|
|
|
|
N O R T H C A S C A D E S
I N S T I T U T E
The Kirlin Foundation believes that North Cascades Institute is
one of our regions most important assets. For an ecologically
enlightened, literate, and effective citizenry to evolve, it is
essential that we connect with our children’s open and imaginative minds
during their early school years. NCI has proven to be a significant force in this respect. The Kirlin Foundation
has supported the professional development of teachers connecting with
this program to ensure the creative and effective delivery of the NCI
children’s curriculum. Please read on, and visit their website. Better
yet, find a way to support this important work, and see what it does for
your heart.
Prior to the Learning Center's opening, the Institute is moving swiftly to create new educational programs tailored for the facility and its technological links to the larger world of study and research. The Learning Center will enable the Institute to serve audiences ranging from urban schoolchildren on both sides of the Cascades to graduate students from across the country. The residential campus will complement its camping and facility-based programs throughout the region.
Contact Information |
Since 1986, the Institute has served more than 50,000 children and
adults in school programs, natural history seminars, teacher workshops,
intern and volunteer training and a new graduate program in
environmental education. From the tidewater of Puget Sound to ancient
forests and alpine glaciers to the sagebrush desert of the Columbia
River Basin, its programs emphasize hands-on discovery and stewardship
of the North Cascades, one of the wildest, most biologically diverse
landscapes in North America.
Attending to home landscapes and teaching for a sense of place
In 2004, the Institute will open the North Cascades Environmental
Learning Center in partnership with Seattle City Light and the National
Park Service. Located in the heart of North Cascades National Park, a
two and a half hour drive northeast of Seattle, the Learning Center will
be a hub of discovery amid 11 million acres of wildlands along the
US-Canada border, in North Cascades National Park.
Born from the relicensing agreement for the Skagit River dams, the
Learning Center unites the resources of a private nonprofit
organization, a federal agency and a public utility. Other key partners
include the North Cascades Conservation Council, Office of
the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Sauk-Suiattle Tribe, Swinomish
Indian Tribal Community, Upper Skagit Tribe, USDA Forest Service and
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.