News and Events

January 2024



The Dungeness River Nature Center's mission is to inspire understanding, respect,

and stewardship of our natural and cultural resources.

1943 West Hendrickson Road, Sequim, WA

Many choices! Sells out fast!

Olympic BirdFest online registration

opens at midnight on New Year's Eve 2024

Outdoor Highlights

3-day birding/cultural tour on Makah Reservation, Neah Bay

3-day birding/wildlife tour by boat San Juan Islands with overnights at Roche Harbor Resort

Half-day birding/wildlife boat tour around Protection Island

Choose from numerous field trips on beaches, bays, prairie, woodlands, preserves

Plus 4 days of River Center indoor classes and programs

Photography; drawing; beginning birding; hummingbirds; swallows; birdhouse building; biology of birds; bird rescue; owls; Coast Salish culture, salmon, and birds

Films screening in Rainshadow Hall: Stuffed, The Big Year

Create your own itinerary at www.OlympicBirdFest.org

Spending time in nature can improve your health

Nature Wellness Challenge Starts Soon

Studies have shown that time in nature can lower blood pressure, lessen depression, decrease stress hormone levels, increase focus and more.

Jump-start your 2024 wellness program by filling a stamp-card with outdoor activities and take full advantage of the health benefits nature has to offer.

Stamp-cards will have four categories to complete: Outdoor Physical Activity, Nature as Inspiration, Nature Knowledge, and Nature for Emotional Health.

Each time you go for a stroll in Railroad Bridge Park or attend a River Center program, you'll earn a stamp on your card. Once your card is complete, you'll receive a special pin and be entered into a prize raffle.

People of all ages and mobility levels are encouraged to participate. Stay tuned for more information about this fun “Nature Wellness Challenge" coming soon!

Native Pacific rhododendron and salal, photo by Mary Solberg

Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society

Backyard Birding

Native Plants for Better Backyard Birding

With Kathy and Matt McCoy, OPAS

Gary Brundige & Lorraine Eckard, WSU Master Gardeners

Sat., Jan. 6

10 a.m. ­‑ Noon

Rainshadow Hall

Suggested Donation: $5 to support OPAS education programs

Learn the importance of using native plants and seeds, providing water features, attracting pollinators, and controlling invasive vegetation in your backyard habitat, whether in a window box or on several acres of woodlands for the needs of wild birds. 

Winter is an excellent time to start designing yards and gardens before spring arrives. Plan now to optimize your enjoyment by safely attracting birds to shelter, feed, and nest on your property.

For more information click here:  

Hooded Merganser female and male, photo by Dee Renee Ericks

Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society

OPAS Photo Night

Open to all local photographers

Organized by Christina Heliker        

Wed., Jan. 17, 7 p.m.

Rainshadow Hall

Free to attend

Deadline for your photo submissions: Jan. 11, 2024

Share your unique views of birds and their behavior with an appreciative audience! The subject of your photos needn’t be a rare bird. The audience will also enjoy a good image of a chickadee doing something interesting or just being beautiful. You may submit pictures taken locally or anywhere on your travels.

Please send a maximum of 8 images before January 11 to Christina Heliker at cheliker@olypen.com

Learn more and review image guidelines

The River Center Film Series Presents

Ebb & Flow

Tues., Jan. 23

Matinee

2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

Please register to attend

$5 members $10 non-members

Register Here

Jerry (Elichi) Yamashita, who turns 101-years-old this year, recounts his family history and their lives as seafood importers, exporters, and as local oystermen, including their pioneering efforts to save the Northwest shellfish industry from collapse in the 1930s.

In the 1920s the Northwest stocks of native oysters had been overharvested to the point of near extinction. Jerry's father, Mashide Yamashita, a member of a group who first formed an oyster seed-growing cooperative in Japan, saved the day by importing Japanese oyster seed and establishing it on Puget Sound tidelands.

What makes this story even more compelling, however, is that the young Jerry and his father, like all other American citizens of Japanese descent living in the Pacific Northwest, were "evacuated" by presidential order in 1942 and sent to an internment camp for the remainder of World War II.

Today, while shellfish experts work to restore the succulent little native "Olympia Oysters," most oysters grown and harvested in the Northwest are originally Japanese oyster stock, including the Kumamoto Oyster: fruity, sweet, melon-scented, and lightly briney. Today, the Pacific Northwest oyster industry employs over 3,000 people and contributes an estimated $70 million to the economy.

The River Center's film series is a collaboration with the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Library.

And we have a winner!

Robyn didn't believe the phone call at first.

"I never get picked for these kinds of things," she said while posing with her bear outside the River Center. Robyn decided to purchase a raffle ticket after she saw the proceeds will support Tribal Elders programs and services.

When asked about her plans for the bear, Robyn mentioned her growing Native art collection. "I'm going put him on display and keep him inside a glass case to protect him."

The bear is hand-sewn with a custom woven cedar hat and vest by Jamestown S'Klallam Citizen Patrick Adams, a lifelong Tribal artist, weaver, healer, and spiritual leader. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the raffle.

One day workshop

Learn to draw your favorite flower or plant

Botanical Illustration

with Robert Amaral, Instructor

Fri., Jan. 26

10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Rainshadow Hall

$75 members $85 non-members

Register Here

Learn to observe, draw, and paint your favorite botanical specimen. Robert Amaral will teach you how to explore forms, shapes, and colors of individual flowers and plants. There will be demonstrations, discussion, and one-on-one instructional help.

Robert is known for providing thoughtful feedback tailored to your specific project. He has experience and knowledge in scientific botanical illustration, but can also assist you in more artistic representations.

Bring a flower or plant to class you'd like to draw.

All skill levels welcome. No previous experience necessary. Materials list will be sent to you when you register.

A snapshot from July's "Storytime in the Park," photo by Powell Jones

The North Olympic Library System presents

Storytime in the Park

in Rainshadow Hall

Sat., Jan. 27

10:30 - 11 a.m.

FREE to attend

Listen to great books, learn new songs, and shake your wiggles out at Storytime in the Park! Open to all ages and geared toward children age 5 and younger.

Come hear nature-related stories, songs, and rhymes inside Rainshadow Hall! Arrive at least ten minutes early to secure a spot.

The River Center is

hiring an Environmental Educator!

Do you love connecting kids with nature? Sharing your passion for the environment with the public? Working with a fun, dynamic team? Consider applying for the River Center's new AmeriCorps position.

The Dungeness River Nature Center is seeking an AmeriCorps Environmental Educator for 2024. The Educator will provide K-12 students opportunities to learn hands-on science in a spectacular setting. They will also develop and assist with River Center programs and events for the public.

This opportunity is offered through Washington Service Corps. Members serve 40 hours per week, including occasional evenings and weekends, from February to August 2024.

Compensation Information

• Monthly stipend of $2,171 through the AmeriCorps program
• Basic health insurance
• An education award of $3,447.50 upon completion of the service term
• Student loan forbearance and interest accrual payment on qualifying loans

Apply HERE

Contact Montana Napier, Education Manager, with questions: montana@dungenessrivercenter.org

Please share this opportunity with people you think might be a good fit!

Hurricane Coffee at the River

January hours

Open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Pumpkin and eggnog lattes, hot chocolate with toasted marshmallow,

peppermint hot chocolate

Espresso drinks with or without flavors, Chai tea lattes,

London Fogs, and hot tea

The River Center is open daily from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sundays noon - 5 p.m.

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Questions? Call the River Center at 360-681-4076

https://dungenessrivercenter.org