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Troubled by the increasing levels of trash along Whatcom Creek in Bellingham, Washington, Matt Bryant decided to do something about it, and Trash Club was born in 2020. Bryant brought the idea to The Hub Community Bike Shop, a Bellingham-based non-profit committed to keeping waste out of landfills by building refurbished and custom bikes with donated frames and parts. What prompted you …

Most public policy conflicts have well-defined opposing camps. Left vs Right, Rich vs Poor, Permissive vs Puritanical, the Yankees vs the Red Sox, etc. Yet sometimes a policy decision is so knotted that even similar minds find themselves at odds. This is where the finer points of ethics and morality become deeply explored. Such is the case with the barred …

Lily Point is located at the southeast corner of Point Roberts with the waters of Georgia Strait on one side and Boundary Bay on the other, just a half-hour drive from Vancouver, B.C. To get there from Bellingham, you must cross into Canada and then again cross the border to enter Point Roberts, U.S.A. When Canada and the United States …

Life’s gotten pretty crazy lately. Between work deadlines, social media notifications, and just trying to keep up with everything, it’s no wonder we’re all feeling a bit fried. I’ve found that one of the best ways to hit the reset button is simply getting outside. You don’t need fancy equipment or expensive retreats. Nature’s been the ultimate stress-buster long before …

One warm summer morning in early August of 2005, a small group of grad students from Western Washington University and I gazed across a small lake at one of America’s most spectacular mountain views. The lake was indeed small, really a small tarn, its glass-like surface reflected a perfectly clear upside-down image of Glacier Peak, a gleaming white volcano of …

 One of the first things I spot when entering Olympic National Park is the gray shirt, dark forest-green trousers, gold national park badge, and iconic flat-brimmed hat of a park ranger in uniform. I have to wonder: What is it like being a ranger? What makes up their typical day? On a mission to find out, I call the park …

In 2011, two mountaineering friends had an audacious idea – get people off the streets and to the summit of Mt. Rainier (also known as “Tahoma) Along with a team of committed volunteers, Mike Johnson and Mark Ursino led groups of men and women from the Seattle Union Gospel Mission through a 10-month training program culminating in a successful summit …

Washington State Route 11, also known as Chuckanut Drive, is a beautiful scenic byway that never makes the cut in lists of America’s great scenic drives. Perhaps, at 21 miles long, it isn’t epic enough to rate. But as an experiential journey, it is easily one of the finest ribbons of road in the United States. It is a gorgeous …

My horse, Joey, and I were nearing the top of a ridge, glad that the last 15 miles back to the trailhead were downhill. The area had changed since our previous trip many years ago. Although fires had devastated the forest, in its aftermath it had left vast vistas and fields of wildflowers. As we approached the ridgetop, mountain peaks …

            Last October, while in Bellingham for the launch of my book Teaching in the Rain I was asked several times whether I was hopeful about the future of the planet and the environment around us, and if so, what cause for hope buoyed me in these difficult times. I answered as best I could, citing the wisdom of my …