Notice: WRI's website looks a little different, but you are in the right place! Learn more below. |
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Volunteer Open House & Youth Training Tuesday, September 9th 5:00PM-7:00PM |
You're Invited! Whether you’ve been volunteering with us for years or are interested in getting started, we can’t wait to see you!
Come connect with the WRI community, enjoy light snacks and drinks, and meet our new Outreach Coordinator, Angela Crampton! From 5:00PM-6:00PM, we’ll mingle and share all the exciting ways you can support WRI as a volunteer. If you’re interested in working with our Youth Programs, stay for the second half of the evening from 6:00PM-7:00PM for our Fall Youth Program Volunteer Training. Let us know you're coming by clicking the link below! |
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Paint and Stroll TOMORROW, August 7th, Friday, August 8th, Thursday, August 14th, and more! 1:30PM-2:30PM |
Get inspired by the amazing artists at the Village Art in the Park, then join us for a short walk down to the river and take some creative time for yourself. This free program is great for children and adults. Simple art supplies are provided. No registration required – just show up ready to create. Click the button below for a full list of dates throughout the summer!
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| Wenatchee Bird Walk
Thursday, August 14th 8:00AM-10:00AM |
Enjoy a guided 1-mile bird walk with knowledgeable WRI staff along the Columbia River at an easygoing pace. Meet near the bathrooms at Walla Walla Point Park's north parking lot. This is a FREE event with no registration. Just show up and get ready to bird! |
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Red Barn Event: The Trees are Speaking Thursday, September 4th 7:00PM-8:00PM |
Join author and journalist Lynda V. Mapes for a discussion about changing our relationship with forests. Lynda will share examples of sustainable forestry practices underway in our region and beyond that take care of people, forests, and wildlife, drawing from her new book, The Trees Are Speaking: Dispatches from the Salmon Forests. Her books will be available for sale at the event with thanks to A Book for All Seasons. |
| Paint and Sip: Red Barn Style!
Friday, September 5th 6:20PM-8:30PM |
Join us for a Paint and Sip in the Red Barn. Our painting will be inspired by the book, The Trees are Speaking: Dispatches from the Salmon Forests by Lynda V. Mapes, which she will be presenting about on Thursday, September 4th. Art supplies, instruction, and one beverage are included in registration, and you will take home your masterpiece at the end of the night! Advance registration required (link below!). |
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4th annual Sunset & S'mores Wednesday, October 1st 5:00PM-7:30PM |
Come gather with us at WRI for an evening of food, drinks, and s'more fun! Early bird registration is now open! Included with your ticket is a delicious meal from Ravenous Catering, a beverage of your choice (or two if you're an early bird!), and participation in fun camp activities with WRI Field Educators (including the planetarium!). We look forward to gathering together and celebrating our special WRI community!
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| Astronomy along the River
Thursday, October 2nd 7:30PM-9:00PM |
Join the Wenatchee Valley Astronomy Club on a family-friendly journey through space. Using a variety of telescopes, we’ll gaze up into the Milky Way and learn about some of the best night sky objects to view. From the stunning rings of Saturn and planetary nebulas to large cataclysmic supernova remnants we'll journey through our own galaxy and even take a look at neighboring ones. Registration is required (link below!).
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Summer youth programs are in full swing at the Wenatchee River Institute! We love hearing laughter across campus and seeing the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts exploring the natural wonders of North Central Washington. From river adventures to garden discoveries, there's no shortage of curiosity and joy this season.
Read some highlights from the last couple of weeks below: |
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Kids in the Wild Camp (Entering grades 4-6) |
Campers spent a week outdoors learning hands-on skills needed for survival. They kicked off the week by learning the 10 essentials for hiking and the 7 Leave No Trace principles. They also did a team building challenge to set up a tent without instructions. Campers learned what makes a map a map, and then made their very own. Their second day was Pirate Day! They made pirate hats and pirate boats, and tested them at Barn Beach, then went on a scavenger hunt to look for hidden treasure while using their new GPS skills. Their third day was fishing day with Mike Wyant and other volunteers from Trout Unlimited. They learned about the ecology of the watershed, how to tie knots, how to cast, and even went fishing at Blackbird Island Pond. Campers also practiced inflatable archery in the Red Barn. Then they did archery at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, followed by a tour of the hatchery.
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| Orondo Elementary School’s After School Summer Camp Program (Entering grades 3-8) |
Older students from Orondo Elementary School’s After School Summer Camp Program enjoyed a week of outdoor exploration and hands-on learning. They started off the week by exploring the trails along the Wenatchee River, and doing some inflatable archery in WRI's Red Barn. They also explored the area using binoculars and spent some time playing by the river. At Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, campers saw beavers, took a tour around the facility and walked around their trails. Finally, they wrapped up the fun with trail exploration and lake time at Lake Chelan State Park.
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Adventurous Artists Camp (Entering grades 4-6) |
Campers got to explore their creative side last week! They did a new nature-themed art project each day of the week starting with collecting plants, pressing plants, and gathering collage materials for several projects. They learned how to make a block print, and made their very own stamp with help from Land Steward, Tiffa. Then they visited Lake Wenatchee to play games and do some watercoloring of the new scenery. They returned to Lake Wenatchee the following day to do some charcoal painting and driftwood art. They finished the week by doing a cyanotype with the plants they collected and pressed on their first day, and finished their collage with all the materials they collected over the week, along with making clay figurines.
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| Kids in the Wild Camp (Entering grades 1-3) |
Campers had a week full of fun spent outdoors learning hands-on skills needed for outdoor survival. The week kicked off with games and homemade sailboats to float on the river. Then they visited Lake Wenatchee for team-building games and fun on the playground. These aspiring anglers spent a day with Mike and Bruce from Trout Unlimited, where they learned safe fishing habits, practiced a clinch knot, and even got to fish for cutthroat trout! Campers also practiced archery, made their own binoculars, and explored Barn Beach in the rain. They wrapped up a fun week with a visit to the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery for a tour and more archery, ending with a scavenger hunt around the WRI campus.
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Surprise! WRI's website has a new look. We have been working behind the scenes for nearly two months to bring an optimized, accessible website to our community. We are excited to share it with you now! In the coming weeks, there may be more small changes made and some link changes. If anything seems confusing or if any links are broken, please let us know by emailing us at info@wenatcheeriverinstitute.org. Thanks so much for your patience during this process! We hope you enjoy it.
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Join the Wenatchee River Institute's Board of Directors |
Are you passionate about connecting people, communities, and the natural world? Wenatchee River Institute is seeking dedicated individuals to join our volunteer Board of Directors. As a board member, you’ll help guide our mission and support transformative environmental education throughout North Central Washington.
We welcome applications and nominations from individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences. |
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Land Steward Observations |
Recently, at the volunteer Hellstrip Garden Work Party, we worked to clear out all the weedy vegetation that had taken hold around the fence that surrounds our heat pump systems. The main plants we worked to remove were white clover, cheatgrass, chicory, prickly lettuce, and salsify. Usually, these can be pretty tedious to remove, but the soil there was surprising sandy and the work went by super fast! In October, we will plant some native bunch grasses and penstemon in the hellstrip. Volunteers, Karin and Tim, then transitioned to helping pull another plant species that is intent on becoming invasive - rose campion. While quite pretty with its silvery white foliage and hot magenta flowers, it has slowly been spreading into the forests around WRI, sometimes quite far from the tended gardens where it was originally planted. It’s easy to pull and makes a great bouquet flower. We don’t want to be the source of yet another non-native plant taking over the riparian forest along the river here, so we appreciate our wonderful volunteers for helping out with this! Also, keep an eye out for the moth mural that will be painted on the freshly sanded and stained fence.
Written by Tiffa Theden, WRI's Land Steward |
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Thank you to our donors from the past 2 weeks! |
Ken and Jill Ryan Lynn Dickinson - Sustaining Karen and Curt Haire - Sustaining
Harry and Beth Stovall John and Mary Schramm Peter and Joanne Hill Laura and Greg Reichlin - Sustaining Mall Boyd - Sustaining Kathie Schwich in honor of Jody and Mick Marquardt's 50th Wedding Anniversary Christine Emmel - Sustaining
Melissa Roe - Sustaining Diane and Herb Young - Sustaining Mary Carol Nelson - Sustaining Mandy Maxwell and Bill Riedel - Sustaining Gina Westrich and Howard Clarke - Sustaining Lisa and Cole Barrett in honor of the Enchanted Leavenworth Fairy Trail Mark Weick and Carole Ann Borshard - Sustaining Martha Bean and Ralph Haugerud - Sustaining Sue and Kevin Kane - Sustaining Constance Cogburn and Andrew Day - Sustaining
Hillary and Chris Clark - Sustaining Steve and Betsy Backstrom in honor of Arne Backstrom - Sustaining Gro Buer and Bruce Williams - Sustaining |
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