Mark items that are new in this issue - Alaska Conservation ...

**Mark items that are new in this issue. What's Up
March 31, 2011
Compiled Weekly by Peg Tileston
On behalf of the Alaska Women's Environmental Network (AWEN), Alaska Center
for the Environment (ACE), and Alaska Conservation Alliance (ACA) WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS, TRAINING, WEBINARS, WEBCASTS, STATEWIDE EVENTS &
TELECONFERENCES April 1 - 30
KETCHIKAN - The 13TH ANNUAL ALASKA HUMMINGBIRD FESTIVAL will be held with a
variety of activities celebrating the return of the "hummers" to Alaska. To
see the schedule of activities, go to
http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/discoverycenter/humschedule.shtml
or call festival headquarters at the So April 5
ANCHORAGE - American Society of Landscape Architect's GARDEN DESIGN
WORKSHOP is an opportunity for homeowners to learn about landscape design
as well as innovative design elements and then create a design for their
home, cottage or cabin. Two lectures that will be given by local landscape
architects DWAYNE ADAMS of USKH/LDN and M. ELISE HUGGINS of Earthscape and
are from 6:30 to 8:30pm on March 29th and April 5th. The workshop also
includes a 2-hour, one-on-one design session with a landscape architect on
April 9th. Walk away with your own landscape plan! This is an annual class
that raises funds for a scholarship for Alaskan students studying landscape
architecture. It's the biggest fundraising event for the Alaska Chapter,
and many of Anchorage's landscape architects participate in the Saturday
session, donating their time. Cost for the classes and workshop is $225.
Call 222-2859 for information, or email lminski@corvus-design.com or go to
https://www.facebook.com/pages/ASLA-Garden-Design-Workshop/184184094956817.
Southeast Alaska Discovery Center at 907-228-6220. **April 2
FAIRBANKS - COLD CLIMATE HOMEBUILDING TECHNIQUES WORKSHOP will be held from
9am to 5pm in the UAF Schaible Auditorium. The workshop will be taught by
Cooperative Extension Service community sustainability coordinator RICH
SEIFERT. The workshop will focus on insulating homes and will cover options
for retrofit, ventilation, indoor air quality and permafrost and
foundations. It is also designed to help homeowners who plan to participate
in the state's home energy rebate program. This is a free workshop and
includes a manual and CD. For more information or to register, call 907-474-
7201 or 907-474-6366. April 5
JUNEAU - CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION FRAMEWORKS WORKSHOP will be held at
Centennial Hall from 8:30 am to 5pm. The workshop sponsored by the Alaska
Coastal Rainforest Center will be in conjunction with the Alaska Chapter of
The Wildlife Society. Please note this is not a wildlife-centric workshop,
but broad based and interdisciplinary. The agenda is available under the
news and events portion of our website at http://acrc.alaska.edu/. For more
information, contact Mike Goldstein at 907.796.6269 or email
migoldstein@uas.alaska.edu. **April 6 (TELECONFERENCE SEMINAR)
PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF ALASKANS AND OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS THROUGH STATE
CHEMICALS POLICY REFORM will be held from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM as part of
the Alaska Collaborative on Health and the Environment teleconference
seminar series. Our nation's chemical policy is badly outdated, legally
allowing the proliferation of toxic chemicals linked to serious health and
environmental problems in the products that we use each and every day.
Increasingly, states are passing protective chemical policies to ban
dangerous chemicals from children's products and other consumer products.
The Alaska State Legislature is currently considering a bill (SB 27; HB 63)
that would ban the import of products containing toxic flame retardant
chemicals known as PBDEs. If passed, Alaska would join a dozen other states
that have stepped up to protect citizens from toxic threats. GUEST
PRESENTER: Dr. Joel A. Tickner, Associate Professor in the Department of
Community Health and Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts
Lowell and director of the Chemicals Policy and Science Initiative at the
Lowell Center for Sustainable Production. For more information, or to join
this FREE call and receive the dial-up instructions, please RSVP to Alaska
Community Action on Toxics at diana@akaction.org or (907) 222-7714. Learn
more about CHE-AK at http://akaction.org/Tackling_Toxics/Alaska/CHE-
AK.html.or listen to audio recordings at
http://akaction.org/Just_the_Facts/Multimedia.html -
Audiothttp://akaction.org/Just_the_Facts/Multimedia.html#Audio of previous
teleconference seminars. To suggest a topic or speakers for a future call,
please email diana@akaction.org. **April 7 (TELECONFERENCE)
The next PHASE II DEC ABCLIST STAKEHOLDER MEETING that will be held by
teleconference from 10am to Noon. The five Phase II proposed Generally
Consistent Determinations (PGCDs) to be discussed are available at
http://dnr.alaska.gov/coastal/acmp/Clawhome/ABClist/PhaseII.html . Topics
include: PGCD-426 - "Seasonal and Emergency Maintenance Dredging" (Aquatic
Structures Activity Series); PGCD-428 - "Authorization of Formerly GAU
Docks and Associated Structures in Marine and Fresh Waters on State Land"
(Aquatic Structures Activity Series); PGCD-430 - "Small Residential and
Commercial Hydroelectric Projects" (Aquatic Structures Activity Series);
PGCD-517 - "Temporary Storage, Staging, and Incidental Use on State Lands"
(Camps and Parks Activity Series); and PGCD-520 - "Beach Debris Cleanup
Activities" (Camps and Parks Activity Series) For more information, contact
Joe Donohue, Project Coordinator, DNR, Div. of Coastal & Ocean Management,
at 907-465-4664 Fax 907-465-3075, or email joe.donohue@alaska.gov. April 8 - May 20
ANCHORAGE - URBAN FARMING will be held from 11am to 1pm on Fridays at the
Cooperative Extension Center, 1675 C Street, #100, (entrance off 16th Ave,
between A Street and C Street). Instructors: JULIE RILEY, Horticulturist &
LESLIE SHALLCROSS, Home Economist, UAF Cooperative Extension Service.
Special guest STEVE BROWN, Agriculture Agent, Palmer. Cost: $5 each or all
6 classes for $25. Cash or checks payable to UAF Cooperative Extension
Service. (Sorry, no credit cards.) Includes information on Municipality of
Anchorage regulations on raising goats in the city. Pre-registration
recommended. To download a registration form go to
http://www.uaf.edu/ces/districts/anchorage/.
April 8: Eat local: Container gardening, community gardens, farmers'
markets, u-picks and starting a food co-op in Anchorage.
April 15: Grow Your Own: Vegetable gardening basics for our cold soils and
cool summers. Includes information on organic seed sources and heirloom
varieties.
April 22: Chickens in City: Learn what it takes to keep your chickens
healthy and productive and your neighbors from complaining. Egg handling,
storage, nutrition and cooking will be covered.
April 29: Composting Techniques: Turn your yard and kitchen waste into
'black gold'. Includes information on vermi-composting with red wigglers.
May 6: Preserving & Storing Your Harvest: Freezing, canning, drying the
fruits of your labor.
May 20: Making Goat Cheese: Demonstration on how to make goat cheese using
purchased milk. **April 9
FAIRBANKS - MOVING TOWARD THE ULTIMATE SOLAR SUPERINSULATED HOME COURSE
will be held from 10am to 4pm in the Schaible Auditorium. RICH SEIFERT and
GREG EGAN will teach the course, using the newest Solar Design Manual
customized for Fairbanks. This course is $15 to cover the manual cost. For
more information or to sign up, contact Deb Tindall at 907-474-6366. April 9 - 12
KODIAK - The 1st KODIAK AREA MARINE SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM (KAMASS) will be held
at the Kodiak Harbor Convention Center. The symposium will present selected
results of decades of marine research conducted near Kodiak. At KAMSS
researchers will have an opportunity to talk about their research, and
local people will have a chance to learn how Kodiak's marine environment
and resources function, change, and affect their lives and livelihoods.
KAMSS talks will span all dimensions of Kodiak region marine science, from
physical oceanography to zooplankton, crabs to salmon, puffins to killer
whales, and historic to current human dimensions. There will be ample
opportunity for the public, researchers, and educators to mingle, trade
insights, and answer questions. About fifty scientists will give oral and
poster presentations geared to inform local fishermen and residents about
research conducted near Kodiak. Also on the program are workshops on the
Alaska Seas and Rivers curriculum, the Coastal Observing and Seabird Survey
Team, Community Monitoring of Marine Invasive Species led by GARY FREITAG,
Communicating Ocean Science led by MARILYN SIGMAN, and Data Gaps and
Cooperative Research Opportunities led by KATE WYNNE. JOHN PIATT, U.S.
Geological Survey bird researcher, will be a keynote speaker. For more
information contact Kate Wynne at 907-486-1517 or email
kate.wynne@alaska.edu.For a full program, please go to Error! Hyperlink
reference not valid.. April 11 - 15
NET ZERO ENERGY BUILDINGS IN ALASKA? Hear the true stories on how they have
been built in Canada. Alaska Center for Appropriate Technology (ACAT)
www.ACAT.org has reached an agreement to bring two of the key people that
have built Net Zero Ready/ Net Zero Energy (NZE) buildings (EQuilibrium) in
Edmonton, Alberta Canada. There will be presentations in Juneau, South
Central Alaska and Fairbanks April 11-15, 2011. Learn about Solar system
interconnect with the buildings. Presenters: GORDON HOWELL, PE and monitors
the electrical and solar systems. Gordon is also on CSA Standards, code,
plus interconnection and renewable committees. PETER AMERONGEN, Designer,
Builder, principal in www.habitat-studio.com Winner of the Net-Zero Energy
Coalition "closest to net-Zero energy" custom home builder of 2009. Details
to follow at www.ACAT.org. April 12
ANCHORAGE - LIGHTING TECHNOLOGIES: NOW and in the FUTURE WORKSHOP will be
held from 8:30am to 4pm in the REI Education Room, 1200 W. Northern L