Fall 2026 Wenatchee Naturalist Course

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  • Registration opens in August
  • The 2026 class will server 25 adults enrolled by the Wenatchee Valley College Continuing Education Department.
  • We met on Wednesday evenings, 6-8:30pm, , Sept. 23-Dec. 16th. No class week of Thanksgiving.
  • Plan on 4 Saturday field trips: Sept. 26, Oct. 17, Nov. 14, and Dec. 5th.
  • Tuition included a field journal, a loaner library box with a hand lens. At each class, students are provided with art materials to use with hands-on materials.  The college offers a 10% discount for people over 60 years old.
  • Review the 2024 Syllabus. The 2026 Syllabus will be posted by Sept. 1st.
  • Curious about who takes this course? Meet the 25 members of the Fall 2024 class.
  • Learn more! contact instructor Susan Ballinger with questions skylinebal@gmail.com.
Susan Ballinger 2024
Susan Ballinger 2024

Restoring Grizzly Bears to the North Cascades – Submit your comments by Nov. 13th

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Please use the information below to learn how you can express your opinion. As citizens, we have the opportunity to make our voice heard by submitting comments and/or attending a meeting. As background, read my blog post, Why I Support Reintroduction of Grizzly Bears to North Cascades National Park. Continue Reading →

Red-flowering Current (Ribes sanguineum)

Native Plants Fuel the Hummingbird Highway

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North Central Washington is on the map for migrating neotropical Rufous, Calliope, and Black-chinned hummingbirds, as they fly thousands of miles from their wintering habitats in the mountains of Western Mexico northward, as far north as southern Alaska. During migration they fly during the day, and use early mornings and late evenings to fuel up on nectar, insects, and sugar water in feeders. Abundant nectar-producing flowers on early-blooming native shrubs like Serviceberry and Currents offer critical calories that fuel long-distant flight. Continue Reading →

Look Up! Birds and Other Natural Wonders Just Outside Your Window by Woody Wheeler

Look Up! Birds and Other Natural Wonders Just Outside Your Window

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“Look Up! Birds and Other Natural Wonders Just Outside Your Window” is a collection of essays about the joys of establishing a personal practice of ‘looking up’. Woody offers simple advice on how to get started and tells stories of the marvelous things we can encounter when we take the time to genuinely see that which is around us. Continue Reading →

balsamroot

70 Days in the Life of One Balsamroot

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As I walk, I often think about this resilient and wide-spread native plant, that is found throughout the western U.S at a wide variety of elevations. You can still find fresh flower blooms on plants growing at 3000″ in mid-June in the Wenatchee Mountain while the mid-June Wenatchee Foothills plants have already shed their ripe seeds. Continue Reading →

Long distance migratory hummingbirds feed on serviceberry nectar

Curious About … Serviceberry?

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For just a short week in early April, the ravines in the Wenatchee Foothills are bursting with serviceberry blossoms. Continue Reading →

Curious About … Blooming Balsamroot?

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Arrowleaf balsamroot is a long-lived perennial wildflower that blooms in the shrub-steppe. Many animals and insects use it for food and it is adapted to re-grown after wildfire. Continue Reading →