Events
May 2012 Events
National Park Family Day 2012 – Connecting People to Parks
Saturday, May 19th, Rainier Community Center, 4600 38th Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98118
On Saturday, May 19th the National Parks Conservation Association, National Park Service, and their partners will be hosting the 3rd Annual NW National Park Family Day at the Rainier Community Center in Seattle from 10am-4pm!
Northwest National Park Family Day is a free, family-friendly event filled with fun activities geared toward children and those unfamiliar with national parks of the Northwest, outdoor activities and conservation in general.
The goals for the event are to expose lower income and diverse communities to our national parks, outdoor activities, and environmental stewardship opportunities, to educate youth on employment opportunities within the National Park System, and to inspire children and adults to get outdoors and learn about the natural, cultural, and historical treasures found within National Parks. The event will also provide visibility for NPS, NPCA, and partner groups attending the event.
Last year, nearly 1,000 participants, volunteers, and staff were in attendance, including 25 on-site groups providing activities, demonstrations, and information for children and adults.
January 2012 Events
Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival
Every Saturday and Sunday in January
Travel to the beautiful Upper Skagit in January and take part in a number of exciting events. Choose to raft the majestic Skagit River, take a guided nature walk or attend a presentation by the renowned North Cascades pilot, John Scurlock. Rose Oliver from the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project will have an information table set up at the Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center in Rockport, on January 14th, 15th, 21st and 22nd. Click here for more information.
Directions to the Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center
Three Among the Wolves
Tuesday January 17th - 7pm REI Store, Olympia
Helen Thayer traveled to the virtually untouched Canadian Yukon Territory, above the Arctic Circle, to live within 100 feet of a wild wolf den. She spent a summer observing and documneting the daily lives and behaviors of the pack and returned in the winter to study the wolves’ interaction with the polar bears on the northern sea ice. Come hear stories and view photos detailing the remarkable story of wolves in their wild state, their pup care, hunts, and their social hierarchy explained.
Directions to the Olympia REI store
Wolves, Bears and Cougars, Oh My!
Saturday, January 28th at 1pm
Learn how to live, work and recreate with Washington’s native carnivores. GBOP’s Skagit and Whatcom County Field Coordinator, Rose Oliver, will present at the Concrete Theater as part of the Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival Events. Click here for more information and directions.
December 2011 Events
- James Rasmussen, Duwamish River Clean-Up
- Josh Baldi, Washington Department of Ecology
- Dr. Terrie Klinger, School of Marine and Environmental Affairs
RSVP to events@KCTS9.org or 206.443.4298 by Thursday, December 1.
July 2011 Events
Wolves and Wild Lands in the 21st Century
June 4 – September 5, 2011
Burke Museum
Issaquah Highlands Day
Saturday, July 9th 10:00am – 5pm
Swedish Hospial 751 NE Blakely Drive, Issaquah
This year Highlands Day is a joint celebration with the grand opening of the new Swedish/Issaquah hospital. The entire family will enjoy a day of tours, free classes, cooking demos and loads of activities for the kids. There will be a giant inflatable obstacle course, carnival games and pony rides. GBOP’s Field Representative, Cathy Macchio, will be on hand to discuss safety tips for living and recreating in bear country. Take the bear quiz and see if you can tell the difference between a black and grizzly bear. Also, discover about the return of gray wolves to Washington.
Directions or to register for classes.
Wildlife Tracking: Adventure and Discovery
Wednesday, July 20 7:00pm
Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Olympia
Take an afternoon walk through the Nisqually River delta. Then join tracker and photographer David Moskowitz at the visitor center at 7pm for an evening of slides and stories about how to use wildlife tracking techniques as a window into the mysterious lives of wild animals. For more details, see the Nisqually Summer Lecture Series.
Directions to Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.
Wolves in the Pacific Northwest
Thursday, July 21 7pm
REI Flagship Store, Seattle
Wolves fishing for salmon? Swimming 10 km of open ocean? Wolves in the Cascades just as stones throw from Seattle? A mountain landscape inhabited by moose, caribou, grizzly bears, and wolves right here in Washington State? Join David Moskowitz, author of Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest, at the downtown Seattle REI for an evening of captivating images and stories about wolves in our region. Learn about wolves’ ecological and conservation role in our region’s diverse landscapes and their historic and contemporary cultural significance in the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy stories and images of wolves and wildlands from around or region from arid eastern Oregon to the wild west coast of Vancouver Island. Learn about cutting edge research on the species and how citizen scientists have helped document the presence and distribution of wolves and other rare carnivores across the region. Read more about the Monthly Nature Talks.
Ice Age Floods Hike
TBD – Summer (proposed)
NPCA and author Bruce Bjornstad will lead a hike along the new Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail to explore some of the floods’ amazing features. For more information, contact Dave Patton at dpatton@npca.org or (206) 903-1444, x 202.
August 2011 Events
Understanding Grizzly Bears
Wednesday, August 24th, 7-8pm PST
Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge’s Summer Lecture Series: Grizzly Bear Outreach Project Co-director Sharon Negri will be giving a one hour lecture followed by a brief question period at the visitor center of the Refuge which is located just off I 5 at Exit 114.
Directions to Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.
September 2011 Events
Elwha Dam Removal Celebration
Saturday, September 17 (tentative)
Join NPCA, National Park Service and others in celebrating the start of dam removal on the Elwha River in Olympic National Park. For more information, contact David G. Graves at dgraves@npca.org or 206-903-1444, x205
National Public Lands Day
Saturday, September 24
Join NPCA and Mount Rainier National Park for our annual volunteer event at Mount Rainier, repairing trails and restoring native vegetation. For more information, contact Bethany Van Etten at bvanetten@npca.org or (206) 903-1444, x206.
Past 2011 Events
January 2011 Events
Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival
January 1-2nd, 8-9th, 15-16th, 22-23rd and 29-30th from 10-4pm
Howard Miller Steelhead Park, Rockport
GBOP will be joining staff from the North Cascades National Park, Skagit Wild and Scenic Rivers and the SARDIS Raptor Center, as well as several local artists and experts, to celebrate the return of the eagles to the Upper Skagit.
Directions to Bald Eagle Center
Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival Presentation
Saturday, January 29th – 2pm
Concrete Theater, 45920 Main St, Concrete
GBOP’s Skagit and Whatcom Field Coordinator, Rose Oliver, will be presenting a slide show on grizzly bear ecology, behavior, recovery, and safety tips for living, working, and recreating in bear country. Learn about what to do if you see a bear, and how to tell a difference between a black bear and a grizzly bear. Also, learn a bit about the return of gray wolves to Washington and how to tell the difference between a gray wolf and a coyote.
March 2011 Events
Bears of the North Cascades Ecosystem
Thursday March 31 – 7pm
Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center
127 S. Mission St. Wenatchee, WA
GBOP’s Highway 2 Field Representative, Gus Bekker, will be presenting a slide show on bear ecology, behavior, recovery, and safety tips for living, working and recreating in bear country. Learn about what to do if you see a bear and how to tell the difference between a black bear and a grizzly bear. Gus will also discuss the status of the grizzly bear and wolves in Washington State and how mountain communties have adapted to their presence. Connect to the Wenatchee Valley Museum for more information.
April 2011 Events
Bears of the Last Frontier
Tuesday, April 19th 7 – 8:30pm
Village Books, 1200 11th St., Bellingham
GBOP founder Chris Morgan talks about his new book, “Bears of the Last Frontier.”
The book chronicles Morgan’s travels through Alaska during the filming of the PBS Nature documentary of the same name, as well as the challenges faced by the PBS TV crew in bringing this documentary to life. From these accounts, readers will gain an intimate understanding of Washington’s bears, their habitats, and the people with whom they share their land, as well as an informative look at the process of filming a nature documentary.
Bears of the Last Frontier will be available at book stores in early April. Suggested retail price is $35.00.
Coastal Cleanup
Saturday, April 23
NPCA will be leading a group of volunteers to the coast of Olympic National Park for this annual event to remove litter from the coast. For more information, contact Bethany Van Etten at bvanetten@npca.org or (206) 903-1444, x206.
MVHS Science Night
Thursday, April 28th 6 – 8:30pm
Mount Vernon High School Cafeteria
GBOP will have an exhibit at this family fun event. Science Night is a school and community event to increase student interest in science, to allow students to demonstrate the science they’ve learned, and to give students an opportunity to explore careers in science with local community members. For more information contact Heather at 360-428-6109 ext. 41245 or mvhssciencenight@gmail.com
Earth Day Project
Saturday, April 30th 10am – 2pm
The Lodge at Beaver Lake in Sammamish
Lots of family fun-take a passport tour of the booths to receive a prize, music, games and a fishing demo for kids. Learn about the local history from the Sammamish Heritage Society. Take a guided walk through the park and see a local raptor demonstration. Come get your questions answered about living working and recreating in bear, cougar and wolf country by GBOP Field Representative Cathy Macchio. For more information contact Dawn Sanders at 425-295-0556 or dsanders@ci.sammamish.wa.us.
Directions to Beaver Lake Lodge.
May 2011 Events
Chris Morgan on Nature Webchat
May 8th from 6-7pm PST (9-10pm EST), May 15th 9-10 pm PST (12-2pm EST)
Talk with GBOP’s Co-director Chris Morgan on a Nature Webchat at pbs.org on May 8th and May 15th.
Chris Morgan on David Letterman
Tuesday, May 10th
Watch the founder of the Grizzly Bear Outreah Project ham it up with David Letterman on the Late Show with David Letterman.
Family Day – Vancouver
Saturday, May 14
Fort Vancouver and NPCA host this annual event at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site to celebrate our parks. For more information, contact Kimm Fox-Middleton at kimmfox-middleton@nps.gov or (360) 816-6243.
Open House in New NPCA Office
Wednesday, May 18
NPCA will host an open house at our new office space at 1200 Fifth Ave, Suite 1925 in the financial district of downtown Seattle. For more information, contact Bethany Van Etten at bvanetten@npca.org or (206) 903-1444, x206.
Bear Awareness Day
Saturday, May 21st 9:30am – 5pm
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Eatonville
Watch Northwest Trek’s bears tear into a demonstration of an “unsafe” camp site and learn how to discourage bears from invading your camp site. Talk to the keeper who cares for the grizzly and black bears. Activities are FREE with admission.
Directions to NW Trek Wildlife Park.
June 2011 Events
Bear Affair & Big Howl for Wolves
June 4th from 9:30am-3pm PST
Woodland Park Zoo
National Trails Day
Saturday, June 4
NPCA’s annual trail maintenance volunteer event at North Cascades National Park. For more information, contact Bethany Van Etten at bvanetten@npca.org or (206) 903-1444, x206.
Keystone Species Presentation
Saturday, June 18th 6pm
Birch Bay State Park Wildlife Theater
Join GBOP staff person, Rose Oliver, at the beautiful upper day use area of Birch Bay State Park for a presentation on Washington’s native grizzly bears, black bears and the return of the gray wolves. For more information please call 360.371.2800.
2nd Annual Northwest National Park Family Day – Bringing the Parks to the People
Saturday, June 25th 9:30am – 5pm
Mountaineers Program Center in Magnuson Park, Seattle
Family friendly event filled with fun activities for children and adults who are unfamiliar with the National Parks of the NW. Rangers will be giving presentations about the wonders of our National Parks. Hands on activities for kids including how to set-up a tent, camp cooking and nature hikes. GBOP field representative, Cathy Macchio, will be present to discuss bears, cougars and wolves. For more information contact Charla Ojala at 253-221-0973 or charla@cm-events.net.
Family Day- Seattle
Saturday, June 25
NPCA and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park host this annual event at The Mountaineers in Seattle to celebrate national parks. For more information, contact Bethany Van Etten at bvanetten@npca.org or (206) 903-1444, x206.
