As a grandmother care-giver for a grandchild, she participates in nature exploration hikes with other families, seeking animal tracks, wildflowers, and topography to explore. 

Guides her granddaughter to observe insects and then create a habitat enclosure for a “pet” beetle.

By caring for her granddaughter, her son-in-law has been free to volunteer for CDLT trail work parties. 

Volunteer educator, Wenatchee School

District Science Field Experiences

Post-fire sagebrush planting volunteer for CDLT

Event set-up volunteer for CDLT

Re-launched the USFWS Leavenworth Fish Hatchery SnowShoe Tour program with new components, volunteer recruitment, & training Inventoried and organized the in-house collection of animal study skins and hands-on materials, making it possible for community members to borrow and use the collection.

As a weekend volunteer for Friends of NW Hatcheries, she has led snowshoe hikes, trained boy scout leaders in wildlife ID, helped with bird walks, and chaperoned youth backpacking trips.

Marjie is a professional interpreter who has given outside of her paid work hours to enhance local outdoor education opportunities for all

Volunteer educator for Leavenworth

SalmonFest and WSD Science Field Experiences

Volunteer for CDLT Family Scavenger Hunt on Earth Day

Cornell Lab’s Backyard Bird Count Community Science  volunteer

Kate Tollefson, as a resident of a small rural community, has volunteered in a wide variety of roles that benefit from her understanding of the Wenatchee River watershed ecosystem:

• In addition to her paid work hours at Plain Hardware, Kate initiated and coordinates Adventure Women – a year-round outdoor activity program – and the youth Cross-country Ski Team.
• Serves as a volunteer fire-fighter and FireWise instructor for  Lake Wenatchee Fire & Rescue.
• Collected and delivered road-killed birds to Wenatchee Valley College’s study skin collection program.

• Designed and created a WVMCC curriculum unit about common native birds that can be checked out by teachers as an art and science teaching trunk.
• Using her artist talents, built and painted life-sized wooden models with accurate field marks to accurately represent each species.

lass of Fall 2014):

Conceived the idea, gathered materials, and assisted with exhibit development at the WVMCC for Consider Becoming a Wenatchee Naturalist exhibit (Feb-June, 2015).

Volunteered as an outdoor education botany teacher for “Kids on the Columbia,” an interdisciplinary program of the WVMCC with the Wenatchee Row and Paddle Club and for the Wildfire Field Experience, the WVMCC fall 2015 outdoor education program.

John Brandt volunteered as a teacher for Wenatchee River Institute field days with elementary school students.  John helped with trail work for Chelan-Douglas Land Trust at Horse Lake Preserve and Saddle Rock City Park

As a  “Field Day” volunteer, taught  3rd, 4th and 5th graders from Leavenworth & Cashmere schools. Annette has gathered and identified insects with 3rd graders, planted seed and led nature walks with 3rd graders, led Haiku writing and water sampling with 4th graders, and taught plant ID to 5th graders between 2012-2013.

Christine Clausen volunteered as a “field day” teacher helping with 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students and as a Leavenworth Bird Fest program volunteer.  Christine also helped with the Wenatchee School District Shrub-steppe’n Up Saddlerock 5th grade field experience and as a citizen science volunteer for Audubon Christmas Bird Count.

While serving a year as an Americorps Volunteer, Elisabeth also volunteered as  a  “Field Day” teacher for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders from Leavenworth & Cashmere schools and led snowshoe winter ecology walks on weekends at Leavenworth Fish Hatchery.

Sandra Phenning volunteered as a “field day” teacher helping with 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students and as a Leavenworth Bird Fest program volunteer.

For WRI’s portable planetarium,David helped assemble, present, take down, and store planetarium materials for presentations at museums, companies, churches, and schools.

Amanda Sherling completed a Wenatchee Valley College cooperative learning experience at Wenatchee River Institute.  Her work included providing office support and helped to develop a new eBird project on WRI grounds.

Successfully initiated and fund-raised (including paid work in her own garden) for a scholarship that allowed an under-privileged boy to attend a 1-week Boy Scout Camp at Camp Bonaparte in summer, 2014.

Enrichment Center Children’s Camp Outdoor Education Program

Mary & Andy Robinson developed and led outdoor nature appreciation activities for their own  foster children and for children attended camps at the Ingalls Creek Enrichment Center.

Church of Brethren Summer Camp Outdoor Education Program

Joseph Led all-day outdoor natural history programs for 4th graders, teaching identification of birds, plants, trees, animal tracks, geology using journaling and sketching and detective skills.

During the summer of 2014 Carleton Complex Wildfires,  Joseph volunteered for the American Red Cross, providing immediate, on-site, professional counselling to individuals and family victims of regional wildfires that destroyed homes in North Central Washington.

Chelan County Master Gardener Education Outreach

• Presented pollinator and weed education display & activities at the weekly Chelan Farmers Market (2013-16)
• C0-developed a brochure describing 50 local and easily obtained plants noting bloom time and types of beneficial insects and pollinator insects that each attract.  Created a photo display of 17 native bee species.  Initially used for Native Pollinator Week and subsequent outreach venues.

Salmon in the Classroom Program

Served as a volunteer biologist for Salmon in the Classroom program for 4th graders at Vale Elementary School in Cashmere. Jenny led fish dissections, taught about salmon life cycle and their habitat needs, brought in salmon eggs, and led a fingerling release into a stream.

• 2012 & 2013 Citizen Science volunteer for Audubon’s Christmas Bird count
• 2012-2014, volunteer guide for snowshoe tours at the Leavenworth Hatchery
• 2013-present, volunteer leader for Wenatchee River Institute Youth Programs
• 2017 Leavenworth Bird Fest volunteer
• Volunteer at Salmonfest

• 2012 & 2013 Citizen Science volunteer for Audubon’s Christmas Bird count
• 2012-2014, volunteer guide for snowshoe tours at the Leavenworth Hatchery
• 2013-present, volunteer leader for Wenatchee River Institute Youth Programs
• 2017 Leavenworth Bird Fest volunteer

• Helped a Choice High School, Tonasket, WA science teacher take her students to work on a riverside improvement project with Okanogan Conservation District.
• Assisted Choice High School Students doing trash pick-up and stream macroinvertebrate surveys.
• Weeded at the school garden

Kathy’s husband, Jim passed away in 2015, one year after they both took the Wenatchee Naturalist course.

Jim was a life-long lover of the great outdoors. He began in childhood hiking in the Cascades, and as an adult, enjoyed fishing and hunting in Washington and Montana. His brother, Jim, was a taxidermist who mounted many of Jim’s favorite upland birds and mammals, all hunted with a bow. He was a long-time supporter of Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Pheasants Forever, and other non-profits in support of wildlife.

To honor Jim, the family wanted to share his collection of beautiful mounts. Kathy researched potential homes for the mounts and selected Wenatchee River Institute as the home for Jim’s collection. Future generations of children will have a chance to marvel and admire a diversity of birds of mammals when they visit WRI.