September 2023 Outlook
Heidi Rader
Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension
Promoted to term professor
Santosh Kumar Pand
College of Natural Science and Mathematics
(joint affiliation with IANRE)
Tenured as associate professor
Faculty promotions
Taking their career to a new level! Congratulations to our Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension faculty who earned promotion or tenure this year.
New recipe wall at the MATSU Food Bank
— From the
The RECIPE WALL is up!
With the creative genius of Adair Harman from the , we now have an array of healthy recipes for our clients to choose from using the products we have at the pantry.
If you like trying out new dishes or find cooking a challenge, try out the recipes. They will change according to what we have available!
Adair writes, “ The MATSU Food Bank is so great to work with. They are really dedicated to making sure clients have the information they need to make the most of what they get. We are always looking for ways to improve things and make sure that we are giving out information that matches up with foods that are currently in stock at the pantry.”
Inaugural Far North Currant Festival a success
— Glenna Gannon and Katie DiCristina
The inaugural Far North Currant Festival was a resounding success, with more than 350 attendees. The festival was held at the Georgeson Botanical Garden in Fairbanks on Aug. 26 and also was featured as part of the Northern Abundance Weekend, which is sponsored by the Northern Environmental Center.
The festival hosted 10 community partners who set up booths, which shared information, resources and activities surrounding currants and their use. Community information vendors included the Fairbanks Children's Museum, The TV Alaska Berry’s Future Program, Story Cube, Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District, and more.
Festival activities were organized around four stations: 1. History of Currants; 2. Nutrition and Health Benefits of Currants; 3. Identify, Find and Grow Currants, and; 4. Taste Test and How to Use Currants.
The festival aimed to familiarize the public with currants and increase interest in currants as a hardy fruit crop for Alaska. Currants are an excellent source of nutrition, making the fruit a worthy candidate for efforts to increase fruit production and food security in Alaska. We plan to hold the currant festival annually and continue to add to the event offerings.
Bering Strait Region students participate in Ecology Explorer program
Jackie Hrabok led a weeklong natural resource immersion program on the Seward Peninsula in July. Ten students learned about natural resources, reindeer husbandry, fisheries, food security, geology and gold prospecting, birding and applied arts during a weeklong Ecology Explorer program.
The students, entering eighth-12th grades in the Bering Strait Region schools, spent a week immersed in the natural world at Alaska Gold and Resort, an off-the-grid facility powered by solar energy. They harvested a few of their meals, consisting of salmon, edible wild plants and greenhouse produce. Field trips along the Teller, Kougarok and Council Roads were a highlight of the week. Students earned two TV science credits and one applied arts credit.
Ecology Explorer 2023 was funded by Drumbeats Alaska Consortium, Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, Northwestern Alaska Career and Technical Center (NACTEC), and TVCooperative Extension 4-H.
Cooperative Extension offers local food leader training workshops
The TVCooperative Extension Service is offering a series of workshops for people interested in local food systems.
The Local Food Leader Training and Certification program is intended for local food practitioners, such as food policy council members, public health professionals and master gardeners.
The program teaches skills such as networking, evaluation techniques, inclusion and leadership. It includes certifications and continuing education unit credit, in addition to opportunities for professional development.
The Local Food Leader 101 program is offered online on Tuesdays from 6-8 p.m. from Oct. 3 to Nov. 7. The cost is $150. The registration form is on .
Those who complete the workshop series can continue to the Local Food Leader Certification training, which consists of four online modules that can be completed at any time within a four-month window. These modules provide additional instruction on food system influences, impacts and engagement practices. Each module is estimated to take 10 or fewer hours to complete and includes presentations, readings, activities and quizzes.
Participants will receive a certificate of completion when finished and may earn up to three continuing education unit credits. The cost is $350. The registration form is on .
Scholarships are available for both courses.
Additional program sponsors include the Alaska Department of Health, Alaska Farmers Market Association and Iowa State University Outreach.
Contact Melissa Clampitt at mrclampitt@alaska.edu or 907-745-3551 for more information about the training, to request a scholarship application or for an accommodation request related to a disability. Disability requests should be made seven business days in advance.
At-risk Alaskans can join diabetes prevention program
Alaskans across the state who are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes are eligible to join a yearlong program to help them lose weight and improve their health.
The TVCooperative Extension Service is offering the Zoom-based program, led by instructor Melissa Clampitt.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which developed the program, one in three Americans has prediabetes, and excess weight is a key risk factor. The program is overseen by the CDC and the Diabetes Training and Technical Assistance Center.
Participants get ideas and support from other participants and Clampitt, a trained Extension lifestyle coach. Beginning on Oct. 11, participants will meet weekly on Wednesdays for about 16 weeks and at least once monthly after that.
Two one-hour sessions are available, from noon-1 p.m. or 6-7 p.m.
Registration is available on the . Please contact Clampitt at 907-745-3551 or mrclampitt@alaska.edu prior to registering to determine eligibility and discuss the program.
The fee of $150 includes a digital scale and program materials that will be mailed to participants. The deadline to register is Sept. 29.
In the News
- Casey Matney talked to KBBI about the berry season on the Kenai:
- Sarah Lewis’ work at the Juneau food festival is mentioned in this story from KINY: and this one from KTOO:
- The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner covered the inaugural Far North Currant Festival:
- Gino Graziano is featured in this Alaska Beacon story:
- Adrian Kohrt’s column in the Aug. 27 issue of the News-Miner:
- Reina Hasting's column in the Sept. 10 issue of the News-Miner:
- Melissa Clampitt talks about diabetes prevention program on KTVF:
(Note, if you don't subscribe to the News-Miner, you can read Extension columns on the )