December 10th E-Newsletter |
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We're proud to be a participating nonprofit in Give NCW. Make a gift by December 31–select WRI, choose the Give to All!, or support a local organization whose work directly connects to the place we live, learn, and explore. |
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Holiday Wreath Making Party TONIGHT, December 10th 6:00PM-8:00PM |
Join us for a cozy holiday wreath making workshop. Create your own nature-inspired wreath using foraged materials gathered from WRI’s campus, with bases handmade from ponderosa pine and weeping willow. Invite friends and make it a night out! There are still spots available, and we're keeping registration open into the start of the event. |
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Red Barn Event: Enchantments: What Comes Next? TOMORROW, December 11th 7:00PM-8:00PM |
After a summer of overcrowding in The Enchantments, local experts are exploring new approaches to day use management. Join Seattle Times reporter, Gregory Scruggs, TREAD's Mat Lyons, and Wenatchee Outdoors' Sarah Shaffer for a discussion on lessons learned and potential solutions for sustainable access along the Icicle Creek corridor.
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2025 Leavenworth Christmas Bird Count Tuesday, December 16th 8:00AM-12:00PM |
Join WRI for the Christmas Bird Count! This nationwide community science effort welcomes volunteers of all experience levels to help survey birds within Leavenworth’s 15-mile count circle. Participate for as long as you’d like, learn from fellow birders, and support an important conservation project. RSVP below to get details—participation is free. |
| Día de los Reyes Celebration
Saturday, January 3rd 1:00PM-7:00PM |
Celebrate community and culture at our Día de los Reyes Celebration with food, music, dance, and family fun!
¡Celebra la comunidad y la cultura en nuestra Celebración del Día de los Reyes con comida, música, baile y diversión familiar! |
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Benevolent Night at München Haus Tuesday, January 6th 4:00PM-8:00PM |
Join us at München Haus for a wonderful meal and drink, while giving back to your community. Your purchase will benefit WRI and will help connect people, communities and the natural world.
Special thanks to our longtime partner and sponsor, München Haus. You do so much good for our community! |
| "Girl Winter" Film Screening with SheJumps Friday, January 9th
5:30PM-8:00PM |
Join SheJumps at the Wenatchee River Institute for an inspiring evening celebrating women in winter sports at the Girl Winter Film Screening. The six films highlight stories of perseverance, creativity, and connection to the mountains—told by and about women redefining what it means to thrive in winter. Registration required! |
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Winter Snowshoe Strolls Fridays & Saturdays in January & February 2026 |
Starting January 9th, join us this winter for WRI’s Snowshoe Strolls on Fridays and Saturdays throughout January and February! These guided walks are a beginner-friendly and a great way to enjoy fresh air, explore the Wenatchee Valley in winter, and learn more about the local environment.
Snowshoes are provided and registration is required. |
Dee Butcher, WRI’s Youth Programs Coordinator, shares her favorite moments from working with students: witnessing their firsts. Their first time exploring outside, seeing salmon up close, or using a naturalist tool. These moments spark curiosity, build confidence, and open pathways to future careers or new family adventures. |
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WRI After School Program Winter Lottery |
Join WRI for our Winter After School Program for grades K–3, running January 5–March 26. Spots will be filled through a lottery, where families can indicate their preferred schedule–this winter, the most availability is on the Monday/Wednesday option. Complete the lottery form linked below by Monday, December 15 at 8:00am.
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Newbery Elementary After School Program |
Our educators have been visiting Newbery Elementary each week, working with the same group of 3rd graders and additional 4th and 5th graders across a total of nine visits. Each 45-minute session begins with student-led brainstorming, followed by interactive lessons and hands-on activities. This fall, students explored science and nature through engaging experiences like owl pellet dissections, examining animal skulls and pelts, building earthquake-resistant structures, creating ecosystem drawings, and simulating bird migration.
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Orondo After School Program |
WRI led hands-on afterschool programs at Orondo that connected students to science, nature, and experiential learning. This fall, students explored the outdoors with binoculars and pocket microscopes, created nature-inspired art, and built and tested volcano and earthquake models.
Through active games and creative projects, these programs reflect WRI’s commitment to sparking curiosity and fostering meaningful connections to the natural world. |
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We are honored to be a recipient of the Upper Valley Fund Legacy Grant by the Community Foundation of NCW.
The Community Foundation of North Central Washington’s mission is to grow, protect, and connect charitable gifts in support of strong
communities throughout Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan counties. Established in 1986, the Community Foundation manages $130 million in assets through 600+ individual funds and has awarded over $55 million in grants and scholarships. |
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Single Gloves Looking for Love |
Everyone! The Lost Glove Board is back for another year!
It was a wild success last year, and we hope it becomes even more widely known around town. The gloves on the board were all found around town and along trails in the park. Each one has been washed before being hung up, complete with its customary short love note. After all, they are single and looking for love.
All gloves are free to take. Hopefully you will find one that completes a set. If you happen to find any lost gloves, feel free to drop them off at WRI so we can clean them up and add them to the board for others to enjoy. |
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WRI’s 4th Annual Sunset & S’mores brought together supporters, staff, volunteers, and students for an evening of food, fun, and celebration. Guests explored educational stations, enjoyed a catered meal, and connected with the community while honoring WRI’s mission and legacy. Check out this wonderful article by our volunteer, Hillary Meyerson! |
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The Wenatchee River Institute's StoryWalk® is a fun way to spend time outdoors while being active and learning something new! Beginning on the trail to the right of the Outdoor Classroom (map below), you can read a children's story. WRI educators handpick stories involving nature, different cultures and languages, and a reading level that is accessible to most children. Our goal is to change the book each season! Currently, Hiking Day by Anne Rockwell is displayed on our StoryWalk®.
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While collecting supplies for our holiday wreath workshop, I noticed something peculiar. The European mountain-ash trees have almost no berries this year. Last winter, they were absolutely covered in their characteristic clusters of red-orange fruit. Those berries make a beautiful pop of color in wreaths, and harvesting them for crafts also helps remove their seeds from the landscape.
Although they are a favorite winter food for birds like cedar waxwings and robins, that popularity helps spread the seeds far and wide. European mountain-ash is somewhat invasive, though in my experience it is mostly confined to town and has not spread deeply into the forest.
This year’s scarcity may be the result of a late frost that damaged developing flowers, or lingering drought conditions. Whatever the cause, this brightly colored winter staple is nearly absent, and I have had to turn to snowberries and rose hips instead. Nature, it seems, can be wonderfully and frustratingly fickle.
Written by Tiffa Theden, WRI's Land Steward |
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Thank you to our donors from the past 2 weeks! |
These donations will be matched with thanks to the Icicle Fund. |
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Steve and Betsy Backstrom in honor of Arne Backstrom - Sustaining Gro Buer and Bruce Williams - Sustaining Jamie Moffet Lisa and Fred Farin Lynn Dickinson - Sustaining Karen and Curt Haire - Sustaining
Grete and Ian Porteous Kathy and Randy Sackett Laura and Greg Reichlin - Sustaining Mall Boyd - Sustaining James Ethier Christine Emmel - Sustaining Melissa Roe - Sustaining Andrea Nilles Diane and Herb Young - Sustaining
Orin and Lisa Melvin - Sustaining Mandy Maxwell and Bill Riedel - Sustaining Marjory Blake Susan and John Bridges Marty and Bob Fallon
Crunch Pak LLC Mark Weick and Carole Ann Borshard - Sustaining Lisa and Brian Koblenz - Sustaining Adobe, Inc. in honor of Adam and Ellen Gardner Robin Boal and Craig Root Brooke MacPhee Joan and Salim Qazi Jim and Suzanne Ullrich Bruce and Dianne McCammon Jennifer Fluke
Steve and Catherine Hawes Yvonne and Bradley Poe |
| Anonymous Donors Shanda and Andrew Holm - Sustaining Connie Cogburn and Andy Day - Sustaining Hillary and Chris Clark - Sustaining Annette Jouard and John Taylor - Sustaining Martha Bean and Ralph Haugerud - Sustaining Don Shreiner and Betsey Stahler Will Crowley and Beth Macinko in memory of Ian Fair Kelly and Mark Hassinger Kay Lisch in memory of Tom Gunkel Randy and Marge Zerger
Richard Szeliski and Lyn McCoy Bob Bugert and Carolyn Griffin-Bugert - Sustaining Mark Terranella and Lucy Petrucelli in honor of Canuche Terranella Teresa Lavender Doris Christianson in honor of Charlotte Burgess Pat and Gary Willett Mike and Carol Wyant Ursula Maninger Michelle and James Brownlow Chuck and Candace Egner - Sustaining David Stoller and Diane Patterson - Sustaining National Philanthropic Trust Kamuron Gurol - Sustaining Lauren Johnson and Barbara Rossing Judy and Ken Butcher Roy and Lois Bahnson in honor of Jack Jefferds |
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