WHAT’S UP March 5, 2021 Compiled weekly by Peg Tileston on behalf of Trustees for Alaska, The Alaska Center, and The Alaska Conservation Foundation. **Marks new items in this issue CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS, SPECIAL EVENTS **March 6 to June 16 IN THE VIRTUAL GARDEN WITH COOPERATIVE EXTENSION at from Noon to 1pm will provide tips and tricks for successful home gardening in Alaska at the following dates: March 10 - Season Extenders March 24 - City Chickens April 7:- Spice Up Your Garden (Herb Gardens) April 21 - Pollinator Gardens May 5 - Amazing Annual Flowers May 19: Perfect Perennials June 2 - Fabulous Flower Design June 16 - Terrific Tomatoes Register once and attend any or all of the classes in the series. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Register at http://bit.ly/UAFCES_ITVG2021. **March 18 – May 6 WILDFIRE AND YOU IN A CHANGING CLIMATE is a professional development online course for educators (1 credit optional). All classes and materials will be available on-line. There will be four(r 4) scheduled Zoom meetings and the rest is at your own pace. Course includes: Role of Fire in Alaska, Fire Works & Project Learning Tree curricula at no extra cost. MUST pre- register by March 12. For more information, contact [email protected]. **April 6 – 8 PESTICIDE SAFETY EDUCATION PROGRAM (PSEP) will be held from 9am to 5pm each day. The training costs $75 and includes all necessary study materials. Participants who live in Anchorage will need to make an appointment to pick up study materials at our office. Please email Gina Dionne at [email protected] and include a copy of your registration confirmation and the categories you plan to test in. The Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) provides training for Alaskans intent on becoming certified pesticide applicators with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Pesticide Control Program. For more information, contact Phil Kaspari at 907-895-4215 or [email protected]. Registration is available at http:bit.ly/PSEPtraining. **April 6 - 11 One Health, One Future, April 6-11, 2021 (virtual) is expected to be the LARGEST CIRCUMPOLAR ONE HEALTH CONFERENCE held in the United States in 2021, with participation anticipated from across the Arctic region. The event is part of the United States contribution to One Arctic, One Health, an Arctic Council project now in its sixth year of operation. The project aims to develop a circumpolar network of One Health experts that can share knowledge, conduct exercises, and spur collaborative investigations of One Health phenomena. For more information, go to https://uaf.edu/onehealth/events/2021_conference/. **April 12 – 15, 26 – 29 and May 10 - 13 QUALIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLER WORKSHOP will provide the opportunity to learn and get hands-on experiences in basic field parameter collection, sampling, sample handling and shipping of surface water, groundwater and soil. Background information in site characterization, surface water, groundwater, and soil characteristics including permafrost, instrument calibration, QC-samples, and regulatory processes are taught in a classroom setting. April 12-15 and 26-29 2021 2-days online and 2 days in person for field hands-on. May 10-13, 2021 2 days in classroom in person, 2 days field hands-on in person. A rebate of 30% will be given to Veterans and Full Time Students. For more information, go to http://www.environmentalsampler.com. Pre-registration is required. **April 14 – 16 ALASKA TRAILS STATEWIDE TRAILS CONFERENCE registration is now open and will be held via Virtual Format. Join the conversation about all aspects of Alaska's world-class trails. Special sessions this year on the Alaska Long Trail, mapping and Leave No Trace. Come see what it takes to build and maintain the trails you love and hear about what trail advocates, managers and builders are planning for 2021! For the complete agenda, registration and more, go to www.alaska-trails.org. PUBLIC HEARINGS/MEETINGS March 16 Virtual Open House #1 will be held on the SEWARD HIGHWAY: 36TH AVENUE INTERCHANGE PROJECT from Noon to 1:30pm and from 5 to 7pm via Zoom. This is one of the busiest intersections with the most crashes in the Anchorage bowl. Bicyclists and pedestrians report that it is difficult to cross the highway and users report a general lack of east- west connectivity in the area. Planned improvements include grade separations, highway ramps, non-motorized facilities, and new frontage roads connecting Tudor Road to 36th Avenue. This project will: • Improve flow for all travel modes; • Support the separation of local trips from through trips; • Improve facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists; • Increase safety, and •Reduce delays. Visit www.36thInterchange.com to find information for how to participate in the virtual open house, to join the email list, learn more about this effort, and find contact information for sending comments and questions to the team. TELECONFERENCES – VIRTUAL MEETINGS March 6 WISE (Wrangell Institute for Science and Environment) will hold their ANNUAL MEETING at 7pm. This is an opportunity for the WISE community to celebrate the past year and look forward to the next. Sadly, we will miss the chance to share food and relax together; however, we are excited to welcome WISE friends from afar who are not usually able to attend. Featured Speaker: DANNY ROSENKRANS topic is REFLECTIONS on WISE and ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION. Agenda: • Short business meeting; • Honor outgoing board members and welcome new ones; • Learn about the new WISE Fund at Alaska Community Foundation; • 2020 year in review slideshow; •Door prizes; •A chance to visit in small groups if you wish afterwards. Register Here to Attend. **March 10 RAILBELT RELIABILITY COUNCIL - AN EFFORT TO CREATE ALASKAS’S FIRST ELECTRIC RELIABILITY ORGANIZATION will be presented from Noon to 1pm at the REAP Speakers Series. Speakers: CHRIS ROSE, REAP; SUZANNE SETTLE, CIRI; RICK BALDWIN, Homer Electric Association. Free registration required at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/7716146368705/WN_LEww8-qzS5yfipm4t2rOkQ. March 10 Wildlife Wednesday presents SEA OTTERS, NEARSHORE COMMUNITIES, and GRADUATE STUDENTS in SOUTHEAST ALASKA from 7 to 8pm, Take a headfirst dive into fieldwork. Have you ever been mud crawling, eelgrass snorkeling, and crab wrangling in Southeast Alaska? Join us on a virtual exploration of marine resources and communities as we wade or dive into the ocean. Four graduate students share their adventures learning about the sea otters, crabs, clams, fish, abalone, and so much more that live off the coast of Prince of Wales Island. Click here to join the presentation! **March 10 HOW ARE STREAMS in the MATSU BASIN RESPONDING to the CHANGING CLIMATE? will be presented at 5:30pm online via Zoom and FacebookLive, both links found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/703804440291300. SUE MAUGER will share her research about the impacts of increased water temperatures in the Susitna Watershed. To register, to go https://www.susitnarivercoalition.org/event-info/building-habitat-resiliency-for-wild- salmon-in-a-warming-world. **March 17 ECOACOUSTICS THEORY and SOUNDSCAPE ECOLOGY in ALASKA’S WILDERNESS will be presented from 7 to 8pm. Sound in nature is a form of information vital to the functioning of ecological systems that also impacts human experience. The significance of sound is based on a scale of emergent properties ranging from the way animals select habitats based on acoustic qualities to landscape-level patterns of acoustic compositions linked to the physical environment and human activity. Alaska’s wilderness attracts millions of people worldwide seeking to experience nature in its purest form. Yet, human access to these wild areas is largely by means of machines, which create noise, ultimately diminishing wilderness quality and human experience of natural sounds. Join this virtual presentation by DR. TIMOTHY MULLET, an ecologist with the Kenai Fjords National Park, to learn why sound is important to nature, people, and science; and he will present his published work on the impacts noise has to the wilderness of the Kenai Peninsula. Join online at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82006496527?pwd=anhEZm1PT3l0NytWSlRzRTAyeFBwQT09. **March 19 ALASKA COMMUNITY FOREST COUNCIL will hold its spring quarterly meeting on from 9am to 1pm. The meeting will be held via Zoom. Members of the public who would like to join the meeting should contact the Community Forestry Program at [email protected] to get details on how to log into the meeting. Agenda items include: • ACFC Arbor Day grants, applications for new members, and • an update of the Council’s bylaws. The Council is a nonprofit organization and advisory body to the Division of Forestry that works to improve Alaskans’ quality of life by expanding and caring for urban and community forests. Information about the Council is available on the web at http://forestry.alaska.gov/community/council or by contacting the Community Forestry Program office at 296-8465 or email [email protected] or Meg Burgett, Chair, Alaska Community Forest Council at (907) 315-9339, [email protected]. EVENTS & MEETINGS in ANCHORAGE, EAGLE RIVER & GIRDWOOD **March 11 AMATS TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE will meet from 2:30 to 4:30pm via Teams Live at AMATS TAC. Action Items: Citizens Advisory Committee Seat Nomination. Informational Items: • AMATS Project & Plan Updates and • Project to Amend Title 21 Parking Regulation **March 12 MAGIC of the NORTHERN LIGHTS is the Campbell Creek Science Center program at 7pm via Zoom. On a clear night in the north, when conditions are just right, you might catch a glimpse of a colorful aurora borealis dancing across the sky. Spend an evening learning the science behind the aurora, get tips and resources for viewing it, and discover myths and stories humans have crafted around these magical lights. To register, go to https://blm.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_ukIi3FmQQtaZ7OWUu46kGQ.