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  • A zucchini plant blooms in an Alaska vegetable garden

    Learn the basics of Alaska gardening in workshop series

    March 28, 2025

    Grow your gardening knowledge in this series of 11 weekly webinars covering the basics of growing vegetables in Alaska. Casey Matney, the Kenai-based agriculture and horticulture agent with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, will lead the free classes.
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  • A dirt trail passes between spruce trees in the mountains under a clear, sunny sky.

    Snow's absence and welcome presence

    March 28, 2025

    Rick Thoman noted in a recent report that the paucity of 2024-2025 snowfall in Anchorage and other Southcentral Alaska locations may be unprecedented in the era of modern records.
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  • A polar bear mascot wearing a blue and gold uniform stands with three people.

    UAF donors contribute $812,373 during Giving Day 2025

    March 27, 2025

    More than 1,100 University of Alaska Fairbanks supporters donated $812,373 during the fifth annual UA Giving Day event March 25-27. The event set another participation record for UAF, with 1,150 donors making gifts to more than 80 scholarships, programs and initiatives over the course of 49 hours.
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  • Two people look at an Alaska's Changing Wildfire Environment report

    'Alaska's Changing Wildfire Environment' report updated

    March 27, 2025

    The University of Alaska Fairbanks has released an updated report highlighting recent wildfire trends in Alaska, their impacts to humans and wildlife, and how science can improve wildfire management decisions. "Alaska's Changing Wildfire Environment 2.0" provides people with timely, reliable and understandable information in a visually appealing and concise format.
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  • Rocket launches from Poker Flat

    Two NASA rockets launch from Poker Flat, third rocket expected

    March 25, 2025

    Two NASA sounding rockets launched from Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks early Tuesday morning in a mission aimed at learning more about how the aurora affects the upper atmosphere.
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  • A man with glasses and graying beard and hair looks into the camera on a snowy field.

    Making sense of Alaska's changing environment

    March 25, 2025

    Changes in Alaska's environment are evident all across the state, but the details vary greatly. In a webinar hosted by the Anchorage office of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, UAF climate specialist Rick Thoman will share a broad overview of observed changes around Alaska, from snow and ice to heat and wildfire.
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  • The research vessel Sikuliaq pauses in sea ice in the Arctic Ocean in May 2021.

    Sikuliaq operating agreement extended through 2028

    March 24, 2025

    The U.S. National Science Foundation has funded the first year of a new $53.8 million, four-year cooperative agreement with the University of Alaska Fairbanks to continue operating the research vessel Sikuliaq through the end of calendar year 2028. The global-class ice-capable research vessel, which is owned by NSF, has been operated by the UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences since it was constructed in 2014.
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  • Registration open for three-day pesticide training course

    March 24, 2025

    A three-day online workshop, available statewide, is scheduled in April for people who wish to become certified pesticide applicators in Alaska. The classes are designed to help participants understand and pass the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation exam.
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  • A layer of snow that slowly slid from the roof of a shed loops as it reaches the ground.

    Leaning towers of snow explained

    March 21, 2025

    Pete Wilda, a Fairbanks reader of this column, wanted to know how the snow here can bend off railings and loop from power lines without breaking. He grew up in eastern Wisconsin and doesn't remember the snow defying gravity there.
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  • A person cuts pieces of wood off a large stump in the Southeast Alaska rainforest

    Tree felling, chainsaw safety workshop on tap for Sitka

    March 21, 2025

    Glen Holt, a biomass technician with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, will lead two free interactive sessions on basic tree cutting and chainsaw maintenance and repair in Sitka. Both sessions are free and in person.
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  • Middle school students wearing white lab coats and safety goggles puzzle over chemistry equipment and notes in a lab.

    Students test knowledge and skills at Alaska Science Olympiad

    March 21, 2025

    The Alaska Science Olympiad competition for students in grades 6-8 will convene March 28-29 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
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  • Rocket payload assembly

    Poker Flat to launch three NASA rockets in single aurora experiment

    March 21, 2025

    Three NASA rockets are set to launch from Poker Flat Research Range in an experiment that seeks to reveal how auroral substorms affect the behavior and composition of Earth's far upper atmosphere.
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  • A homemade chocolate cake with chocolate icing sprinkled with nuts

    Chocolate lovers workshop set in Sitka

    March 20, 2025

    Chocolate lovers in Sitka can gather to discuss the health benefits of chocolate and how to incorporate it into the diet -- in moderation. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service in Sitka is hosting the gathering, during which participants will also make and sample some chocolate-themed recipes.
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  • A man in a hat stands in an Alaska apple orchard

    Expert to discuss growing apples, cherries, plums in Alaska

    March 19, 2025

    Alaskans interested in growing tree fruit such as apples, cherries and plums can join a free, statewide webinar with Mark Wolbers, president of the Alaska Pioneer Fruit Growers Association.
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  • portrait of Holly Wofford

    Indigenous language teacher will share book, board game and insights

    March 18, 2025

    Teacher Holly Wofford will showcase her work in Indigenous language education and creative storytelling from 11 a.m.-12:45 p.m. March 19 on the University of Alaska Fairbanks Troth Yeddha' Campus.
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