News

15th Annual Denali Winterfest Kickoff is Friday, February 27 at 6:00 p.m.

Denali Winterfest is an annual celebration of season, place and community. Hosted by the National Park Service and the Denali Borough, this annual weekend festival is chock-full of outdoor activities, educational sessions, dog mushing and, of course, ice carving. Denali Education Center has been honored to host the kickoff event on Friday night at the McKinley Park Community Center since the festival’s inception. We have hosted speakers, pot lucks, dessert-lucks, square dance bands and heaps of community camaraderie.

Homebrew and Appetizer Competition with live music from the Iceworms!

This year, with a unique new twist, we invite you to bring the best of your brew and tasty treats to the 15th Annual Denali Winterfest Kickoff event on Friday, February 27.

Join friends and neighbors at the McKinley Park Community Center to sample homebrews of all styles and flavors and appetizers that will warm your winter soul.

Libations, food and festivities begin at 6:00 p.m.

To enter a beer, mead, cider or appetizer, contact us at info@denali.org or 683-2597. We need the following information:

1. Your name
2. Homebrew variety or appetizer name
3. Where the recipe comes from
4. Key ingredients
5. What’s special or unique about your entry

Entries must arrive at the McKinley Park Community Center no later than 6:15 p.m.

Brewers: please provide one large-format bottle (or equivalent) for judging and more for sharing, as your supply (and generosity) will allow.

Appetizer Chefs: please provide a minimum of 12 servings (can be bite-sized) for judging and more for sharing, at your discretion.

Judging begins at 6:30 p.m. Brew and Appetizer entrants will be encouraged to share tidbits about your finished product with event attendees: where the recipe comes from, what’s special or unique about it, your secret to success, etc.

ALL are welcome to attend! Please bring an appetizer or dessert to share…it won’t be judged (unless you want it to be)! We will provide coffee, tea and yummy snacks.

Don’t forget your dancing shoes…the Iceworms will perform starting at 6:30 and throughout the evening.

For more information, and a full Winterfest weekend schedule, visit Denali National Park’s website: http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/winterfest.htm

Realistic photographic rendering of a guest cabin once completed. The enclosed front porch is a welcome addition!

It has been wonderful to share this realistic photographic rendering of our cabins provided to us by Bettisworth North Architecture in Anchorage. We thank Mark Kimerer and Jonny Hayes for their time and expertise in creating the rendering.

In August 2014, Denali Education Center secured a bank loan to make needed improvements to our guest cabins. Rock-n-Roll Construction, based in Healy, AK, has taken on the work of completely remodeling the interior of the cabins. Improvements include a private bath for each room, new flooring and painted sheetrock to replace the wood paneling on the walls. In addition, an enclosed front porch has been built on each cabin, allowing guests more space to spread out, as well as providing a place to convene and commune at the end of a long day exploring Denali.

We are grateful to Bettisworth North for giving us a glimpse into the future and allowing us to share it with our community and program participants!

To see progress photos of the renovations, visit our Flickr page.

2014 Scott Menke Summit Scholarship recipients with Youth Program Manager Julie Pearson

Applications are now available for the Scott Menke Summit Scholarship!

The Scott Menke Summit Scholarship is awarded annually to Denali Borough graduating seniors seeking a secondary education. Scholarship award amounts are: $2500, $1500 and $1000. Scholarships are decided based upon character, peer review and academic standing. Applications are due Friday, April 10, 2015.

Scott Menke Summit Scholarship Guidelines
Scott Menke Summit Scholarship Application 2015

The Scott Menke Summit Scholarship program was created from the Scott Menke Memorial Fund to honor the memory of a treasured Healy youth whose life was too brief. Scott was considerate of others, loved and respected his family, was an enthusiastic athlete, a natural peer leader and a vibrant young man with a robust love of life. Scott avidly participated in the Denali Education Center’s Denali Discovery Camp and championed the creation of Denali Backcountry Adventures for high school aged students.

Denali Education Center and the Menke family created the Scott Menke Memorial Fund to honor his memory and benefit the students of Denali Borough School District. The funds raised support the youth programs of Denali Education Center. Working together, we inspire future generations to embody the incomparable spirit Scott shared with us.

The Scott Menke Summit Scholarship strives to encourage these qualities in the students of Denali Borough School District by awarding moneys in Scott’s name to worthy students.

Applications Open for 2015 Discover Denali Research Fellowship

The National Park Service and the Murie Science and Learning Center (MSLC) are seeking applicants for two research fellowships that are available to individuals wishing to conduct research in Denali National Park and Preserve and other arctic and subarctic Alaska national parks.  The Discover Denali Research Fellowship is for research in or near Denali, and the Alaska Geographic Fellowship is for research taking place in Denali or other arctic or subarctic Alaska national parks.

The deadline for both fellowship applications is February 16, 2015 and a decision is expected to be made by March 1, or soon thereafter. The fieldwork of fellowship recipients must be arranged before September 1, 2015.

The Discover Denali and the Alaska Geographic Fellowships are designed primarily to assist graduate students, but may be appropriate for undergraduate students, college and university faculty, state and federal agency scientists, and private-sector researchers. Proposals for research that will help managers make decisions about critical resource issues are particularly encouraged. If an applicant wants to be considered for both funding sources, only one application is needed; however, only one fellowship may be received per applicant. More than one fellow is expected to be selected for each fellowship program. Any previous fellow may reapply, but is not assured of additional funding.

Applications for 2015 fellowships will be considered for funding requests up to $8000, to be used over one or two years. However, typically awarded funds for fellowships have been $6,000 or less.

An information guide about the fellowships, which includes specifics on how to apply and other information helpful to the application process, may be downloaded. For more information contact Denali’s Chief of Resources, Dave Schirokauer, at 907-683-9605 or dave_schirokauer@nps.gov.

This is the tenth year that the Alaska Geographic and Discover Denali Research Fellowships will be available for researchers in Denali and other parks that are partners with the MSLC: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak National Preserve, Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and Yukon – Charley Rivers National Preserve.

The Alaska Geographic Research Fellowships are made possible through the partnership between Alaska Geographic and the National Park Service. The Alaska Geographic Research Fellowships are funded through education programs at the Murie Science and Learning Center (MSLC) in Denali National Park and Preserve. Through a variety of science-based education and outreach efforts, Alaska Geographic provides much of the financial support for the MSLC. Alaska Geographic is a nonprofit dedicated to connecting people to our public lands and has been an active public lands partner in Alaska since 1959.

The Discover Denali Fellowships are made possible through proceeds from Discover Denali, an MSLC program developed in partnership between the Denali Education Center and the National Park Service. Denali Education Center connects people to Denali through fun, informative and inspiring programs that help build lifelong friendships, lasting memories, and a sense of connection to nature. A non-profit educational partner of Denali National Park and Preserve since 1989, Denali Education Center serves visitors and residents of all ages with multi-day programs on their campus, day programs, multi-day field trips, research grants, and special events.

Thank you to the local artists, art admirers, and berry enthusiasts for joining us for the opening of the Art of the Berry! We are happy to be hosting this multi-media art show that celebrates the great Alaskan berry with incredible quilts, paintings, photographs, glass pieces and more!

If you missed opening night, the show will continue through the end of August and there are still several wonderful pieces for sale. Stop by the Charles Sheldon Center and take a look!

Special thank you to Mary Bee Kaufman for organizing this tribute to Alaskan berries.

Participating Artists:

Sonja Bitz – mixed media

Betty Conkling – watercolor and actylic

Eowyn Ivey – author

Mary Bee Kaufman – watercolor

Seamus Heaney – poetry

Kathy Marchlinski – fused glass

Tim McCoy – fused glass

Marybeth Michaels – acrylic and ink

Ree Nancarrow – quilting

Lynda Sather – poetry

Amy Reisland-Speer – egg tempura

Michelle Turk – glass

Lucy Tyrrell – watercolor

Lolita Valqc – quilting

Dana Morningstar-Williams – wool and birch bark

Eleaca Young – photography and mixed media

Berry season is fast approaching and we couldn’t be more excited! Last season, our program participants spent weeks crawling all over the tundra. Instead of gathering sweet fruit, however, they were busy collecting important data for the Melibee Project research team . Under the guidance of Denali Education Center Field Educator Margi Dashevsky, our citizen scientists participated in an investigation looking at the recent sweetclover invasion and its possible affects on the pollination of wild Alaskan bog blueberries and lowbush cranberries. Researchers are using the data to build mathematical models to predict the phenological phase of sweetclover, cranberry, and blueberry across the state of Alaska. Check out the Melibee Citizen Science Newsletter to learn more about this exciting project!    Melibee citizen science newsletter 2013

Get ready for that famous Jersey Jump! Registration is now open for our 20th Annual Auction! Click here to register online now and beat the lines!

What makes the auction so special?

Here is our Top 5 list:
5. Location – our campus is a beautiful respite within a rapidly developing gateway community. The Charles Sheldon Center was built with over 4,000 hours of volunteer effort and exudes a feeling of inclusivity and warmth.
4. Attendees – YOU!
3. Donors – from food and libations to gear and artwork. This auction has an amazing donor base – thank you!
2. Jimmy Sandy – Keyboardist- tickling the keys for 20 years.
1. Jersey Jones -Auctioneer – entertaining the masses for 20 years. If you’ve ever seen Jerz in action, you know what a treat it is to see his famous $100 jump! Like. No. Other.

Authors Eric Watson, Marybeth Holleman, Christine Byl and Seth Kantner talk about wilderness. Photo courtesy Craig Brandt.

Four Alaskan authors shared select excerpts and thoughts on wilderness in a packed Charles Sheldon Center on Sunday, July 6. The event, “Over the Hills: the Wildeness Act turns 50,” was one of many commemorations in the Denali area on this anniversary year of the Wilderness Act.

Each author touched on what the word “wilderness” meant to them. Marybeth Holleman spoke about protected land, the wildlife within and how it has shaped her life. Erica Watson recounted a childhood story about growing up in and around national parks as a “park service brat.” Christine Byl found her wilderness in work and in her physical body. For Seth Kantner, wilderness was a threat to his way of life, having grown up in a sod igloo north of the Arctic Circle.

Local journalist Kris Capps wrote an article about the event in the Newsminer.

Stay tuned for more 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act events in and around the Denali area this season. The Murie Science and Learning Center will host author and environmental activist Frank Keim on Friday, August 29 for a presentation titled, “Call of the Wild: The Wilderness Act Turns 50.”

Tundra Tots is a new youth program offered by the Denali Education Center. It is a toddler/preschool program that connects our youngest community members to Denali. Each Tundra Tots program features a story, nature activity and craft that gets kids laughing, learning, and exploring all the wonders Denali has to offer. The first three programs were hugely successful with the themes “Planting a Seed,” “Rumble in the Jungle,” and “Wild about Wildflowers.” Kids will learn about the Alaska Railroad, Bears, Bugs, Birds, Moose, Squirrels, the Nenana River and more in upcoming Tundra Tots programs this summer.

The program takes place each Monday morning from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. at the Charles Sheldon Center for children ages 2 – 5 years (siblings welcome). Parents join in the fun; there is a $5 suggested donation per program. Come out to Tundra Tots to connect, grow, and play!

For more information contact youth@denali.org or call Julie at 683-2597.