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Homer

Located in Homer, known as the halibut capital of the world, this project takes place on the beautiful bank of Kachemak Bay, a sheltered arm of lower Cook Inlet, and is easily accessible by land, air or sea. Homer is surrounded by snowcapped mountains reaching thousands of feet into the sky with glaciers winding their way to the ocean below. An abundance of native salmon and trout swim in the crystal waters while eagles and seabirds search for food along the miles of beaches. Everything from adventure to the small town experience can be taken advantage of in Homer. There are many trails to hike on, kayaks to rent, a ferry will take you to Kodiak Island, a small Cessna to Seldovia, or just a quiet evening on the spit watching the sun go down.

This project has two options:

The first option will mainly focus on educating Alaskan youth about the dynamic coastal environments of Kachemak Bay. Acting as an Environmental Educator, you will gain experience working in the field, museums, and in the classroom. In the field you will be assisting with the Natural Exploration programs that take students through forests and wildflower meadows at the Wynn Nature Center. Down the hill from the Nature Center, you will also be working outdoors with the CoastWalk program, which teaches students about the changing coast by leading them on beach walks and collecting shoreline information. Classroom visits will be used to supplement field and museum experiences. In addition to environmental education, you will get to help clean-up local beaches, monitor beaches for wildlife and human impact, and help organize an event that teaches local community members how to become stewards of coastal areas.

During the month-long project, volunteers do a variety of activities including:

Assist in organizing a grassroots community event called CoastWalk
Monitor wildlife and human impacts on coasts of Kachemak Bay by kayak and foot
Participate in educational beach walks to teach school children how to collect coastal monitoring data and how to be stewards of coastal areas
Clean-up beaches of marine debris in areas accessible only by small boat
Lead educational field trips through Alaskan forests and wildflower meadows

The second option will give the volunteer an opportunity to work with the Pratt Museum in downtown Homer. The Pratt Museum is the only natural history museum in the 25,600-square-mile area of the Kenai Peninsula. It serves a regional population of over 40,000 and hosts around 30,000 visitors each year. Indoor exhibits focus on art, natural history, native cultures, homesteading, fishing, marine ecology and the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Additional attractions are Alaskan wildlife dioramas, salt-water aquaria and a fine Museum store. Outdoor exhibits include the historic Harrington homestead cabin with period furnishings, botanical garden, and forest nature trail, enlivened by summer and permanent art installations. The volunteer will be working at the Pratt Museum five days out of the week where they will:

educate visitors coming to the Marine room where there are four aquariums, and shore birds on display
conduct/guide groups as needed

The museum will operate on winter hours beginning September 15th, so there may be some behind the scenes work to do once the hours have been cut down.

.: Project Duration

This project is for the month of September; the position starts on the 1st and ends on the 30th.

Number of Volunteer Positions: 2 (one for the environmental education project and one for the museum project, although a few times out of the month the volunteers will work together on special joint projects)

.: Accommodation

The two volunteers, although working on separate projects, will be accommodated together in a hostel in the center of town, making it easy to access coffee shops, galleries, museums, etc. and it is within walking distance of the Pratt Museum.

.: Volunteer Requirements

must be 18 years of age
physically fit
desire to�gain skills in the environmental education field
interested�in working�with a�community/school environmental�monitoring program
posses an interest in working on small grassroots projects and on museum work
posses a positive attitude!

.: Project Cost

$1500.00 USD

Cost includes all accommodation and food for the duration of the program as well as airport pickup upon arrival, the first night�s stay in Anchorage, and transport to the program.

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