October 17th E-Newsletter

Programs

False Promises: The Lost Land of the Wenatchi

TONIGHT, October 17th

7:00PM-9:00PM

This screening is in partnership with the Greater Leavenworth Museum, Icicle Creek Center for the Arts and Colville Confederated Tribes. This film, to be shown in the Snowy Owl Theater, makes an impassioned plea for the return of the land that was stolen from the Wenatchi Tribe of Washington State. Doors open for a community social at 6:00PM. The film will be screened at 7:00PM followed by a panel discussion with tribal members at 8:00PM. Tickets are required and can be purchased online below or at the door. Tickets at the door are Pay What You Can.

Tickets Here

Autumn Ambles

TOMORROW, October 18th

10:00AM-12:00PM

Join WRI's naturalists for our final beginner-friendly walk through Waterfront Park of the year! Not only will you have a prime view of the foliage as it starts to turn, but also an opportunity to learn about the plants, animals, and humans of Leavenworth. This will be one of the final weeks of colorful leaves, so don't miss out.

Amble Here

Barn Beach Bioblitz

Saturday, October 19th - Sunday, October 20th

What is a Bioblitz? It's 24 hours of rapid fire species documentation on iNaturalist in a designated place. We'll begin at 9:30AM with an optional tutorial where you’ll learn how to record your observations using the iNaturalist app. Join in whenever you'd like to meet fellow naturalists and contribute to community science. No registration required.

Blitz Here

Plant Foraging Workshop: Chicory

Tuesday, October 22nd

5:00PM-6:30PM

Join WRI for our final Plant Foraging Workshop of the year! These instructional evenings teach about identification, harvesting, and medicinal uses of various native plants. This month's workshop will focus on Chicory. These workshops fill up fast so register soon!

Forage Here

Make a Difference Day

Saturday, October 26th

9:00AM-12:00PM

Looking for a way to Make a Difference in your community? Help build new planter boxes with WRI on Make a Difference Day! We will be completing a 2-year project to make our community garden more accessible and beautiful for years of gardeners to come. RSVP below.

Make a Difference Here

Red Barn Event: Grizzly Restoration

Wednesday, November 6th

7:00PM-8:00PM

Grizzly bears once played a crucial role in the ecosystem of the North Cascades. Due to human forcings, grizzlies haven't been seen in the area since 1996. The National Park Service and USFWS have since announced plans to restore these bears to this habitat. Hear from Wildlife Biologist, Dr. Jason Ransom, about the restoration process in this Red Barn Event.

Bear with Me Here

Finding Fungi

Sunday, November 10th

9:00AM-12:00PM

While everybody enjoys a tasty chanterelle, the non-edible fungi of the PNW deserves some love too! Explore the forests near Leavenworth with WRI's Land Steward and search for fungi of all types. This hike will mostly be on maintained trails for a total of 3 miles of walking. Come prepared to be outside on a chilly fall day. Happy fungi finding!

Funguys Here

Red Barn Event: Stevens Pass Community

Tuesday, November 12th

7:00PM-8:00PM

Ski season is nearly upon us! It's time to get up to date with everything Stevens Pass with General Manager, Ellen Galbraith. She'll chat with us about last season's highlights and get us ready for what's in store this coming winter. Meet fellow Stevens Pass skiers, employees, and even ask Ellen some questions at this free community night.

Ski Here

Science on Tap with Sarah Doherty

Thursday, November 14th

7:00PM-8:00PM

Science doesn't need to be intimidating! Join us at Ground Control in Wenatchee for casual and exciting science talks from local speakers. This month's speaker is Sarah Doherty, Senior Research Scientist at the University of Washington. She'll be speaking about how aerosols impact climate. When she's not volunteering on WRI's board, Sarah is also the program director for UW's Marine Cloud Brightening research program.

Tap in Here

Youth Programs

Fall Camp 2024

Thursday, October 24th and Friday, October 25th

10:00AM-3:00PM

WRI is excited to invite K-3 students to join us for 2 days of fall fun outdoors! Participants will investigate and learn about the world around us through fun games, art projects, and even a Halloween-themed activity! This camp is Pay What You Can and early drop off at 9:00AM is available at signup. We hope that families with the resources can offset costs for families who don't have the same access. Registration is now open! Find details and register below.

Peshastin-Dryden Elementary

Kindergarten Power Hours - Nature Explorers

WRI visited four kindergarten classrooms at Peshastin-Dryden Elementary for a Power Hour of learning. These students had the opportunity to be Nature Explorers as they learned about living and non-living things in nature and then found them in their school yard. We look forward to seeing these classes again when they come to visit us for their Field Days in spring!

Transitional Kindergarten Sensory Scramblers

For the first year ever, this year's TK class at Peshastin-Dryden Elementary visited WRI for their Field Day Programming. Students used their senses on two different scavenger hunts finding elements in nature that matched up to learning materials provided to them. They learned how to observe the world around them as they developed their senses.

Pinnacles Prep Charter School Planetarium

64 8th grade students from Pinnacles Prep had the exciting experience of entering the Planetarium for the first time! WRI's Educators visited their school and set up for some planetary learning. These young astronomers took a journey through the stars to learn about galaxies, eclipses, and moon phases. How fun!

Place

Sunset & S'mores - A Night to Remember

As the final rays of warm golden sun set behind the Enchantments, WRI community members enjoyed the warmth of campfire and connection at Sunset & S'mores. Before enjoying a Mediterranean-inspired meal from Ravenous Catering, attendees sampled bite-sized programming across campus. From gazing at the stars in the planetarium, to making their own bookmarks with custom stamps from Unfinished Inc, everybody got to experience what WRI programming is all about. For the first year ever, this gathering was Pay What You Can so all who are interested in WRI could attend. We left with full bellies and full hearts. We hope to see you at next year's Sunset & S'mores in October 2025!

Good Luck, Tucker!

It's always bittersweet when one of our staff moves on to the next step in their journey. Join us in wishing Tucker good luck as he takes on his new adventure as he finishes up his Masters degree to be a teacher. Everyone at WRI will miss his infectious passion for birds, science, and sharing his knowledge with others. Those kids will be lucky to have you as a teacher, Tucker!

Land Steward's Observations

Fall is officially here, and the trees are changing into their fire-colored dresses to welcome the quickly approaching winter. At WRI we have many different species of maple trees. Some are native and others introduced. Two major species here are the big leaf maple, our largest native species (pictured above), and the Norway maple, an introduced species that is rapidly outcompeting the big leaf maple. Most maples at WRI are Norway maples, which you can ID by their smaller leaves and sharply pointed tips. Big leaf maple leaf tips are larger, more blunt, and deeply lobed. Both trees turn a brilliant golden yellow in fall. We are working to try to bring more big leaf maple to WRI. It will be a slow, decades long process. The other less common maple species you can see here are the native vine maple and introduced Japanese maple (which is much better behaved than Norway maple and doesn't seem to spread past where they are planted). Both of these species turn bright red in fall!

Entry and photo by Tiffa Theden, Land Steward

Thank you to our donors from the past 2 weeks!

Martha Bean and Ralph Haugerud - Sustaining

Monty and Karen Turner

Ander Tokar and Alexandra Chasin

Constance Cogburn and Andrew Day - Sustaining

Hillary and Chris Clark - Sustaining

Annette Jouard and John Taylor - Sustaining

David Stoller and Diane Patterson - Sustaining

Steve and Betsy Backstrom in honor of Arne Backstrom - Sustaining

Gro Buer and Bruce Williams - Sustaining

Kamuron Gurol - Sustaining