Enrollment Now Open for New Opportunity in Glacier National Park with the Glacier Institute

For those looking for new ways to experience and learn about Glacier National Park, there is a new option. The Glacier Institute is now taking enrollments for its Going-to-the-Sun Road Day Program. As the non-profit education partner for Glacier National Park, the Glacier Institute strives to help the park achieve their education goals by providing in-depth, field based educational experiences.

“With the expectation of transportation challenges this year, we wanted to be creative in finding ways to help visitors get out into the park and have meaningful learning experiences,” says Pete Webster, Acting Superintendent for Glacier National Park. “The Glacier Institute was eager to assist us in this way, and we’re excited to partner with them on this pilot program.”

The Going-to-the-Sun Day Program offers participants a hands-on, in-depth view of what makes Glacier National Park part of one of the world’s most critically important ecosystems. Participants can expect a full day of adventure and education with a naturalist-led hike and interpretation to some of the park’s most popular points. There are four daily options to choose from, each of which requires a different hiking ability. While there are no age restrictions, guests are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the website and choose a course that fits their comfort level with distance and elevation gain.

To meet the demand and make an impact for the community, the Glacier Institute has purchased five additional vehicles and hired seven additional staff to facilitate these programs. “We see this as a great opportunity to further our mission,” says Anthony Nelson, Executive Director of the Glacier Institute. “In addition to experiencing the beauty of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, we’ll use education to get them to fall in love with the park and understand its importance.”

The courses began on July 1st and each of the four options will be offered daily. Each course runs from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and starts and ends at Glacier Institute’s main office at 320 Nucleus Avenue in Columbia Falls. Participants can park for the day near the main office or inquire at their lodging about hotel shuttle service. In addition, the local transit system, Mountain Climber, will offer round-trip shuttles to and from the Glacier Institute main office for $5 per person or $10 per family. Current plans include multiple shuttle stops Monday-Friday in both Kalispell and Whitefish. Additional service days will be added as needed. Participation in this course acts as your Going-to-the-Sun-Road ticketed entry reservation for the day. A Glacier National Park pass will still be required and can be purchased in advance at recreation.gov.

Registration is now open online at www.glacierinstitute.org. Each course is $100. Glacier Institute members receive a 10% discount. For additional information, call the Glacier Institute at (406) 775-1211.

With more than 740 miles of trails meandering throughout the park, hiking is the absolute best way to see Glacier National Park. In fact, the park offers a wide variety of outstanding hikes that take-in the best scenery Glacier has to offer. If you do plan to visit Glacier this year, please note that our hiking website also offers a wide variety of accommodation listings and other things to do to help with all your trip planning.


Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
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The Glacier Institute Celebrates 30th Anniversary

This Saturday the Glacier Institute will be celebrating its 30th Anniversary with a party at the Big Creek Outdoor Education Center.

The community is invited to commemorate the anniversary. The special celebration event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on September 28th at the Big Creek Outdoor Education Center, located at 6500 North Fork Road, approximately 21 miles north of Columbia Falls.

The event will feature live music, complimentary lunch, education stations, facility tours and activities for kids. A short program will take place at 12:15 p.m. Lunch will be served immediately following the program. A scavenger hunt will take place at 1:15 p.m.

Additionally, the folks at Desert Mountain Brewing & Draughthaus have donated a keg of Red Eagle Irish Red Ale to the celebration - so you can't beat that!

Admission into the event is free. Donations will be collected to support The Glacier Institute.

For more information about the Glacier Institute, please click here.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com

Glacier Institute Wins $20,000 award from Tom’s Of Maine

Thousands of voters across the nation recently voted in Tom's of Maine's "50 States for Good" program with just the click of a mouse. From a pool of 51 finalists, public voting determined the six winning nonprofits that will share $150,000 in funding to support grassroots projects dedicated to healthy, human and environmental goodness. From serving the homeless and renovating play areas to building sustainable summit trails and providing alternative energy education, all winning organizations demonstrate the heart and determination of community nonprofit organizations to inspire lasting change in their communities.

Tom's of Maine, a leading natural products company focused on oral and personal care, encouraged all qualifying nonprofit organizations to apply for the program. Applications were then narrowed down to 20 finalists by a panel of judges based on the number of volunteers mobilized by the project, and number of people positively impacted. A month-long online vote starting in September determined the six winning organizations.

Among those winners was the Glacier Institute in Kalispell, MT. The Big Creek Outdoor Education Center, located off the power grid in the beautiful Flathead National Forest, hosts thousands of elementary school children annually. Funding from Tom's of Maine will allow Glacier Institute to install solar panels, a wind turbine and a battery back-up system at its educational site as well as create a new curriculum to educate all course attendees as part of its "Alternative Energy Surrounds Us!" program.

For more information on the other winners, please click here.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

Glacier Institute Offers Summer Programs

The Glacier Institute, an official partner of Glacier National Park, hosts several adult field courses and youth science adventure programs in the park throughout the summer. Visitors and locals are encouraged to connect with the park through one of the programs.

Glacier National Park Superintendent Chas Cartwright said, "We value the educational programming that the Glacier Institute offers about the natural and cultural resources of the park." Since 1983, the Institute has emphasized field-based learning experiences for children and adults. The programs are objective and science based regarding the area's ecology and its interaction with people.

A sample of the Glacier Institute's 2012 programming in the park includes:

Field Courses

* The Uncommon Loon - June 22
* Glacier's Grizzlies and Black Bears - July 6
* Wolverines of Glacier - July 23
* Melting Glaciers and Climate Change - August 6-7
* Geology Along the Highline - September 5

Youth Adventure Series (ages 6-11)

* Wilderness Skills - June 29/July 27
* Fire in the Forest - July 13/August 10
* Predators & Prey - July 6/August 3

Each course includes tuition for instruction, materials and transportation. The Glacier Institute also offers overnight youth science adventure camps at the Big Creek Educational Center on the Flathead National Forest, focused for ages 7-16. For more information on educational courses with the Glacier Institute please contact 406-755-1211 or visit www.glacierinstitute.org.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com