What does stewardship look like?

At Mountain School, we try to teach our students how to be stewards of the earth. When we visit the students at their school a few weeks after they came to Mountain School, we try to get them to make connections between the environment out here in the mountains and the environments closer to their home and their school. At some of these post-trip visits the students participate in stewardship activities at parks near their school. We wrote about this on our Chattermarks Blog back in 2011 when we first began facilitating these stewardship events.

Here are some shots from the Sunnyland Elementary stewardship event at Memorial park in Bellingham. The students, their teachers, and Institute staff removed blackberry, mulched and planted red-osier dogwood and Sitka spruce. They also got VERY muddy!

Here are the shots from Geneva Elementary's stewardship event at Euclid park, also in Bellingham. There, students, teachers, and Institute staff got rid of a TON of ivy and planted some spruce and dogwood.

Leading photo: Students from Geneva Elementary, gathered around the tree they just planted. All photos provided by Jeff Anderson


Ryan Weisberg is a graduate student in North Cascades Institute and Western Washington University's M.Ed. program. Ryan grew up here in Washington, exploring the natural areas around Bellingham and in the Cascades. Ryan is the Chattermarks editor this year during their residency at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. Check out Ryan's other writing at: http://chattermarks.ncascades.org/author/ryan-weisberg/

Having fun outside

The sun has returned, at least for this week, and Mountain School students and instructors are taking full advantage of it! With temperatures in the mid- to high-60s, there are lots of opportunities to learn and play in the great outdoors without needing to huddle inside a shelter or under layers of rain gear. Who knows how long this incredible weather will last, so let's eat it up while it's here!

Nocturnal Mountain School instructors lounging in the late afternoon sun, waiting for the Diurnal instructors to bring the students back from the trails

Cohort 12 graduate student, Sahara playing a game with her trail group at the end of the trail day

Leading photo: Colonial Peak, still snow-covered. All photos by the author

Ryan Weisberg is a graduate student in North Cascades Institute and Western Washington University's M.Ed. program. Ryan grew up here in Washington, exploring the natural areas around Bellingham and in the Cascades. Ryan is the Chattermarks editor this year during their residency at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. Check out Ryan's other writing at: http://chattermarks.ncascades.org/author/ryan-weisberg/

We're Back!

The first week of spring Mountain School finally has already come and gone. Our first school was Islandview Elementary from Anacortes. This was their first trip to Mountain School so the excitement among teachers and students was apparent and infectious. A perfect way to get us back in the game.

Students building mountains on the beach to illustrate orographic lifting and glacial movement

 (above two photos) Journaling along the Deer Creek Trail

A student showing me a close-up of the drawing in his journal

Students exploring the aquatic environment

A group photo of the Islandview students before they headed down to the parking lot on their last morning

Leading photo: Mountain School instructors (L-R) Stamati Anagnostou, Andrea Reiter, Cait McHugh, Kim Hall, and Sahara Suval getting ready for the first day of school. All photos by the author

Ryan Weisberg is a graduate student in North Cascades Institute and Western Washington University's M.Ed. program. Ryan grew up here in Washington, exploring the natural areas around Bellingham and in the Cascades. Ryan is the Chattermarks editor this year during their residency at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. Check out Ryan's other writing at: http://chattermarks.ncascades.org/author/ryan-weisberg/

The Gift of Mountain School

Mountain School has officially ended for the spring season! On Friday afternoon, Institute staff and instructors waved a bittersweet goodbye to 5th graders from Mountain View Elementary, raising their arms and voices in celebration for another great spring spent with youth in the outdoors. By way of offering a parting perspective and ode to this spring's Mountain School experience, Kristin Smith, a two-time Mountain School student and passionate participant in the 2011 Youth Leadership Conference, recounts her most recent learning adventure in the shadow of the Cascade mountains. 

The soft light of morning greets me as I emerge from Fir Lodge, a perfect match for the brisk mountain air. I tug my navy beanie more securely about my ears and turn my eyes upward - an instinctive urge well known to any mountain dweller and sprung from years of gazing at high peaks. Dawn is painting the lofty heights of Colonial and Pyramid peaks, setting their somber flanks aflame with pale rose light. I pause to savor the moment, craning my neck to more clearly see the peaks striated with snow. These mountains have a majesty all their own; something in the way the forested hills at their feet fall in a haze of vibrant green towards the turquoise waters of Diablo Lake, while high above snowfields evoke the vestige of an echo of the ancient glaciers that once covered this valley; something running in the cold young water of Sourdough Creek as it leaps eagerly towards the valley floor. There is no place on earth like this one, and I know it will always hold a special place in my heart.

View of Colonial and Pyramid Peaks from the Environmental Learning Center Campus.

This is the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. This, for a precious three days, is home. This is the gift of Mountain School - the reason we've come. And the day has only just begun.

The previous afternoon my group had hiked up to Sourdough Falls with our diurnal instructor, Colby, no longer seven strangers but still not completely comfortable in each other's presence. Not long before the falls we paused to gaze out at the view - down valley all the way to Diablo Dam, with snowy peaks on either side and a lake between. The clouds above held a landscape of their own; a lexicon of grays written  in puffs of water droplets. A series of stone steps ascended swiftly to the falls, the cascade itself hidden around a curve in the trail. Once there we gratefully dropped our packs, scrambling onto the grey boulders strewn about the bank and relishing in the cool spray as it permeated the air around us. The roar of the falls and of the whitewater creek canceled each other out, pervading the whole scene with one ubiquitous sound. A tiny bird flew down, skimming the rapids, and Colby shared its name: an American Dipper. As it dove past us once more I found myself wondering how it kept from being caught and pulled down by the fierce current, admiring the skill of such a small, plain-looking bird. Not as noble of visage as the eagle or as piercing of voice as the red-tailed hawk, yet he dared what they cannot and lived to tell the tale.

Squalicum High School students gather around Sourdough Creek with their diurnal instructor, graduate student Colby Mitchell. The author sits in the center. 

Back in the morning light our group is slowly assembling, trickling out of their rooms like the sputtering stream  of a rusty faucet. Still drowsy, we make our way down to breakfast. While we ruminate over oatmeal and pancakes the forest brightens around us. Northwesters all, we know how lucky we are to be blessed with sunshine for the second day in a row. Conversation is minimal for the first few minutes; we are too hungry, and the food is too good, to indulge in idle colloquy.
After breakfast comes planning; the planning of today's scientific investigation. We finally decide on a research question based on the population of different macro invertebrate species due to pH, sun, and shade, and head purposefully out on the trails with our gear. Our first stop is Deer Creek. The banks are thick with moss, as are the tree trunks, and the overwhelming impression is one of verdant greenness. Coltsfoot crowds the sides of the trail as the bright pink and white blooms of bleeding hearts nod next to moss-covered deadfalls. We exclaim over each new macro invertebrate scraped from the bottom of a rock, comparing the size and beauty of our catches like bragging fishermen. My group proudly flaunts our "no mortalities" record; the specimens of the other group did not fare so well.

Sourdough Creek Falls above Diablo Lake was the afternoon's destination for Squalicum students. 

The day wears slowly on towards evening. We straggle back to the Environmental Learning Center to lounge beside the lake as we discuss our findings. Soon enough comes our hour of free time; then dinner, our last among the peaks. After dinner we forego the noisy crowd of fifth graders for our own solitary campfire in the Deer Creek shelter. The smores  intended for our mouths are soon stuck to hands and occasionally faces as the intermittent marshmallow flares up like a torch. At last we follow the hindmost sparks back to the lodges and our beds.
The next day emerges as gloriously sunny as the preceding two; a bittersweet gift, since we will leave not long after lunch. We revel in these last moments of Mountain School, watching Sourdough Creek slalom into Diablo Lake. Cynthia and Tia are engaged in a competition they have dubbed "The Stupid Game:" to see who can hold their hand in the frigid water the longest. Colby sets the limit at five minutes to avoid tissue damage. I watch the rapids rushing over the stony streambed, camera put away for now and thinking about nothing but the moment and the mountains.

The creeks are running full of spring's snowmelt. 

I am still staring at those same summits as we drive away, cheek pressed to the cool window glass as I strive for one more glimpse of Colonial, Pyramid, Ruby. As they disappear around a bend in the road I see them again, vividly, in my mind, already calling me back to their rugged splendor. Silently I make a promise to the mountains and the brilliant turquoise lake and the vast azure sky above: I will be back.

All photos courtesy of the author. This piece is cross-posted to North Cascades Institute's Chattermarks Blog. 

Reflections from Open Window School

Open Window, who joined us in the North Cascades from April 30th through May 4th for a week of carnivore explorations, has taken some time to reflect and write about their experiences. Here's what they had to say!

What was one of your favorite experiences at NCI?

One of my favorite experiences was the Meet a Tree challenge. It was my favorite because it meant that we had to use our other senses to find the tree that our partner led us too. - Ian A.

 One of my favorite experiences from NCI was going to the dam, because of the ‘Dam Rules’ and the great, amazing sites. The walk was also really fun- we had to dance across a bridge! It was really cool, to learn about one of the legends in the area. Also it helped me learn about hydroelectricity, which I am really interested in. It was my first time seeing a dam, EVER!  - Kaley T.

I really enjoyed canoeing around the NCI campus and looking at the different islands and mountains. Although it was tiring I really enjoyed the view of the mountains and small animals. We docked at a cove and on it we saw a bald eagle circling around the water, possibly looking for food and a deer with a big white spot around its nose and its tail.  - Michael Y.

My favorite part of NCI was hiking up Diablo East trail since, we saw many beautiful flowers, views, and the terrain was challenging but not impossible.  While we were hiking, we identified the Calypso Flower/Fairy Slipper, and Bleeding Heart.  We also walked on rocks, felt the cool breeze, and felt the chilly water from the streams.  - Justin B.

What did you find most awe-inspiring?

I think that the two breeding Peregrine Falcons were amazing because Colby and Kiira said that last year those two falcons were un-successful breeders. That means that they might be successful this year.  - Emerson

I loved seeing the new animals; that was incredible to me.  I saw a Black Bear, Peregrine Falcons, and a Shrew-Mole (which my field instructor said was the coolest animal he’d ever found with a field group).  I loved learning about these animals and I never imagined I’d find such fascinating creatures on my trip.  It was truly awe-inspiring.  - Ellie

What is something you learned at Mountain School?

I learned how to use a spherical densitometer. You take a reading at each direction (north, south, east, west) and then add up the number of squares that have more than 50% of it covered. You multiply that number by 1.04, and voila. You have your percent of canopy cover. - Emma W.

I’m proud that I learned how to identify Pine, Hemlock, and Fir trees! When I was younger, I could never understand the differences. Now I know!  - Julia A.

I really enjoyed when we had our day of analyzing our data that we collected. We got to calculate the averages for our results for our two sites in canopy cover, CWD, and DBH of trees. The process of collecting our data and deciding our methods and tools was really interesting as well. I liked making the transects and studying the different organisms within that space.  - Mina K.

What impact will this trip have on you?

I think that it made me smarter about animals and plants. It also made sure that I was very organized because if I didn’t bring my BRNJWPLS then I would either be really cold or have no data.  - Jameson P.

I think it will teach me how to respect nature and how to identify different plants and animals. And also I think from now on I will be more curious about nature, and try to preserve and observe it. I would definitely go back to NCI. It was great!!!!  - Charlotte S.

Leading photo of graduate student Elise Ehrheart with her group from Open Window. Photo by Jessica Newley.  

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

by Jessica Newley.

Some of my favorite Mountain School memories come from those made during the evenings of Mountain School. Night activities may include; a walk to the dam, night hike, legends, Ranger program, trivia and my favorite, campfire. It’s during campfire where us instructors get to really act like kids again and go all out, peeling the banana and singing our favorite songs.

Students from Roosevelt Elementary "make rain" with graduate student Sarah Bernstein. 

Most of the campfire shenanigans start with a Ranger Program starring our very own Mountain School Ranger, Carolyn. She gets the kids pumped up with her “Boxes of Doom”, or carnivore skulls. After students break up into groups and investigate a skull, Ranger Carolyn reveals all the skulls and leaves the kids wanting more.

 Ranger Carolyn challenges students to draw the teeth of carnivores and herbivores. 

After Ranger Program, its time for Light, Camera, Action! Sometimes we have a few legends to start the campfire tradition, or we go straight into the madness. Whatever the night brings, it always a good time!

Roosevelt Elementary students preform legends in the amphitheater. 

Roasting marshmallows with Open Window students. 

One of the most special campfires I participated in was with Open Window students. This was a special campfire because their teachers brought s’more fixings! The students were so excited, and of course us instructors too. So, we sang around the campfire while students took turns making their perfect s'more, and memories to last…

The perfect s'more!

All photos contributed by the author.