aerial view of Western's campus at night, with golden lights surrounded by dark trees

WWU alumnus leaves the University a legacy of sustainability in the Methow 

WWU alumnus Lee Whittaker’s transformational land gift will help deepen Western’s roots in the Methow Valley and expand Sustainability Pathways offerings 

by Jennifer Nerad

University Communications

Lee Whittaker and 2025 Sustainability Pathways fellow Emillia Nunn look at a map of the next phase of Whittaker’s cohousing project. Nunn’s planning studio project looked at how agricultural connections can help build community.

Driven by a deep commitment to sustainability and community, Western Washington University alumnus Lee Whittaker, ‘68, has long championed intergenerational community building, land stewardship, and ecological and cultural education.

Lee Whittaker holds up a page of photos of himself as a child working on the farm he grew up on in southwest Washington. He still manages an agricultural field adjacent to his home in Mazama.

Whittaker and his late wife Marilyn dreamed of making Washington’s Methow Valley a place where people could live affordably and intentionally.

Now 79, Whittaker is looking to the future — and to the next generation — with a transformational land gift to Western.

The former physics and math teacher, tech innovator, and overall creative thinker founded Nytec, a company specializing in proof of concept for high-tech products. The more time you spend around Whittaker, the more you see that he is fueled by innovation and ideas.

“I like to set it up for things to be possible,” said Whittaker.

With this land donation, he’s setting up an investment in education that will last for generations, a fact not lost on WWU President Sabah Randhawa.

“We are grateful to Lee for his partnership with Western and for this incredible land donation,” said Randhawa. “This gift enables the university to establish a Western of the Methow — to expand our programming to more intentionally and effectively serve the community in the area — and further our goal of advancing inclusive student access and success in the state.”

(From left) Joshua Porter, WWU President Sabah Randhawa and his wife Uzma Ahmad, Lee Whittaker, and Teena Gabrielson, dean of the College of the Environment.

WWU has been expanding programs and partnerships in the Methow Valley in recent years, in ways that Kim Hill, WWU vice president for University Advancement and president and CEO of The Foundation for WWU & Alumni, says will shape the lives of innumerable future students and the community.

“Lee’s generous gift creates a legacy that will supercharge Western’s commitment to the Methow Valley,” said Hill.

Whittaker’s donation includes a three-bedroom house, an undeveloped lot where two WWU-owned tiny homes sit, 12 acres along the Methow River outside of Mazama, and 160 acres in Loup Loup Canyon east of Twisp.

The house and tiny homes already accommodate about half of the Sustainability Pathways students. The land gifts will enable the program to address future housing needs without putting pressure on the region’s limited housing supply.

The housing and land near the Methow River and the Loup Loup Canyon field site expand Western’s footprint in the Methow and Okanogan Valleys.

Sustainability Pathways is based in the College of the Environment and works closely with the Sustainability Engagement Institute. The program brings WWU students to the Methow and Okanogan Valleys to work on sustainability projects and gain professional work experience with local community organizations, governments, schools, and businesses, while studying community-based project management.

Whittaker’s passion for community, reciprocity, and sustainability dovetails with the program’s mission. His partnership with WWU began in early 2020 when he was introduced to Joshua Porter, a long-time Methow Valley resident and the director of Sustainability Pathways, by Danica Ready of the Methow Housing Trust. They clicked, finding common ground in their ideas about housing and land stewardship. During their very first meeting, they visited the Methow River property and started envisioning student housing there. 

Two WWU-owned tiny homes accommodate Sustainability Pathways fellows. The tiny homes are one example of how the program is using creative ways to build housing capacity.

In the years since, their collaboration has grown through lengthy discussions, experimentation through student course projects, and lots of iteration. As Whittaker interacted with students each summer, his support of the program was bolstered by seeing how they connected with the land and community.

Whittaker envisions the Methow River properties as an educational haven for students, which he calls River to Raven. The properties, divided by Highway 20, span a range of ecosystems for students to interact with: river, riparian, meadow, wetland, and forest on the river side and agricultural, wetland, and mountain on the other, all connected by an established trail system.

The 12-acre parcel is bordered by Highway 20 to the south, to the right in this photo, and the Methow River to the north. The property includes open fields and forested areas. Photo by Benj Drummond.

“What is this community going to look like in 2050? That’s your lifetime, not mine. You tell me what to do.”

Lee Whittaker

Over the summer, as part of their Sustainability Pathways planning studio course, a group of students worked on a conceptual site analysis of the river parcel where WWU hopes to build student housing and a small field station. The students surveyed alumni and current students to determine needs and wants, walked and camped out on the property to get a feel for it, and even staked out locations for the main house, caretaker house, a shop, parking, and additional trails. This work builds on planning studio projects from 2020 and 2021, where students looked at housing and a mobile field station.

The site is meant for students, so its design will be informed by students. This kind of collaborative, experiential learning is core to the Sustainability Pathways program, and something that Whittaker values too.

“It’s really cool to have the Western students here,” said Whittaker. “I always mention my concept of ‘project 2050’ — what is this community going to look like in 2050? That’s your lifetime, not mine. You tell me what to do.”

Lee Whittaker, right, talks with students in the 2024 Sustainability Pathways cohort during their end-of-summer retreat where they spend a whole day reflecting on the summer’s learning, prepping for their presentations, and cooking meals together.

The land donation also includes 160 acres of diverse riparian habitat in Loup Loup Canyon, closer to the Okanogan Valley, that will continue to be a cultural and ecological field site for students to study and practice restoration through hands-on land stewardship for fish and wildlife habitat, forestry, and more. A partnership for collaborative stewardship is being developed with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. 

Whittaker has owned and cared for this canyon property for more than 40 years, creating a trail system so he and others can watch the ecosystems evolve.

Loup Loup Canyon had not been logged since the 1960s, until it was thinned one year before the 2009 Oden Road fire burned thousands of acres. There are still signs of fire damage along the highway, but just a few minutes’ hike into the canyon, you can see the forest is teeming with life. Deeper into the canyon, it’s lush with plants, trees, and flowers nourished by springs.

Loup Loup Canyon. Photo by Benj Drummond.

After the 2009 fire, Whittaker recalls visiting the property and seeing the landscape blanketed with a half inch of ash. Even then, peering into the pools in Loup Loup Creek, fish were swimming.

The property provides a unique educational opportunity to witness a forest’s recovery after a large fire.

“With this property, students will get to do more than just a field trip; they’ll be part of the science and practice of caring for the land.” 

Joshua Porter

Sustainability Pathways partners with several local conservation and wildlife organizations, which gives students access to expertise and experience to help them learn about being stewards of this land.

Students set up wildlife cameras in the canyon. Porter says they also participated in DNA sampling of Loup Loup and Little Loup Creeks this summer, which will identify what kinds of fish and mammals are using the waters.  

“With this property, students will get to do more than just a field trip; they’ll be part of the science and practice of caring for the land,” said Porter.

That’s precisely what Whittaker is looking for.

 “One of my charges [for WWU] is I want someone to be the steward of this land for the next 40 years,” said Whittaker. 

Lee Whittaker talks with the 2023 Sustainability Pathways cohort. Whittaker has been interacting with students each summer since the program began in 2020.

What’s next for Whittaker? He’s still got plenty of ideas.

“Even after I transfer this property over, I’m still going to offer opinions,” he said with a smile.

Whittaker’s gifts will enable WWU to continue to deepen roots in this rural community and allow Western of the Methow’s Sustainability Pathways program to expand offerings, giving more students more opportunities to have the life-changing experience of living in and learning about the Methow and Okanogan Valleys.

Learn more about Western of the Methow and Sustainability Pathways undergraduate fellowships.

Jennifer Nerad covers Western's College of the Environment and College of Business and Economics for the Office of University Communications. Have a great story idea? Reach out to her at neradj@wwu.edu.