The North Cascades ecosystem is wild and complex.
Wolverines live there. Wolves are returning, and grizzly bears could be next. Yet this wild place is a short drive from big cities.
The North Cascades Institute takes advantage of this proximity. Each year, it offers courses that take people outside and let them experience the wild for themselves. Courses stretch from Puget Sound to the Methow Valley and topics range from poetry and painting to geology and biology.
Christian Martin, communications coordinator for NCI, is excited by two series of classes this year. NCI has expanded its offerings to include four photography courses and four geology courses. One of those courses focuses on landslides and flooding, a relevant topic after last year’s devastating slide in Oso.
Another course this year is on fire ecology. After the Carlton Complex fires last year, this class will explore burned areas and see how they are doing.
“We try to look around at North Cascades natural events and then use them as teaching tools,” Martin said.
A class on carnivores of the North Cascades is also taking advantage of current topics. It’s a particularly noteworthy topic for several reasons. Wolves are returning to the area; discussions have begun about whether grizzlies should be returned to the Cascades; and a decade-long study on wolverines in the region is wrapping up this year.
“Instead of a decline, we are seeing a rebounding of species. It’s happening here because it’s one of the wildest areas left, with lots of roadless areas,” Martin said. “It’s really only comparable to the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.”
Here are details on some of the classes coming up this year. For the full list check ncascades.org or call the institute at 360-854-2599.
This class, taught by Mark Turner, will teach photographers how to take great photos in the challenging environment of the forest. Turner’s field guide, “Tree and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest,” was published by Timber Press in 2014. May 22-24.
Citizen science
NCI offers citizen science courses this year on hawks and snakes. The citizen science courses get people out in the field to learn about the species. Then, students assist with counts that will help researchers. Students will often get a chance to handle the live animals, including birding hawks. Snakes Sept. 12; hawks, Sept. 19-20.
Saul Weisberg, the executive director of NCI, teaches this course along Gerry Cook. Weisberg has a collection of poetry coming out this year. Students will spend the first night at the learning center and then head out on Ross Lake before hiking up to Desolation Peak to visit the fire lookout where Jack Kerouac spent a summer. Aug. 13-16.
This class, an old favorite, is led by Jennifer Hahn, the author of “Pacific Feast: A Cook’s Guide to West Coast Foraging and Cuisine.” Hahn is a leading expert on how to harvest your own food with an emphasis on the intertidal zones. Part of each day will be spent foraging for food and the rest will be spent cooking delicious meals. June 5-7.
Class schedule
APRIL
- 3-5: Ross Lake: Exploring the Drawdown by Canoe
MAY
- 1-3: Watercolors: Wildlife
- 9-10: Exploring Yellow &Jones Islands
- 10: Snakes and Amphibians of the Methow
- 16-17: Exploring Yellow &Jones Islands
- 22-24: Photography: Into the Forest
- 29-31: Hands to Work at the ELC
- 29-30: Block Printing at the Burke
JUNE
- 5-7: Songs of Spring: Birding in the Cascades
- 5-7: Wild Edibles of Lopez Island
- 12-14: Watercolors: Landscapes
- 20: Urban Lichens
- 26-28: Artful Map: One Page Journal
- 26-28: In the Company of Corvids
JULY
- 12: Geology: Cinder Cones and Crater Lakes
- 18: Urban Dragonflies
- 19: Geology: Artist Point
- 24-26: After the Burn: Methow Wildfire Ecology
- 31-8/2: Dragonflies of the North Cascades
AUGUST
- 7-9: Carnivores of the Cascades
- 7-9: Photography: Capturing the Cascades
- 7-9: Geology: Across the Cascades
- 13: Photography: Washington Pass at Night
- 13-16: Poets on the Peaks: Ross Lake Adventure
- 15: Geology: Landslides and Floods
- 20-22: Cob Oven Construction and Cooking
- 23: Free anniversary picnic
- 27-30: People and Places of the Upper Skagit
SEPTEMBER
- 11: Photography: Artist Point at Night
- 12: Citizen Science: Snake Count
- 19-20: Citizen Science: Hawk Watch
- 25-27: Poetry: Rhythm and Reflection
- 25-27: Introduction to Field Journaling
OCTOBER
- 3: Birds of the Salish Sea
- 3-4: Baker Lake Clean Up
- 9-11: Watercolors: Trees
- 9-11: Mushrooms: Culinary Adventures
- 18: Learning Center Harvest Dinner
- 23-25: Sit, Walk, Write: Practice of Presence
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