Land Trust Stewardship Director and course leader Erik Kingfisher, left, leading participants during the 2023 course.
Our Tidelands to Timberline Northwest Naturalist Course will return by popular demand beginning in April 2024. This eight-week, field-based course offers committed participants the chance to become intimately familiar with the natural history and ecosystems of the northeast Olympic Peninsula, absorb the knowledge and passion of some of the greatest naturalists in our area, and experience firsthand the amazing interconnections of diverse local ecosystems from the sea up to the mountains.
Oystercatcher tracks observed during the 2023 course.
In addition to the days together on the land for six to eight hours every Friday, the course’s curriculum asks participants to spend an additional three to 10 hours per week learning about (and potentially observing) certain features of our local natural history.
In an effort to make access to this highly popular course as equitable as possible, 2024 course participants will be randomly selected from a list of those who wish to register and who are prepared to commit to the course.
Sign up here to enter the lottery for your chance to be selected as a course member for this year’s program. The lottery is open for signups now through midnight January 14.
2023 participants learning about local lichens.
Orientation: Friday, April 19, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Marine Environment: Friday, April 26, 9:30 am – 6:00 pm Shorelines: Friday, May 3, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm Rainshadow Forests and Prairies: Friday, May 10, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm Aquatic and Riparian Environments: Friday, May 17, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm Temperate Rainforests: Friday, May 24, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm Montane Forests: Friday, May 31, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm Subalpine and Alpine Environments: Friday, June 7, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Optional Slideshow and Potluck: Friday, June 14, 4:00 pm – 6:30 pm
If you have any questions about the course, please reach out to Jefferson Land Trust Stewardship Director/Tidelands to Timberline leader Erik Kingfisher at ekingfisher[at]saveland.org or 360.379.9501 x103. If you have questions about registration, contact Jefferson Land Trust Development Assistant Sydney LaRose at slarose[at]saveland.org or 360.379.9501 x113.
