The public is invited to celebrate Alaska agriculture May 5 at the Georgeson Botanical Garden. The Interior Alaska Food Network and the botanical garden will host Alaska Agriculture Day 2019 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with free family activities and educational booths representing more than 25 community groups and organizations. Activities will include painting a plant pot, barley toss, face painting, garden tours, planting a seed starter for sunflowers or marigolds, and several games, such as ladybug tic-tac-toe. The Alaska OneTree Program will demonstrate how to make birch syrup, and participants may learn about beekeeping, conservation, sustainability and growing herbs. There will also be swallow nests from the Alaska Songbird Institute and farm equipment. Read more
Certified food protection manager training will take place by videoconference May 22 in several Alaska communities. Locations include Fairbanks, Palmer, Juneau, Sitka and other communities as requested. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will offer the food safety management workshop from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. State regulations require that all food establishments have at least one certified food protection manager on staff to ensure compliance with food safety regulations. Read more
Registration is open for the AK Experience summer camp in Haines. The seven-day residential 4-H camp will take place July 22-28 at the Rainbow Glacier Camp facility and is open to all youths ages 11-18. The camp focuses on outdoors skills and activities, including hiking, fishing, kayaking and harvesting wild edibles. Experienced camp leaders will also teach outdoor cooking, firearms skills and safety, archery, wilderness survival skills, using a GPS and more. Participants will gain a new awareness about conservation issues, resource management and harvest ethics. Read more
- Farm Family of the Year nominations soughtThe Alaska Division of Agriculture is looking for nominations for the Farm Family of the Year Award to be presented at the Alaska State Fair. Nominations are sought from across Alaska. To nominate a family, submit a written statement about why you think a family should be nominated and information about their farming history, community … Continue reading Farm Family of the Year nominations sought
- Juneau Wild Kitchen Walks!Juneau residents may join Cooperative Extension and local experts this spring and summer to gather local, wild edible plants and learn how to use them in cooking. The Wild Kitchen Walks series begins April 28 with a foraging walk from 10 a.m. to noon to collect wild spring greens, followed by cooking from 1 to … Continue reading Juneau Wild Kitchen Walks!
- Celebrate spring in Palmer with a spring fling!The Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center will celebrate spring on Saturday, April 13, with 11 free community classes. One-hour classes will be offered 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. as part of Spring Fling with Extension. Three sessions are full but registration is open for classes on gardening myths, composting, emergency preparedness and … Continue reading Celebrate spring in Palmer with a spring fling!
- Women’s History Month: Celebrating Lydia Fohn-HansenMarch is National Women’s History Month and is intended to celebrate women’s contributions to history. We decided to celebrate Lydia Fohn-Hansen, who was an integral part of the Cooperative Extension Service’s beginnings in Alaska. Lydia Fohn-Hansen came to Alaska in 1925 after seeing a notice on a bulletin board that Dr. Charles Bunnell, then the … Continue reading Women’s History Month: Celebrating Lydia Fohn-Hansen