Wenatchee River Institute

Wild Stories from the History of Bird Migration Research. This event is hybrid! Attend in-person or via livestream. Register for either version at the event website!

We’ve all heard amazing facts about bird migration—the long distances that birds travel, the ways that they navigate, etc. But did you ever wonder how we figured all of this out? While working for the American Ornithological Society, Rebecca Heisman became fascinated with the varied and creative techniques that scientists have used to study bird migration, and this eventually became the basis for her book Flight Paths: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration.

This event is supported by A Book For All Seasons. Heisman’s book will be available for purchase at the event.

Registration for the Keynote, as well as field trips, will open on March 26th.

Join WRI for our Plant Foraging Series.

Nettle is a highly nutritious plant with a history of uses for traditional medicine, food, tea, and as a material for textiles. Known as “stinging” nettle it has small stinging hairs that inject a chemical which can lead to a rash or stinging burn if touched. These hairs can be neutralized when soaked or cooked allowing for the many uses of this plant.

Registration required.
Space is limited, so sign up fast! Class size: 15

Streaming link: https://youtube.com/live/yi-1k113bWU?feature=share

This is a FREE event with a donation basket at the door.
Doors open at 6:30pm for a community social with beer and wine available for purchase. The presentation will start at 7:00pm.

Pacific Northwest forests face catastrophic losses from wildfire, drought, extreme temperatures, and insect mortality. This is largely as a result of climate change and historic land management practices. On top of that, these forest ecosystems now face a crisis of biodiversity loss, which threatens their integrity and the services they provide.

This presentation will be accompanied by a field trip to one of the ponderosa pine dry forest sites that is managed.

Join us for a field trip to a ponderosa pine dry forest site to learn more about land management and fire risk reduction. This site, managed by Tyler Larson as a family forest, has had a variety of fuel reduction treatments including a prescribed burn in October 2023.

FREE to attend, registration required.
The location is 50 minutes from Leavenworth in the Teanaway, and will be provided after registration.
We will be walking for a few hours through easy to moderate terrain.
Please bring your own food and water for the field trip.

Streaming link: https://youtube.com/live/d4mzUuX_31o?feature=share

This is a FREE event with a donation basket at the door.
Doors open at 6:30pm for a community social with beer and wine available for purchase. The presentation will start at 7:00pm.

Are you someone who frequents risk-inherent environments like the mountains? Join us for a community engaged mental health discussion in the Red Barn. Instructors, Aimee Huffman and Sasha Dingle, will explore the power of mind-body training like breathwork, yoga, meditation, and nervous system regulation exercises. We’ll talk about how these practices can impact stress resilience and improve performance and help first responders and outdoor athletes recover from traumatic events.

Join us for an introduction to the creative art of Cyanotypes! Learn how to create blue photogram prints with this non-toxic antique photographic process. We will place found objects from nature (such as leaves and flowers) on sheets of paper coated with a light-sensitive solution. The images will be exposed by the sun and made permanent by rinsing with water.

Sheets of acid-free, watercolor paper pre-coated with cyanotype solution will be supplied and all participants will be able to make several prints. This workshop consists of a brief explanation and demonstration of the process and then participants will make their own small series of cyanotype prints. This is an exciting and hands-on workshop.

Join WRI for our Plant Foraging Series. We will be hosting plant foraging workshops to introduce people to the abundance of local plants and their edible, medicinal, and functional uses. Each workshop will feature a new plant at its unique harvest time. Participants will learn hands-on how to identify, harvest, propagate, and make use of the plant. Our goal is to empower people to respectfully and reciprocally engage with the plants that live here.

Registration required.
Space is limited, so sign up fast! Class size: 15
Cost is Pay What You Can. Choose a price that is reasonable for you. WRI offers this in recognition that not everyone can afford to pay for classes. We hope that people who can, will pay to help those you cannot.

A mind-body workshop for first responders and outdoor athletes to optimize performance while maintaining stress resilience. This experiential training is designed to help those who work, play and perform in risk-inherent environments like the mountains optimize flow state, work with fear, and perform with a strong mind and flexible nervous system.

As part of this workshop, attendees will develop trauma sensitivity to personal needs when working with mind-body practices. This includes creating safety, identifying stress reactions, and learning self-regulating techniques to foster choice, context and connection. This understanding additionally supports the ability to attune and attend to the nervous system needs of others.

Moths are so much more than those “boring” brown things you see in your closet, or those things that “fly in your hair”! They have dazzling patterns, fascinating life histories, and hold a diversity that puts butterflies to shame! The best part – the show is happening in your backyard!

WRI invites you to this introduction to moths and the interactions of the night with Etymologist David Droppers. No need to drive somewhere secluded…bring your cameras, a flashlight, and eyes wide open – Welcome to the Night!

Capacity: 20 people

Join WRI and etymologist, David Droppers, as we seek the colorful butterflies of the mountains surrounding Leavenworth! Using catch-and-release methods, we’ll observe butterflies up close (bring your camera), improve our identification skills, and learn the unique life histories of each species. David will also demonstrate the many methods that Lepidopterists use to study butterflies.

Capacity: 13 people