In this three-week course, we will look at the relationships between living beings in local forests, focusing on the interrelationships between trees and the tiny organisms that help the forest thrive: mosses, lichens, and fungi. Jane will illustrate the sessions with photographs she has taken in her years of hiking the forest lands.

Instructor: Jane Billinghurst

Jane is a writer, editor, and translator who works with non-fiction natural history books. After translating The Hidden Life of Trees by German forester Peter Wohlleben, she embarked on her own voyage of discovery into local forest ecosystems. She has called Anacortes home for the past twenty years and spends as many hours as she can out in forests looking for amazing and often-overlooked treasures under the trees.

Writing about your life can seem like a daunting task. Where to begin? This class will prime the pump, with weekly writing assignments (about 750 words) presented in themes, plus writing tips. Sharing your stories confidentially with others in class will inspire you even more. You'll come to see your life through a different lens and leave a legacy for your family.

(Class size is limited to 10 students.)

 Instructor: Teru Lundsten

Teru has been teaching memoir writing in Skagit County since 2010. She worked as a personal historian, helping people preserve their life stories into books for their families. As a journalist she wrote over 200 profiles of people of all ages and from around the world. She has completed a memoir of her early years.

Join us to learn how to protect yourself and your loved ones from financial fraud! Learn the most common financial scams, new fraud trends on how criminals are using technology to access private data, and the actions you can take to rebuild if you fall victim to fraud.

You will also hear stories from Anacortes citizens who have been impacted by financial fraud.

The U.S. Office of Justice reports that financial fraud is the number one crime committed against seniors in the U.S. Additionally, in 2022 the National Council on Aging reported more than 88,000 complaints of fraud, resulting in more than $3 billion in losses from people 60. Don’t be a statistic!

Instructor: Racheal Meloche, MS

Racheal is Vice President and Community Bank Manager at Banner Bank in Anacortes. She will be joined in instruction by additional Banner Bank staff.

Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Vittorio de Sica, Yasujiro Ozu, Ingmar Bergman, and Francois Truffaut each broke new ground in cinema, and we will see how they accomplished that. Each week, I will introduce the feature (or double feature) before screening it without interruption. We will have a brief discussion following each movie. 

1. “Sherlock Jr.,” Keaton, 1924, and “The Circus,” Chaplin, 1928, U.S.
2. “The Thirty-Nine Steps,” Hitchcock, 1935, U.K.
3. “The Bicycle Thief,” de Sica, 1948, Italy
4. “Tokyo Story,” Ozu, 1953, Japan
5. “The Seventh Seal,” Bergman, 1957, Sweden
6. “The 400 Blows,” Truffaut, 1959, France

Please note: Weeks 1 and 4 will run an extra half-hour, from 4pm to 6:30pm, due to longer run-times. Weeks 2, 3, 5, and 6 will be from 4pm to 6pm, the usual ASC schedule. 

Instructor: Mark Lundsten

I made my first movie “Night of the Guano,” a documentary about avoiding seabird bycatch, in 1997, during my career as a commercial halibut fisherman in Alaska. After retiring from fishing, I made a few more films. My last one, “The Bath,” played in film festivals and received a few awards. See FidalgoFilms to see those movies.

Join retired physical therapist and two-time kidney transplant recipient Beth Badour for an engaging three-week interactive class on the vital role of the kidneys in health and disease. Participants will learn how to keep their kidneys healthy, recognize early signs of kidney disease, and gain a deeper understanding of testing, treatment options, dialysis, and transplants.

Drawing from both her professional background as a physical therapist and her personal journey through two kidney transplants, Beth will share how she transformed from feeling like a victim to becoming a victor in her own life. Each class includes engaging discussion, practical education, and opportunities for audience participation.

The series will conclude with ways to raise awareness for those awaiting kidney transplants, including how to support kidney patients through community engagement and social media advocacy.

Instructor: Beth Badour

Beth is a retired physical therapist and a two-time kidney transplant recipient who recently moved to Anacortes. Drawing from both her professional expertise and personal journey, she helps others connect with resources for kidney donation and transplantation while offering hope and education to those living with chronic disease. Through her own experience with kidney disease or what she calls "dis-ease". Beth has learned not only how to survive, but how to thrive and create a life of purpose and joy. As the author of three inspiring books available on Amazon, she shares her story of transformation and empowers others to take charge of their health and live life to the fullest.