Chattermarks

What is a summit experience?  For the 10th cohort of graduate students  in NCI’s residency program, the 9-day backpacking trip that culminated their first quarter of graduate school was a summit experience, both literally and figuratively.  This year the cohort split into two groups, with six students and one instructor with each group.  Team veg started on the East Bank Trail of Ross Lake, climbing Desolation Peak on their fourth day.  Team bourbon started on the west side of Ross Lake, hiking through old growth forests and over Big Beaver Pass.  On the 5th day, Gerry Cook of the National Park Service met us with the MULE to transport each team to the other side of the lake.  Team bourbon then hiked Desolation Peak and backpacked out along the East Bank Trail.  Unfortunately, an injury on team veg necessitated an evacuation.  The team decided to stick together and continue learning about the North Cascades through front-country camping experiences in the Methow Valley.  While the two groups had very different experiences, all students finished their trips elated, exhausted and in desperate need of showers!  Here are reflections from each student about the experience….

» Continue reading Summer’s summit

Summer has finally arrived at the Environmental Learning Center! Diablo Lake has regained its characteristic green color, peregrine falcon fledglings are learning to hunt near the dam, a new fawn is sporting spots around campus, and the tenth cohort of graduate students have begun their academic journey.

Cohort 10 at Diablo Lake.  Field journaling with Libby Mills (above).

Cohort 10 began classes in Bellingham on June 22nd. The eleven students who are enrolled in the graduate program come from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from education to environmental science to multi-media studies. Their summer coursework consists of three classes: Introduction to Place-Based Education, Resource Issues in the North Cascades, and Cultural History in the North Cascades. These courses are interwoven into a series of field excursions in the region, supplemented by readings, projects, and discussions in classes at Western Washington University.

Students learn about mycorrhizae from Brandi Stewart, cohort 9

» Continue reading Welcome graduate cohort 10!

Every family has different holiday traditions.  Most families gather for a big meal on Thanksgiving. Some watch or play football. My family likes to run in a local “Turkey Trot”. But how many people go for a canoe ride in a 14-person voyageur canoe on Thanksgiving?

This year, several families had that opportunity as participants in the first Thanksgiving Family Getaway program at North Cascade Institute’s Environmental Learning Center on Diablo Lake.

Families from all over Washington and Oregon gathered at Diablo Lake to celebrate Thanksgiving while surrounded by pristine beauty. Though the forecast called for rain, rain, and more rain, we were showered with more sunshine than precipitation. Families enjoyed activities such as canoeing, hiking, tracking, art classes, and the microscope lab.

» Continue reading Rewriting Thanksgiving traditions

The ninth cohort of graduate students at North Cascades Institute finished their first quarter of graduate school with a nine-day backpacking trip across the North Cascade mountain range.   Each student reflected upon one day of the trip to create this summary of their adventure.

» Continue reading Nine days with cohort 9

When I went to graduate school, I spent a lot of time in stuffy rooms while professors spewed information at me. I frantically took notes in class, hoping that it would all make sense when I reviewed it later. North Cascades Institute’s Graduate Residency in Environmental Education is a very different experience.

» Continue reading A week in the life of a graduate student

Backpacking in the North Cascades is great, but last weekend I wanted to do something different. I decided to try canoe camping. The Environmental Learning Center on Diablo Lake was the perfect starting point for my three-day trip.

» Continue reading A long weekend on Ross Lake

Who says graduate school has to involve sitting in classrooms listening to lectures?

The first two weeks of class for the ninth cohort of students in the M.Ed program at North Cascades Institute and Western Washington University have been anything but traditional. After a couple of days of orientation to the program, Cohort 9 headed into the field. Students observed bald eagles at Padilla Bay, took time to journal on top of Mount Erie, and poked around the mouth of the Skagit River before heading to Bay View State Park for a barbeque.

» Continue reading Poking Around