![]() This time of year, as birds return to the North Cascades and decay yields to new growth, we stop every few feet to listen to a bird song, ooh and ahh over a wildflower, or examine a clump of Witch’s Hair lichen. We equip them with hand lenses, art supplies, and, of course, snacks, and then let them discover what sparks their imagination. In just four and a half months, three months in the spring and one-and-a-half in the fall, North Cascades Institute serves over 2,000 students and aims to inspire all of them.įor our 4 th through 6 th graders, we teach our Ecosystems Exploration curriculum. ![]() Students from grades 4-12 come to us for three to five days and leave, we hope, with a deeper connection to their environment. Established in 1990 at Newhalem Campground in North Cascades National Park, the program has served over 26,000 students from all over Whatcom and Skagit counties, as far south as Seattle and Olympia and from Methow and Wenatchee to the east. Mountain School is one of North Cascade Institute’s proudest accomplishments. These smiles belong to children, primarily fifth graders attending Mountain School, and you’ll find them hunting for mushrooms, teaching each other about native plants, going on the journey of a water molecule or carefully camouflaging themselves behind a fallen log. Set foot on any of the Institute’s nine miles of trails and I guarantee you’ll find yourself face to face with any number of smiling faces. Visit during the fall or spring, however, and you’ll find the complete opposite. The Institute itself is eerily quiet during those months with no programs running, much of the staff gone and graduate students plugging away at seemingly-unending projects. Highway 20 might be strewn with boulders or blanketed with snow or black ice. ![]() Only the hardiest of souls venture to North Cascades Institute’s Environmental Learning Center on Diablo Lake, 2 hours east of Bellingham, in the winter. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |