2013 ANNUAL REPORT connecting people, nature and community since 1986 -1- Letter from our Executive Director 2013 was a very good year. As you know, North Cascades Institute’s mission is to conserve and restore Northwest environments through education. But we’re really in the business of transforming lives – providing deep, intimate experiences in nature that help people care about conservation, wilderness and our National Parks and Forests. When a Youth Leadership Adventures student wrote “The program showed me a side of the world I had never seen before and let me discover who I am and what I stand for,” I knew we’re doing good work. So, how do we measure the impact of our work? By the ever-growing number of people we serve, by miles hiked and paddled, smiles and sweat, conversations around the campfire, new knowledge and new friends, shared experiences, and by thousands of hours of stewardship work. These powerful stories, combined with measurable outcomes and changes in behavior, are what inspire us every day. In 2013 we took on a new challenge – to raise $200,000 in six weeks to expand youth programs and offer more scholarships to underserved audiences. Thanks to your help, we exceeded our goal and raised $237,000. Those kids spent the summer of 2013 hiking and paddling, learning and working alongside our partners to care for the mountains and rivers of the North Cascades. Then they brought their stories back home to share with families, friends and schoolmates. We saw another kind of impact last year – the government shutdown. The closure of our National Parks and Forests forced us to cancel Mountain School for two weeks, impacting more than 300 students, their teachers and parents. While we used the “opportunity” to encourage engagement between students and their elected officials, it was a deeply disappointing experience for the students. The shutdown also forced us to cancel several adult and group programs and impacted food deliveries from local farms. We estimate that we lost $65,000 in revenue in two weeks. My favorite comment from the fall: “Can’t you give the government a ‘time out’ for bad behavior?” Thanks to you, our programs are having a real, positive impact on people and on this special place we call home. Our success is due to your strong, continuing support. We appreciate you all – our participants, partners, and especially our generous donors. Thank you! See you in the mountains – Saul Weisberg Executive Director 2013 ANNUAL REPORT // NCASCADES.ORG -2- North Cascades Institute seeks to inspire a closer relationship with nature through direct experiences in the natural world. For 28 years, we have helped connect people, nature and community through science, art, literature and the hands-on study of natural and cultural history. Our goal is to help people of all ages experience and enjoy the mountains, rivers, forests, wildlife and people of the Pacific Northwest so all will care for and protect this special place. TABLE OF CONTENTS 2013 PARTICIPANT DAYS BY PROGRAM 5 YOUTH PROGRAMS Participant days = 10,241 YOUTH Mountain School participants 7 include 400 teachers and parents MOUNTAIN SCHOOL (7,079) 69% COMMUNITY 9 12% 11% COMMUNITY and 8% LEADERSHIP NEIGHBORHOOD (1,266) ADVENTURES (1,096) STEWARDSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS 10 (800) IN THE NEWS ADULT and FAMILY PROGRAMS Participant days = 12,623 Investments: 12% Grants: 11 Contributions: 18% 21% Learning SEMINARS Center Fund: 9% (2,059) FINANCIALS VOLUNTEER GROUP Earned Income: 40% 16% STEWARDSHIP RENTALS 13 (800) 6% (3,391) 27% FAMILY 8% (954) MAJOR PARTNERS 18% 15% 15 SKAGIT GRADUATE TOURS 10% (1,940) (2,216) EVENTS (1,263) DONORS Youth Programs: Individual Participants = 2,713; Adult and Family Programs: Individual Participants = 6,437 -4- 2013 PARTICIPANT DAYS BY PROGRAM participation knowledge creates improves opportunity societies WE VALUE Youth Programs: Individual Participants = 2,713; Adult and Family Programs: Individual Participants = 6,437 -5- 2013 Youth Highlights “THIS WAS MY FIRST TIME TO HAVE AN OUTDOORS EXPERIENCE. I DON’T WANT IT TO BE MY LAST.” - Meron Abdisa, Youth Leadership Adventures Meron Abdisa and her brother moved to the Seattle area from Ethiopia. An English Language Learners student at Shorecrest High School in Shoreline, she speaks Amharic at home where she lives with her adoptive mother. She struggles with English and confidence in public speaking, saying, “It is hard for me to overcome fear and challenge myself.” When she saw the opportunity to participate in North Cascades Institute’s Youth Leadership Adventures, she decided to take it. Over eight days, Meron visited a National Park for her first time, canoe-camped on Diablo Lake, backpacked and completed trail projects while developing her leadership skills. “The stewardship work helped me focus on the future,” Meron explains. “I learned to talk to people and presented in front of a class. My favorite memories were waking up early and doing yoga, canoeing and singing as a group. These experiences shaped me by helping me believe that I can do things without giving up easily.” Because of donors like you, Meron and 96% of all YLA students received financial assistance towards tuition, helping to make their dreams a reality! -6- Youth Leadership Adventures The Institute blended two of our successful programs for high school students—North Cascades Wild and Cascades Climate Challenge—into a new program that combines the best of both: Youth Leadership Adventures! In partnership with North Cascades National Park and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Youth Leadership Adventures students canoe, camp, backpack and complete service projects while receiving hands-on training in outdoor leadership, field science and public speaking. Youth Leadership Adventures builds the next generation of conservation leaders by providing a suite of transformational learning experiences for youth who lack access to similar opportunities. The goal is to provide a gateway for youth to jumpstart their lifelong engagement with nature, stewardship and community and to provide opportunities for personal, academic and professional growth. In 2013, 78 students from Washington and Oregon participated, 96% of participants received financial assistance and 73% of students were underserved (minority and/or low income). In the fall, 60 students participated in our annual Youth Leadership Conference. 78 37 96% 1,274 1,624 2,688 $ students schools students received miles miles stewardship represented financial assistance paddled hiked hours Mountain School Mountain School brought more than 2,200 students from 50 elementary, middle and high schools to the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center during the spring and fall seasons. Then, when they returned home, Bellingham students donated 2,242 hours of volunteer stewardship work to their neighborhoods. In 2013, the biggest challenge we faced was meeting the demand from interested schools to attend Mountain School! 2,330 50 86% 233 19,800 2,242 $ students schools schools received glacier miles stewardship represented financial aid lessons hiked hours New in 2013 • Leadership Corps Leadership Corps, part of Youth Leadership Adventures, brought students ages 18- 22 to North Cascades National Park for an intensive month-long leadership training experience. Six diverse women, all alumni of our programs, spent four weeks backpacking and canoe camping while developing workforce and leadership skills and completing critical service projects—from trail brushing near Whatcom Pass to campsite restoration near Stehekin. • Concrete Summer Learning Adventure Concrete Summer Learning Adventure engaged youth ages 5-12 in a six-week summer camp offered in partnership with, North Cascades National Park, Concrete School District and United General Hospital. Seventy-two youth from Concrete, WA benefited from this pilot project to address community health, wellness and literacy needs. This program builds on the success of the Institute’s 8-year partnership in the Kulshan Creek Neighborhood Youth Program. -7- 2013 Community Highlights Events Family and Adult Group Rentals The Institute partnered with More than 3,500 adults and families Our Group Rentals program Humanities Washington and registered for Institute programs at hosted many meetings, reunions, Whatcom Museum to develop the the Learning Center and in the field. conferences, weddings and other Vanishing Ice Speaker Series in 2013 classes included: special gatherings. Groups included: support of the museum’s Vanishing Ice art exhibit on climate change. • Printmaking with Molly • The Nature Conservancy Speakers Kathleen Dean Moore, Hashimoto • Representative Suzan DelBene Henry Pollack, Eric Steig and others • Corvids with John Marzloff and staff presented to more than 600 people • Field Sketching with Libby Mills • Kinship Conservation Fellows over four free events at Bellingham’s • Exploring the San Juans on the • Sierra Club National Outings historic Old City Hall. Orion • Western Washington University • Thunder Creek Backpack • Seattle City Light Other 2013 events included: • Cascadian Carnivores • Remote Medical International • The Nature of Writing Series at • Alpine Ecology with Saul and • Bellingham School District Village Books with Lyanda Lynn Shelley Weisberg • Maya Whole Health Studio Haupt, Langdon Cook, Maria • Dragonflieswith Dennis Paulson • Several “green weddings” Mudd Ruth and Tim McNulty • Snake Count in the Methow • Elwha Restoration Revealed • Beats on the Peaks with All profits from group rentals