October 2023 Outlook
IANRE update
— Jodie Anderson
I wanted to start my inaugural Monthly Message at the beginning: what is IANRE about? After reflecting on this topic, I decided I could make a graphic that told a better story than words, and that was more fun to look at than all these words in this article! To me, this graphic is a great visual reminder of our mission and our work. In my day-to-day work as our director, I constantly refer back to this graphic to remind me of what we do and why we do it.
Right now, I am focused on three large areas of work for IANRE:
- Featuring IANRE as an integral component of ĂŰĚŇTV as measured by our increased involvement in university work;
- Building capacity to respond to specific and identified community needs; and
- Strengthening and developing established and new partnerships and collaborations.
I am proud of the work happening within IANRE, and I want to take a moment to highlight some specific work by IANRE faculty and staff that feeds into each of these three areas.
- Kieran Gleason is volunteering to serve on the ĂŰĚŇTV policy committee on off-road motor vehicle use on campus (Fairbanks) and is involved in the larger campus work of planning and safety;
- Reina Hasting was awarded a sole-source grant through the State of Alaska SNAP-ed program that will allow her to hire four new nutrition educators in communities across the state; and
- Gino Graziano took the time to craft an amazing reply to a vetch question from President Pitney that included the work happening with statewide partner agencies, the latest research in progress, and the outreach happening to get invasive species information to Alaska residents!
I know there are many examples of university involvement, capacity building and strengthening partnerships throughout our institute, and I hope you will share these with me as a way that we can celebrate and recognize what we do to carry out the land grant mission for Alaska.
"Alaska isn't Out Standing Alone in Our Field"
Listen/view the : "Circumpolar Food Security: Alaska Isn’t Out Standing Alone in Our Field." (Passcode is Gi/ianre/outlook/2023/h.7Jp) She discusses her experience and reflections on the Circumpolar Agriculture Conference, which was held in the Faroe Islands in September. The .
"I know we will benefit from our new relationships across the circumpolar north," Anderson said. "The Vice Chancellor for Research and I hope this presentation will be a model for a series of presentations where ĂŰĚŇTV attendees of large conferences can share their experiences and potential opportunities with their colleagues to promote interdisciplinary and cross-campus collaborations."
Georgeson Botanical Garden Hassebroek Promenade update
This summer, several major upgrades were made to the Hassebroek Promenade, the main pedestrian walkway through the middle of the garden, Katie DiCristina said.
Becky and Marv Hassebroek made a generous donation to develop the promenade to improve the visitor experience with improved accessibility and orientation and more resting spaces and garden beds. The initial design/installation of the promenade did not meet expectations, so Provost Anupma Prakash and Julie Queen, the vice chancellor for Administrative Services, found the funding to ensure the project met donor expectations.
“Everyone is very happy with the final outcome of the Promenade and we have had many comments from users who previously had difficulty navigating the gravel pathway that can now visit with ease,” DiCristina said.
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Potato harvest at Palmer farm
— Jodie Anderson
Chef Amy Foote, senior area executive chef at the ANTHC , along with several colleagues, harvested the Tlingit and Haida potatoes that grew in the Palmer farm field again this year. They harvested more than 280 pounds and we are excited to continue this collaboration with them.
The (ANTHC) provides health services to Alaska Native and American Indian people in Alaska. Amy and her team use about 60% traditional ingredients in the food they serve. Traditional food helps to bring familiarity to those who have traveled a long way to be cared for and nourished back to health. They’re doing amazing work!
2023-24 garlic trials underway
A few days before snow started falling in Fairbanks, Glenna Gannon, Kristen Haney and graduate research assistant Soumitra Sakhalkar planted garlic in a trial plot at Georgeson Botanical Garden.
It’s the second official year of garlic trials, Gannon said. This year, they planted 23 varieties of garlic, three more than in 2022.
Hazelnuts are a new trial crop
Plant enthusiast Josh Smith is behind one of the new crops in both Palmer and Fairbanks: Hazelnuts.
“Hazelnuts are one of the most resilient crops you can grow,” Smith said. “They’re drought-resistant, they’re flood-resistant. They’re resistant to cold and heat and every extreme you can imagine.”
State office bids adieu to invasive chokecherry trees
This summer, as part of an effort to clean up the brush around the IANRE state office on the ĂŰĚŇTV campus, crews cut down several chokecherry trees and trimmed the lilacs and other bushes. The lilacs are expected to regrow in the spring, but Gooseberry Peter teamed up with Hazel Berrios to make sure the chokecherries did not.
Berrios, a natural resources technician with the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation Service, came armed with a backpack full of copper-colored pellets containing a herbicide and a long, hollow pole that “shoots” the pellets into the tree stump.
Herbicides are the most effective form of management, resulting in the total removal of the tree and eliminating the risk of regrowth.
The site is marked with a sign, both as a warning to keep children and pets away from the stumps, but also to let the public know of the work in progress.
When the snow melts next spring, the trees should be gone and then we’ll have to decide what to plant in their place.
Researchers survey the spread of potato scab
As Alaskans harvest their potato crops this fall, many will find that some of the tubers have what looks like a case of warts — raised, dark areas that may feel pithy. Those marks are called potato scab, which is caused by naturally occurring bacteria in the soil.
Swiss team visits AFES forest reference stands
On Sept. 2, Glenn Juday led a field trip to AFES’ long-term forest reference stands in Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest for Professor Markus Stoffel and staff of the Swiss Tree Ring Dendrolab.
Restoration of vetch infestations to pollinator-friendly habitat
We are comparing visitations of pollinators on these flowers with vetch. It is commonly thought that diverse plantings of native flowers will attract a greater diversity of pollinators, and we want to understand which plants do the best job of attracting those pollinators.
Research update: Forest Soils Lab
The Forest Soils Lab had a successful summer of fieldwork in the boreal forest. The team installed three new sites to monitor the spruce bark beetle outbreak near Cantwell and Denali National Park.
This project is in partnership with Ahtna, the Alaska Division of Forestry, and the Geophysical Institute.
Alaska Invasive Species Workshop is coming up
The 2022 detection of the invasive European green crab in Southeast Alaska and the effect of climate change on the prevalence and impacts of species invasions will be highlighted at the 2023 Alaska Invasive Species Workshop.
The workshop, themed “Invaders on the Edge,” is scheduled for Nov. 7-9 at Harrigan Centennial Hall in Sitka.
In the News
- Glenna Gannon talked about .
- Gino Graziano talked about .
- Heidi Rader contributed to a USDA publication, , which was published in September.
- KTVF aired a led by Melissa Clampitt.
- ĂŰĚŇTV Cooperative Extension Service and Alaska Community Foundation’s support for 4-H were cited as an “Inspiring Story” in the Chancellor’s Report on Philanthropy
- Leslie Shallcross's Oct. 8 column in the News-Miner:
- Art Nash’s column in the Sept. 24 News-Miner:
- Heidi Rader’s gardening column in the Sept. 17 News-Miner:
(Note, if you don't subscribe to the News-Miner, you can read Extension columns on the )
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