program, your tuition dollars go toward helping us connect hundreds of young people more closely with the natural world. A few of our notable youth adventures include:

4EVOW 'PMQEXI 'LEPPIRKI an exciting new venture for 2009 with the National Parks Foundation, North Cascades National Park and Pacific Gas and Electric. High school youth from communities around the country will convene in North Cascades National Park for one month to study climate change. While here, the youth will spend four weeks in the field exploring climate change issues with experts and learning about energy conservation, national parks and stewardship. After leaving our mountains, they’ll return to their local communities as youth ambassadors and lead others in service projects in their local National Parks.

l FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HELPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE STEP OUTSIDE AND LEARN ABOUT OUR LOCAL ENVIRONMENT, VISIT WWW.NCASCADES.ORG/GIVE OR CALL (360) 856-5700 EXT. 209.

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2SVXL 'EWGEHIW ;MPH a backcountry canoe, backpacking and conservation service program for underserved youth on Ross Lake in North Cascades National Park. During the course of 12 life-changing days, high school students from the Seattle and Skagit Valley areas complete service projects, learn Leave No Trace, outdoor camping and leadership skills and study wilderness stewardship and the natural and cultural history of the region with the Institute, the Student Conservation Association and North Cascades National Park.

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©AMY BROWN

/YPWLER 'VIIO 2IMKLFSVLSSH /MHW 4VSKVEQ a program that began last year in partnership with the National Forest Service, Mount Vernon Police Department, Skagit Youth and Family Services and the National Park Service. This outreach initiative engages youth from one of the Skagit Valley’s most diverse neighborhoods in a variety of outdoor activities including all-day field trips and afterschool programs. In 2008, more than 100 youth learned about bears, marine biology, migratory birds and the natural history of the Skagit Valley through visits to local public lands with a variety of educators.

©LEE WHITFORD

©LEE WHITFORD

©LEE WHITFORD

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VOLUNTEER STE WARDS, like our popular Eagle Watchers and Mountain Stewards programs, are trained in the natural history of eagles, salmon, the Skagit watershed, mountain ecosystems, Leave No Trace practices and skills on how to teach these topics to the general public. Stewards are asked to volunteer 20–40 hours during the winter or summer months and provide valuable education for visitors to our state’s public lands. l FOR MORE INFORMATION ON OUR VOLUNTEER STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMS, VISIT WWW.NCASCADES.ORG/STEWARDS OR CALL (360) 856-5700 EXT. 209.

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G R O U P R E N TA L S GATHER YOUR GROUP AT THE LEARNING CENTER

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to the North Cascades and host a group meeting or retreat at the Learning Center.

Our unique field campus inspires reflection, understanding and connection to the natural world, as well as to each other.

Group rentals include: Lodging for as many as 69 guests Delicious catering with local and organic foods Conference rooms, trailside shelters and a library Internet access, projectors and other supplies Naturalist-led activities like canoeing and hiking exclusive to your group

The Learning Center primarily serves as a home for North Cascades Institute’s educational programs. However, as our calendar allows, we meet the needs of groups who want to experience the North Cascades through their own retreats and meetings. Conference fees help subsidize our youth education programs and scholarships for low-income participants. l FOR RATES, BOOKING AND OTHER INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.NCASCADES.ORG/RENTALS OR CALL (360) 856-5700 EXT. 209.

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© LA R A SW IMME R

Inspiring community of green-living and sustainable practices

G IV E T ODAY

HELP US C O N S E R VE A ND R E S T OR E NO R T HW E S T E NV I R ONM ENT S Thanks to the support of people who care about our environment, our programs are working. We’re connecting young people more closely with nature right here in the Northwest.

This past year, we taught thousands of kids about this special place.

They know more about the environment; now they’re taking better care of it.

Here’s what donors helped us accomplish in 2008: North Cascades Wild led 37 underserved teenagers onto Ross Lake via canoes. These amazing kids from a broad diversity of cultural backgrounds spent 12 days on Ross Lake doing arduous, hands-on stewardship work and learning about the environment.

The life-changing results were dramatic. One 16-year-old wrote, “I now realize that the environment needs my help.”

In Mountain School, more than 1,800 young people spent three days at North Cascades Environmental Learning Center learning about our local ecosystem. A fifth-grade teacher wrote us, “Six months later, my kids are still talking about what they learned about glaciers, plants and water— even lichen!”

The Kulshan Creek Neighborhood Program connected dozens of young residents of this urban Hispanic community in Mount Vernon with nature, right in their own backyard. These enthusiastic kids and their families—most of them new residents who speak Spanish as their first language—are hungry for safe, stimulating experiences in nature.

Our current economy is presenting tough challenges for everyone, but our dedication to our mission remains as strong as ever. With your support, we intend to come through this time a stronger organization poised to achieve our mission to a greater degree than ever before.

Please help us conserve and restore Northwest environments through education.

Give today!

Your support makes our work possible. Return this form to North Cascades Institute, call us at (360) 856 5700 ext. 209 or donate online at www.ncascades.org/give.

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© M E G A N M CG I N T Y

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Kevin Biggs Tom Borst Debra Brodie Amy Brown Laura Busby Charles Claassen Christina Claassen Jenny Cloutier Manda Davis Betsy Delph Jeff Giesen Kristofer Gilje Angela Goodall Anne Hubka Brooke Larrabee Orawan Layne Christian Martin Deb Martin Danelle McGee Mark McGee

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Megan McGinty Kris Molesworth Adam Russell Jason Ruvelson Julie Toomey Carolyn Waters Saul Weisberg Lee Whitford Amy Wilcox

Board of Directors Jim Bishop David Bonn Terry Conner Gerry Cook Pete Dewell Carolyn Gastellum Dunham Gooding Peter Jackson

Nan McKay John Miles Stan Miller Jeanne Muir Therese Ogle Brian Scheuch Randy Self Abby Sussman

Advisory Council Thomas Lowe Fleischner Art Kruckeberg Estella Leopold Richard Louv Chip Jenkins Rob Iwamoto Robert Michael Pyle John Reynolds Chuck Robinson

©DAVID SNYDER

Staff

©DAVID SNYDER

INSTITUTE LE ADERSHIP

Clockwise from top left: Brooke Larrabee, Development Coordinator; Amy Brown, North Cascades Wild Naturalist; Tom Borst, Caretaker

© C A R O LY N W AT E R S

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Catalog Credits IHMXSV Christian Martin www.moontrolling.com HIWMKRIV Jesse Kinsman www.kinsmancreative.com TLSXS EVX EHZMWSV Carolyn Waters TVMRXMRK Lithtex Northwest www.lithtex.com

© M E G A N M CG I N T Y

© C A R O LY N W AT E R S

GSZIV EVXMWX

Clockwise from top left: Chaya and Angela Goodall, Head Housekeeper; Kristofer Gilje, Operations Director; Kris Molesworth, Donor Relations Manager

Major Partners

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Special Thanks Special thanks to Foothills Toyota in Burlington and Toyota USA for their donation of a new Toyota Highlander Hybrid to the Institute!

Spring Aspens, watercolor, 2008.

Our cover art for this catalog was generously provided by Seattle artist Suze Woolf. She found this particular grove of aspens in an avalanche chute east of Cutthroat Lake on State Route 20: “It had begun to leaf out, but the undergrowth was still low enough to scramble the bank and thrash my way into the middle of the grove.” Suze’s goal as an artist is “to transport the viewer into the world of the painting and yet that viewer always remains aware of the artist's hand.”

To see more of her work and a schedule of upcoming exhibits, visit www.suzewoolf-fineart.com.

EVXMWXW ERH TLSXSKVETLIVW We are also grateful to have the opportunity to reproduce the artwork of Ruthy Porter, Chris Thornley, Jocelyn Curry, Katie Roloson, Kristen Gilje and Nikki McClure, and the photography of Benj Drummond, John Scurlock, Brett Baunton, Paul Bannick, David Snyder, Lara Swimmer, Marco Prozzo, Lee Rolfe, Anita Boyle, Giuseppe Moretti and Institute staff and graduate students.

Special thanks to the National Park Service for the use of Doug Albee’s image of Diablo Dam and to University of Puget Sound for Abby Williams Hill’s painting “Glacier Peaks.”

Copyright 2009 North Cascades Institute. All rights reserved.

Art, photo and poetry copyrights remain with creators and are used by permission.

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