Wenatchee River Institute

Learn how to make simple and functional coiled baskets out of local and abundant material. Participants will be instructed in making a small round basket out of Ponderosa Pine needles. This is a great intro to coiled basket techniques, which have been utilized by indigenous peoples across the globe. This technique can be adopted to an endless variety of shapes, sizes, and materials. We have a limited number of spots available, so sign up soon.

Space is limited, class size: 20 people.

Have you ever seen a bat up close? Are you curious to learn more about these nocturnal, flying mammals? Wenatchee River Institute is teaming up with Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) for a night of bat education. You’ll have the chance to see these creatures up close! WDFW biologists will be using mist-nets to catch bats, a technique that’s often used by bat researchers during field work. They will be collecting data on any captured bats before releasing them. In addition to the mist-net stations, there will be other bat educational resources and activities – including moth expert Peter Smytheman with some moth and insect traps to help us observe these amazing night-flying insects!

Age Limit: 8+ years old
Ages 15 and under must be accompanied by an adult.
Registration for this event is required, but cost is Pay What You Can. Please choose an amount that fits within your budget to attend this event, even if that is $0. We want anyone who is interested to be able to attend!

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.

We will meet at Wenatchee River Institute and van/carpool to the Infuse Organics farm.
Registration required.
Space is limited, so sign up fast! Class size: 15

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

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

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.

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.

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 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/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 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