Outings & Events

What’s going on!

There are many ways to experience Shrub-Steppe.

Cowiche Canyon Conservancy holds a variety of events and activities to increase opportunities for kids and adults to learn about the unique natural environment of the shrub-steppe and connect people to these lands. We work with a variety of partners including other non-profit organizations, schools, and local, state, and federal agencies to engage the community with our work and build support for our conservation work. 

COMMUNITY EVENTS: VIRTUAL AND LIVE

Community events – live and virtual – aim to help our community engage with our shrub-steppe in healthy, educational, and inspiring ways.

MUSIC & MONARCHS 

Music and Monarchs is back!

 

When: Sunday, September 19, 2021, 1pm to 3pm.

Where: Cowiche Creek Brewing (514 Thompson Road. Cowiche, WA 98923)

 

Join us for a celebration of the remarkable life of the Western Monarch Butterfly at beautiful Cowiche Creek Brewing. The event will feature music by Blake Noble and his new band, Thunder Honey. It will also serve as an urgent educational opportunity about the value and conservation status of threatened pollinators.

 

Tickets ($15 + service fee) for this fundraising event are limited (250). To guarantee your place, pre-order here. You will NOT be able to purchase tickets at the door.

 

Please Note: Due to a resurgence in regional Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, CCC and Cowiche Creek Brewing are requiring masks at this outdoor event. We are also taking precautions to spread people out as much as possible.

UPCOMING COMMUNITY WALKS

STARGAZER WALK AT ROCKY TOP

When: Wednesday, October 6, 7:30pm to 9:30pm

Where: Rocky Top Trailhead – 640 Rocky Top Road. Yakima, WA 98908

Join us for an on-earth tour of the stars during a new moon. Yakima Valley College astronomy teacher Zachary Schierl will be the group’s guide.

We’ll start at the trailhead of Rocky Top and walk a short distance (0.5 miles) into the shrub-steppe with headlamps. Please bring a headlamp or flashlight for the walk.

We will have a few telescopes available for use. If you own one and are comfortable walking with it, please feel free to bring it along.

*Tickets for this event are limited (20) and only available to those who sign up in advance.

*Until further notice, please bring and wear a mask.

*This event requires clear skies. If we need to postpone the event, we will update this webpage and email registered attendees.

FALL COLORS WALKS

When: Saturday, October 9, 10:00am to 12:00pm

Where: Snow Mountain Ranch – 2648 Cowiche Mill Road, Cowiche, WA 98923

Fall offers a unique time to experience the changing colors of the shrub-steppe and our valley. For our Fall Colors Walks, CCC guides will offer different walks for all ages and ability levels – from a kid-friendly riparian loop (2.5 miles) to a more ambitious loop of the Bench Trail (4 miles). If you’re new to shrub-steppe or CCC lands, this family-friendly outing is a great introduction!

PLEASE NOTE

*As with all public events during the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re asking attendees to register in advance so that we can best manage the health and safety of guides and participants.

*Until further notice, we’re asking attendees to bring and wear masks

WINTER TALK SERIES

Below are recorded talks from the 2020-21 season.

HOLISTIC HABITAT RESTORATION IN THE YAKIMA BASIN WITH JOHN MARVIN

Recorded talk on Tuesday, April 13 

 

John Marvin, Fisheries Habitat Biologist with Yakama Nation, illuminates the tragic history of fish and people in the Yakima basin. He describes how long-standing and culturally essential fish populations have been decimated by a combination of agricultural development, poor water and habitat management, and climate change.  Showing how forest and water habitat are intimately connected, Marvin describes some of the innovative and promising restoration projects happening around the area to bring back some healthy complexity and chaos to riparian habitats.

‘LICHENS: HUBS OF LIFE AND CREATORS OF WORLDS’ WITH JESSICA ALLEN

Recorded talk on Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Join Eastern Washington University’s Dr. Jessica Allen for a tour through the many hidden worlds of lichens. Learn about the roles lichens play in creating and sustaining biodiversity, with a special focus on local lichens here in the shrub-steppe and The Palouse. Jessica will also describe some of her recent genetics research into beautiful and mysterious wolf lichens. How is lichen genomics changing our understanding of the history and future of lichens?

‘MOUNTAIN LIONS: PHYSIOLOGY, ECOLOGY, & SAFETY’ WITH MICHELLE BLAKE

Recorded talk on February 9, 2021

Michelle Blake, with the Mountain Lion Foundation, dispels some of the many myths surrounding mountain lions (aka pumas or cougars)  in the Northwest. How many are there in the Northwest? What should we do if we encounter one?

‘TAHOMA’S BIGGEST STORIES: A NATURAL HISTORY OF MOUNT RAINIER’ WITH JEFF ANTONELIS-LAPP

Recorded talk on January 12, 2021

Jeff Antonelis-Lapp presents an image-rich talk that draws from the book Tahoma and Its People, a natural history of Mount Rainier National Park. The book was recently selected as a finalist in the Banff Mountain Book Competition.