Once upon a time, in the late 1800s to be precise, there was a booming mining town deep in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (MBS). The town was called Monte Cristo and it became a mining attraction because of its rich mineral deposits. With the help of a railroad and financers like John D. Rockefeller, the town grew to support over a thousand residents (mostly miners), several shops, a schoolhouse, a brothel, a hotel and many homes. Not long after its peak, mining... (Read more…)

The subject of invasive  plants, what they are, and what they do to the environment can get quite technical, which makes talking about them to young kids a little tricky. Words such as allelopathy, monoculture, biodiversity, and niche can be difficult concepts for adults to understand, let alone kids whose primary educational experiences have been in languages other than English.  Last week, at a stewardship learning event, the National Forest Foundation and the US... (Read more…)