Dear Editor: On Friday, Sept. 25, a large crowd turned out for the Open House and Learning Shelter Celebration at the Pacific High Garden. Community members toured the space, learned about the programming around it, and ate tasty treats prepared by the culinary class, featuring garden-grown produce and salmon smoked with Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s Resource Protection Department.
Some opted to help plant raspberries for the public, or make Lingít language garden signs. Others ran around clutching fresh carrots and sporting orange circles around their mouths! It was heartwarming, to say the least, to see the wonderful response from this community. Gunalchéesh, Sitka!
We’d also like to express our deep gratitude to the countless volunteers, visionaries, donors and contractors who helped make this space (and this event) happen.
Built with locally milled young-growth Sitka spruce and strong collaborations between Sitka School District, Sitka Conservation Society, Sitka Native Education Program, and Sitka Tribe of Alaska, this Learning Shelter provides a gathering space for educational activities for Sitka’s youths. Students have learned to build garden beds, wash garden veggies and can salmon within this space. Community members have learned to propagate wild berries.
If your classroom (at any school!) or organization is interested in collaborating to use the space in the future, please reach out to its caretakers: Pacific High Principal Matt Groen or Pacific High Garden Coordinator Andrea Fraga. We’d love to host more learning in this space! In gratitude,
Matt Groen, Pacific High Principal
Andrea Fraga,
PHS Garden Coordinator
Denise Schaffer,
PHS Culinary Coordinator
Mandy Summer,
SSD Food Services Director
Jule LeBlanc (Aanch Ganúkt),
SSD Cultural Director
Sheridan Bacon (Ḵaax̱’eiltí),
STA SNEP Director
Sienna Reid (Kushxeet), Coordinator
STA Kayaaní Commission
Chandler O’Connell,
SCS Community Catalyst
