Wolf Journey Class Itinerary for Oct 23 - Nov 15, 2012: Autumnal Animals

Wolves, Cougars, Bears & Salmon,
Owls, Bats, Weasels, Raccoons, Flying Squirrels, Moths & Spiders!

Portland/Vancouver • Olympia/Centralia • Tacoma/Puyallup • Ellensburg
Bellingham & Sumas serving Whatcom & Skagit plus Lower Mainland B.C.
Seattle/Bellevue • Silverdale/Poulsbo • Snohomish/Everett

Click above for your class location or scroll down for other monthly topics and tuition.
Start anytime. All classes are monthly and are personally taught by Kim & Chris Chisholm.

5-10 Minutes Before Class: Please arrive early in order to complete any registration information, view recommended books, and remember, learning always builds over the course of class, so be sure you don't miss the introductory information.

15-30 Minutes - Bears in the Salmon Streams, plus 15 Minute Game for kids called Fox, Hare & Bear: We're going to bring it all together around salmon, especially now during the fall when up to 9 species could be swimming up your local river! Five of those species can also be considered land-locked lake trout, with three of them being in the exact same genus as the ocean-run salmon. We have a fun system for helping you keep all these fish straight, including their names and how to identify (most of) them. We will focus on those species which come in from the ocean to spawn locally in our rivers, bringing the wolves, cougars and bears together with all the other carnivores, omnivores and scavengers and together, they fertilize the ecosystems to a greater degree than you would ever think! Also, it has long been suspected that Brown Bears, which come in all shades from white to black and are usually referred to as Grizzly Bears, have been living in the North Cascades. This past year, the first photographic evidence was documented of one of these bears in our mountains but not far from Skagit Valley. Therefore, if you travel to brown bear country, it is critical that you recognize the difference between them and black bears (which can also come in all shades from white to brown to black, although rarely in our area) because your behavior around the two species should be completely different. With black bears, it should be somewhat similar to what you do during cougar and wolf encounters, whereas with brown/grizzly bears, your reaction should be completely different.

15-30 Minutes - Flying Squirrels, Weasels & Owls: Physical characteristics including sounds, pictures, and video of the animals; Natural history including how they are related to other animals; a short story from Native culture; amazing facts and feats; a hands-on math problem learning how far the flying squirrel can glide; learning to move through nature using the weasel walk; and learning to land jumps "parkour" style using the martial arts "owl form." and a song by Jack Gladstone about the owl.

15-30 Minutes - Raccoons, Spiders, Moths & Bats: Physical characteristics including sounds, pictures, and video of the animal; Natural history including how they are related to other animals; a short story from Native culture; amazing facts and feats; sounds, pictures, and video of the Hobo Spider; a "spider web" challenge activity; distinguishing butterflies from moths; isabella tiger moth cocoon transformation; and using insect nets to catch some moths; a song by Leslie Lightfall about catterpillars; sounds, pictures, and video of the Little Brown Bat.

15-30 Minutes - Return of Wolves & Cougars plus 15 Minute Game for kids called Stalking Wolf: We run monthly trainings on tracking wolves, and we've learned to convey the history and current staus of wolves in North America into a short presentation that covers all the important points, inlcuding: how wolves were extirpated and what effect it had on the ecosystems; how wolves co-existed with humans in the areas where they remained; the effects wolves have had on humans and ecosystems where they have returned around the great lakes region as well as in western states; and of course the political status of wolves in Washington & Oregon where about 4 packs have now been confirmed in each state, including one located just 80 miles from downtown Seattle. We've also been teaching workshops on cougars for the past 10 years, ever since people started getting "up in arms" aver the number of cougar attacks in the 1990s which equaled the number previously recorded throughout history (about 45 from colonization to 1990, and about 45 since then, with 1 in 4 encounters proving fatal). Not only will we provide the latest known information about cougar behavior, but we will also discuss why there was such a dramatic increase in the number of cougars and subsequently, cougar attacks, and the answer will probably surprise you. Finally, despite the recent decline in cougar numbers, we will practice what to do in case of a cougar encounter since these animals do live along city greenways as well as in the wilderness.

5-10 Minutes After Class - Feedback & Planning: Please join Chris & Kim after class to review experiences, browse resources, discuss feedback, and brainstorm ideas for the future. As you can tell, we really pack in the knowledge, so plan to stay a little overtime to ask about issues that you wanted to cover more deeply. Email or Call us at any time with any questions and requests.

Tuition for Afternoon Classes: First Family Member $15.00; College Students $10.00 if paid in advance, or $15.00 at the door; Second Family Member $10.00 if deposit made in advance, or $15 if family initially pays at the door; Each Add'l Family Member $5.00. (Add'l $5.00-$10.00 in Sumas.)
Tuition for Evening Classes: Unaccompanied Minor $15.00. Adult $10.00 if paid in advance, or $15 at the door; Additional family members or friends $10.00 each.

North Puget Sound:

• Snohomish/Marysville serving Everett, Arlington & Snohomish County.
• Bellingham serving Whatcom & Skagit Counties plus the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.