Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:During this grant the stakeholders involved in the Tundra Garden project included: local elders; two traditional healers; two elders who provided translations for the interpretive signs, 13 secondary students at Barrow High School (students work in the Barrow Youth Habitat Corps each summer); 16 community volunteers; the City of Barrow, which has supported the project since its inception, and provided the point-of-hire for local high school temporary workers each summer;); I?isa?vik College; the North Slope Borough Health and Social Services Department, who are the land owners; and community members who requested a tour, or simply visited the garden on their own time. Additionally, the Utqiagvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC), and the Iñupiaq Heritage Center (IHC) became extremely active partners in the project. In the two years of this grant the major focus was on building up the land allocated to the garden so that it resembles actual tundra. The Barrow Youth Habitat Corp worked extremely hard, and they were the drivers behind the completion of the ultimate vision. The students built three mounds, and managed to transplant plants from the tundra to cover all of the mounds. During this process, the Tundra Ecologist/Agronomist took the time to teach the students about tundra soils, and plants. Not only did she show the high school students the different types of plants, and explain their uses, but she also had the students practice identifying them. At least an hour a day was dedicated to learning about the local environment, and introducing the students to this field of study. Additionally, a few community members who were interested in the project would join the Youth Crew on occasion and would spend the day helping. Each year we had at least one volunteer who was so excited about the project that they joined the crew daily for most of the season. The Garden has become a point of pride for the teens on the work crew. As we had hoped, the garden is beginning to gain community buy-in, and a feeling of ownership. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Multiple methods have been used to disseminate the results to the Stakeholders, these methods included both formal reporting, and informal in person discussions. During the four weeks in the summer when the Barrow Youth Habitat Corps (local Barrow high school students) were actively working on the garden, the crew ate lunch at the senior center, and they had their afternoon snack at the assisted living center. That way, the teens interacted daily with the senior center residents and could explain the progress we were making in the Tundra Garden outside their windows. This also allowed the elders (as the stakeholders closest to the project) a direct method to be involved in the construction of the garden. They could ask questions, and help guide how they would like the garden to look. to celebrate the end of the Summer 2018 work season, and the completion of the garden, community members were welcomed to the Garden for a tour- and to view a photo slide showing all the hard work the high school students put into the construction of the garden. 26 community members attended this event. In terms of formal reporting, each month the Manager of Cooperative Extension prepares a report that documents all of Cooperative Extension's activities. Such as: how many workshops were conducted, how many participants attended each of those workshops, and any notable accomplishments. These monthly reports include progress made on the Tundra Garden. At the end of the academic year those monthly reports are compiled into the Ilisagvik College's Annual Report to the People. This annual report is mailed to every postal customer on the North Slope and made publically available at the local libraries. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Tundra Garden is a centrally located garden within Barrow, Alaska that focuses on bridging traditional Iñupiat subsistence knowledge regarding nutritional and medicinal plants with community accessibility. Summer 2017, as the first year of the grant, involved a substantial amount of hard labor, or 'landscaping' as the garden was constructed. 7 local Barrow High School students who worked Monday-Friday for 3.5 weeks, and 10 volunteers who helped when they could, constructed gravel paths, and replicated two mounds, like the ones found on the tundra. With the permission of Utqiagvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC), plants were collected on UIC land and transplanted to the mounds in the garden. During plant collection trips, it became clear that this was the first time some of the students had been out on the tundra, and it was the first time any of them has been out on the tundra looking for specific plant species. While building the Tundra Garden was the main objective of this grant year, exposing the youth workers to traditional plants and how to find and gather them on the tundra was a fantastic additional accomplishment. The Garden itself serves as a cross-generational conduit of plant knowledge. Knowledge of tundra plants has traditionally been passed between generations by direct demonstration--through spending time with plants on the tundra--and through oral traditions. The most knowledgeable Iñupiat tundra plant experts are women who are entering their seventies, eighties, and nineties. Since these Indigenous experts are no longer as physically mobile as they were in their youth, creating a Tundra Garden in town facilitates the dissemination of traditional knowledge and encourages cross-generational, place-based connections. Even through the process of constructing the garden, it has created cross-generational connections, and discussion of plants. The high school students on the work crew ate lunch in the senior center, which allowed the elders to ask the youth questions, and teach them about the plants the teens were planting outside the Senior Center Windows. Goals: Number of people who ingest greens on a regular basis; Two local Iñupiat elders offer guided walks around the Garden to interested community members Traditional Healers, MaryJane Litchard and Marie Tozier provided 5 scheduled guided tours of the Tundra garden, and a total of 50 people attended those tours. However, we also discovered that as people noticed the Youth Habitat Conservation Corp working on the garden they would stop by and ask for a tour. Consequently, The Tundra Ecologist, Lorene Lynn also provided guided tours to interested people. Over the two summers 78 people stopped by and requested a tour. At every community event held in the Tundra Garden local traditional plants will be offered. Every scheduled community event had edible tundra plants offered. The best example of this was the Traditional Salve workshop. While the 12 participants waited for their salve to cool, they created a blended smoothie that incorporated both store-bought fruit (strawberries, blue berries, and raspberries) and traditional greens (beach 'celery') Awareness of healthy behaviors and nutrition; Local experts will lead walks around the nearby lagoon to encourage healthy habits One Lagoon walk was held in Summer 2017, and in Summer 2018 a walk out to Nunavak Bay was held. Both of these walks were led by Traditional Healer MaryJane Litchard, and Tundra Agronomist/Ecologist, Lorene Lynn. Visitors to the Tundra Garden will be encouraged to learn about Iñupiat food systems and to see how tundra plants that provide nutritional and medicinal benefits and are native to the arctic region. This goal was accomplished through informal interaction. During guided tours of the garden either the Tradtional healer or the Tundra Agronomist would mention the historical ways that tundra plants were incorporated into the Iñupiat diet, and used for medicine. this information has been incorporated in the interpretive signs which will be installed in summer 2019. At every community event held in the Tundra Garden healthy behaviors and nutrition will be discussed. This goal was accomplished this summer. Nutrition and the importance of healthy behaviors was discussed at all community events, including the Tundra Walks, guided tours, Salve workshop, and driftwood gathering day. Additionally, we took the time to discuss nutrition and healthy physical activity with our Youth crew. In particular, we focused this educational component on the Teen work crew. To ensure they ate a healthy nutritious meal, since we were doing hard labor all day, we did not let them leave at lunchtime, and instead fed them lunch at the Senior center. Community work days to encourage residents' ownership of the Garden and project; Barrow Youth Habitat Corps maintains the Garden in the summer. Over the two summers we had 13 local Barrow High School students participate in the Barrow Youth Habitat Corps. They worked Monday-Friday for 3-3.5 weeks each summer. The work crew worked extremely hard, and they succeeded in completing the project. Without their help this project would not have been possible. Two local Iñupiat elders offer guided walks around the Garden to interested community members. As mentioned in the first goal, Traditional Healer, MaryJane Litchard and Marie Tozier provided 5 scheduled guided tours of the Tundra garden, and a total of 50 people attended those tours. Each summer two community work days will be held. At each work day, community members who have not previously been involved with the Tundra Garden will participate. We accomplished this goal. Over the two summers three community works days were held where community members were invited to help us gather drift wood from the beach. We also had the Traditional Plants as Food and Medicine camp visit the garden and learn how to transplant tundra plants. At each of these community events, the majority of participants have not previously been involved with the Tundra Garden. Collaborative agreements with even more entities in Barrow. (Current entities supporting the project include: Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital, I?isa?vik College, and City of Barrow.) Two new collaborative agreements will be created each year with new entities. This goal has been accomplished. We have formed a collaborative agreement with the Utqiagvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC), the Iñupiaq Heritage Center (IHC) The Iñupiaq Studies Department and the Ilisagvik Marketing Department.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:During this grant reporting period the stakeholders involved in the Tundra Garden project included: local elders; two traditional healers; two elders who provided translations for the interpretive signs, 8 secondary students at Barrow High School (students work in the Barrow Youth Habitat Corps each summer); 6 community volunteers; the City of Barrow, which has supported the project since its inception, and provided the point-of-hire for local high school temporary workers each summer;); I?isa?vik College; the North Slope Borough Health and Social Services Department, who are the land owners; and community members who requested a tour, or simply visited the garden on their own time. Additionally, the Utqiagvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC), and the Iñupiaq Heritage Center (IHC) became extremely active partners in the project. This year the major focus was on completing the work started the previous year. The Barrow Youth Habitat Corp worked extremely hard, and they succeeded in completing the project. The students transplant plants from the tundra to cover the mound that had been built the previous year, but not planted. They also planted a 'Tundra flower walk' and built up the paths. During this process, the Tundra Ecologist/Agronomist took the time to teach the students about tundra soils, and plants. Not only did she show the high school students the different types of plants, and explain their uses, but she also had the students practice identifying them. At least an hour a day was dedicated to learning about the local environment, and introducing the students to this field of study. Additionally, a few community members who were interested in the project would join the Youth Crew on occasion and would spend the day helping. One community member was so excited about the project that she joined the crew each morning before she started work, daily for two weeks. The Garden has become a point of pride for the 8 teens on the work crew. They are very proud of the fact that they managed to plant an entire mound in the three weeks of work. As we had hoped, the garden is beginning to gain community buy-in, and a feeling of ownership. Changes/Problems:Unfortunately, our short summer work season and the length of time required to ship anything to Barrow resulted in a slight project delay. While the physical work on the garden was completed on schedule, the benches we had planned to install, were delayed by over a month. Consequently, we requested a no-cost extension for this project. This extension allowed the benches to be delivered, and a little more time spend on the plant identification signs. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Multiple methods have been used to disseminate the results to the Stakeholders, these methods included both formal reporting, and informal in person discussions. During the four weeks in the summer when the Barrow Youth Habitat Corps (local Barrow high school students) were actively working on the garden, the crew ate lunch at the senior center, and they had their afternoon snack at the assisted living center. That way, the teens interacted daily with the senior center residents and could explain the progress we were making in the Tundra Garden outside their windows. This also allowed the elders (as the stakeholders closest to the project) a direct method to be involved in the construction of the garden. They could ask questions, and help guide how they would like the garden to look. to celebrate the end of the Summer 2018 work season, and the completion of the garden, community members were welcomed to the Garden for a tour- and to view a photo slide showing all the hard work the high school students put into the construction of the garden. 26 community members attended this event. In terms of formal reporting, each month the Manager of Cooperative Extension prepares a report that documents all of Cooperative Extension's activities. Such as: how many workshops were conducted, how many participants attended each of those workshops, and any notable accomplishments. These monthly reports include progress made on the Tundra Garden. At the end of the academic year those monthly reports are compiled into the Ilisagvik College's Annual Report to the People. This annual report is mailed to every postal customer on the North Slope and made publically available at the local libraries. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Ilisagvik has planned a grand opening for the garden in Summer 2019. This Grand opening will coincide with the Summer Board of Trustee meeting. The benches, plant identification signs, and large interpretive signs will also be installed at that time.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Tundra Garden is a centrally located garden within Barrow, Alaska that focuses on bridging traditional Iñupiat subsistence knowledge regarding nutritional and medicinal plants with community accessibility. Summer 2018, as the second year of the grant, involved less hard labor than the prevous year. However, this year involved more long tundra walks to find and collect specific varieties of tundra plants. 8 local Barrow High School students who worked Monday-Friday for 3 weeks, and 6 volunteers who helped when they could, constructed gravel paths, and planted a tundra mound, like the ones found on the tundra. With the permission of Utqiagvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC), plants were collected on UIC land and transplanted to the mounds in the garden. During plant collection trips, it became clear that this was the first time some of the students had been out on the tundra, and it was the first time any of them has been out on the tundra looking for specific plant species. While building the Tundra Garden was the main objective of this grant year, exposing the youth workers to traditional plants and how to find and gather them on the tundra was a fantastic additional accomplishment. The Garden itself serves as a cross-generational conduit of plant knowledge. Knowledge of tundra plants has traditionally been passed between generations by direct demonstration--through spending time with plants on the tundra--and through oral traditions. The most knowledgeable Iñupiat tundra plant experts are women who are entering their seventies, eighties, and nineties. Since these Indigenous experts are no longer as physically mobile as they were in their youth, creating a Tundra Garden in town facilitates the dissemination of traditional knowledge and encourages cross-generational, place-based connections. Even through the process of constructing the garden, it has created cross-generational connections, and discussion of plants. The high school students on the work crew ate lunch in the senior center, which allowed the elders to ask the youth questions, and teach them about the plants the teens were planting outside the Senior Center Windows. Goals: Number of people who ingest greens on a regular basis; Two local Iñupiat elders offer guided walks around the Garden to interested community members Traditional Healers, MaryJane Litchard and Marie Tozier lead the Traditional Plants as Food and Medicine and as part of the camp, participants were given a tour of the Tundra Garden. Additionally, at the end of the summer we provided tours to any interested community member, and 26 people attended that event. However, we also discovered that as people noticed the Youth Habitat Conservation Corp working on the garden they would stop by and ask for a tour. Consequently, The Tundra Ecologist, Lorene Lynn also provided guided tours to interested people. Over the 3 weeks of work, 32 people stopped by and requested a tour. At every community event held in the Tundra Garden local traditional plants will be offered. Every scheduled community event had edible tundra plants offered. Awareness of healthy behaviors and nutrition; Local experts will lead walks around the nearby lagoon to encourage healthy habits This summer instead of a lagoon walk, we walked out to Nunavak Bay, as there is a huge variety of plants which grow out there. This walk was led by Traditional Healers MaryJane Litchard and Tundra Agronomist/Ecologist, Lorene Lynn. 15 people participated, as well as the 8 students on the work crew for a total 23 people. Visitors to the Tundra Garden will be encouraged to learn about Iñupiat food systems and to see how tundra plants that provide nutritional and medicinal benefits and are native to the arctic region. This goal was accomplished through informal interaction. During guided tours of the garden either the Tradtional healer or the Tundra Agronomist would mention the historical ways that tundra plants were incorporated into the Iñupiat diet, and used for medicine. They also discussed how these plants could be incorporated into contemporary dishes. Finally, this information is being incorporated in the interpretive signs which will be installed in summer 2019. At every community event held in the Tundra Garden healthy behaviors and nutrition will be discussed. This goal was accomplished this summer. Nutrition and the importance of healthy behaviors was discussed at all community events, including the Tundra Walks, guided tours, Salve workshop, and driftwood gathering day. Additionally, we took the time to discuss nutrition and healthy physical activity with our Youth crew. In particular, we focused this educational component on the Teen work crew. To ensure they ate a healthy nutritious meal, since we were doing hard labor all day, we did not let them leave at lunchtime, and instead fed them lunch at the Senior center. Community work days to encourage residents' ownership of the Garden and project; Barrow Youth Habitat Corps maintains the Garden in the summer. This summer we had 8 local Barrow High School students participate in the Barrow Youth Habitat Corps. They worked Monday-Friday for 3 weeks. The work crew worked extremely hard, and they succeeded in completing the project. The students transplant plants from the tundra to cover the mound that had been built the previous year, but not planted. They also planted a 'Tundra flower walk' and built up the paths. With their help this project was realized. Two local Iñupiat elders offer guided walks around the Garden to interested community members. As mentioned in the first goal, Traditional Healer, MaryJane Litchard provided 2 scheduled guided tours of the Tundra garden, and a total of 34people attended those tours. Each summer two community work days will be held. At each work day, community members who have not previously been involved with the Tundra Garden will participate. This summer we accomplished two community work days. For each of those community works days, we invited people to help us gather drift wood on the beach. The driftwood was placed around the edge of the garden to provide an attractive, North-Slope appropriate, barrier to prevent all-terrain vehicles from entering the garden. We also had the Traditional Plants as Food and Medicine class assist one afternoon. They helped collect and transplant Tundra plants into the garden. Collaborative agreements with even more entities in Barrow. (Current entities supporting the project include: Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital, I?isa?vik College, and City of Barrow.) Two new collaborative agreements will be created each year with new entities. This goal has been accomplished. This summer we formed collaborateive agreements withing Ilisagvik College itself. We partnered with the Iñupiaq Studies Department to host a Traditional Plants as food and medicine camp, that was lead by Traditional healers MaryJane Litchard and Marie Tozier. The second partnership was with the Ilisagvik Marketing Department, who spearheaded the creation of the plant identification signs, and the large interpretive signs. The really exciting part about partnering with the Marketing department was that it allowed an Ilisagvik College student to participate in the project as well. Their college intern, Morgan Enderle drew the plant sketches for each plant ID signs. In the process she learned about the tundra plants, including their Iñupiaq names, uses and how to identify them.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:During this grant reporting period the stakeholders involved in the Tundra Garden project included: local elders; one traditional healers; 7 secondary students at Barrow High School (students work in the Barrow Youth Habitat Corps each summer); 10 community volunteers; the City of Barrow, which has supported the project since its inception, and provided the point-of-hire for local high school temporary workers each summer;); I?isa?vik College; the North Slope Borough Health and Social Services Department, who are the land owners; and community members who requested a tour, or simply visited the garden on their own time. Additionally, the Utqiagvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC), and the Iñupiaq Heritage Center (IHC) became extremely active partners in the project. This year the major focus was on building up the land allocated to the garden so that it resembles actual tundra. The Barrow Youth Habitat Corp worked extremely hard, and they moved the project a lot closer to the ultimate vision. The students built two mounds, and managed to transplant plants from the tundra to cover the pre-existing mound, and one of the new mounds. During this process, the Tundra Ecologist/Agronomist took the time to teach the students about tundra soils, and plants. Not only did she show the high school students the different types of plants, and explain their uses, but she also had the students practice identifying them. At least an hour a day was dedicated to learning about the local environment, and introducing the students to this field of study. Additionally, a few community members who were interested in the project would join the Youth Crew on occasion and would spend the day helping. One elder was so excited about the project that she joined the crew daily for three weeks. She even participated on the days when the crew was doing heavy labor such as cutting sod, shoveling, and hauling dirt in wheel barrels. Her presence helped the crew keep working, and motivated. The Garden has become a point of pride for the 7 teens on the work crew. They fondly refer to the two mound built this summer as "their mounds". As we had hoped, the garden is beginning to gain community buy-in, and a feeling of ownership. Changes/Problems:Unfortunately, this year we lost a key member of our Cooperative Extension team. In January 2017, the Co-Project director Laura Thomas left the College. We have not yet replaced this position, and this deficit resulted in some last minute re-configuring to still accomplish the goals of this grant. This transition resulted in a slight delay in implementing the Tundra Garden Project. However, the Tundra Ecologist/Agronomist who was originally hired on a consulting basis, was happy to step up, and she acted as the supervisor for the Youth Habitat Corp for their entire work period, rather than simply consulting for a few days and departing as was originally planned. Therefore, I believe we are back on track to accomplish the goals of the grant by then end of the second year. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Multiple methods have been used to disseminate the results to the Stakeholders, these methods included both formal reporting, and informal in person discussions. During the four weeks in the summer when the Barrow Youth Habitat Corps (local Barrow high school students) were actively working on the garden, the crew ate lunch at the senior center, and they had their afternoon snack at the assisted living center. That way, the teens interacted daily with the senior center residents and could explain the progress we were making in the Tundra Garden outside their windows. This also allowed the elders (as the stakeholders closest to the project) a direct method to be involved in the construction of the garden. They could ask questions, and help guide how they would like the garden to look. In terms of formal reporting, each month the Manager of Cooperative Extension prepares a report that documents all of Cooperative Extension's activities. Such as: how many workshops were conducted, how many participants attended each of those workshops, and any notable accomplishments. These monthly reports include progress made on the Tundra Garden. At the end of the academic year those monthly reports are compiled into the Ilisagvik College's Annual Report to the People. This annual report is mailed to every postal customer on the North Slope and made publically available at the local libraries. The theme of this year's report was Qiksiksrautiqa?niq Iñuunia?vigmun : Respect for Nature. Consequently, the Tundra Garden was heavily featured in the Cooperative Extension section. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Tundra Garden is a centrally located garden within Barrow, Alaska that focuses on bridging traditional Iñupiat subsistence knowledge regarding nutritional and medicinal plants with community accessibility. Summer 2017, as the first year of the grant, involved a substantial amount of hard labor, or 'landscaping' as the garden was constructed. 7 local Barrow High School students who worked Monday-Friday for 3.5 weeks, and 10 volunteers who helped when they could, constructed gravel paths, and replicated two mounds, like the ones found on the tundra. With the permission of Utqiagvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC), plants were collected on UIC land and transplanted to the mounds in the garden. During plant collection trips, it became clear that this was the first time some of the students had been out on the tundra, and it was the first time any of them has been out on the tundra looking for specific plant species. While building the Tundra Garden was the main objective of this grant year, exposing the youth workers to traditional plants and how to find and gather them on the tundra was a fantastic additional accomplishment. The Garden itself serves as a cross-generational conduit of plant knowledge. Knowledge of tundra plants has traditionally been passed between generations by direct demonstration--through spending time with plants on the tundra--and through oral traditions. The most knowledgeable Iñupiat tundra plant experts are women who are entering their seventies, eighties, and nineties. Since these Indigenous experts are no longer as physically mobile as they were in their youth, creating a Tundra Garden in town facilitates the dissemination of traditional knowledge and encourages cross-generational, place-based connections. Even through the process of constructing the garden, it has created cross-generational connections, and discussion of plants. The high school students on the work crew ate lunch in the senior center, which allowed the elders to ask the youth questions, and teach them about the plants the teens were planting outside the Senior Center Windows. Goals: Number of people who ingest greens on a regular basis; Two local Iñupiat elders offer guided walks around the Garden to interested community members Traditional Healer, MaryJane Litchard provided 3 scheduled guided tours of the Tundra garden, and a total of 16 people attended those tours. However, we also discovered that as people noticed the Youth Habitat Conservation Corp working on the garden they would stop by and ask for a tour. Consequently, The Tundra Ecologist, Lorene Lynn also provided guided tours to interested people. Over the 4 weeks of work, 46 people stopped by and requested a tour. At every community event held in the Tundra Garden local traditional plants will be offered. Every scheduled community event had edible tundra plants offered. The best example of this was the Traditional Salve workshop. While the 12 participants waited for their salve to cool, they created a blended smoothie that incorporated both store-bought fruit (strawberries, blue berries, and raspberries) and traditional greens (beach 'celery') Awareness of healthy behaviors and nutrition; Local experts will lead walks around the nearby lagoon to encourage healthy habits One Lagoon walk was held this summer. This walk was led by Traditional Healer MaryJane Litchard, and Tundra Agronomist/Ecologist, Lorene Lynn. 8 people participated. The participants were so interested in the material being discussed that the walk, which was originally scheduled to last 1.5 hours took a full 3 hours. Visitors to the Tundra Garden will be encouraged to learn about Iñupiat food systems and to see how tundra plants that provide nutritional and medicinal benefits and are native to the arctic region. This goal was accomplished through informal interaction. During guided tours of the garden either the Tradtional healer or the Tundra Agronomist would mention the historical ways that tundra plants were incorporated into the Iñupiat diet, and used for medicine. They also discussed how these plants could be incorporated into contemporary dishes. At every community event held in the Tundra Garden healthy behaviors and nutrition will be discussed. This goal was accomplished this summer. Nutrition and the importance of healthy behaviors was discussed at all community events, including the Tundra Walks, guided tours, Salve workshop, and driftwood gathering day. Additionally, we took the time to discuss nutrition and healthy physical activity with our Youth crew. In particular, we focused this educational component on the Teen work crew. To ensure they ate a healthy nutritious meal, since we were doing hard labor all day, we did not let them leave at lunchtime, and instead fed them lunch at the Senior center. Community work days to encourage residents' ownership of the Garden and project; Barrow Youth Habitat Corps maintains the Garden in the summer. This summer we had 7 Local Barrow High School students participate in the Barrow Youth Habitat Corps. They worked Monday-Friday for 3.5 weeks (we lost half a week due to the 4th of July). The work crew made a lot of progress and managed to build two mounds and transplant plants from the Tundra to the existing mount, and one of the new mounds. Unfortunately, this summer was extremely wet, and the rain slowed the crew's progress building the third mound. Consequently, they were unable to plant that mound in our allotted timeframe and that work will need to be done next year. Two local Iñupiat elders offer guided walks around the Garden to interested community members. As mentioned in the first goal, Traditional Healer, MaryJane Litchard provided 3 scheduled guided tours of the Tundra garden, and a total of 16 people attended those tours. Each summer two community work days will be held. At each work day, community members who have not previously been involved with the Tundra Garden will participate. This summer we accomplished one community work day. For that community work day, we invited people to help us gather drift wood on the beach. The driftwood was placed around the edge of the garden to provide an attractive, North-Slope appropriate, barrier to prevent all-terrain vehicles from entering the garden. We had 7 community volunteers come out and help us gather drift wood. Of the 7, 6 had never been to the garden before, and were excited to get to be involved. Collaborative agreements with even more entities in Barrow. (Current entities supporting the project include: Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital, I?isa?vik College, and City of Barrow.) Two new collaborative agreements will be created each year with new entities. This goal has been accomplished. We have formed a collaborative agreement with the Utqiagvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC), and that partnership has developed into a deep and very meaningful collaboration. UIC has given us blanket permission to collect plants on their land to be transplanted into the Tundra Garden, and donated beach sand, and an extra load of fill material to help build up the replica tundra mounds. The second organization we created a collaborative agreement with is the Iñupiaq Heritage Center (IHC). Previously, the IHC had expressed interest in the Tundra Garden, but had not become actively involved. The Director of the IHC has taken a personal interest in the garden. She has donated additional driftwood, has promised the services of their interpreter when we create the signs, and is happy to provide the maintenance necessary to keep the garden flourishing once this grant concludes.
Publications
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