2025 Fall Gathering

When: Sep 13, 2025 03:00 PM to
Sep 14, 2025 12:00 PM
Where: North Cascades Environmental Learning Center
Organizer: Britt Coy
Quadruple Accommodations: 130.00
Triple Accommodations: 155.00
Double Accommodations: 195.00
Single Accommodations: 260.00
Cost with no Lodging: 75.00
Tuition Includes: Three meals, overnight accommodations, presentation and outdoor activity
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Join us for a friendly autumnal gathering and overnight stay at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, Saturday, September 13 to Sunday, September 14. Enjoy mingling with long-time and new Institute supporters and staff and appreciate the signs of fall on Diablo Lake.

Together we'll share appetizers, beer & wine, and a buffet dinner Saturday night. After our bellies are full, we'll settle in for a presentation by local author and biologist Thor Hanson.

Thor is a Guggenheim Fellow and winner of the John Burroughs Medal, and he’ll share from his latest book Close to Home - a hands-on natural history for any patch of Earth, combining story, science, and suggestions into one ultimate neighborhood field guide.

You may have seen Thor on the PBS Nature series American Spring Live, or heard him as a guest on NPR's Fresh Air, Science Fridays or Book Lust with Nancy Pearl. Hanson is the author of Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid, Buzz, The Triumph of Seeds, Feathers, and other books. He has penned articles in publications ranging from Audubon and Orion to The Wall Street Journal. Thor was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, and he now lives in the San Juan Islands with his wife and son.

On Sunday, enjoy a delicious breakfast, then pack a brown-bag lunch to take away for later in the day. Our staff naturalists will also lead a unique outdoor activity on Sunday morning, and depending on the weather, group interests and abilities, this could include a guided hike to the waterfall or canoeing on Diablo Lake. They can also recommend a local trail for you to explore on your own.

Additionally, you may choose to register for a Diablo Lake Fall Morning Cruise (10:45 am) or Afternoon Cruise (2:35 pm) with Skagit Tours ($30-35). Find more details about Skagit Tours here.

* "Cost with no lodging" option is a commuter rate and includes dinner and the presentation on Saturday.

About Thor Hanson’s new book Close to Home

Close to Home takes a magnifying glass to the yards, gardens, and parks we already know and shows the hidden wonders that lie in plain sight – if you know how to look for them. With a skilled and enthusiastic eye, Hanson shows the range of natural features and systems that thrive all around us.

From migrating monarch butterflies casually moving through Kansas City to the language of neighborhood birds to the complexity of life in an overgrown lawn in New England — digging into the secrets of our local soil can help satisfy our sense of curiosity without leaving our backyards.

Close to Home is a hands-on natural history for any patch of Earth, combining story, science, and suggestions into one ultimate neighborhood field guide. Whether compelled by the urge to understand the health of our planet, by wanting tools to contribute to our local ecosystems, or just by simple critter curiosity — the opportunity to explore and learn lives right next door.

Learning Center Accommodations

Single, Double, Triple and Quad Accommodations are for families and groups who wish to guarantee lodging with specific individuals during their stay. Triple and Quad Accommodations will require use of an upper bunk, accessible by an easy-to-use ladder. Hostel pricing is the cost for sharing a room with up to three other participants. The number of occupants per room (1-4) will be determined based on the total number of hostel guests each night. We do not guarantee a room with your requested roommate under this option, and you may be lodged in a mixed gender room. Please do not select this if you have participants under 18 in your group.

The Learning Center campus features classrooms, a dining hall, a library, outdoor learning shelters, trails, a canoe dock and an amphitheater. Our three guest lodges have shared gender-specific bathrooms with showers and each room contains two sets of twin bunk beds, desks, wardrobes and wireless internet connectivity. Facilities and local trails are all ADA accessible and a personal mobility vehicle is available. Delicious, healthy meals incorporating local and organic foods are provided in our dining hall. If you have special dietary requirements or food allergies, we will gladly attempt to accommodate them with advance notice. Sorry, but we cannot accommodate pets.

Registration

To register online, click the Register Now button on this page:

By phone, call (360) 854-2599 with your VISA, MasterCard, or Discover card ready.

Or by mail, download and mail a registration form with your credit card information or personal check.

Event Details

About Thor Hanson’s new book Close to Home

Learning Center Accommodations

Registration