Chattermarks

We were very excited to have Cliff Mass as one of our instructors for the 2010 Northwest Naturalists Retreat, and then thrilled when he posted a piece about the weather in the Learning Center’s neighborhood on his popular blog:

A green-blue mountain lake with towering mountains, snowfields and glaciers, as well as a fascinating meteorology–the is what I found during a pleasant stay this weekend at the North Cascade Institute this weekend, where I was one of the instructors for their Naturalist Weekend Retreat. The location of this beautiful facility is on Diablo Lake (see maps below), behind Seattle City Light’s Diablo Dam. A very pleasant place to take environmentally oriented classes or to use as a base for exploring the North Cascades.

The lake has a green-bluish tinge due to the very fine particles produced by the surrounding glaciers (glacial flour). Why greenish blue? Why is the sky blue? A similar reason–what is known as Rayleigh scattering of visible light. Very fine particles scatter short wavelengths (like blue or green) far more than longer wavelengths (like red or yellow). Thus the shorter wavelengths are scattered back to your eye producing the bluish or greenish tint.

Some of the most exceptional meteorological features of this location are the diurnal (daily) winds. Nearly every day in summer the winds pick up on the lake around noon, with the flow accelerating up to 12-25 mph, often producing whitecaps. The wind is from the west, flowing directly up the Skagit  River valley (see map above). During my stay I noted a strong correlation between this westerly wind and the pressure difference across the Cascades; when eastern Washington pressure fell relative to the west, the winds accelerated. Thus, the winds appeared to be gap winds, which are roughly proportional to the pressure difference across the gap. The interesting thing for me, is although the gap is very clear to the west (the Skagit River Valley), to the immediate east there is considerable blocking terrain until one gets to Mazama. But clearly the air rushing up the Skagit is going somewhere as it pushes to the east. Since the pressure difference increases during the day (eastern Washington heats up, air there becomes less dense, and thus the pressure falls), the wind strengthened late morning into the afternoon.

Read more at http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2010/08/diablo-winds-in-north-cascades-and.html

Northwest Cheapsleeps, the popular blog about “favorite places for budget travelers,” recently visited the Learning Center for our Base Camp program. Here is a report on their family-friendly experiences:

The North Cascades Institute has long been the premiere environmental education outfit in the Pacific Northwest, but I’d never before taken a class with them. Earlier this summer, as I was scanning their beautiful catalog and lusting over courses on landscape watercolor and mountain photography, I stumbled upon a new offering called Base Camp. Billed as flexible, affordable, enriching and fun, this fledgling program appealed to me immediately as an accessible, low-stress way for families to experience the outdoors. We could stay a few nights at the gorgeous NCI Learning Center on Lake Diablo, all meals included, and dabble in guided learning adventures offered three times a day, from hiking to canoeing to arts and crafts.

By the time our two-night stay arrived, I was eager for space from the city and quality time in nature. I also couldn’t wait to take a break from planning and making meals for a family of three! We arrived at the NCI Learning Center with just enough time to stash our stuff in our room before the orientation tour. Katie, a recent college grad and Kentucky transplant to the Northwest, showed us around the center, on the shores of Diablo Lake and surrounded by the North Cascades National Park complex. I was amazed at the comfy-looking library stocked to the ceiling with field guides and nature poetry. Brian was impressed with the comprehensive compost system outside the dining hall. Isaac helpfully pointed out the fire pits and sword ferns. Katie gave us the rundown on meal times, showed us the trailheads to the four or five trails that depart from the center, and invited us to join other base campers around the campfire after dinner for local native storytelling. I suddenly felt like I was at camp, a really nice camp.

Read the entire story at http://nwcheapsleeps.org/2010/08/06/north-cascades-institutes-base-camp/

Does Justin go around mumbling about amphibians? Brandi about mycorrhizal fungi? Martine about the medicinal uses of Oregon grape?

Natural history projects are the last big curricular piece of the residency portion of the graduate program. I wonder how Cohort 9’s projects may be pervading their everyday life, since I know my research has seeped into mine. This is clearly shown in the following:

While cleaning the fridge last week I caught myself exclaiming “Ugh – catastrophic!” after opening a container that had clearly been inside too long. Even though the growth upon the leftovers had taken place in a uniformitarian fashion, the visual and nasal effect of this growth was clearly catastrophic on my senses.

You see, my natural history project has been on the geologic doctrines of catastrophism and uniformitarianism. The development of geology as a discipline is greatly comprised of these contrary fields of thought. Both are based upon observations of phenomena in the natural world and are   interpretations of those observations. Catastrophism is based upon sudden and often violent change; uniformitarianism is based upon change as a slow and gradual process.

The two creeks that bookend the Environmental Learning Center campus are wonderful examples of each of these two doctrines.

Sourdough Creek, fed by snowmelt, undergoes a wide array of flow through the year, ranging from being bone dry in late August to potentially torrential spring floods. Notice the lack of moss growth on the boulders and the boulders themselves as evidence of voluminous and rapid flow – smaller substrate particles have been flushed away.  Even the “Texas dip” bridge crossing the creek is proof of the creek’s potential for change.

» Continue reading Changes, rapid and slow, at the Learning Center

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!

Watercolors and wildlife: North Cascades Institute courses offer arts and outdoors

By SHANNON DININNY

The Associated Press

DIABLO, Wash.

For their 10th wedding anniversary, Kori Crane’s husband handed her a check and told her she could only spend it on an art class.

Not just any art class.

Crane designed and painted silk scarves in the remote wilderness of North Cascades National Park, drawing on the majestic mountains and towering pines for inspiration.

Nestled at the foot of Sourdough Mountain and on the shore of Diablo Lake, the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center is home to fine arts, writing, cultural and natural history courses, as well as family weekends that include kayaking, hiking, boating and fun.

Front and center, though, is the wilderness. One of the most remote national parks in the U.S., North Cascades offers miles of hiking trails, abundant wildlife and panoramic views of rugged peaks and glacier-fed lakes far from an urban center.

Crane, 39, of Mount Vernon, Wash., had visited the lodge once before for a hiking day. Already an active quilter and fiber artist but recovering from a recent shoulder injury, she made the trip to the North Cascades last year aiming to try something new.

“I enjoy color a lot, so really being able to play with color on a grand scale is wonderful,” she said. “The atmosphere is inspiring for art.”

Seattle City Light built the five-acre facility as part of its Skagit River dam license for hydropower. The nonprofit North Cascades Institute manages the 16-building campus, which opened in 2005, and its adult course offerings help finance youth education programs.

Molly Hashimoto has traveled to the lodge for six years to teach watercolor classes, and the getaway hasn’t lost its magic.

“For me, it’s the ease of getting outdoors, and the beauty is unparalleled. The scale — it’s awesome,” she said. “You wouldn’t find that many places in the country where you can see from sea level to a mountain peak, almost a vertical mile. It’s awe-inspiring.”

The center’s wood floors and cedar walls are warm, earthy and inviting, with buildings named after trees found in the nearby woods: pine, maple, cedar, fir. The dining room overlooks the lake, where boat tours glide by. Meals are included and feature local, often organic, ingredients.

It’s already drawn visitors from across the country.

Donna Woodland, 49, of Montoursville, Pa., traveled with a friend from Oregon to work on watercolor landscapes, a progression from her nature journals and sketches at home.

“If I don’t draw for a few days or weeks, I find it affects my mood,” she said. “This forces me to draw around other people. Otherwise this is a solitary thing, and everyone sees things differently. You get feedback.”

Gazing across Diablo Lake at Colonial and Pyramid peaks, Hashimoto said she’d like to see more young people sign up for art courses. People with young families tend toward the family getaway weekends, she said, and people without families “are just working too hard.”

“Art is one of those things people should splurge on for themselves,” she said.

One of her regular students, Len Eisenhood of Seattle, also made the trip with his wife for their 40th wedding anniversary. She took a journaling course, while he focused on his watercolors.

“We love the Northwest, and to have this time dedicated to being in this gorgeous setting dawn to dusk was something to say yes to,” he said. “It’s a privilege to be here and have this time.”

Molly Hashimoto’s sketchbook

» Continue reading AP: Mountains Inspire in North Cascades Art Courses

As spring slowly transitions to summer in North Cascades National Park, reminders of the adventures that await North Cascades Wild (NC Wild) participants are everywhere in the landscape. But before embarking on the 12-day backcountry journeys, these students must be  prepared.

Thanks to the third and final day trip of the 2010 spring season, eleven of the 54 high school youth that will be participating in this year’s NC Wild trips are now better prepared in both canoeing and service work.

On Saturday, May 22nd, participants from Skagit and Whatcom counties traveled to the North Cascades Institute’s Environmental Learning Center on Diablo Lake to spend a day with NC Wild instructors Amy Brown, Kelsi Franzen, Mike Parelskin and Corey White, and North Cascades National Park Volunteer Coordinator, Mike Brondi.

» Continue reading NC Wild pulls weeds & plants seeds of excitement

All over Washington, the earth is reawakening. Can you see it?

In a period of only a few weeks, spring has come – a monumental paintbrush caressing the landscape, stirring it back to consciousness. Dabs of bright white, pink and yellow compliment deeper streaks of lavender, red and orange, all placed upon a backdrop of fresh green. Buds change to blooms on wildflowers and the hardier of the tree species sport new-growth fuzz.

I always feel so fortunate to stand witness to this spectacle, this miracle of life. From the western Washington’s Salish Sea shores to the contouring curves of eastern Washington’s Palouse Hills, I have made an attempt to capture the most current evidence of spring in our state’s many ecosystems.

Below is a detailed photographic guide to the spring blossoms of three distinct Washington ecosystems – western Washington’s Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve on Whidbey Island, eastern Washington’s Kamiak Butte in the Palouse Hills and the North Cascade Institute‘s Environmental Learning Center in North Cascades National Park. If you do not have enough time to read it all through, just glance through the photos and see if you can’t spot these beautiful spring colors in your own home ecosystems!

» Continue reading Painting a Washington spring portrait

Do you know anyone who is seeking a graduate program in Environmental Education?

North Cascades Institute is seeking qualified applicants for our Master of Education residency program. This seven-quarter program includes twelve months of residency at the Institute’s Environmental Learning Center, located in the heart of North Cascades National Park. Course work includes natural and cultural history, place-based education, and leadership and nonprofit administration. Upon completion of the program, students receive an M.Ed from Western Washington University and a Certificate in Leadership and Nonprofit Administration from North Cascades Institute.

Our professional residency is fully integrated into the degree program at Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University. It is an extremely unique opportunity, getting to live, learn and teach at the Learning Center in the heart of North Cascades National Park. (This blog was designed, in part, to share the graduate students experiences in their North Cascadian residency — click here for a list of all posts tagged with “M.Ed. Graduate Program!)

For more information and to apply, go to www.ncascades.org/graduate or contact our graduate program coordinator directly at 206-526-2567 or Tanya_Anderson@ncascades.org.

Please help us conserve Northwest environments through education by sharing this information with others who may be interested!

Harbinger—a presage, a foreshadow, to announce. Something that precedes and indicates the approach of something.

We all experience the wildness of the North Cascades differently. Each of us, in our own way, notices subtle details of the seasons changing in this ecosystem that others may miss completely. In order to tell a more beautiful story, paint a more vivid portrait, we must combine our individual details to articulate the true forms that nature takes in the beginning of spring.

Perhaps it is the calls and presence of varied thrushes in the neighboring forests. Maybe it is the emerging blossoms on cherry trees amidst farmland. Or perhaps it is a detailing so slight, understated, almost unnoticeable, that its mystery is its draw.

The staff and graduate students of North Cascades Institute’s harbingers below announce the presence of spring in the North Cascades and Skagit Valley in a way that draws upon the communal knowledge of having lived in this place for decades to only several months. Each perspective is important to paint that vivid portrait, articulate that poetic story of spring.

(Title) A rainbow across Ross Dam signals the coming of spring in the mountains (Above) Red alder leaves reach out from beneath bud casings at the Learning Center

» Continue reading An Institute ode to spring

March 18th marked the end of a journey, and the beginning of a new. Celebrating the lovely ladies of Cohort 8—“C8”—the graduation of the Masters of Education Residency took place on a spring-like afternoon at the Environmental Learning Center in the North Cascades National Park.

Family, friends, Institute staff and fellow graduate students of “C9” attended the intimate ceremony honoring the accomplishments of Kelly Berger, Emily Mendell, Jenny Rae, Aneka Singlaub, Sarah Sutherland, Katie Trujillo, Nora Venne and Meghann Willard in earning their Masters of Education in Environmental Education from Western Washington University (WWU) and a certificate in Non-Profit Leadership awarded by North Cascades Institute.

Families and friends of Cohort 8 gather in celebration

» Continue reading Cohort 8 graduates