Alaska’s Summer Science Camps Blend Science with Native Cultures

	Children play and learn at science camp. Click on image to enlarge.

About a dozen summer science camps on Alaska’s national wildlife refuges teach science and environmental stewardship, closely tied to native tribal cultures. Working with tribal elders in many cases, the camps are co-sponsored by a range of partners, including native villages and school departments, and are offered at no cost to the children who attend.

For more than 10 years, these summer science camps have brought new generations of Alaskans closer to their native cultures as they learn about the state’s unique wildlife and ecosystems. The camps are as diverse as the villages and cultures that make up Alaska.

At remote Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, students camp overnight as they explore the mysteries of the Eastern Aleutian Islands and the Bering Sea. At Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, high school students get school credit in boreal botany at a camp that includes field work, homework, and writing assignments. At Selawik National Wildlife Refuge, students learn about traditional whitefish subsistence fishing methods, whitefish ecology, and fishing culture.

The young people’s appreciation of science and the environment can extend beyond summer camp. Some campers come back to the science camps years later to work as college volunteers, or stay involved with the refuges in other ways.

or more information, contact Maeve Taylor, volunteer and grant coordinator for the National Wildlife Refuge System in Alaska , (907) 786-3391.