A closing ceremony concluded the weekend of connection and renewal among friends–old and new. Thoughts and feelings shared reflected a sense of strength that arises when all are working toward a common goal of making a difference in the world. Goodbyes and promises to visit and keep in touch rounded out the weekend. We look forward to the next time we reunite and reconnect with the ever-growing family of graduate alumni.

GRADUATE ALUMNI NEWSLETTER

THE PICKET POST

810 State Route 20, Sedro-Woolley, Washington 98284 • (206) 526-2567 • ncascades.org/study

Winter 2015, Volume II: Edition I

G R A D U AT E M . E D . P R O G R A M

Alumni Reunion

Like ecological systems, the North Cascades Institute graduate M.Ed. Residency is composed of evolving networks and cycles. The past year in particular brought an incredible level of development. New roles have emerged with John Miles’ retirement in 2014. Former Institute staffer Tracie Johannessen has returned as Education Director and is instructing the curriculum design course. At Huxley College, Nick Stanger is the new Assistant Professor of Environmental Education and is integrating transformative inquiry in his courses. Our marketing efforts have also evolved with increased recruitment in 2014 and a record applicant pool for Cohort 15! We’ve received additional recruitment support from Ed Weber, Huxley College’s new Graduate Program Coordinator. And finally, we are excited to welcome Lindsey MacDonald as the new North Cascades Institute Graduate Program Coordinator.

There is a palpable sense of momentum in the Graduate Program and it’s exciting to see the program growing in both capacity and connectivity!

North Cascades Institute graduate student alumni reunited in September 2014 to celebrate 14 years of the graduate M.Ed. program. More than 50 people traveled from near and far to reminisce about their experiences. At least one alumni from every cohort attended, with some even experiencing their first stay at the Learning Center. Stories were exhanged, memories reignited and meals shared during the two-day reunion. Adam Lorio skippered the Salish Dancer in Samish traditions, the largest group of people ever to swim in Diablo Lake got cooled down, and Lee Whitford and crew brought all of the love–and just as much trouble.

John Miles was, of course, in attendance and said he loved every moment: “What a fine few days. The highlight for me, of course, was seeing all the ‘old’ grads that came, like Cory from North Carolina, Rory from BC, Robbie from Atlanta, Kate just on verge of motherhood, Tanya from the Tetons (honorary grad), and so many others. I realized anew how much I love them all (one can say that about students after retirement)!”

From the Graduate Director

north cascades institute graduate alumni, staff & friends at the reunion

Joshua Porter, Graduate Director

John Miles Retires

Introducing Nick Stanger

The Graduate Alumni Reunion at the Learning Center in September 2014 was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the retirement of John Miles. With more than 40 years at Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment, John has served as a professor, advisor and at one point the dean — marking over 65 years in the academic world! Throughout the weekend, many stories of John were shared, both lively and sentimental, recognizing the impact he has had on students’ lives over the years. The theme of reconnection and renewal among long-time friends was the perfect opportunity to recognize the graduate alumni’s fearless leader, advisor and friend. Some highlights included a “best New England accent” contest, acknowledgement of the number of people John taught to backpack and Rory Crowley (C3) teaching John some new “skills.”

Of retirement, John says that every day is Saturday with plenty of time to read. Though his time is both relaxed and flexible, he says he misses the students, his literature class and sessions with graduate students at the Learning Center. Since retiring, he and his wife Susan have moved near Taos, NM where they are exploring northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. John is also warming up to New Mexican food — thanks to Susan! In the mean time, he is currently compiling research for a book on current wilderness issues in national parks. The two are planning an upcoming rafting trip and plenty of early summer climbs (anyone willing to carry his pack?).

If you haven’t reached out in a while, John would love to hear from you! He can be reached at mtbakersnag@earthlink.net.

In September, 2014, Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment and North Cascades Institute welcomed Assistant Professor Nick Stanger. He, along with Professor Gene Myers, will teach the M.Ed. in Environmental Education courses based at Western.

Hailing from Victoria, BC, Nick has taught environmental education for more than 20 years, exploring the human-digital-nature conondrum we currently face in our Westernized society. He completed his Doctorate at the University of Victoria in 2014 and was a Social Sciences and Humanities Council Doctoral Fellow. His research examined the learning that occurs within outdoor childhood places and their lasting effects on our lives.

Nick is Chair of the board for the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada, an organization seeking to connect organizations, families and youth with nature-based experiences. You can learn more about his work at www.nicholasstanger.ca. He currently lives in Bellingham, WA with his wife, Joy, and son, Otis.

nick stanger and his son otis

alumni from thirteen cohorts saul and john enjoying family timealumni cool off in frigid diablo lake

“Don’t let your education get in the way of your learning” - John Miles

Welcome Cohort 14!In July 2014, Cohort 14 began their month-long field course immersed in the natural and cultural history of the North Cascades. With local naturalists as their guides and the landscape as their classroom, the group canoed the Skagit River, explored the forests of the upper and lower Skagit Valley, cooked and sampled traditional foods at Northwest Indian College and hiked the shrub-steppe in the Methow Valley. The in-depth excursion, designed to teach the flora and fauna of northwest Washington culminated with a nine-day backpack trip through the heart of the North Cascades!

In the fall, the group taught their first season of Mountain School and this winter completed their curriculum and nonprofit projects. Their recent winter natural history field seminar was full of snow camping, winter tracking and howling wolves. They will begin their second Mountain School season in March and then delve into their Leadership Tracks in June.

APRIL3-5 Ross Lake: Exploring the Drawdown by Canoe

MAY1-3 Watercolors: Wildlife9-10 Exploring Yellow & Jones Islands I10 Snakes and Amphibians of the Methow16-17 Exploring Yellow & Jones Islands II22-24 Photography: Into the Forest29-30 Block Printing at the Burke29-31 Hands to Work at the ELC

JUNE5-7 Songs of Spring: Birding in the North Cascades5-7 Wild Edibles on Lopez Island12-14 Watercolors: Landscapes20 Urban Lichens26-28 The Artful Map: A One-Page Nature Journal26-28 In the Company of Corvids

JULY12 Geology: Cinder Cones and Crater Lakes18 Urban Dragonflies19 Geology: Artist Point24-26 After the Burn: Methow Wildfire Ecology31-2 Dragonflies of the North Cascades

AUGUST7-9 Carnivores of the Cascades7-9 Photography: Capturing the Cascades7-9 Geology across the Cascades13 Photography: Washington Pass at Night13-16 Poets on the Peaks: Ross Lake Adventure15 Geology: Landslides and Floods20-22 Cob Oven Construction and Cooking23 ELC 10 Year Anniversary Picnic!

SEPTEMBER11 Photography: Artist Point at Night12 Citizen Science: Snake Count! 19-20 Citizen Science: Hawk Watch!25-27 Poetry: Rhythm and Reflection25-27 Introduction to Field Journaling

OCTOBER3 Birds of the Salish Sea on the SnowGoose3 Citizen Science: Baker Lake Clean Up9 Watercolor: Trees9 Mushrooms: Culinary Adventures18 Harvest Dinner at the Learning Center23 Sit, Walk, Write: Practice of Presence24 Mushrooms of the North Cascades: Baker Lake

Family Getaways: July 3-5, 17-19, 24-26; August 14-16, 28-30. ncascades.org/family

Base Camp: Overnight learning adventures and accomodations. Dates vary, please visit ncascades.org/basecamp

Skagit Tours: Diablo Lake Boat Tours and Skagit Power Bus Tours and Newhalem Walking Tours, July 2 - September 14. ncascades.org/skagit-tours

2015 Class Schedule

Liz Blackman

Texas

religious studies

Chelsea Earnstnorth carolina

environmental studies

Rachel Gugich

washington

comparative history of ideas

Petra LeBaron-Botts

colorado

political science &middle eastern studies

Lauren Ridder

tennessee

biology

Mike Rosekrans

wisconsin

adventure tourism & recreation tourism

Kelly Sleightmaine

sociology

Kevin Sutton

oregon

tourism & outdoor leadership

Gavin Willis

washington

marine biology

Register at www.ncascades.org/signup

At the 2015 Storming the Sound Conference in La Conner, WA, we caught up with Aneka Sweeney of Cohort 8. Newly married with an exciting new job, she is now employed as the Education & Outreach Coordinator for Whatcom Conservation District.

“The county hasn’t had anyone in that position for 5 years and so they wanted someone to come in and develop an educational and outreach structure that works within the social network of the Conservation District,” Aneka explained. “My main goal right now is to spread the message that land owners can have a staff person come to their property to advise how to live in a manner that is respectful of the native ecology. We provide technical and financial assistance to help with those efforts. To best do my work, I have to understand their values and then build programming around that.”

When recalling her experiences in the M.Ed. program, Aneka appreciated being involved in a wide variety of programming during the Residency. Organization, time management and increased confidence in public speaking have proven to be the most useful skills she learned.

“Public speaking is more than just informational campaigns,” she said. “You need to nurture values to help increase the longevity of educational programming. Standing up in front of large groups, confident that I am thinking and speaking critically, are skills that I directly attribute to NCI and WWU.”

In future issues of our alumni newsletter, we want to include updates on exciting things happening in your life! This could be a vacation you just went on, a new professional position, getting married, having a kid or talking about the great environmental education trip you just led! Photos are welcome, too.

Please email us at ncigrad@ncascades.org with any updates you’d like to share with our alumni community!

chattermarks.orgA blog about Living, Learning and Teaching in the North Cascades

Keep in Touch!

Diversity Scholarship and Outreach Award

What does the future of environmental leadership look like?

At North Cascades Institute, we believe the process of conserving and restoring diversity in the natural world is the best way to create resilience in ecosystems facing environmental threats such as climate change. Similarly, we value ethnic and cultural diversity as a source of human strength and resilience. That’s why we are actively seeking students from diverse cultural backgrounds and people of color to live, learn and teach in the North Cascades. Our youth program audiences represent the full spectrum of diversity in our local communities. We want our teachers and graduate students to reflect that diversity, too. North Cascades Institute’s Diversity scholarships range from $1,000-$20,000 and are applied to the residency and housing fees.

We share this land. Let’s learn together. Join us.

More information and how to apply atncascades.org/study/scholarships-financial-aid

Alum Spotlight: Aneka Sweeney