CRNA’s Environmental FairEncourages Public Awareness andYouth Engagement

Anna Liljedahl from Permafrost Discovery Gateway helps Adam Jackson take a virtual tour at the  Environmental Fair. Photo by Anna Somers

May 8, 2025

Anna Somers – CRWP Staff

On April 22 and 23, the second Environmental Fair was held at Glennallen High School. This public event was organized by CRNA’s Tribal Community Services Environmental Program and included lectures, presentations, booths, and activities from over two dozen local and regional organizations involved in environmental protection, education, and preservation.

On Tuesday, April 22, the public was invited to a series of different lectures in the high school auditorium. Scheduled presenters included the Wrangell Institute for Science and Environment (WISE), Alaska Department of Fish & Game, and the Copper River Watershed Project, among several others.

Presentation topics on the schedule included wildfire preparedness, climate change, invasive plants, soil health, and local emergency preparedness.

After a full day of presentations, the Environmental Fair continued on Wednesday, April 23 with booths and activities in the high school gym for students and members of the public. 

Many of the booths dealt with issues of safety and disaster readiness. The Red Cross was there with resources about how to respond in different scenarios like house fires or floods. Another booth provided pamphlets and resources educating members of the public about protecting their pets in the event of a natural disaster.

Several booths included games or activities to appeal to younger participants, like a fire protection Jeopardy game from the Alaska Division of Forestry, or knot-tying lessons from the Bureau of Land Management.

A particularly popular exhibit was a virtual reality headset that allowed students to see the impact of permafrost presented by the Permafrost Discovery Gateway.

Other exhibits focused on the dangers of contaminants to the local environment, like a booth that taught how to decide if common household cleaners are safe to use in your home, as well as several displays that emphasized the importance of recycling.

Sarah Daszkiewicz, CRNA’s Environmental Coordinator and organizer of this event, wrote in an email that the goal of the Environmental Fair is to “expand public awareness of available environmental resources, career opportunities in the environmental field, and ongoing local environmental projects and services” and “bolster youth engagement in environmental activities in the Copper River region.”

The emphasis on teaching younger generations the importance of good environmental stewardship was echoed by the event’s theme (“Strong Roots, Stronger Future”) and by Eva Edwards from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium out of Anchorage. Hosting a booth about the importance of protecting the watershed from harm, Edwards stated, “We want youth to know and understand what’s in their region and be a good steward of the land.”

Glennallen students listen to a representative from the Zender Environmental Health and Research Group at the Environmental Fair. Photo by Anna Somers