For Educators
Education and outreach programs at the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge include classroom visits, special events, community seminars, outdoor youth camps, internships, and volunteer opportunities. The Refuge also offers a variety of educational resources and materials that are available to the public including books, curricula, brochures, posters, and classroom kits. Refuge staff is available upon request to visit schools and community groups in the Yukon Flats and Fairbanks areas. A summary of our most popular programs and materials follows. Please note that all programs and materials are limited by staff availability or while quantities last.
Classroom Visits
Refuge staff can visit classrooms to present activities and information on a variety of topics including salmon and moose ecology, waterfowl and wetlands, subsistence use, radio telemetry demonstrations, watercraft safety, and learning about the natural role of fire in the Yukon Flats. Refuge staff can often accommodate special requests from teachers to present on a particular topic.
Firearm Safety
This program brings firearm safety experts to communities to teach gun safety. The program can be tailored to all age groups and classroom settings and is often done with a hands-on approach.
Trapping Seminars
Refuge staff teach techniques for trapping, cleaning, and skinning animals and often bring in furs and/or carcasses for the seminar. Traditional and modern trapping methods are discussed.
Bear Awareness and Safety
This classroom presentation is based on the training required for every U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee who works in bear country. It shares techniques of how to live and work safely around bears.
Alaska Junior Duck Stamp Program
Refuge staff work with students to learn about waterfowl and wetlands conservation and to create an artwork project that can be entered into a national contest. Entries are due by March 15th of each year.
An education kit is also available for check-out that includes materials to conduct the program with up to 25 students. The kit contents include a classroom presenter’s guide, Junior Duck Stamp curriculum and activity guide, paper, colored pencils, educational books, videos, DVDs, photographs and posters about waterfowl, art tips, examples of past student entries, and samples of contest prizes. For more information on this innovative national program go to: http://alaska.fws.gov/jrduck/index.htm
Leave No Trace – Camping Skills
This program encourages people to be mindful of their camping practices, ATV use, minimizing waste, and to be respectful of the land. Field trips can be planned depending on staff availability.
 Natural Resources Career Opportunities
Refuge staff can provide information and helpful application tips for a variety of natural resource career opportunities to people interested in exploring this kind of work. Opportunities include student internships, summer employment, and volunteering. Refuge staff annually conducts interviews for theses opportunities at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Earth Work Quest
The Earth Work Quest Internship Program is a grant-funded program that Refuge staff have actively been involved with, along with a host of other agencies and organizations in northern Alaska. Earth Work Quest has a mission to:
* inspire student interest in natural resource careers
* build a natural resource workforce from northern Alaska rural communities
* bridge the gap between rural communities and natural resource professionals
Students apply for Earth Work Quest by submitting applications directly to the Tanana Chiefs Conference. The program is open to rural Alaskan youth, ages 14 to 21. Application and program details can be found at www.tananachiefs.org/client/yes/earth_quest.htm. Internships come in many forms, at various locations throughout northern Alaska and can be with private, State of Alaska, or federal entities. Some interns are paid and some are purely volunteer experiences that provide the students with a small daily stipend.
Education Resources Other Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge education and outreach activities involve working closely with staff from Arctic and Kanuti National Wildlife Refuges to plan annual festivities and special events. Refuge staff have also developed a Refuge brochure, Refuge bird checklist, Refuge video (DVD/VHS), Gwich’in/English bird guides, informational kiosks, and a permanent interpretive exhibit located in the Fairbanks Federal Building. To request copies of our Refuge brochure, Refuge video (while supplies last) or bird guides email or call (800) 531-0676.
Environmental Education Library
The Refuge maintains a small library at the Refuge office in Fairbanks of diverse educational books, videos, curricula, and other materials that can be checked out by educators and interested individuals.
 Additional Programs and Resources
The Alaska Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also has a website with curricula, camps, resources and much more.
For more information about U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge education or outreach programs, contact Education Specialist Shannon Nelson at (907) 455-1823 or (800) 531-0676 or shannon_nelson@fws.gov
Last updated: April 24, 2008
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