News and Events

May 2023



1943 West Hendrickson Road, Sequim

You can ignite curiosity, a desire to learn, and stewardship in a person's life and remind all of us to inspire, mentor, and provide a path to a healthy future.

After a three year hiatus because of covid restrictions and construction, fifth-graders return to the River Center to learn first-hand about the health of the Dungeness and salmon. Photos by Montana Napier, River Center Education Manager.

New Cedar Hat Outdoor Classroom

opens for 5th grade field trips

What do you think might be the most fun for a fifth grader coming to the River Center?

Is it pulling on rubber boots and clomping over the rocks and down to the riverbank, scooping invertebrates out of the stream with a fine-mesh net on the end of a long stick, or identifying their catch--mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies--back in a new, round classroom that opens to the outdoors?

Or is it just being able to get out again with classmates after three years of Covid restrictions? For the first time in months, the River Center welcomed fifth graders again, and this time in a brand new self-contained "Cedar Hat" classroom that opened just in time for their arrival at the end of April.

The Center has conducted over 500 fifth grade field trips since 2002, serving over 20,000 students from Jefferson and Clallam counties. The River Center, as always, picked up the full cost of instruction, staff time and sometimes transportation, for the students. Costs for the next two years are covered by a $25,000 grant from a family foundation.

The field trips emphasize the scientific method and critical thinking to evaluate a natural system, in this case the Dungeness River. The kids are focused specifically on the health of the river for Pacific salmon, looking at their habitat in Railroad Bridge Park. When most conclude that the river can support healthy fish, they’re then challenged to hypothesize why salmon populations continue to decline. What else could be causing this?

“What we want to do is inspire children by showing them several investigative tools and methods, and leave them with more questions to answer,” says Powell Jones, River Center Director. “That’s what makes for lifelong interest—not just settling for an answer someone else provides for them but leaving it open-ended and assuring them that they can both pose questions and find answers.”

Photo by Bob Boekelheide

Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society

Backyard Birding

Gulls & Shorebirds

Sat., May 6

10 a.m. - noon

with Bob Boekelheide

Bob will explain his frequently repeated mantra: “There is no species named Seagull.”

Enjoy a program richly illustrated with regional photographs and learn how to identify over a dozen species of gulls and gull-like birds—and the multitude of their shorebird associates—that either make the Olympic Peninsula their home, or that visit us in their migration, or that breed here.

Your questions and comments are welcome!

After the class, Bob will lead a short field trip to a local shoreline.

Admission is free. However, a $5.00 donation helps support OPAS education and bird conservation programs. For more information click here

New! One day workshop with Robert Amaral

Limited enrollment, register now!

Fri., May 26

10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

$75 River Center members

$80 non-members

Learn to observe, draw, and paint botanical specimens. Explore forms, shapes, and colors of individual flowers and plants. Demonstrations, discussion, and one-on-one instructional help. All skill levels welcome, no previous drawing experience is necessary. Bring a flower or plant to class that you wish to draw.

A materials list will be sent to participants upon registration.

Register here

Development within a river or stream's channel migration zone is problematic to both people and habitat. The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe works with Clallam County to prevent this type of development but also has purchased homes, such as this one, that are in peril.

Learning our Landscape

Presented by the Jamestown S'Klallam Library & North Olympic Historical Society

Our Changing Landscapes

With Robert Knapp, Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe

 Environmental Planning Program Manager

Thurs., May 11

3 p.m. online

Since the formation of planet earth (earth, land: sčtə́ŋxʷən) the surface of the planet has changed more times and ways than we can know. Geologic processes and life itself can change the makeup of the atmosphere and the landscapes. Changes in the atmosphere, whether species driven or not, can change the climate of the planet.

Are humans a keystone species, which is sometimes defined as having a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment? We have certainly modified the landscape from traditional burning practices that maintain prairies or support traditional foods and fibers, to urbanization, consumption of fossil energy, to ecosystem restoration.

Robert will discuss why the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe has recently launched a climate and energy initiative, why the Tribe has a shellfish nursery in Kona, HI, and loosely tie together observations, musings, and questions about our changing climate and landscape including recent restoration work completed on nəxʷŋiyaʔa̕wəɬč, the Dungeness River.

Join through Library website at https://library.jamestowntribe.org/home/ProgramsEvents

or

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87698275538?pwd=WWlpOUdnSkoxQjduZ3hsQ21VWjdLUT09

Meeting ID: 876 9827 5538 Passcode: 745304

Birders on the Olympic Discovery Trail. Photo by Bob Boekelheide

Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society

Birdathon and International Migratory Bird Count

Sat., May 13

Count for a few hours or all day

The International Migratory Bird Count is different from the Christmas Bird Count, because it includes all birds counted in Clallam County in one day. "We learn a huge amount about birds of the Olympic Peninsula through this count," says Bob Boekelheide who coordinates the day and keeps the statistics.

To read about how to participate and why it matters, please click here

Avalanche lilies in bloom on the Dungeness River. Photo by John Bridge

Flowers of the Olympic Peninsula

Wildflower Walks

With John Bridge and Montana Napier

Choose one of these days:

May 17, 18, or 19

9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

$40 per person

Join naturalist John Bridge and River Center educator Montana Napier for a look at the first wildflowers to bloom in the lowlands of the Olympic Peninsula.

Register here

Peregrine Falcon, photo by Richard Derevan

Audubon Photography Awards

Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society

Wildlife Rehabilitation and Falconry in Washington

Presented by Jen Mannas, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Wed., May 17, 7 p.m.

Rainshadow Hall

Admission is free

Jen Mannas, Wildlife Biologist for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, oversees two statewide programs: Wildlife Rehabilitation and Falconry. With a master's degree in Wildlife Management from Montana State University, she has worked in the wildlife biology field for almost 20 years.

Her work with mammalian and avian species across the United States and in Antarctica includes marine mammals, wolves, mountain lions, raptors such as the California Condor, seabirds including Brush-tailed penguins, and miscellaneous waterfowl. 

For more information click here

Sign up now for children's summer camps

If your child loves nature, or enjoys dabbling in science, be sure to check out the River Center’s summer camps for 2023! There are several full and partial youth scholarships available as well.

Olympic Discovery Trail Bike Camp

Tues.-Thurs., July 18, 19, 20, 9 a.m. - noon

Ages: 8-14, $175

Experience the trail from Diamond Point to the Elwha River in this 3-day action-packed adventure! Campers will travel through forests and farmlands, cross rivers and creeks, look for wildlife, and enjoy spectacular views of the Olympic Mountains and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

For more information or to register click here

Creative Robotics Camp and Animal Parade

Mon.-Thurs., July 31 - Aug. 3, 9 a.m. - noon

Ages: 10-14, $200

In this camp, students will be combining art and technology to make their own robotic parade floats. The floats will be built out of common materials like cardboard, paint, and paper and brought to life through coding, motors, lights, and a variety of components.

For more information or to register click here

Girls in Science Camp

Wed.-Fri., Aug. 9-11, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Ages: 8-12, $275

This camp will immerse young girls in science, observation, and the great outdoors! They will explore different areas of the Dungeness River while learning about the plants and animals that live there. Girls in Science will also focus on collaboration and confidence building through teamwork and adventure!

For more information or to register click here 

Dirty Tires Bike Camp

Tues.-Thurs., Aug. 15, 16, 17, 9 a.m. - noon

Ages: 9-14. $175

This camp will help young bikers to build skills and confidence riding a mountain bike through the forested trails of Miller Peninsula State Park and Dungeness Trails. Campers will specifically work on how to negotiate and pedal through obstacles, proper braking, and bike body separation.

For more information or to register click here

Creative Robotics Camp: Critters

Mon.-Thurs., Aug. 21, 22, 23, 24, 9 a.m. - noon

Ages: 10-14, $200

In this camp, students will combine art and technology to make critters (real or imagined) out of common materials like cardboard, paint, and paper and bringing them to life through coding, motors, lights, and a variety of components.

For more information or to register click here

KPTZ Radio's "Nature Now"

Clare Hatler tells a riveting tale of finding

the oldest evidence of man and mastodons

on her Sequim property

Listen to part one here

Listen to part two here

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

Hurricane Coffee at the River, same hours, closed Sunday

.

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



www.DungenessRiverCenter.org