educational course

Forum in the Field

Topic: Crouching damsel, hidden dragon – the Odonata of Westmoreland Park

Presenters: Celeste Searles Mazzacano, CASM Environmental, LLC, and representatives of the Crystal Springs Partnership

More details to come.

Sitka Technology Group is hosting a free, TerraTrak-focused webcast with Clean Water Services. Water Resources Specialist Margaret Wagner will share how they used TerraTrak to help plant more than one million plants during the last two planting seasons. For more info and to register, click here. 

Learn to identify birds by their songs in Laura Whittemore's locally famous "Birding by Ear" class. After an indoor presentation to get your ears tuned up we go outside and listen carefully to the songs and calls around us: American robin, black-headed grosbeak, song sparrow, yellow warbler and more. Learn how to listen, how to find singing birds, which sounds males and females make, and how to make those sounds stick so you recognize them again.  

16 -- Adult   

Jackson Bottom Wetlands Education Center

Laura Whittemore

50948            Sun 5/22       10:00 am -- 1:00 pm      

50952            Sun 6/12       10:00 am -- 1:00 pm      

$18 resident, $25 non-resident

Join us as we wander through the woods and learn to identify different plants and their food value.  Focus will be on spring greens, such as miners lettuce, violets, cow parsnip, and many more.

Where:  Cathlapotle Plankhouse at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge: 28908 NW Main Ave, Ridgefield, WA 98642

When:  April 17, 2016

What: The Cathlapotle Plankhouse re-opens for the 2016 season on April 17th, 2016. The season will kick off with a special second Sunday event featuring the latest in Cathlapotle Village archaeology, artifacts excavated from the Cathlapotle site on display, and guided hikes highlighting spring and a family friendly hike focusing on Refuge Wildlife. The Plankhouse will be open for visitors from 12pm-4pm, and there will be kids' activities as well. 

**The Cathlapotle Plankhouse will now be open most weekends from 12pm-4pm. Every second Sunday of the month the Plankhouse will host a special event with speakers, guided hikes, and children's activities. For more information on the upcoming events, visit www.ridgefieldfriends.org.**

12pm: Naturalist Lead Family Hike

Join a Naturalist on the trail exploring the wildlife that live at the Refuge. This hour long walk will meet at the Plankhouse, and is geared towards families. Meet in front of the Plankhouse.

1pm: Presentation "What's new at Cathlapotle? Lots!"

Cathlapotle is one of the best preserved Chinookan Village sites along the Lower Columbia River, making it a tremendous window into the lives of Chinookan Peoples before contact with Euro-Americans in the early 1800s. Ken Ames, Professor Emeritus at Portland State University and one of the leading scholars in Lower Columbia River Archaeology will share the latest findings to come out of Cathlapotle, and connect these stories to the lands we all call home.

2pm: Spring Ethnobotany Hike

Join a Refuge Naturalist for a walk on the Oaks to Wetlands Trail discussing spring plants and their relationship with Chinookan culture. Participants should be prepared for a 2 mile hike on moderately uneven terrain. Meet at the Plankhouse.

12pm - 4pm: Plankhouse Tours and Children's Activities

Tour the Plankhouse on your own or guided by our experienced volunteers. Children's activities will be available as well.

Cost:   Refuge admission is $3 per vehicle

Contact: Sarah Hill, Plankhouse Coordinator; 360.887.4106/plankhouse@gmail.com

For wheelchair access to this event, please contact Sarah prior to the event date.