Chattermarks

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

As much as we love North Cascadian landscapes — and with over 7,000,000 acres of protected public lands in Washington and British Columbia, there will never be an end to options for explorations — we here at the Institute are still called to visit and experience other amazing places on our planet. We’ll publish accounts of some of the places NCI staff and graduate students visit in our new Road Trip series…

My first 2010 trip away from the Salish Sea occured in May when I caught the Keystone Ferry for Port Townsend and spent a solo week in Olympic National Park, hiking, paddling and observing the emerging lushness of spring.

My first destination was Lake Ozette in the far northwestern corner of the state. I posted up at a nearly-empty campground on the northshore, dropped my sea kayak on to the lake and paddled a couple of hours south to a remote backcountry campsite at Erickson’s Bay. I was lucky to have decent, stable weather, no wind and Ozette — the third largest lake in the state — all to myself. Trails from the bay, as well as from the northshore campground, wind 3 miles through coastal forests, prairies and the remains of homesteads to the wild Pacific coast, where one can explore tidepools, view sea stacks, observe seabirds and seals and search for migrating grey whales and the famous Wedding Rocks pictographs.

» Continue reading Road Trip: The Olympic Peninsula

The Institute is venturing over to eastern Washington the weekend of May 15-16 for a very special field excursion with biologist and geologist Mark Darrach. “Bunchgrass Dreams: High Desert Ecology” explores the Arid Land Ecology Reserve, located within the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near the Tri-Cities in Eastern Washington, which is the largest remnant of native sagebrush-steppe habitat in the state. An unspoiled refuge for an indigenous landscape disappearing throughout the intermountain West, the ALE is home to an entire community of diverse and unique plants, reptiles, birds and mammals, including Rattlesnake Mountain milk-vetch, Rocky Mountain elk, Piper’s daisies, burrowing owls, sagebrush lizards, Swainson’s hawks and more than 45 species of butterflies.

This excursion is extra-special because the ALE is off-limits to the general public and there are very few guides that have permission to enter it. We’re very fortunate that Mark has access to this landscape and is willing to lead an Institute exploration for us. There are a handful of spots still open for registration — you can sign up via our website or by calling Kacey at (360) 854-2599.

And finally, here are an Institute staffer’s reflections from attending this field excursions a few years ago:

Our weekend on Rattlesnake Mountain is one I will never forget. I’d seen that mysterious hump across the shrub steppe ranchland of southeastern Washington as I criss-crossed the state by car, but never knew much about it.  It’s big! At more than 3,500 feet, it’s one of the tallest, treeless mountains in the world and you can see vast stretches of Washington from its crown. It’s also impossible for casual hikers to visit because access to it is very limited. The Institute’s entree under Mark Darrach’s guidance is something special. When Mark unlocked the access road gate at the foot of the mountain, and we quietly entered, I felt like we were being allowed “backstage” into one of the most mysterious and complex landscapes in the Northwest.

The mountain is a convergence of culture, natural history, politics and botany and I can’t imagine anyone knows more about it than Mark Darrach. We spent two days with him and the questions and conversations ranged widely; I don’t believe we ever asked him a question that he couldn’t answer. A luxury of intellect in a remarkable natural setting.

–Kris Molesworth (Photos by Carl Molesworth)

We’re getting ready for Barry Lopez’s visit to Seattle and couldn’t be more excited. We’re meeting him tonight at a private reception near Seward Park, and then co-hosting his presentation “Speak, Landscape” at Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle tomorrow night, April 7. Inbetween, Barry will be doing an interview on KUOW 90.3 FM with Steve Scheer at 9 am and visiting a creative writing class at Roosevelt High School with the Writers in the Schools program.

If you don’t already have your ticket, Seattle Arts & Lectures is offering a special deal on them to all “Fans” on North Cascades Institute’s Facebook page. Tickets are available online, by phone at (206) 621-2230 or at the Benaroya Hall box office beginning at 6pm. The Institute will be tabling our exhibit in the lobby, handing our information on 2010 Learning Center programs and selling the beautiful Barry Lopez poster we designed using Rebecca Allan’s fascinating tondo paintings — come by and say hello!

We’ll leave you with this introspective biographical essay Barry has posted to his website:

For most of my writing life I’ve been driven, like other writers and artists, to explore. The shape this took from the start was geographical, bibliographical, and conversational–I traveled widely, read voraciously, and sought out stimulating conversation. Central to the ideas I developed about what it means to be a writer was the need to remain conscious of the voices I encountered while traveling, reading, and conversing. The voices from two communities, in particular, held my attention: the circle of artists and writers with whom I felt the greatest creative camaraderie, and the group of people–family, friends, mentors, professional colleagues–to whom I felt most beholden. This latter group eventually came to include readers interested in the sorts of things I was trying to illuminate, people with whom I imagine I share a common fate.

A dangerous bit of American folklore is that our social, environmental, and political problems, which grow more ominous by the day, call for the healing touch of a genius. They do, but if we’re intent on waiting for some such remarkable individual to show up we can count on disappointment. The solution to what threatens us, however, is already here, in another form. It’s in our diverse communities. Most often we recognize the quality of genius in an individual man or woman; but the source of that genius lies with the complicated network of carefully tended relationships that sets a vibrant human community apart from a solely political community.

» Continue reading Barry Lopez in Seattle tomorrow, KUOW interview at 9 am

Spring into Summer with the Institute’s Early Bird Discount! From now through March 31st, when you sign up for one of our 2010 programs — Diablo Downtimes, art or writing retreats, natural history excursions, Ross Lake journeys or any program with tuition over $100 — you will receive $50.00 off each class registration. It’s a great opportunity to sign up for as many as you like and save!

We’ve just completed uploading dozens of new educational adventures for people of all ages to our website and we’re open for registration. Please visit www.ncascades.org/get_outside to view the Institute’s many unique spring and summer offerings. This year, we’re teaching birding, Pacific Northwest weather with Cliff Mass, basket-making with natural materials, digital photography, papercutting art with Nikki McClure, wilderness orienteering, wildflowers and pollinators, watercoloring and journal-making, wildlife tracking and more, including the 2010 Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival.

To register with the Early Bird $50 discount, call us at our NEW number, (360) 854-2599 (This discount is not valid for Family Getaways or Base Camp and cannot be combined with scholarships).