Published Sep 28, 2023 by Anna Canny

Making mud pies may not seem scientific. But in a sodden school yard in Hoonah, kids discern between different materials and tools for building by gathering the best sticks, rocks or pinecones. Or they modify those materials by wetting down dirt to make more mud for sculpting. 

Education researchers Angela Lunda and Carie Green call that “mud science.” And they say that kind of experimentation in the natural world can help young children develop an interest in environmental science.

For Alaska Native children, activities in the natural world are also an important foundation for cultural identity.  

“The children are already stewards of the environment, right? They already see themselves that way,” said Lunda, who is Lingít and teaches at the University of Alaska Southeast. “And that really is what defines us as Indigenous people.”

Lunda and Green’s research — known as the Molly Community Science Project — focuses on strengthening STEM programming in rural Alaska schools. 

The project’s namesake comes from the popular PBS Kids program “Molly of Denali”, an educational animated series which features an Alaska Native main character. The goal is to build on the show’s success by developing “Molly of Denali”-themed multimedia resources with Indigenous students in mind. 

Lunda says Alaska Native communities inherently possess a depth of environmental knowledge and skills. But Alaska Native students are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math fields, and traditional programs don’t make space for Indigenous identity. 

“So it’s really important for us to be aware of that and to be actively working to try to change,” Lunda said. “That happens when we build on their world, their worldview. What they see, what they do.”

Published Sep 27, 2023 by Haley Lehman

Fairbanks has a role in the success of students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

“The future is bright at UAF,” University of Alaska Chancellor Dan White said while speaking Tuesday to the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce about the state of the university.

While enrollment is down across the country, the number of students enrolled at UAF has been growing, White said.

“Things are going right here in Fairbanks,” he said.

The start of the semester saw 2,500 students enrolled at UAF, 40% more than last year. When looking at students enrolled at UAF, the Community and Technical College, at rural campuses, and at high school students taking classes concurrently, the number is at 7,000 students, White said. And half of the students enrolled at UAF are the first in their family to go to college.

“That’s a remarkable number,” White said. “That’s a big deal,” he said. Additionally, the UAF student body is 24% Alaska Native, and 17% are connected with the military, he said.

Published Sep 27, 2023

Orcas are clever, social animals that can learn new behaviors from each other. These crafty creatures have figured out how to exploit human fishing activities, such as by snacking on fish caught on longlines. Once one orca figures out an opportunistic feeding technique, scientists say, others can learn from watching and follow suit, per Live Science’s Sascha Pare.

That may be what’s happening this year near Alaska. To try to get to the bottom of the recent deaths, Groundfish Forum asked Hannah Myers, a marine biologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, to spend a week aboard a fishing vessel in May, reports the Anchorage Daily News’ Hal Bernton.

During that time, roughly two dozen orcas arrived when the vessel started fishing operations—and they stuck around.

“Certain pods were targeting the vessel, and I think it’s very lucrative behavior for them, because they are staying with the vessel 24/7,” Myers tells the Anchorage Daily News.

Using an underwater microphone, Myers recorded orcas making clicking sounds that scientists think may be connected to foraging behaviors. Based on the recordings, the mammals seemed to be following the net as the vessel towed it deep underwater; she also observed them at the surface as fishers pulled the nets up from the depths. These behaviors are “high-risk” for the orcas, she tells the publication.