Course participants keep detailed journals and are responsible for sharing knowledge with the group. Photo by our wonderful volunteer photographer Rhianna Truex.
Earlier this month, Jefferson Land Trust’s beloved Tidelands to Timberline natural history course wrapped up another great season!
A participant with a skunk-cabbage leaf.
The eight-week course, which runs annually from April through June, offers 18 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 the area, and experience firsthand the amazing interconnections between diverse local ecosystems from the sea up to the mountains.
Erik Kingfisher, Jefferson Land Trust’s Director of Stewardship and Resilience, is the course’s co-founder and coordinator. He says, “I’m always heartened by this experience — helping people deepen their relationship with this place we call home. In every case, the part of them that desires more familiarity with the plants, animals, and interconnections of the land, appears to be genuinely satisfied.”
Jefferson Land Trust has been offering this popular course to our community since 2012. (During the pandemic, we replaced our in-person meetings with the online “Nature in Your Neighborhood” learning program, offering videos, readings, exercises, and more to help our community learn about local wildlife. Access the full program on our website!) On Friday field days, participants meet at locations across East Jefferson County, including several Jefferson Land Trust preserves, to learn together on the land, and are given detailed coursework — reading, journaling, observing, and more — to complete throughout the week.
Naturalist lead Geoff showing the group a northern alligator lizard (Elgaria coerulea) at Anderson Lake State Park. Photo by Rhianna Truex.
We’re able to offer this course for a relatively low cost to participants (with scholarships available) thanks to the inspiring dedication of our naturalist volunteers, who donate an incredible amount of their time, effort, and expertise to both designing and running the course.
“The generosity of these professional biologists and educators helping us deliver this course every year is so inspiring, and essential to its success,” Erik says. “It’s a true gift — to the Land Trust, and to the community — that they’re happy to share their lifetimes of learning, and observations, and methods for coming to know a place.”
Participants studying gadfly and mayfly nymphs from Chimacum Creek at Illahee Preserve. Photo by Rhianna Truex.
Heather Harding, professional guide and whale biologist, and Dave Rugh, wildlife biologist, are the course co-coordinators as well as lead naturalists. Both of them are incredible and inspiring sources of knowledge about our region’s natural history and ecology.
Numerous other naturalists, from geologists to botanists to wildlife trackers, volunteer on field days to share their observation techniques, passion, and vast knowledge of the region with the course participants.
This long-running course now has more than 200 alumni, who often become dedicated volunteers and supporters of the Land Trust after the course ends. In mid-June, course alumni gathered at the Land Trust’s Illahee Preserve in Port Townsend for the Tidelands to Timberline alumni reunion! Over a potluck feast, alumni reconnected with their former cohorts and course naturalist leads, made new friends, and joined together to toast this incredible program which forever changed their perspectives and understanding of this special part of the world we call home.
Erik addressing the crowd at the Tidelands alumni reunion at Illahee Preserve in June 2025.
“The mission of the Land Trust is to help the community preserve open space, working lands, and habitat forever. This course has shown us how intentional learning through observation can inspire a passion for conservation and stewardship over time,” Erik says. “The course has proven to be a fun and wonderful way for us to celebrate this place we live in together, admiring the richness of it all, while growing our commitment to helping protect and take care of it while we’re here.”
Because this course is so popular, participants are chosen via a randomized lottery. Registration for the lottery typically opens in December or January each year. Keep an eye on our website, social media, and eNews newsletter for information about 2026 registration.
