APRIL 21ST E-NEWSLETTER
Winter is a wonderful season to connect with the natural world. This winter the Traveling Naturalist program drove 2,173 miles reaching students throughout North Central Washington! A wildlife certification class tracked a weasel, cougar, bobcat, and coyote with David Moskowitz. Valley locals and tourists from all around the world learned about winter adaptations while on snowshoes. There were 9 Red Barn Events for our community. Thank you for helping make these programs happen! We look forward to in-person engagements with you again in the near future. Continue reading below to find out how to stay connected!
Events Coming Up Earth Day Virtual Happy Hour Wednesday, April 22nd, 5:00PM-5:40PM (PST) Celebrate with us and get some much needed social time! Tune in for a virtual happy hour. Trivia questions, prizes - a real collector's item, updates on WRI - what in the heck have we been up to, and virtual mingling.
This virtual get together will happen through Zoom. Click this link to access the event. Enter meeting password: 7iu5R3 Meeting ID: 258-040-835
If you do not have a Zoom account, go to zoom.us and click 'Join a Meeting' on the top right-hand corner of the screen. Follow the prompts and enter meeting ID. Make sure to allow microphone and camera access. You do not need to download anything. Zoom works on your browser.
The Plant ID Mini-Series We hope you are taking every chance you can get to be outside. Maybe you are taking neighborhood walks and bike rides. Tune into our plant ID mini-series and take the challenge to find these native plants yourself! Click the video to watch episode 1.
E. Lorene Young Community Garden 2 plots still available! The community garden officially opens for business on May 1st! Automatic water will be flowing, so your vegetables will be growing.
Now more than ever people need the benefit of beautiful outdoor spaces and the therapeutic nature of gardening.
Virtual Red Barn Event: The Chehalis at a Crossroads Wednesday, April 29th 6:30PM (PST) The Chehalis at a crossroads - will a proposed flood control dam cause the river’s Chinook Salmon to go extinct? Lee First, Twin Harbors Waterkeeper, will present information on the little-known Chehalis River, in southwest Washington. A life-long canoeist, Lee paddled the Chehalis River from the headwaters to the ocean in May 2019.
Click HERE to meet us on Zoom. Meeting ID: 869 9201 3098 Password: 615685
If you do not have a Zoom account, go to zoom.us and click 'Join a Meeting' on the top right-hand corner of the screen. Follow the prompts and enter meeting ID. Make sure to allow microphone and camera access. You do not need to download anything. Zoom works on your browser.
Other News Teachers throughout North Central Washington are reaching out to us for online science resources. We are helping them as we all navigate the new and daunting online teaching world. Youth programs staff are creating weekly videos to help students connect to the natural world around them. "We appreciate you provided those options and making the content engaging for our students!" said Todd Gaytley, teacher in the Wenatchee School District. His students are watching the 'What is a Naturalist' video, creating their own nature journals, and writing reflections about an observation they made in their own backyards. Thank you Todd for connecting science with your daily writing assignments!
Art Competition Winner! Congratulations Becca Henning, the winner of WRI's Nature Art Competition! Becca used copic markers, watercolor, and colored pencils to create the Great Blue Heron nature art piece. We had 11 contestants. Thank you to all!
The Great Upper Valley Teddy Bear Hunt Somewhere on WRI's property are two hidden teddy bears. Use the photo and the clue to see if you can locate this one! Clue: Brrr...I had to hit defrost to see the view this morning! Come find me before I roll away. Get more clues for other teddy bears by going to Upper Valley Teddy Bear Hunt on Facebook.
As the soil, air, and water warms up, more and more insects are beginning to crawl, fly, and wiggle outside. We need those insects to feed the birds, to decompose and make soil, and to pollinate the flowers. Click the links below to build a better understanding of these amazing creatures. Enjoy! Art All insects are symmetrical. Challenge yourself to make your's symmetrical. Science Lay a sheet, shake a tree, and see what you find! Connect Watch the neat insects WRI staff found and attract them into your own yard.
Our New YouTube Channel All of WRI's educational and fun videos are posted on our YouTube channel. Watch them to engage your kids at home, to challenge yourself on your daily walk, and to have a little giggle.
Bird Fest Cancelled
For the ongoing safety of our community, we have made the decision to cancel Bird Fest (May 14-17, 2020). We are so sad to be doing this! No better time than now to get creative. Stay tuned for virtual happy hours, birding competitions, workshops, and birder interviews! In the meantime check out this great resource created by North Central Audubon board member Bruce McCammon. The video is a collection of site and sound identification tips for common spring North Central Washington birds.
Neat Nature Notes: Bird Arrivals Yellow-rumped Warbler A migratory bird and one of the first warblers to arrive. They spend their winters as far south as Central America. Some refer to these birds as Butter Butt because of the yellow feather patch right above their rumps. Listen to this warbler's song here. Tree Swallow A migratory bird and one of the first swallows to arrive. There are over 70 species of swallows in the world. Just along the Icicle River alone you can find all 8 species native to North America! Tree Swallows prefer to nest in trees and will also use your artificial nest boxes. Listen to this swallow's song here. Before Coronavius hit, Wenatchee River Institute was on track to have more student engagements than both of the previous school years! Leavenworth students, and students throughout North Central Washington, will miss hands-on connections with the natural world. In these times it is imperative to support environmental learning centers so students can continue to engage with nature and become the stewards we need to care for our planet.
How You Can Help!
Our budget is highly dependent on program registrations, donations, and memberships. 48% of our income comes from those three things. COVID-19 has seriously impacted our budget. Become a member, or renew your membership, to ensure more people in North Central Washington communities are connected to the natural world. Your membership shows your dedication to the environment.
Thank you to our donors from the last 2 weeks!
Stella Day Tracy and Ben Brulotte - Sustaining Donors Lexine Long and Nate Hough-Snee Dave and Nancy Bartholomew - Sustaining Donors Rebecca Benjamin Vania and Stan Winter Annette Jouard and John Taylor Lisi Ott - Sustaining Donor Jane and John Zanol Joe and Bernie Reichlin Ginger Holladay and Dean Marson Lois Parker Mary Carol Nelson - Sustaining Donor
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