A series of webinars highlighting Alaska’s diverse native plants and their uses is scheduled for May, which is Alaska Native Plant Month.
The series, available statewide, is a collaboration between the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service and the Alaska Native Plant Society.
The webinars are on Wednesdays, from noon to 1 p.m.
On May 7, Sarah Jansen of St. Isadore Farm will talk about the trials and triumphs of growing wildflowers on a multigenerational family farm. Jansen, a fifth-generation farmer, will teach what her family has learned about gathering, cleaning and planting wildflower seeds. She now grows wildflowers with her children on the land her family has farmed for 40 years.
Register for “St. Isidore Farm: Growing Wildflowers on the Last Frontier” using the online form or visit https://bit.ly/ANPSwildflowers.
On May 14, Sabrina Farmer, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will talk about Alaska pollinators and offer tips for improving your gardening habits to support these insects. Many pollinators, which are essential to gardens, food security and ecosystems, are declining across the world.
Farmer focuses on pollinator conservation, outreach and education, and environmental policy. She is leading work on the endangered Aleutian shield fern and a species status assessment for Suckley’s cuckoo bumble bee.
Register for “Get the Buzz on Pollinators in Alaska” using the online form or visit https://bit.ly/ANPSpollinators.
On May 21, Vivian Yéilk’ Mork, a Tlingit traditional foods and medicine educator, will tell how Alaska Native cultures use seasonal knowledge, ecological observation and cultural protocols to harvest Native plants for food and medicine.
Mork has a master’s degree in cross-cultural studies with an emphasis on Indigenous knowledge systems. She has been teaching traditional foods and medicine for almost 25 years.
Register for “Native Plants as Food and Medicine” using the online form or visit https://bit.ly/ANPSfood.
Join Jeff Lowenfels for a webinar on May 28. He will emphasize the importance of microbial life for healthy plants and ecosystems, describe how the soil food web operates and offer practical gardening tips.
Lowenfels is a well-known gardening and sustainability writer. He writes the longest-running garden column in North America and is the author of the “Teaming with…” book series. He also founded the national program “Plant A Row for the Hungry.”
Register for “The New Soil Food Web” using the online form or visit https://bit.ly/ANPSsoilweb.
The Alaska Native Plant Society is a nonprofit organization that promotes the study and conservation of Alaska Native plants.
For more information, contact Molly Johansson at mjohansson@alaska.edu or 907-786-6313.
