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!

The North Cascades Institute Staff and Graduate students have spent weeks packing food, preparing curriculum, shuttling canoes, calling students, organizing camping gear and finalizing lessons in preparation for the first of two Cascades Climate Challenge Programs.  On June 29th twenty students from around the Pacific Northwest met for the first time at Sea-Tac Airport to began their three week journey through the North Cascades.

The first few days have been full of nerves, laughs, smiles and lots of questions as the group prepared for their first camping experience with their new community. Already these students have learned how to set up camp, use different types of media to capture their experience, explored trails on their own, and met with North Cascades National Park scientists and rangers focusing their attention on the impacts of climate change on this alpine ecosystem.

» Continue reading Introducing the 2010 Cascades Climate Challenge Team!! (Part 1)

Most of the current North Cascades Institute graduate class – “C9” – participated in another year of the Bellingham Ski to Sea race over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

The competition between the staff member team and the graduate student team has grown since last year. Some would even go as far as to call it a rivalry. Putting aside all the pre-race build up, the friendly competition between the teams made for an amazing race.

Being a graduate student myself, I won’t let the cat out of the bag about which team prevailed. Let’s just say, there’s always next year. By far the most amazing part of this event was the teamwork.  With seven legs consisting of cross country skiing, downhill skiing, running, road biking, canoeing, mountain biking, and sea kayaking, group cohesion was essential. Both staff and grads rose to this tremendous challenge. Congratulations to both teams, and to everyone who participated in this wonderful event. On behalf of the graduate class, I want to thank all of those who let us borrow gear, assisted us with transportation, and cheered us on.

(Title) The graduate student team takes on Ski to Sea (Above) The mass start of the cross country leg

» Continue reading Taking on the Ski to Sea

Spring is here and it was time for the North Cascades Institute cohort-ions of the ninth - C9 graduate students - to take our spring retreat on Sunday, May 23rd through Tuesday, May 25th. With itinerary in place, gear packed and risk managers appeased, it was time for our departure and to get peninsular at Olympic National Park.  

Day 1—After a nice drive across Highway 20 to the Keystone Ferry on Whidbey Island, we quickly found ourselves enjoying a refreshing sea breeze. The cohort arrived in Port Townsend and made a b-line for the nearest brewpub. Oh graduate students. I quickly found myself at the Water Street Brewery sipping down a smooth locally brewed Irish Stout and enjoying my company. 

(Title) Justin McWethy sets up camp at Boulder Creek Hot Springs (Above) Rebecca, Justin, Brandi and Mike pause for a goofy pose aboard the Keystone Ferry

Corey and Justin enjoying some cheer at the Port Townsend brewpub

» Continue reading From the Cascades to the Olympics

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

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

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