UAF boosts awareness of agriculture, food systems in Alaska

A combination of corporate support and the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ commitment to science communication has allowed the Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension to leverage new initiatives to increase awareness of agriculture's importance to Alaska’s complex food system. 

Earlier this year, IANRE received a gift of $100,000 from AgWest Farm Credit. The gift will be used to help the university continue to support research investigating how agricultural initiatives play a role in supporting diverse food sources in Alaska and contribute to the state’s food system stability.

Laura Weingartner, a recent UAF plant ecology graduate and participant in the Science Teaching and Outreach Certificate through UAF’s College of Natural Science and Mathematics, joined IANRE’s communications team to help build the institute’s reach to Alaska farmers and communities. 

“The Institute is committed to enriching the lives of Alaskans. Our work is to develop connections with our communities and farmers and ensure that the research being conducted at UAF is not only relevant to Alaska farmers, but also accessible to them,” said IANRE Director Jodie Anderson.

Weingartner has spent the past few months rebuilding the UAF Experiment Farm website, updating and reinvigorating the Experiment Station blog and creating educational materials and events to reach constituents. Her work is helping to show the many ways researchers at UAF’s Experiment Station are contributing — from understanding which grains grow best for harvest and soil health, investigating strategies for greenhouse lighting to extend indoor growing potential to developing a livestock nutrition program to increase the state’s meat production.

“With her support, we have increased our communication reach by nearly 82% in some areas. We’ve held Field Days events at both the Palmer and Fairbanks farms and met with hundreds of community members, farmers and policymakers,” Anderson said. “It’s this kind of boost in communication that helps us develop better relationships and ensure our research is investigating what Alaska’s farmers need. The Alaska food system is complex, and we take our role in supporting that system seriously.”

The graduate certificate in science teaching and outreach was developed by faculty to prepare science graduate students for careers that include teaching and communicating science to the public. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Learn more about the Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension or the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station as well as the Science Communication Certificate. 

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