Our Story

What We Do

On March 22nd, 2014, the deadly SR 530 Mudslide devastated the Darrington community.

The GPI was formed as a direct response to this tragic event by members from Darrington, North County Family Services, Washington State University Extension, and the Darrington School District. This community of volunteers and educators launched the Darrington Youth Outdoor STEM Pilot Project to invest in Darrington’s youth, forests, and recreation programs. This grew to become the Glacier Peak Institute.

Today, GPI programs continue to empower rural youth. Our students learn about infrastructure and science through hands-on projects that directly contribute to the ecological and economic regeneration of their community.

We engage rural youth with their environment through outdoor adventures, hands-on projects, and cultural exchanges. We do this by developing STEM lesson plans with teachers from the Darrington School District and designing immersive outdoor after-school and summer programs. We partner with local tribes, universities, nonprofits, and environmental groups to develop unique educational opportunities that empower students to identify, design, and solve today’s problems. Our students are encouraged to think creatively, work collaboratively, and live sustainably as they take ownership of environmental projects and have the opportunity to impact their community.

Our Logo

We began redesigning our logo at the start of COVID. With schools shutting down and GPI seeking a way to incorporate youth into the process, we coordinated with the Darrington School District to have kids create designs. We assessed all submissions and incorporated elements from several designs into a cohesive design. We worked with a local graphic designer for several months until we reached a design we all loved! We wanted the design to show: how GPI is place-based by having Glacier Peak in the background; having people care for and play on the landscape to demonstrate our human connection to nature; the snow, rain, and shine to show that we serve no matter the weather; and that the forest is both young and new.

Land Acknowledgement

Glacier Peak Institute honors the land itself and the Indigenous peoples who have shaped it for millennia, their continued care today, and the future. Glacier Peak Institute lives on the lands of the Sauk-Suiattle, Stillaguamish, Tulalip, Swinomish, Upper Skagit, and more tribal nations.

These tribes steward the unique region through practices that benefit ecosystems. Inclusion of this knowledge can build resilience across communities.

Learn more about the Sauk-Suiattle, Stillaguamish, Tulalip, Swinomish, and Upper Skagit.

GPI in the PRESS!

May 2025: King 5 News “DOGE cuts decimate youth program in rural Snohomish County” by Eric Wilkinson

April 2025: Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife “WDFW Ambassador Program”

Feb. 2025: Skagit Land Trust: Land Trust News “Partnering to Restore the Skagit"

Sept. 2024: Fox 13 Seattle: WA businesses turn to pine cone collectors to regrow burned forests” by Mathew Smith

August 2024: "Office of Senator Murray “Senator Murray Tours Timber Thinning Sites Near Darrington, Discusses Ecologically Sustainable Timber Practices”

August 2024: King 5 “Local organization empowers youth through a connection to nature” by Jose Cedeno

March 2024: Everett Herald “After the slide: In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh” by Sophia Gates

March 2024: Everett Herald” “After years of waiting, Darrington may finally get a par with river access” by Ta'Leah Van Sistine

Dec. 2023: Grist “A more Collaborative Approach to Conservation”

Nov. 2023: Washington National Park Foundation “Cultivating Change: The Impact of the Food Sustainability Project in North Cascades National Park” by Alex Day