Profiles of Environmental Education Grants Awarded to Organizations in Alaska
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Alaska Songbird Institute $90,631
Tricia Blake, P.O. Box 80235, Fairbanks, AK 99708
http://aksongbird.org/Exit
Alaska Swallow Monitoring Network – Fairbanks and Native Villages, Alaska
The Alaska Swallow Monitoring Network recruits and trains approximately 290 Alaskans, including students, teachers and other volunteers, over two field seasons to collect, analyze and present ecological data on climate change impacts to nesting tree swallows. The primary tasks during the first field season (2016) are to recruit and train six interns, 20 students ages 10 to 17, and 70 additional community volunteers (teachers, senior citizens and Alaska Native Elders) to monitor four existing swallow nests and establish and monitor six additional swallow nesting sites. Participants also enter data into a project website and present their findings to their communities using a variety of outreach methods and presentations at professional conferences. The primary task during the second field season (2017) is to recruit and train three additional interns, 40 students, and 151 volunteers to continue and strengthen the project across the 10 nesting sites within the eight targeted rural and urban Alaskan communities. The participant training utilizes a multi-tiered mentoring structure whereby project partners mentor interns, interns mentor students and volunteers, and students and volunteers educate their communities.
Alaska Forum, Inc. – $150,000
Kurt Eilo, P.O. Box 212409, Anchorage, AK 99521
Community Environmental Education With Youth Involvement
Under this program, Alaska Forum, Inc. is implementing the Community Environmental Education with Youth Involvement project. Sub-grant proposals from organizations in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington are solicited from small communities that seek to foster youth involvement in their environmental stewardship efforts. Proposals are selected where high school-aged youth are matched with a local environmental professional or teacher who mentors the youth as they address and solve a specific problem in the community. Youth selected to attend the Alaska Forum on the Environment report back to their school and community on what they learn and then back into their home community on how the project is progressing using Facebook, Internet-mounted video and text messaging. By utilizing the Internet, the information can be disseminated region-wide and beyond. Participants with the most successful outcomes are invited to present on their stewardship project and environmental education efforts at the next Alaska Forum on the Environment event. The teenagers learn environmental education skills as they work to address a stewardship problem, which may also encourage an interest in the environmental career field.
Nushagak-Mulchatna Wood-Tikchik Land Trust $19,094
Nellie Williams, P. O. Box 1388, Dillingham, AK 99576
The Bristol Bay River Academy
The Bristol Bay River Academy is a week-long non-formal environmental education program that merges salmon and river education with recreation and conservation principles to educate, engage and inspire Bristol Bay young adults (ages 14-22) to become local leaders in salmon stewardship. Through hands-on experiences, discussion, and lessons from local experts, the project prepares the next generation of rural Alaska community leaders with the knowledge, values and skills necessary to uniquely engage in salmon conservation issues in their communities and have significant influence on local conservation decisions that will be made in the next decade. The project also prepares these young adults for job opportunities based on healthy salmon populations to reinforce the sustainable salmon economy of Bristol Bay and capitalize on engaging visitors in local conservation issues. The project seeks to strengthen the involvement of young people in community-supported and long-term protection of Bristol Bay's wild salmon resources. The project directly addresses "career development" and "community project" priorities by focusing on local community environmental issues while giving students the opportunity to explore sustainable salmon-based jobs in their local communities. The students are either low income "at risk" youth and/or from Alaska Native Villages.
Maniilaq Association, Inc. $40,694
Dickie Moto, P.O. Box 256, 337 Second Avenue, Kotzebue, AK 99752-0256
The Kobuk School Learning Environmental Learning Lab Project
The Kobuk School Environmental Learning Lab Project reconnects the native village students, families, and the community to nature. A large portable greenhouse serves as a learning laboratory for kindergarten through grade 12 students. Five study stations teach students about composting and waste management, renewable energy, plant propagation and growth, climate change, water quality, gardening, and food preparation. Classes on energy conservation, food production, and preservation are held for parents and community members. The laboratory provides an engaging and fully interactive setting in which to learn and apply natural world knowledge for a better understanding of soil and water quality, renewable and sustainable environmental energies, waste management, arctic horticulture, and climate change. This project can serve as a model to other schools to turn the classroom into a 360 degree environmental laboratory for improved student participation, interest, and learning.
Alaska Bird Observatory $31,000
Tricia Blake, 418 Wedgewood Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99701
Creamer's Field Educational Program
The project increases existing school programs on Creamer's Refuge in Fairbanks by incorporating additional inquiry-based lesson choices for schools; correlating existing programs with curriculum standards; making the refuge curricula available to educators and parents on the Web; increasing professional development opportunities for teachers; and initiating a student internship program for University of Alaska Fairbanks students. Two 3-day professional development workshops are offered to kindergarten through grade 12 teachers, where they are introduced to the natural and human history of Creamer's Refuge and offered a menu of lesson choices so that they may design a program that is best suited to their classroom study. The Creamer's Refuge Program serves elementary classes through field trips and the provision of education materials on the Web.
Copper River Watershed Project $15,000
Kate Alexander, P.O. Box 1560, Cordova, AK 99574
Watershed Stewardship Campaign
The Watershed Stewardship Campaign is promoting the health of the Copper River Watershed by educating residents and visitors about the watershed. The campaign uses a multi-faceted approach, including school year field trips with elementary, middle, and high school students, summer camp field trips, and educational activities at community festivals. The program operates by engaging community members in citizen science monitoring programs and bringing together community partners to create educational signage on watershed ecosystems to display throughout the watershed. The goal is to get the community and visitors to the area to think about a watershed as an entire interrelated ecosystem, rather than as a series of separate independent rivers, streams, and lakes.
Prince William Sound Science Center $15,000
Lindsay Butters, P.O. Box 705, Cordova, AK 99574
Clean Ocean Robotics
Clean Ocean Robotics guides sixth-grade students to become skilled in the use of robotic technology and its potential application in oil spill response. Students are educated about ocean health and robotics via classroom presentations, workshops, and field trips to local sites, and then provide outreach on the topic during a community-wide festival. Furthermore, five groups of students from grades 4 through 12 participate in marine debris removal during the 2009 National Environmental Education Week. The project enhances stewardship of marine and coastal ecosystems through a series of educational programs; engages a wide range of audiences in ocean-based educational activities using a variety of program delivery techniques; and exposes participants to regional marine research projects and careers in ocean sciences by involving guest scientists in program delivery.
Takshanuk Watershed Council $11,259
Emily Seward, P.O. Box 1029, Haines, AK 99827
Green Careers for Haines High School Students
Green Careers is a vocation-based internship program for high school students. The program offers a series of internships that integrate existing high school curriculum with rigorous, individualized job training experiences in local fisheries management, tourism, and fish and wildlife law enforcement organizations. The project includes field trips and matches the students with mentors and, the potential for hometown green careers. Students share their knowledge weekly by preparing episodes of “Watershed Weekly” on a local radio station in Haines that airs issues of local environmental concern. This program builds on the Eco-Studies program funded by EPA in 2003.
Sitka Community Schools $17,150
Curt Ledford, 601B Halibut Point Road, Sitka, AK 99835
Cutthroat Creek Environmental Trail and Preserve
The Cutthroat Creek Environmental Trail and Preserve enhances environmental education opportunities in the Sitka School District by refurbishing, expanding, and documenting the environmental trail and preserve to make it more usable for the students and staff near a local elementary school. The trail has been in place for 10 years, but is not handicapped accessible and has fallen into disrepair and disuse. The students, parents, and teachers are involved in designing the expansion, the actual refurbishing, and the ultimate re-use of the trail. Documentation and an updated curriculum that are based on the trail and preserve are presented to the teachers in workshop format and then used at each grade level in the school. Teachers receive in-service credit for attending the workshop.
Calypso Farm and Ecology Center $10,000
Susan Willsrud, P.O. Box 106, Ester, AK 99725
Schoolyard Garden Initiative
The Schoolyard Garden Initiative is a coordinated effort to create a network of school gardens across the Fairbanks-North Star Borough School District to be used for hands-on learning and environmental education. The project funds a series of teacher trainings at pilot elementary schools and a comprehensive garden-based resources guide adapted for conditions in Alaska. The gardens respond to a need for hands-on, environmentally based education in the public schools in conjunction with the desire for fresh, locally grown food. The goal of the project is to integrate garden-based environmental education into teaching the core subjects: math, English and language arts, science, and social studies. Calypso Farm and Ecology Center provides educators with a comprehensive garden-based lesson and resource guide correlated to state and local grade-specific learning standards. The manual is a collection of quality educational resources specifically adapted for garden-based teaching in the unique conditions in interior Alaska. The teacher training series focuses on improving the environmental education skills of educators to support the core subjects.
Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council $17,682
Robert Rosenfeld, 815 2nd Avenue, Suite 201, Fairbanks, AK 99701
Reduce the Use - A Youth Initiative
Students in grades 10 through 12 work in four villages to eliminate plastic grocery bags and Styrofoam cups. In addition, this initiative provides education about solid waste accumulation in landfills and introduces re-usable “potlatch bags.” Youth from each of the four communities work with mentors in each community to initiate the campaign. They work with the tribal council and the city for support to eliminate the products identified and to educate the community through media and classroom presentations. The youth and their mentors attend a 2-day retreat to develop the campaign and a community outreach education plan. Participants also implement alternative practices by distributing potlatch bags (small canvas bags with a dish, bowl, cup, and flatware) to community members to use at every gathering. They assess the amount of waste collected from community dinners by counting the number of garbage bags and comparing the amount with the dinners that have taken place previously.
Homer Soil and Water Conservation District $9,000
Bridget Paule, 4014 Lake Street, Suite 201, Homer, AK 99603
Alaska's Natural Resource Career Program
An environmental and natural resource field career development curriculum module is designed and implemented through this project to be tested in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District high schools’ natural resources technology class. Rural, Native Alaskan, and Russian students in grades 9 through 12 are involved in the project, which includes outreach to additional students at two nearby schools. The curriculum is specific to Alaska’s unique career needs in the environment and natural resources. It can be offered as a model program that other school districts and education organizations could implement across Alaska. The project is targeted at encouraging students to choose careers in natural resource and remain in Alaska after they graduate from college. The curriculum includes classroom instruction, guest speakers, field trips, statewide conferences, internships, community service, and individual projects.
Takshanuk Watershed Council $9,325
Tim Shields, P.O. Box 1029, Haines, AK 99827
Nature Studies Outdoor Education Expansion for Haines Borough
Under this project, students in grades 3 through 8 from the Haines Borough School District receive education about local environmental issues and individual choices and their effect on the watershed. It provides educators with an existing environmental education curriculum expanded from nine study units to 20, with a focus on increasing activities for middle school grades. It also introduces students to the work of professional and technical scientists to encourage environmental careers. Each “nature studies” unit consists of a pre-lesson in the classroom, an in-depth field lesson or series of lessons, and at least one follow-up analysis back in the classroom. Topics of the lessons include juvenile fish trapping, identification, and mapping; trash collection and revegetation; and distribution of plants and animals in the watershed.
Alaska Natural Resource and Outdoor Education Association $10,530
Courtney Sullivan, P.O. Box 871528, Wasilla, AK 99687-1528
Environmental Education Across Alaska
Under this grant, the Alaska National Resource and Outdoor Education Association helps to develop environmental education leaders in the state. Alaska faces special challenges to environmental education, including great travel distances, high teacher turnover rates, cultural diversity issues, and other factors that are unique to the state. The project focuses on three specific components identified by the National Environmental Education Advancement Project as being important for a comprehensive environmental education program at the state level: (1) conducting educator training at regional conferences in Anchorage and Fairbanks; (2) establishing a statewide, interagency environmental education committee; and (3) developing a statewide resource guide. The goal of the project is to increase the effectiveness of environmental education efforts across the state through coordinated and effective partnerships. The project reaches nearly 500 environmental educators in the state, including state and federal government, university and formal and nonformal educators.
Calypso Farm and Ecology Center $20,000
Leah Sansone, P.O. Box 106, Fairbanks, AK 99725
Employing Alaskan Teens in Gardening
Employing Alaskan Teens in Gardening (EATinG) educates a culturally diverse population of students about sustainable agriculture and offers low-income teens environmental career options. The goal of the project is to use sustainable farming practices to develop a network of gardens in the Fairbanks School District and to involve students in every aspect of the process. The project serves students by providing garden-based lessons inside and outside the classroom, conducting the EATinG employment program, maintaining a student hiring committee, and conducting field trips and training at the Calypso Farm and Ecology Center. Teachers enhance the students' understanding by integrating lessons learned into their classroom discussions. EATinG incorporates environmental education, environmental justice, nutrition, science, math, and English studies.
Alaska Bird Observatory $5,000
Andrea Swingley, P.O. Box 80505, Fairbanks, AK 99708
Frosty Feathers of the Far North
This project uses activity-based lessons and teacher workshops to involve fourth- through eighth-grade students and teachers in scientific inquiries into black-capped chickadee behavior and ecology in Alaska. The harsh winter conditions present a unique challenge to teaching applied environmental science during the school year. The workshops enhance teachers' skills for teaching environmental subjects and conducting scientific inquiry in their classrooms. In the first year of the project, the lessons, combined with classroom visits by the Alaska Bird Observatory's education coordinator and implementation of a project web site, have educated approximately 272 students about environmental careers, the ecology of a common resident bird species in Alaska, potential environmental threats to birds, and how to conduct scientific inquiries.
Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Inc. $5,000
Marilyn Sigman, P.O. Box 2225, Homer, AK 99603
Youth Area Watch Teacher Training Workshop
The Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Inc. (CACS), is developing and coordinating the first 2-day training workshop for teachers involved in the Youth Area Watch (YAW) program, which is an environmental science and education program. This program stresses the involvement of students in real-world environmental research and monitoring through scientist-student partnerships. The focus of the teacher training workshop is to (1) provide participation in ecosystem-scale environmental monitoring and research projects, (2) familiarize teachers from 11 south-central Alaska communities with the science content and environmental education expectations for student learning that can be addressed through YAW activities, and (3) integrate the Chugach School District’s science content and environmental education expectations for student learning into the YAW program for all participating schools. CACS trains teachers in Project GLOBE coastal data collection activities, and scientists introduce the environmental issues related to their research. The program serves as a model that can be extended to schools in other Alaska communities.
Dig Afognak Academy $20,000
John Larsen, 204 E Rezanof Drive, Suite 100, Kodiak, AK 99615
Academy of Elders Science Camp Environmental Education Documentary
An intergenerational training camp for 10 teachers, 8 Alutiiq elders, and 36 students explores how to blend traditional and scientific knowledge in public education. The camp (1) examines environmental threats to the community and its resources; (2) strengthens students' critical-thinking skills and confidence levels in math, science, and technology studies; (3) trains teachers in methods for implementing environmental education; (4) takes advantage of firsthand knowledge from Alutiiq elders; and (5) explores projects that are relevant to rural survival and lifestyles and to native ingenuity. The Academy of Elders is making a documentary film about the training camp to educate people about the important environmental issues impacting the region. This documentary is to be made available to schools, shown at multiple venues, and aired on public access cable television. Following the completion of the camp, the students continue to work with experts in their fields of study, teachers, and elders to complete projects for a competition at the Rural Science Fair. Upon completion of the fair, the students’ projects are publicized on the camp’s web page and in the local media and are presented to tribal councils.
Alaska Boreal Forest Council, Inc. $4,986
Melanie Muus, P. O. Box 84530, Fairbanks, AK 99708
Training Teachers to Tap into Spring (TIS)
Ten teachers are trained in two workshops that present activities unique to the Alaskan boreal forest while imparting key skills and concepts for creating sustainable conditions for the Fairbanks community. The curriculum focuses on place-based science and economic experiences, which help students develop a sense of stewardship for their forest home.
Calypso Farm and Ecology Center $5,000
Susan Willsrud, P. O. Box 106, Ester, AK 99725
Youth Farm and Ecology Program - Expansion into Low-Income Schools
This project expands on the existing Youth Farm and Ecology program to reach three low-income classrooms. The program provides experiential education in ecology and agriculture to elementary students in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District with the goals of fostering interest in science and raising awareness of agricultural issues. Students and teachers participate in hands-on educational activities both in the classroom and on site at the Calypso Farm to learn the basic skills necessary for home and community gardening and the steps required for taking action in their own lives.
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District $24,986
Doug Crevensten, 520 5th Avenue, Fairbanks, AK 99701
Power Up! Develops Alternative Energy Study Sites in the Tanana Valley Watershed
Automated and manual data are gathered at three alternative energy study sites developed in the Tanana Valley watershed. Middle school teachers and students use the data as a basis for learning about wind and solar-energy design, application, and environmental issues. Project teachers adapt alternative energy lesson plans and conduct workshops for other middle school teachers.
Native Village of Afognak $24,425
Alisha Drabek, P. O. Box 968, Kodiak, AK 99615
Academy of Elders Science Camp
Participants at two 1-week sessions of the Afognak Academy of Elders Science Camp explore how to blend traditional and scientific knowledge into public science education. The camp enhances these sessions by allowing students to conduct environmental testing and to perform projects that will be demonstrated in the Kodiak Island Borough School District Rural Science Fair. Data reports are published on a project web page promoting public awareness. Goals of the project are to: (1) strengthen critical-thinking and confidence in math, science, and technology; (2) train teachers in environmental education methodology; (3) study and communicate environmental threats to the community; (4) demonstrate how the environment can serve as a launching ground for learning; and (5) provide Afognak students with the opportunity to learn directly from elders and to explore projects relevant to Native lifestyles and cultures.
Southeast Alaska Guidance Association (SAGA) $4,900
Kristy Falcon, P. O. Box 33037, Juneau, AK 99801
Southeast Alaska Guidance Association (SAGA) Serves Alaska Youth Corps
Training that focuses on environmental careers available to Alaska youth improves the environmental career placement component of the Youth Corps comprehensive training program. The training improves the overall understanding of environmental career opportunities, provides the skills necessary to successfully compete for these positions, and encourages graduates to pursue environmental careers. The emphasis of the training is on land management, water resource management, and biology.
University of Alaska Anchorage Environmental Natural Resources Institute (ENRI) $35,973
Elaine Major, 707 A Street, P. O. Box 92596, Anchorage, AK 99501
Adapting Anchorage Middle School Curricula with Alaska Stream Team Methods
In an effort to increase awareness of the connections between human activities and watershed health, the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Environment and Natural Resources Institute (ENRI) has embarked on a project that provides broad-based hands-on environmental education opportunities to teachers and students in the Anchorage school system. The 1-year project incorporates science-based environmental monitoring tools into existing middle-school curricula for math and science. Under the project, teachers and students in grades 6 through 8 learn how systems are interconnected, how human activities affect watersheds, and how behavior changes can positively affect water quality. Teachers participate in a 2-day workshop where they learn about watershed and general ecosystem concepts and aquatic ecology principles. A newly developed Internet database encourages continued participation by providing a place to store, share, and view data collected by classrooms across the state. ENRI partners with the Anchorage School District, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the Municipality of Anchorage, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Inc. $5,000
Marilyn Sigman, P. O. Box 2225, Homer, AK 99603
Kachemak Bay Coastweeks 2001
Under the project, an integrated Coastweeks program of coastal environmental education for communities in the vicinity of Kachemak Bay is developed and coordinated. Outreach programs to all schools in the Kachemak Bay area focus on monitoring environmental changes in beaches and intertidal communities throughout the bay area. Participants increase their understanding of the adverse effects of marine litter and the degradation of intertidal habitats that results from pedestrian and vehicular traffic and other uses.
Southeast Island School District - Kasaan School $1,423
Barry Stewart, P. O. Box KXA, Ketchikan, AK 99950-0340
Kasaan School Compost Project - Recycling
School staff and citizens of the Organized Village of Kasaan educate students about the benefits of composting. They design and implement a program on the recycling of vegetable waste and the use of red worms to create compost. The hands-on project teaches students how to construct composting bins. Students also learn what to use to make the compost, how to take care of the compost, and how to use the compost. The project is particularly beneficial because the Village of Kasaan’s landfill closed recently, and citizens now must drive 17 miles to Thorne Bay to dispose of their solid waste.
Alaska Discovery Foundation, Inc./Discovery Southeast $4,975
Jono Mckinney, P. O. Box 21867, Juneau, AK 99802
Using Local Nature for Environmental Educators
The hands-on workshop program joins Discovery Southeast with Juneau's two middle schools and Mendenhall Watershed Partnership to help middle school teachers use local nature near their schools for environmental education. Themes for this workshop series include: exploring Southeast Alaska natural history with students, investigating local environmental issues, and empowering student stewardship through restoration and conservation projects. To ensure that the teachers' learning can be used immediately at their schools for planning curriculum and implementing class projects, the program presents models of project-based learning and draws upon natural habitats that neighbor Juneau's schools. The training addresses grade-specific curriculum priorities and emphasizes on-site base learning and project development for individual teachers.
Calypso Farm and Ecology Center $5,000
Susan Willsrud, P. O. Box 106, Ester, AK 99725
Calypso's Farm and Ecology Program
Calypso Farm and Ecology Center, in partnership with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, provides experimental education in agriculture, ecology, and nutrition to school-aged children in the Fairbanks community. The goal of the effort is to raise awareness in those areas. The program consists of nine monthly units taught in the classrooms throughout the school year and culminates with full-day visits to the center in the spring. To reach a cross-section of children in Fairbanks, the program works with several different schools in the Fairbanks School District in kindergarten through high school classrooms.
Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Inc. $4,450
Marilyn Sigman, P. O. Box 2225, Homer, AK 99603
Caretakers of the Beach
The staff of the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Inc. collaborates with the Susan B. English Middle School in Seldovia to offer visitors to the beach a community-based education program that is designed to reduce harmful effects on intertidal habitats and communities. The program involves the dissemination of existing resources and curriculum materials, in-service teacher training workshops, and a certificate and award program. The center also conducts a stewardship training program for the Susan B. English Middle School and high school students and adult volunteers, training them to guide and monitor visiting school groups.
Kenai Watershed Forum $5,000
Robert Ruffner, 44539 Sterling Hwy #202, Soldotna, AK 99669
Stream Ecology for Educators
The Kenai Watershed Forum and Kenai Peninsula College are conducting a one-credit professional development course to provide kindergarten through 12th grade educators with the background, expertise, and materials necessary to incorporate stream ecology into their classroom curricula. The course, offered annually, covers hydrology, basic stream ecology, energy sources, riparian vegetation, and water chemistry with an emphasis on how to teach the material to students. The grant provides the equipment needed for classroom sessions.
Matanuska Susitna Borough School District/Wasilla High School $5,000
Cheryl McDowell, 125 West Evergreen Avenue, Palmer, AK 99645
Groundwater Detectives
The Wasilla High School in Matanuska Susitna Borough School District works in partnership with local government agencies and businesses to raise awareness of groundwater issues in the school and the community. During the project, high school students think critically about current groundwater conditions, find solutions to future problems, and make decisions about what can be done now to protect groundwater. The students distribute the information to the community through a variety of individualized projects, such as creating Web sites, speaking to other science classes, writing editorial articles, and designing presentations.
University of Alaska Museum Fairbanks $20,717
Terry Dickey, Box 757880, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7880
Northern Forests - A Hands-On, Museum-Based School Tour Program
This hands-on, museum-based school tour program focuses on the boreal forest ecosystem. The goal of the program is to help middle school students expand their knowledge of the forest and develop a deeper appreciation of its contributions to their lives. The program reaches 700 middle school students in Fairbanks and 150 students from rural villages in the interior of the state. Through a combination of classroom teaching, hands-on tours of the museum's exhibits and collections, and case study activities in the arboretum led by Alaska Native elders, students refine their understanding of boreal forest systems. An in-service workshop for teachers facilitates the integration of the Northern Forests curriculum into their classroom curricula. The curriculum includes inquiry-based activities that emphasize use of the museum's hands-on and research collections and the university's arboretum. In the Fairbanks school district, 11 percent of students are Alaska Natives, and almost 80 percent of students in the rural schools are Alaska Natives.
University of Alaska SE - Sitka $25,000
Dr. John W. Carnegie, 1332 Seward Avenue, Sitka, AK 99835
Environmental Activities, Kits, and Teacher Training
Under this project, 10 instructional kits are created that draw on the Rural Alaska Sanitation Education Program (RASE) developed by the university. A program for grades 11 to 14, RASE is intended to increase the students' knowledge and skills related to disposal of wastewater and solid waste. The kits include equipment, instruments, and supplies, along with fully developed lesson guides for experiments the students can perform. The program also trains 50 teachers in five rural school districts in the effective use of the kits. The kits provide activity-based units on water quality in streams and lakes, water pollution, disposal of solid waste, water and wastewater treatment techniques, transmission of waterborne diseases, and the interrelationships among those topics. Students gain an appreciation for the value of well-operated and well-maintained water and wastewater facilities, as well as a greater awareness of how personal hygiene, the quality of drinking water, and practices in the handling of human waste affect human health.
Alaska Bird Observatory-Fairbanks $4,500
Nancy DeWitt, P. O. Box 80505, Fairbanks, AK 99708
Songbirds of Alaska
The primary objectives of the Alaska Songbird Project are the promotion of bird conservation and environmental career development. The project works to increase awareness of the need to conserve Alaskan habitat for migratory songbirds by conducting an Alaska bird camp and Alaskan songbird workshops and by providing student internships. Through interactive research projects, approximately 114 young people, representing a 25 percent minority population (15 percent Alaskan Native or Indian and more than 50 percent female) learn about ornithology, ecology, environmental issues, scientific research, and environmental careers.
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District $5,000
Linda Schandelmeir, 520 Fifth Avenue, Fairbanks, AK 99701
Air Pollution Monitoring for Children
The goal of the Partners in Science Program (PISP) is to educate sixth grade students in an inner-city school in Fairbanks about the significance of air quality. Assisted by practicing scientists, some 60 students (more than 50 percent of the students are members of minority groups, primarily Native American or African American) and 45 teachers implement simple air pollution measurement techniques. Working in conjunction with the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) project, participants learn to address the relationship between human health and air quality. Teacher and student materials are to be shared with other teachers in the district.
South East Regional Resource Center $4,851
JoAnn Henderson, 210 Ferry Way, Suite 200, Juneau, AK 99801
Faculty Training Workshop
The faculty training workshop for Alaskan Native Student Wilderness and Enrichment Retreat (ANSWER) Camp provides Galena City Schools and Louden Tribal Council educators with the skills and tools they need to integrate outdoor activities into academic courses. At the workshop, university and high school educators, members of Alaskan Native communities, and college students training to become teachers learn how to design, develop, and deliver classes that incorporate aspects of local government, industries, and culture. The workshop prepares the educators to implement the curriculum at the ANSWER Camp to be held in the summer of 1999.
Upper Copper Valley Community Development Corporation $24,306
Everlyn Beeter, P. O. Box 357, Gakona, AK 99586
Tribal Environmental Education Project
Improving the quality of salmon runs and environmental health are the two basic objectives of this project. The instructors teach low-income and Alaskan Native children and elders about environmental issues that affect their community, particularly about hazardous materials and how they affect community health, water quality, and the salmon runs. A special month-long summer classroom and field session educates school children about hazardous materials and the effects of those materials. To compliment those activities, the regular environmental and biological sciences curriculum focuses on hazardous material. In addition, students participate in community service projects related to their studies.
Alaska Bird Observatory - Fairbanks $4,995
Nancy DeWitt, P. O. Box 80505, Fairbanks, AK 99708
Songbirds of Interior Alaska
The purpose of the Songbirds of Interior Alaska project is to create an interactive workbook and curriculum module guide for kindergarten through sixth-grade programs that promotes conservation of migratory and resident birds in Alaska's boreal forest. The project provides in-service training for 60 elementary school teachers in the North Star Borough School District, Fairbanks, where minorities represent more than 25 percent of the school population. Emphasis is placed on activities that introduce students to protection of habitat and bird conservation.
Kuigpagmuit Inc. $5,000
Vince J. Beans, P. O. Box 32209, Mountain Village, AK 99632
Tribal Environmental Training Program
The Tribal Environmental Training Program is intended to establish a culturally sensitive environmental education program that emphasizes tribal responsibility for dealing with hazards created by human activities. Under the project's Trainers-of-Trainers (TOT) component, biologists and environmental scientists from the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society provide culturally sensitive training to tribal leaders in three Yu'pik Eskimo villages. The society's technical assistance database is available to the project, as well. Each TOT graduate implements at least two community activities, using a plan the trainer developed through the TOT program. Under the program, a game and a community awareness activity are being developed, and information is being made available on the World Wide Web.
University of Alaska - Fairbanks $4,782
Douglas Schamel, Institute for Arctic Biology, P. O. Box 757000, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7000
Wetlands Ecology Training Project
The Wetlands Ecology Training Project (W.E.T.) is conducting a series of interactive workshops and outdoor activities for elementary teachers who have little or no experience in the conduct of scientific investigations. The project increases teachers' knowledge of pond ecology, methods of scientific investigation, and use of scientific equipment and relevant curriculum materials. Teachers learn firsthand how to conduct field studies and use scientific supplies. The workshop requires that each participant conduct an investigation with his or her class. The project is being conducted in the North Star Borough School District, Fairbanks, which has 9,400 students in 19 elementary schools. Minorities, most of whom are Alaska natives, make up approximately 25 percent of those students.
Anchorage School District - Central School of Science $5,000
Dwight Taylor, P. O. Box 196614, Anchorage, AK 99519-6614
Chester Creek Stream Ecology and Pollution Project
The Chester Creek Stream Ecology and Pollution Project instructs 700 multi-ethnic middle school students from low income backgrounds about neighborhood pollution problems. Students learn about stream ecology and pollution, conduct water quality tests, and gather and classify stream micro and macro invertebrates. The students also research, prepare, practice, and deliver lessons in the classroom and on field trips. The teachers and parents are involved by teaching the "Living in Water Curriculum," developed by the National Aquarium in Baltimore. This curriculum is the project's source of lesson material.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District $4,700
Susan Dent, 125 West Evergreen Avenue, Palmer, AK 99645
Wetlands Education Program
The purpose of this project is for ninth and tenth grade students to explore watersheds in the Cook Inlet. The students demonstrate their understanding of environmental science issues by constructing a nature trail with ponds and wetlands that can be used by the general public and other educational institutions and also by constructing model streams for use in each science classroom. These activities are helping the students engage in critical-thinking and problem-solving activities while creating projects for use by the community.
University of Alaska - Fairbanks, Center for Global Change $24,379
Elena Sparrow, P. O. Box 757740, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7740
Global Change Environmental Education in Alaska
The University of Alaska is piloting an interactive broadcasting training course on global change to 50-60 teachers in five sites in Alaska (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Bethel, and Barrow). This course enables participants to successfully teach topics on global change through their existing curriculum, form partnerships with scientists, and use technology with their students to access scientific information and participate in science projects. The course is reaching more than 2,000 students.
Alaska Center for the Environment $20,000
Kevin Harun, 519 W. 8th Avenue #201, Anchorage, AK 99501
Green Star in the Schools Experimental Learning Project
The goal of this project is to develop a Green Star pollution prevention and recycling program in 25 Anchorage schools involving students of all ethnic backgrounds. It will teach students to develop life-long pollution prevention habits, hands-on problem solving skills, and respect for the environment. Students will implement specific Green Star standards for each school by creating student environmental councils that will be responsible for developing solutions to actual school and neighborhood environmental problems.
Tanaina Child Development Center $2,150
Monica Milbradt, 3221 Providence Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508
Tanaina Child Development Center Teacher Training Workshop
This project will provide general environmental education training to the teaching staff of the Tanaina Child Development Center (five lead teachers and five assistants). Workshops will be method oriented and provide hands-on training that will prepare the teachers to go into the classroom and implement what they have learned. A curriculum will be used to show the teaching staff that science can be fun and relatable to young children. Tanaina will focus on preventing the wasteful use of everyday resources that are abundant in Alaska now, but still need to be used with care.
Alaska Pacific University $3,941
Richard Myers, 4101 University Dr., Anchorage, AK 99508-4672
Environmental Science Kits
For this project, the university will construct environmental science kits, primarily for water testing in rural Alaskan villages. Workshops will be held to train teachers on the use of the kits, which will be distributed statewide, even to isolated village schools. The intent of the project is to enable educators to increase residents' awareness of their environment.
Kenai Peninsula School District $5,000
Diane Borgman, 150 Park Ave., Soldotna, AK 99669
Kenai Peninsula School District
The Kenai Peninsula School District will introduce environmental education to the students by infusing it into existing curricula using thematic units at each grade level. To accompany the thematic units, a series of seven tubs (educational materials) will be developed for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Tubs will contain materials designed with hands-on activities. Facilitators will be hired to train the teachers at a pilot school in the use of the materials.
Prince William Sound $4,710
Nancy Bird, P. O. Box 705, Cordova, AK 99574-0705
Visit the Prince William Sound
For this project, a team of educators will visit Prince William Sound communities and present a series of interactive environmental education activities in each of the elementary schools. The activities will be tailored to meet the needs and concerns of each community. The educators will bring self-contained education kits and provide environmental education resources and extension activities to the community school.
Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies $5,000
Penny Hodges, P. O. Box 2225, Homer, AK 99603
Oceanography Project
This oceanography project provides a forum for studying cruises in the south central Alaska area. The project will include hands-on activities for students and teachers while on the cruises. Also pre-trip classroom preparations and follow-up class activities will be developed.
Chugachmiut $4,999
Barbara Miklos, 3300 C Street, Anchorage, AK 99503
Household Hazardous Wastes
This grant funds a project to develop and provide consumer education on Household Hazardous Wastes to the Alaska Native residents of the Chugach Region. A pamphlet, poster, and public service announcement will be developed and printed or broadcast in Alutiiq, the Alaskan Native language.
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District $15,122
Susan Creventsen, Ticasuk Brown Elementary School, P. O. Box 71250, Fairbanks, AK 99707-1250
Where Do the Geese Go?
This project, entitled "Where Do the Geese Go?" - From Alaska to Washington: Environmental Education With A Bird's Eye View, has four elementary schools in Alaska, Canada, and Washington exploring environmental issues affecting Canadian Geese as the geese are tracked by satellite on their fall and spring migration.
Business Park Wetlands Coalition $5,000
Anchorage, AK 99501 99501
Swamp Art
The "Swamp Art" project is a community-based hands-on learning experience that combines science and art at a newly developed nature center and business wetlands park.
Joy Elementary School-Fairbanks North Star Borough Schools $8,346
Fairbanks, AK 99707
In Our Back Yard
The "In Our Back Yard" project was developed to create interior Alaska ecosystem learning activity kits for elementary school children and to train educators in the use of the kits.
Lathrop High School-Fairbanks North Star Borough Schools $4,940
Fairbanks, AK 99707
EcoNet
An environmental computer bulletin board, called EcoNet, was created with this grant. The purpose of the bulletin board is to communicate with peers across the country concerning local environmental efforts, problem solving, and the initiation of joint projects.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District $1,629
Palmer, AK 99645
Envira-Ware
This grant funds a project called "Envira-Ware." For this project, the Willow School will use computer and laser videodisc technologies to organize, expand, and reinforce the study of environmental issues. The pilot run of the program reached 25 6th grade students, but the program will expand to include students from kindergarten through 6th grade.