MARCH 13TH E-NEWSLETTER
You Helped Make This Happen! This week Cascade School District Kindergarten came to Wenatchee River Institute. The little habitat scientists practiced their observation skills. They spied beanie babies in the shrubs, tracked wildlife, and got to know trees without using their sight. "I love being a scientist! It's so fun," exclaimed one student. Thank you for helping us teach just about every K-5th grader in the Cascade School District.
The Wenatchee School District after school program is always full of surprises. Every week they take a nature walk around the school looking for any interesting phenomena or specimen. Kids pick up sticks, pine cones, and fascinating bits of debris that are strewn about the field. Brandon, Traveling Naturalist Educator, casually collects litter as they go. Kids have picked up on this habit. Recently students have been asking Brandon to bring bags so that they can pick up trash from their school yard. This has revealed an opportunity to have a playground cleanup day with an introduction to Leave No Trace principles. Your support is making the future look greener already.
Manson Elementary School students are gifted with around 200 nights of clear skies per year. Your support allowed WRI to share with them the wonders of the night sky with the Traveling Planetarium. One class of Kindergarten English Language Learners was left awestruck as they learned how to find constellations, the North Star, and discovered the planet Venus would be visible that night in Manson. When these little astronomers were asked what they were most excited to look for on their own, many of them answered, “Buscando Venus!”
Last month Badger Mountain Brewing was filled for the Science on Tap! program on atmospheric rivers and avalanche cycles. Matt Primomo shared his in-depth knowledge of our Eastern Cascade snowpacks to a captive audience. Great prizes like a Primo Snow and Avalanche snowsaw, eqpd WRI bag, and gift certificates to the brewery were raffled off. Thank you for supporting Wenatchee River Institute programming. Thank you to all speakers thus far, for connecting the science community with the greater community. You will not want to miss the next Science on Tap!
You are fostering connections to the natural world.
Events Coming Up Staff are regularly reassessing programs based on health protocols. Be sure to check back to our website here for any potential changes to events. Mark your calendars! Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest registration opens March 17th at 6:00PM. You can find more details on the weekend's schedule here. Trips have been expanded beyond birds - geology, beaver restoration project, tracking, and more! Family Discovery Day is back this year on Saturday, May 16th. WRI members receive a discount on Bird Fest registration. Thank you to our 2020 sponsors!
Spring Break Camp K-3rd April 6-April 10 9:00 AM-3:00 PM This will be an adventurous week of living on the wild side! Become an expert archer, explore forests and meadows, learn wilderness skills, and play tons of fun games.
Winter Shrub Identification Workshop Friday, March 20 9:00 AM-11:00 AM Take a walk from the WRI campus around Barn Beach and Blackbird Island and learn to identify the trees and shrubs along the way. A few spots remain, so register before they go.
Free Community Seed Swap Wednesday, March 25 The Plant Ally 4:30 PM-6:30 PM Kicking off the spring season by gathering together. Join The Plant Ally and E. Lorene Young Community Garden for a seed swap. Bring your own containers to take seeds home.
Washington State's Bear and Cougar Specialist, Rich Beausoleil, is here to discuss carnivore-human interactions, how bears and cougars live, interact with each other, and orient themselves on the landscape.
Clark’s nutcrackers and whitebark pines have a fascinating relationship. The birds' food caches help them survive the winter and the leftovers grow into new trees. Taza Schaming will share her research and experience of 11 years studying this relationship.
It took 20 years to develop and release the Cosmic Crisp® apple to the Washington apple industry. Kate Evans, Interim Director of the WSU Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, will discuss the process and explain the background to the project.
Other News
How You Can Help!
On Saturday, May 16th from 10am-2pm Bird Fest's Family Day is back! WRI is recruiting volunteers to lead a youth activity. All materials and activity plans will be provided. To sign up or inquire, please contact Naomi Liebhold, nliebhold@wenatcheeriverinstitute.org, 509-548-0181 x6.
Do you shop online at Amazon.com? Amazon Smile donates 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. You could add a little to our programming every purchase you make! Go to smile.amazon.com and choose Wenatchee River Institute.
Like us on Facebook so you can get the first look at upcoming events!
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