The Caring for the Kenai competition has come a long way in 25 years. The most recent crop of ideas to protect the environment of the Kenai Peninsula focused heavily on new technology.
Kenai Central High School student Keira Stroh won $1,600 for first place in the competition with her “Scannin’ Salmon” app…
Stroh: “My idea was to create a smartphone app that has the ability to identify salmon just be taking a picture. And it would compare it to an online database that would have pictures of the salmon and the measurements and the lengths of their tails and stuff like that and it would identify the fish for you in a short matter of seconds.”
The app would also indicate where fishing is and is not legal on the Kenai River. Stroh said she hopes to have the app ready for this year’s fishing season.
The field was flooded with apps, with Shania Johnson’s “Bear Aware” app taking third place.
Johnson: “The Bear Alert app was mainly for people who spot bear sightings, bear encounters or bear attacks, that they could easily put this on the app, any anyone who has the app would get an immediate notification that a bear was in that area.”
Taking second place and earning $1,100 was Daniel Wiest of Homer High School who created a Volcano Eruption preparedness kit.
