The Challenger Learning Center of Alaska has expanded the subject of food security from within their space missions and STEM workshops into a three-part community workshop, which aims to educate Alaskans on growing, gathering, and preserving their own food. The second workshop is scheduled for September 28 and wild harvesting will be the subject of focus.
“This particular series of workshops is funded in part by NASA and the Alaska Space Grant Consortium in addition to Nisenet,” according to Marnie Olcott, CEO of the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska. “Nasa has always had a focus on food security and sustainability and that’s something that a lot of people don’t realize and recognize and probably one of the biggest questions that we get here at the Challenger Learning Center of why it is that we are choosing to focus on food security.”
The first Food Security and Sustainability workshop CLCA held was completed last May. Growing Your Own focused on soil building, seed saving, crop selection, and growing methods. This second workshop focuses on hunting and foraging for your own food.
Olcott touches on the importance of Food Security and Sustainability, “So in combination with the focus that we’ve always had, it’s always been a part of our simulated space missions that we do here for the students of Alaska at the Challenger Learning Center, it’s become more of a communitywide concern considering the supply challenges that we’ve had here locally and the fact that the very large percentage of our food and seeds, even, come from outside and rely on that supply chain.”
In addition, experts will speak at the Wild Harvest Workshop on food harvesting topics, including fishing, large game, and plants, regulations, equipment, firearms safety, and their insider methods, tips and tricks.
The CLCA’s Food Security and Sustainability: Wild Harvest Workshop is free to the public on Wednesday, September 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
NOTE: This is an informational workshop geared towards adults; however, youth are welcome accompanied with a guardian. Registration is required to get an accurate count for the provided lunch. The third workshop in the series will be planned for the winter, on food preservation.
