North Cascades Institute

Mountain School - This program is an immersive environmental education program for 5th grade classes that has been serving regional schools since 1990. Through hands-on interdisciplinary activities, students are connected to the natural and cultural history of our region, form connections with their classmates and the environment, and sharpen their understanding of their own identities.The 2024 Mountain School season was the first uninterrupted season since 2019. The program served 2,026 participants with a total of 6,078 Learner Days. The Institute implemented several refinements to the curriculum that addressed staff requests and allowed for the streamlining of student experiences during their stay.

Youth Leadership - This program engages diverse local teens in multi-day backpacking and canoe-camping trips in North Cascades National Park and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. In addition to outdoor skill development, YLA focuses on leadership skills, team building, and climate change solutions, giving students the knowledge and tools they need to become stewards of the natural world and engage in community advocacy. Beyond backcountry trips, YLA offers additional opportunities for local high school students to engage in outdoor skill-building and climate activism projects. In 2024, the Institute offered nine backcountry trips for 67 participants and served 117 students through related programming, representing 861 total learner days.

Adult and Family Education - The Institute's suite of Family Getaways, Base Camp Learning and Lodging, Field Seminars, Online Classes and Skagit Tours continues to bring diverse audiences to the North Cascades to learn, recreate and be inspired. Activities include art and photography classes, birding and mushrooming outings, presentations on wolves and orcas, and guided hikes and boat tours on Diablo Lake. In 2024, there were 8,686 participants and 14,038 Learner Days.Affinity Weekend was an opportunity for people from diverse backgrounds to convene together to explore, rest, reflect, and connect while staying at our campus in the North Cascades National Park. This inaugural program was also an important next step in making our programs more equitable and inclusive. We hosted 46 participants from the community groups Outdoor Asian, Latino Outdoors, and Outdoor Afro.