Chattermarks

The celebration of my 28^th year happened over the second half of the Instructor Exchange last weekend. For those unfamiliar, Instructor Exchange is a fun-filled, long weekend with our fellow environmental education instructors from Wilderness Awareness School (WAS) and Islandwood. We hosted the first half of the Exchange in January and now it was our turn to visit them.

The Exchange stated with a sunny and beautiful early morning drive. When we arrived at WAS we were greeted by a gang of smiling instructors who seemed happy for the company. Wilderness Awareness School is a woodland community of environmental instructors who focus on community building, survival skills, awareness, education, appreciation of nature and are, by far, the most skilled naturalists of us all.

To start things off, we commenced in Malalo Yu Chui – The Lair of the Leopard – for a ceremonial fire and story telling. After hearing the yarn of the school’s founders, we were given our nature names.  I am now known as Destroying Angel in some circles of friends. We departed Malalo to a trickster transformer series of lessons demonstrating diverse teaching styles on fire making, bird talk, tracking, and animal signs.  The highlight of the first evening was a wild and locally-inspired pasta dinner, which included salmon and a pasta sauce made of dandelions and stinging nettles.

(Title) All instructors participate in a bow drill exercise, Photo by Martine Mariott  (Above) Introductions were held at Malalo Yu Chui at Wilderness Awareness School, Photo by Erin Fowler

» Continue reading Our visit to Wilderness Awareness School and Islandwood

A flit of gold. A flicker of green. Soft song notes from within a tangle of blackberry vines. A surprising whoosh of hovering wing-sweeps, mere inches above ground.

Birds. They are some of the Skagit Valley’s most compelling and charismatic creatures. In winter, the Skagit farmlands teem with all kinds – song birds, raptors, shorebirds, local and migratory waterfowl. You need not have fancy equipment nor years of experience to be a birder here. What it takes is the curiosity to know more and the patience to practice deep observation.

(Title) Graduate students of Cohort 9 extend their birding eye on the Skagit flats (Above) The Hayton Reserve is one Skagit Valley location to go bird watching

» Continue reading Becoming bird observers

My dreams within Environmental Education are like that of the Skagit River’s watercourse.

From its headwaters, my dream begins in the tiniest of raindrops, collecting in glaciers perhaps and trickling down to alpine streams. The dream builds to a river, solidifying as do the sturdier banks supporting the way of the water. Weaving out and around, the dream’s course is composed, at times, of rapids raging, then pooling in softer shallows. It exits the mountain peak domain to enter a gentler, more gradual flow—that of farmland and forest—though still bringing with it reminders of the lessons learned in higher places. The channel widens, as does my dream’s scope, the hint of salt in freshwaters. As river converges with ocean, a chorus commences. Ideas, like nutrients, swell. Life is rich, vibrant. Just as the Skagit River feeds the Salish Sea, so the sea replenishes the river.

» Continue reading From headwaters to sound

Tuesday morning found Cohort 9 at the Bagelry in Bellingham getting provisions for an all-day snowshoeing adventure to Artists Point from the Heather Meadows lot of Mount Baker Ski Area.

Blue skies and copious sunshine beckoned overhead as we headed up Koma Kulshan Highway. On our way to the ski resort, we stopped to stretch our legs and investigate some remnant old-growth Douglas-fir trees. Even as we crossed the North Fork Nooksack River, snow was scarce, leaving us concerned about possibly being over-equipped. All of our fears, however, were laid to rest several miles further up the slope as we met head-high snowdrifts along the road. Megan was able to successfully drive in the snow for the first time, quite a milestone for this native Floridian.

(Title) The group snowshoeing toward Artists Point, Photo by Kelsi Franzen (Above) Cohort 9 “C9″ rocks the old growth, Photo by Kelsi Franzen

» Continue reading A snowshoeing we will go

After finishing our first week of classes following winter break, the graduate students and staff at the North Cascades Institute had a fun and busy weekend, hosting instructors and staff from two other environmental education centers. The 4^th Annual Instructor Exchange included IslandWood, Wilderness Awareness School and North Cascades Institute.

When everyone had arrived on Saturday, graduate students led a tour of our LEED certified buildings, giving the visiting students a chance to compare our classrooms, lodges and living spaces with their own. A social hour before dinner gave everyone time to start getting to know each other. Following dinner, we gave an introduction to our programs by sharing the Parks Climate Challenge video. Later, our Program Director, Laura Busby, shared more information about our adult and family programs, summer youth programs, and a little bit about Mountain School and the graduate program. We ended the evening with a trivia game, designed to test participants’ knowledge of the natural history of the region, as well as test their skills as environmental educators. Some of the challenges included identifying quotes from well known environmentalists, writing mission statements for ridiculous non-profits and composing and performing a new campfire song.

» Continue reading Sharing our place

Along the Skagit River, the month of December marks the beginning of an incredible display of interaction among two of western Washington’s most prominent species – eagles and salmon.

The Skagit, whose headwaters begin near Hope, British Columbia, travel by the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, and end in the estuarine confluence of Skagit Bay southwest of Mt. Vernon, is the Puget Sound’s largest river and second in size only to the Columbia in Washington. All 5 Pacific salmon runs, including sockeye, chum, chinook, pink and coho, reach up along various locations of the Skagit.

With an especially high pink salmon run, an estimated 1.2 million salmon by Washington state fish biologists, along with a current chum spawning run, this season could make for some surprising eagle sights.

» Continue reading In the presence of eagles

Move over United States Postal Service, neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the graduate program from connecting with this place.

Alumni and current students gathered November 6^th through the 8^th for the First Annual Graduate Program Alumni Reunion. Along with friends, family, and faculty of the graduate program, we enjoyed an energetic dinner filled with reminiscing and laughter. Known for our friendly competitive nature, we engaged in a battle of wits and strength—a trivia night to remember. From North Cascades knowledge to a raingear relay, from a campfire song sing-off to mystery granola identification, our wisdom and vigor was challenged. Conquering the final night-time scavenger hunt mission, the winning team received pennywhistles, which with they will attempt to master in the same fashion as our own Executive Director, Saul Weisberg.

The next morning, we headed out into the elements for a photo scavenger hunt. Given a list of tasks, each team gained points for photos that captured the completion of these tasks, awarding points for difficulty, creativity, and bribery. As typical Northwest torrents poured on us, cameras captured glimpses of team hugs, reenactments of the Davis family, nature art, and notable places from Mountain School in Newhalem. Also known for our determination and perseverance, many grads and alumni ventured into Diablo Lake in order to earn the most points. The winning team, relentlessly tough, achieved victory by swimming under the glacial waters of our green lake on a day where temperatures would drop and snow would fall.

» Continue reading Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail

The morning of September 27th was one of those mornings that you wake up, look out the window and know instantly that there is nothing keepin’ you indoors. When I walked out into the day, it didn’t matter what I did as along as it involved being active in my huge backyard of the North Cascades. At breakfast in the dining hall, Katie mentioned she was going to hike up to Trapper’s Peak and, just like that, my day began.

Katie, Justin, Rebecca and I all piled into Katie’s car, drove to the Thornton Lake Trailhead, just down valley from Newhalem. The 10+ cars parked on the road surprised us. Apparently quite a few people had the same idea we did. The first quarter of trail was an old logging road and had a low grade of elevation. The variety of mushrooms lining the trail was incredible. It seemed as though there wasn’t a size, color or shape we didn’t come across.

As we climbed higher in elevation, the blueberries were at the height of their season. We could barely take ten steps without having to stop and gather a handful. The berries’ deep blue color created a beautiful contrast against their bushes, which had begun to change from green to a reddish-brown. Justin’s lips and fingers, in particular, maintained a blue tint throughout the hike.

» Continue reading Blitzing Trapper

By now, the wind chill has reached the low 20s. A crisp, fall breeze pierces my cheeks and sinks deeply into my exposed fingertips. It is finally time to put on the winter gloves.

Only the 3rd of October, it is the earliest of the fall season I have felt the fleece lining I so often associate with the dead of winter. Those familiar with the climate and topography of the North Cascades would say that, on a north-facing slope at nearly 6,000 feet in the fall season, these conditions are to be expected. Expected or not, the stark contrast in temperature change never fails to shock me.

The trail has all but disappeared as we near the summit of Sourdough Mountain. Camouflaged, in part, by a fresh coat of snow, as well as by the grayish-white color of its outer paint layer, Sourdough Lookout – today’s destination – appears like that of any animal in survival mode, evolved to change its colors to match that of its wintry surroundings. We, on the other hand, are a mixture of bright orange and black, Adidas tennis shoes and mountaineering boots, baseball caps and old, woolen hats from the early ‘80s climbing era. With a jar of peanut butter, a few whole grain tortillas, and some apples and cheese, we were evolved to seek adventure, by any means possible, in any way possible.

» Continue reading Sharing the season on Sourdough

For the last year I’ve called the North Cascades home.  It was home because I was a graduate student with the North Cascades Institute and for one year I lived at the Environmental Learning Center, completely a professional residency.  Throughout the year I learned about environmental education, worked with amazing educator and naturalists, and studied nonprofit administration.

Living at the Environmental Learning Center, with Sourdough Mountain rising steeply to the north and Pyramid and Colonial Peaks looming large across Diablo Lake, I found my place.  I can’t describe the connection I now feel for the North Cascades, the urge I feel to wander the valleys and climb the peaks, the sense of wonder I feel when I discover new plants and critters; what I do know is that I’ve never felt more grounded.

» Continue reading A farewell to the North Cascades