Natural Selection - Old Site

Book sale at The Mountaineers Wed-Fri

lqs — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 18:38:13 +0000

Head over to The Mountaineers Bookstore today through Friday for a big sale on their books. All books and maps are 25% off, book sets are 30% off, seconds are 50% off and clearance titles are 75% off. Last year at the sale, I picked up several great books, including Northwest Foraging, Pacific Feast,m and - to offset the foraging enthusiasm - a book called "Don't Get Poisoned!"

They're located at 7700 Sand Point Way NE and they will be open 9am-7pm during the sale.

Calendar updates & posts to resume next week

lqs — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:42:29 +0000

Hey everyone! Leslie here with a quick update regarding the Seattle Event Calendar sites (Fresh-Picked, Freeattle and Seattle Natural Selection).

Ethnobotanical events this weekend

lqs — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 22:56:37 +0000

This weekend, there are a trio of events focused on ethnobotany: the study of how humans use plants. You can tour the Kruckeberg Botanic Garden, take a wild medicinal walk at Discovery Park or enjoy a FREE!guided tour of the Washington Park Arboretum that will focus on native plants and the Coastal Salish people’s use of them.

Space limited and advanced registration required for Kruckeberg and Discovery Park events.

Also – if you are interested in ethnobotany, be sure to like sister site Fresh-Picked Seattle on Facebook as I’ll be posting a photo essay very soon that might be of interest!

Fee-free day on Saturday for "Get Outdoors Day"

lqs — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 06:58:31 +0000

Saturday is “Get Outdoors Day” and many natural spaces will be waiving admission fees. A list of some participating organizations is below.

Can’t make it out this weekend? Mark your calendar for National Public Lands Day (September 29) and Veterans Day weekend (November 10 to 12) are other fee free days for 2012.

Seattle-area nature photography classes & workshops

lqs — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:43:08 +0000

This winter and early spring were certainly...challenging for many of us who tired of the constant rain and grayness. But now that the sun is out, so many of us are once again totally besotted with the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

If you're interesting in improving your skills at capturing the natural beauty via photograph, check out the below calendar of nature photography classes scheduled in coming months. (Eager to get started? There's a class at Discovery Park this Saturday, May 19, through REI. Details here.)

I'll continue to add to the calendar throughout the summer, so bookmark this post for even more events.

Seattle Mother's Day 2012 nature & outdoor events

lqs — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:02:12 +0000

Is your mother a nature lover? Is she a fan of wildlife, big or small? Or maybe she's a green thumb and loves to be around plants and flowers.

If so, here's a calendar of mom-focused nature and outdoor events over Mom's Day Weekend to consider. I'll continue to add more through the week!

Mushroom Maynia at the Burke Museum on Sunday

lqs — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:10:47 +0000

Looking to learn more about mushrooms? Head to the Burke this Sunday for Mushroom Maynia. All day, there will be talks, crafts, mushroom ID and more.

Check out the details of the event below and see the Burke's website for information on entry costs, etc. For more wild food events, see the Wild Food page.

Stuff to check out on SNS sister sites

lqs — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 07:51:03 +0000

Time for a little cross-promotion! Check out some of these posts on sister sites Fresh-Picked Seattle and Freeattle that might be of interest to Seattle Natural Selection readers.

Native Plant Appreciation Week, wildflower walks, lichen and more botany events

lqs — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 06:34:01 +0000

Readers of this site and Fresh-Picked might have noticed that I tend to cover and attend a lot of wild food and ethnobotany-related events. These events helped me begin to make sense of, as I’ve called it, the Green Monolith of the outdoors, breaking it down in things that I could identify as being something tasty or useful.

Over the past few months, though, I decided that I wanted to expand my ability beyond that kind of folk identification to actually learn more about how to identify plants according to scientific classification. So I just wrapped up an excellent 6-week plant identification class through the UW Arboretum, and have just started a class on mosses. I’m a long way from being fluent in this new language of families and species, but at least I’m getting started.

If you would like to learn more about botany, check out some of these upcoming events, including the Washington Native Plant Society’s Native Plant Appreciation Week next week (with all kinds of events planned in counties throughout the state), an upcoming lichen class also offered through the UW Arboretum, a free wildflower walk at Discovery Park, and a weekend botany foray coming up this summer.

Free kids' book talks this week: "Leopard & Silkie: One Boy's Quest to Save the Seal Pups"

lqs — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:31:00 +0000

Is there a little one in your life who loves seals or just animals in general? Check out two book talks this week you might want to take them to!

Tue, April 24, 7pm: FREE! Kids' Book Talk: Brenda Peterson and Robin Lindsey, Leopard & Silkie: One Boy's Quest to Save the Seal Pups at Secret Garden Books. “Brenda Peterson is the author of New York Times Notable Book Duck and Cover, among many others. This book is photographer Robin Lindsey's debut. In Leopard & Silkie author and illustrator turn their focus to a first-hand look at the vulnerable baby seals that are left on shore in the Pacific Northwest while their mothers hunt for food, and the concerned volunteers who keep vigil over them. Both the author and illustrator regularly ‘seal sit’ near where they live in Seattle and regularly educate on the subject, but the main seal sitter is a child offering an entry point for kids.”

Sun, April 29, 2pm: FREE! Kids' Book Talk: Brenda Peterson and Robin Lindsey, Leopard & Silkie: One Boy's Quest to Save the Seal Pups at Elliott Bay Book Co. “Brenda Peterson is well known both as the author of many books celebrating the natural world as well as a member of Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network, a group of naturalist citizens who watch over seals who rest on Northwest beaches. The work of Seal Sitters inspired her new children's picture book, Leopard and Silkie: One Bay's Quest to Save the Seal Pups (Henry Holt), which also features photographs by Robin Lindsey. Readers of all age are invited to meet and hear more about the seal sitters and their work protecting seal mammals. For more about this, please see www.sealsitters.org.”