Kanuti Refuge and students from Allakaket and Atlatna villages celebrated the Refuge’s first participation in Region 7’s popular Migratory Bird Calendar Contest November 19-20, 2007.  Park Ranger Kristin Reakoff spent a day teaching students in Allakaket about the importance of migratory birds in their lives. She also provided an art lesson on color use and took poster making materials for the four classrooms.  “We talked a lot about the birds the students see and are familiar with, but we also discussed the birds that can’t be seen but can be heard singing in the woods. The students were a real pleasure to work with and at the end of the day’s activities, many students had already excitedly begun work on their poster entries for the contest,” Reakoff said.

Kanuti Refuge provides breeding areas for more than 130 species of migratory birds. Students from Allakaket and Alatna within the Refuge are familiar with migratory birds from first-hand experience as well as stories handed down from Elders. They also learn about birds through the work of Kanuti Refuge staff, including the Refuge Information Technician (RIT), who conducts annual waterfowl harvest surveys in both villages.  Kanuti’s promotion of the Migratory Bird Calendar Contest also enables students from villages of Bettles, Coldfoot and Wiseman to participate. An event like that in Allakaket will be held for students in Coldfoot and Wiseman.

The Alaska Migratory Bird Calendar Contest (formerly the Goose Calendar Contest) began in 1986 on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. The contest grew in popularity and now 11 refuges are involved and students in grades K-12 living near refuges are urged to submit drawings or literary entries (or both).  While the contest’s original purpose was to teach students about arctic nesting geese, the scope of the contest has broadened to include more species of Alaska’s migratory birds.  For more information, visit the 2009 Alaska Migratory Bird Calendar Contest web page at http://alaska.fws.gov/external/education/about.htm.