Spring Equinox Newsletter

Happy Equinox!

In the mountains, bulbs are beginning to break out of the soil as the solar energy reaching the earth increases. Lacking the warmth of the Puget Sound, our spring flowers are always 3 weeks behind. Snowdrops are in bloom, breaking through the soil where snow was on the ground last week. At Glacier Peak Institute, we are breaking forth with our programs. We are beginning to plan late spring and summer programs. This past month, we ran a record 56 programs due to support from Washington State's Outdoor Learning Grant and No Child Left Inside. Support from The National Forest Foundation, United States Forest Service, and Snohomish County Conservation District means that workforce programs will be blooming this year as well, bringing new work opportunities for upriver communities.

We are successfully running unique programs in the upper mountain communities. Recently, I came across community testimony in the Congressional Record from 1994 about the struggle of timber communities to find support and adapt. It reminded me of our struggle today, only that our poverty is higher and our median household income is lower relative to the greater Puget Sound. We are the only program rooted in our upriver communities that is investing in environmental education for rural youth. To handle the grants, agreements, insurance, vehicles, support logistics, and development of a new organization we are having to develop a new model, unique to the communities of the Cascade Mountains.

Our Fundraiser on May 11 celebrates the spring of GPI and our community, while also providing the energy to break forth and support a system for our over 400 programs, 160 work days for youth, and community development. We look forward to you joining us to help propagate the seeds of the next generation of stewards, community, and ecosystems.

– Oak Rankin, Executive Director

Join Us for our Annual Spring Fundraiser!

Join us for our Seventh Annual Spring Fundraiser in Seattle at The Mountaineers on the evening of May 11! Click the image above to register or head here: https://paybee.io/hybrid-event/glacierpeak/3

Our fundraiser is essential to our work of empowering the next generation through outdoor learning. Be a part of our mission and come support GPI on May 11! This year, our event will be held again in a hybrid in-person/virtual format and will feature musical entertainment, food and drink, and a silent auction with many exciting items up for grabs.

We're looking forward to seeing you there!

GPI in Concrete

Painting tree cookies with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County

Big news! Glacier Peak Institute is now serving Concrete Elementary School with hour-long outdoor science lessons for grades 1-6. During the month of March, we are teaching Concrete students about everything from salmon to space using their school yard as a classroom. Leading the initiative is Bailey Huff, our Program Support Coordinator for Concrete, and Julie Stone, our new Outdoor Education Curriculum Manager.

Julie and Bailey are also providing outdoor activities to the Concrete Boys and Girls Club and enriching the labs for Concrete High School Environmental Science classes. Come April, we are planning to get the little ones in Concrete outside by serving the Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes. Bailey and Julie will also be staffing service work projects in North Cascades National Park, at the Concrete Community Garden, and on the Concrete School District grounds for high school students on Saturdays throughout April and May. Our team in Concrete is busy and excited to be sharing Glacier Peak Institute's outdoor expertise with a new district this spring! 

– Julie Stone, Outdoor Education Curriculum Manager, and Bailey Huff, Washington Service Corps Program Support Coordinator

GPI in Darrington

1st graders learn about penguin adaptions while playing an arctic variation of red light, green light

Forest lessons have been a hoot and a holler. Walking out to the archery range is one of our favorite things to do, mainly because we can tell our students love it too! It's been a joy getting to know the students in each class and watching them learn and grow as the end of the school year draws steadily closer. Some recent highlights have been teaching our energetic 3rd graders how to identify native trees and teaching our enthusiastic 4th graders about the wonders of fungi. Watching the grins spread on our students' faces as we hike under the lofty fir trees reminds us why we love to teach and why we love GPI. 

– Dan Dusenberry, Washington Service Corps Program Support Coordinator

Snowshoeing in the Mt. Baker Ski Area with students from Darrington High School

The chill of the winter months has brought a host of unique challenges, opportunities, and moments of joy. Our afterschool programming continues to cover a broad range of outdoor experiences: survival skills, snow sports, bird watching, nature poetry, geocaching, nutrient enhancement, hiking, and more.

Some of the most rewarding programs this quarter have been the ones where youth experience “firsts”. First time writing a poem. First time using an ax – nutrient enhancement involves chopping the tails off of salmon carcasses that we receive from the Whitehorse Hatchery. First time exploring a new trail. After observing fields of snow geese with the Skagit Audubon Society, one youth said he would be asking for a pair of binoculars next Christmas. Another recent program focused on sledding and fire building. After building a runner sled as a team, one youth got to try sledding for the first time ever. He loved it. To top it all off, GPI had the pleasure of working with Gavin Gladsjo’s Outdoor Club to facilitate a winter camping trip for a group of high school students. That trip was full of firsts (downhill skiing, snowshoeing, avalanche safety, shivering in our sleeping bags, etc) and every single participant said they would do it again. One experience can be all it takes to inspire passion. It’s been a privilege to provide our youth with the opportunity to find that passion. 

– Hannah Dreesbach, Washington Service Corps Program Support Coordinator

Glacier Peak Institute in the News!

Earlier this month, The Everett Herald featured an article about Glacier Peak Institute and our Darrington community! Titled “Darrington nonprofit puts kids in touch with timber town’s roots", the article highlights our work in the Darrington Elementary School, 2023 gear drive, and big plans for the future – give it a read!

Volunteer Day at the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe

In recent months, our greenhouse and garden programming has been focused on both continuing to cultivate the plants that we nurture and also sustaining partnerships. One partnership that has been instrumental to our relationship to the surrounding communities is the Food Sustainability Project, which is a joint partnership between the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe, North Cascades National Park, and Glacier Peak Institute - funded by the Washington National Park Fund.

For the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe, an essential part of creating food sustainability and food sovereignty has been working within the partnership to construct a greenhouse and garden on tribal land. Beginning in January with a ground-breaking ceremony, and continuing through winter and now into spring, the Sauk Suiattle Tribe, North Cascades National Park, and Glacier Peak Institute have been collaborating to install the greenhouse at the tribe behind their health center. On Friday, March 24th, (from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm), we all plan to continue these efforts at the tribe. We will be installing the panels and placing finishing touches on the greenhouse with guidance from tribal members leading the project.

We encourage anyone who is interested in volunteering to attend. This is an incredible opportunity to show your support for not only Glacier Peak Institute, but also our local, state, and tribal partners.

Interested volunteers may contact Dalton Meister at Dalton@glacierpeakinstitute.org to learn more.

Get Involved!

Interested in volunteering with us? Want to support GPI programs and events? Email us at info@glacierpeakinstitute.org or click here for more information!