WISE
  • Home
  • About WISE
    • Mission and Goals
    • President's Message
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Partners
    • Location
    • Policies
    • Donors and Grantors
    • Annual Reports and Newsletters
  • What We Do
    • Education Programs >
      • Aquatic Ecology Camp
      • Alaska Forum on the Environment
      • Changing Seasons
      • Copper River Stewardship Program
      • Outdoor and Wilderness Leadership Skills
      • Earth Discovery Day
      • In-Class Science
      • Science Lecture Series
      • Summer Hikes
      • Wild Plants Workshop
    • Research & Citizen Science >
      • Salmon Blitz
      • Willow Creek Research Consortium
      • Christmas Bird Count
    • Other Programs >
      • 20th Anniversary Challenges
      • Copper Country Discovery Tour
      • Family Ice Fishing Day
      • Project Healing Waters
      • Winter Fun Day
  • Get Involved
    • Employment
    • Volunteer
  • Support WISE
    • Donate
    • WISE Store
    • Take Our Nature Tour
  • Contact Us
  • WISE Blog

WISEfriends Blog

Local Students Share Insights at Alaska Forum on the Environment

2/15/2019

0 Comments

 
Copper River Record  February 21, 2019
By Robin Mayo
​On February 11th and 12th, four Copper Basin youth traveled to Anchorage to participate in Alaska Forum on the Environment.  They re-united with 4 Cordova students with whom they shared an intensive 10-day expedition on Copper River Stewardship Program in the summer of 2018.  The 8 students planned and presented “Linked by the River,” a multi-media presentation on how shared wilderness experiences encourage camaraderie, mutual understanding, and a stewardship ethic.
Alaska Forum on the Environment (AFE) is a statewide meeting attended by hundreds of people, including agency representatives, tribal leaders, businesses, and educators.  As well as inspiring keynote speakers, a multitude of tracks give everyone a chance to learn and connect on topics as diverse as marine debris, disaster response, climate change, and alternative energy.
AFE also includes a youth track, and we shared meals and laughter with youth from all over the state who also gave presentations on their projects.  WISE has taken students to AFE for the past 5 years, as it is a wonderful chance for them to connect on a statewide scale. Some of the students also documented their experience and earned college credit from UA Bristol Bay Campus.
The 30-minute “Linked by the River” presentation used a variety of media and the diverse talents of the students to tell their story.  They shared photos and anecdotes from the journey, played videos, and taught the audience an “icebreaker” game to demonstrate the power of laughter to connect.  The highlight was a song re-written for the program, featuring all 8 stewards singing along with 2 ukuleles and a guitar.  The audience of 75 went away humming and singing “We had lumps in our throats ‘cause we knew we wanted more time…” To see a video of the song, visit Wrangell Institute for Science and Environment (WISE) on Facebook, and don’t forget to check out all the other events and like our page while you are there!
The funds for the AFE experience were raised at a Taco Feed in the fall, when the stewards shared their final projects from the Copper River Stewardship Program.  Families and community members chipped in to help with the expenses of travel, lodging, and food.  Conference registration fees are waived, and many of the meals are provided as part of Youth Track activities.
For students who would like to embark on a similar adventure, applications will be accepted in March for Summer 2019 Copper River Stewardship Program.  We are looking for youth from the Copper Basin and Cordova, or with significant ties to the Copper River Watershed, who want to explore, learn, and share with their communities. And they will earn High School credit from Copper River School District. Watch this space for more details!
Picture
​Photo:  From Left: Josie Beauchamp, Warren Brower, Lindsey Gordon, and Cozmo Harder are joined by 4 Cordova students for the grand finale of their song at Alaska Forum on the Environment.
0 Comments
    Picture

    Who We Are

    WISEfriends are several writers connected with Wrangell Institute for Science and Environment, a nonprofit organization located in Alaska's Copper River Valley.  Most of these articles originally appeared in our local newspaper, the Copper River Record.

    Archives

    August 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2009
    September 2007
    August 2007
    May 2007
    May 2006
    May 2005
    March 2005
    June 2003
    September 2000
    July 2000
    July 1998
    June 1998

    Categories

    All
    Alaska Forum On The Environment
    Aquatic Ecology Camp
    Art
    Audubon's Christmas Bird Count
    Bear
    Birds
    Blueberries
    Camping
    Cats
    Changing Seasons
    Chosen Frozen
    Christmas Bird Count
    Clean-up Day
    Copper River Basin Symposium
    Copper River Stewardship Program
    Denali
    Donation
    Earth Discovery Day
    Fish
    Geology Camp
    Giving Tuesday
    Glacier
    HAARP
    Hikes
    Home
    Ice Fishing
    In Class Science
    In-Class Science
    Insects
    Interns
    Kotsina River Cleanup
    Lamprey Lecture
    Lecture Series
    Local Food
    Meadow Jumping Mouse
    Moose
    Natures Beauty
    Neighborhood Nuisance
    Nic'anilen'Na
    Oil Spill
    Owl
    OWLS
    Partnerships
    Plants
    Pop-Up Natural Playground
    Project Healing Waters
    Quinzee
    Redback Voles
    Re-Usable Shopping Bag
    Salmon Blitz
    Skiing
    Snow
    Snowshoe Hares
    Subsistence
    Tolsona Mud Volcanoes
    Tonsina River Trail
    Volcano
    Weather
    Wildfires
    Wild Plants Of The Copper Basin
    Wings Over The Wrangells
    Winter Fun Day
    WISE News
    WISE Thoughts
    Women Of Distinction
    Wrangell St. Elias National Park

    RSS Feed

Picture
About WISE
What We Do
Get Involved
Support WISE 

Contact Us
Policies​
Wrangell Institute for Science & Environment 
www.wise-edu.org
contact@wise-edu.org
(907) 822-3575
​WISE is a
501(c)3
nonprofit
​organization
 
​

Contact Us

Donate
  • Home
  • About WISE
    • Mission and Goals
    • President's Message
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Partners
    • Location
    • Policies
    • Donors and Grantors
    • Annual Reports and Newsletters
  • What We Do
    • Education Programs >
      • Aquatic Ecology Camp
      • Alaska Forum on the Environment
      • Changing Seasons
      • Copper River Stewardship Program
      • Outdoor and Wilderness Leadership Skills
      • Earth Discovery Day
      • In-Class Science
      • Science Lecture Series
      • Summer Hikes
      • Wild Plants Workshop
    • Research & Citizen Science >
      • Salmon Blitz
      • Willow Creek Research Consortium
      • Christmas Bird Count
    • Other Programs >
      • 20th Anniversary Challenges
      • Copper Country Discovery Tour
      • Family Ice Fishing Day
      • Project Healing Waters
      • Winter Fun Day
  • Get Involved
    • Employment
    • Volunteer
  • Support WISE
    • Donate
    • WISE Store
    • Take Our Nature Tour
  • Contact Us
  • WISE Blog