Naturalist Course

Introduction to the Natural World Course

An introductory course for those interested in learning more about the natural world they are exploring.

Thu, Apr 1, 2021 - Fri, Sep 10, 2021
Committee: Seattle Naturalists Committee
Members: $160.00 Guests: $260.00
Apply for a scholarship
Availability: FULL, 24 on waitlist (40 capacity)
Cancellation & Refund Policy

This course is designed for all Mountaineers and new-to-Mountaineers who want to learn more about the mountains they enjoy. Using various smart phone apps, charts, and guidebooks, you will learn the basics of how to identify flowers, shrubs, trees, birds, and other forms of life. Instructors are volunteers, eager to share their knowledge and enthusiasm of nature.

(Students enrolled before the course opening date carried over their registration from the 2020 course that was cancelled due to the pandemic.)

The course includes four lectures. For 2021, due to the pandemic, these will be held online.

We generally offer four field trips (2 local and 2 in the mountains). The local field trips are half day or an evening. The mountain trips will be a full day, including travel, and take place in the Teanaway region and in Mount Rainier National Park, both of which have little to no cell service and a 2-3 hours of driving from Seattle. ***We are currently planning to offer in-person field trips in small groups with social distancing. Because of the slow pace at which we travel and the increased difficulty of maintaining distance during instruction on trail, masks will be required for the duration of field trips with the exception of short breaks for eating or drinking. If this does not work for you, please wait another year to take the course.***

Field trips will be posted after each lecture. Due to differing dates of flowers in bloom each year, we have to wait until a few weeks before each field trip to post them. We offer a variety of trips on weekend and weekdays to try and accommodate varying schedules.

To graduate, students will need to attend all of the lectures, as well as the field trips. (If attending field trips is a hardship for you, please reach out to the course leaders.) We will have an after-course exercise for students to turn in. We will celebrate your success and, hopefully, be able to meet in person and get to know other naturalists at a potluck in September. The goal is to have fun, meet some like-minded folks, and to learn. Our committee also offers regular Naturalist hikes which many of our students and graduates enjoy.

This course is for adults only, please.