Overwhelming Community Support for Cabin Fund!

Since the EKJ Memorial Cabin Fund was established in June of 2022, the amount of feedback, interest, and support has been overwhelmingly positive. We received numerous extremely generous donations and a matching fund donation of $25,000 from an anonymous donor. Currently, we have raised $70,000!! The Friends of Eagle River Nature Center (FERNC) has also been extremely supportive by advertising about the cabin on their website and staff also wrote two grants to resulting in an additional $35,000 (Rasmusson Foundation $25,000, and MEA $10,000) In addition, the Nature Center’s annual fall fundraiser on October 29th was successful in raising an additional $18,000 in their “For the Cause” focus. All together, we are now at $123,000! To see information on their website about their efforts, go to https://www.ernc.org.

State Parks trail planner, Blaine Smith, has recently spent time out at the site with FERNC the Trails and Grounds Manager for FERNC, Michael Gus Gustafson, to identify the best route in to the cabin site and work on building that trail may begin very soon. In addition, plans for building the cabin next summer are beginning. We have a lot of fundraising still to do and price estimates for the cabin construction continue to change and increase, but we are very hopeful that we can raise the money by next spring.

We are incredibly grateful for all of the support and generous donations we have received to help make this cabin become a reality. We are getting there! Heartfelt thanks and we will try to keep everyone informed as this project moves forward. To donate specifically towards the cabin, you can go to: Memorial Cabin Fund.

Cabin design

Young Erin and her dad skiing up Eagle River near the proposed cabin site.

Memorial Cabin Construction Fund Opening!

It is hard to believe that this coming June 19th will be five years since Erin was killed by a predatory black bear.  There is not a day that goes by that we don’t think about her and feel the hole left by her absence.  Anniversaries are a difficult time, but we are so grateful for all of you for your generous support to keep Erin’s happy, nature-loving, adventurous spirit alive through donations to support science education, getting people outdoors, and protecting Alaska’s wild places. 

Since Erin’s Memorial Fund was first established, we have talked about how to honor Erin’s spirit not only through giving to organizations she cared about, but also through the creation of a physical space in her memory. After consultation with family, friends, organizations, and different user groups, we are pleased to announce that the Chugach State Park Superintendent, CSP Citizen’s Advisory Board, and the Eagle River Nature Center Advisory Board have all agreed to support building a new Public Use Cabin about three miles up Eagle River Valley on a point overlooking the river near Echo Bend. While the cabin will be created in Erin’s honor and with support from her Memorial Fund, construction and maintenance of the cabin will be overseen by the Eagle River Nature Center.

Eagle River Valley is a special place for our family, so it is a fitting location to construct a cabin in her memory. Erin spent a great deal of time hiking and camping in Eagle River Valley from the time she was very small. She continued to spend time exploring the valley with her friends as a teenager and adult.

The current plan is to build the cabin during the summer of 2023. Initial estimates for cabin construction costs is $80-100K, however, that is subject to change given how volatile construction materials are and the need for helicopter sling loads. Any additional funds raised in excess of construction costs will be saved for future maintenance and upkeep costs.

A huge thanks to Jason Arnold of Rim Architects, and retired architect Matt Vogel, for working on the concept design and volunteering a significant amount of time and energy to identify a good site and developing the final plans. We are extremely grateful to have their expertise and their willingness to see this project through completion, however long it takes.

To ensure that donations for the cabin will go directly to supplies and constructions costs, we have set up a separate fund at the Alaska Community Foundation.  It is called the EKJ Memorial Cabin Fund (https://alaskacf.org/funds/ekj-memorial-cabin-fund/ ). The cabin will be named Korohusk Cabin after Korohusk Peak nearby.

We are very excited that this public use cabin will further support Erin’s legacy and the goal of her fund by encouraging people to enjoy nature with friends and families while supporting science education at the Eagle River Nature Center.  We are sincerely grateful and honored to have Dick Griffith, a strong backer of the Eagle River Nature Center and someone who knew Erin since she was a little girl, help us get the fund started by giving a generous donation to get the project off the ground.  Thank you so much, Dick!

We hope you will consider donating to help make this Public Use Cabin in memory of Erin a reality! 

Very Sincerely,

The Erin K. Johnson Memorial Fund Board:

Barb and Steve Johnson, Abe Schmidt, Annie Brownlee, Kyle Shedd

Parents, Steve and Barb Johnson, with view from close to the selected cabin site.

Saddle Trail Access to Kachemak State Park Supported

The Erin K. Johnson Fund Trustees had been hearing for the past few years about a huge concern regarding private property up for sale that has been the main access to Kachemak Bay State Park. The Conservation Fund has been working hard to secure the Saddle Trail property acquisition. Erin’s fund has donated to help with this huge financial effort which is a top priority for the Kachemak Bay State Park and the community of Homer.

The Conservation Fund is scheduled to close this month or early January! They will purchase the property on a loan, to secure the opportunity and allow for more time for fundraising in 2022 so that the land can be purchased in full, At that point, ownership will be transferred over to Kachemak Bay State Park for management as public land. This is an exciting project for The Conservation Fund and we are very glad to support this important effort.

Below is the link to the Conservation Fund’s page that explains the project and the heavy financial lift to secure this property forever. We are glad that we could contribute to this effort in 2021 and will continue to support The Conservation Fund’s work on this effort until it becomes public property.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/halibutcoveak

Binoculars and Bird Books for Machetanz Elementary!

The Erin K. Johnson Memorial Fund recently donated $1000 to support students at Machetanz Elementary in the Mat-Su Borough School District. With teacher and community support, students at this STEM school have been learning to become citizen scientists by being involved in learning to identify birds and complete surveys for a local project in cooperation with the University of Alaska and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. It is called “Bird and Bogs”. This project looks at trends in a select number of species in area wetlands in south-central Alaska. The project has been very successful and students monitor Reflections Lake in the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge.

Machetanz Elementary has been involved for a number of years but they were borrowing a set of binoculars from Alaska Department of Fish & Game. This became very limiting because the binoculars are in demand by educators and not readily available to teachers for use. For students to be successful, students at Machetanz needed regular practice with multiple classes.

The Fund helped support purchasing enough binoculars for the school so that a class of students could share with one partner. Good,, quality, bird identification books were also purchased and used by all of the classes participating in the surveys ( 5th graders) and those students who are practicing and learning so that when they are 5th graders, they can take over this responsibility.

Students were thrilled to get to use both the binoculars and bird identification books multiple times and now they can use them and become familiar with both through the school year.

Way to go, students and teachers! The Erin K. Johnson Fund Board is proud to encourage young scientists involved in citizen science! We appreciate donors who continue to contribute to help make these donations possible! Erin became keenly interested in birds in 3rd grade and it became a lifelong interest of hers. We hope many of these students become drawn to nature and the wonderful world of birds too.

There is no question that there are a lot more students who are now much more aware of birds, their behaviors, their calls, and how to identify them. This appreciation, connection, and understanding of the natural world is needed more than ever in today’s world.

Inspiring Girls Expeditions’ Modified Summer Programs Due to COVID.

This is the second year that the Erin K. Johnson Memorial Fund has supported the Inspiring Girls Expeditions Summer Program (https://www.inspiringgirls.org/who-we-are). It was a challenging summer, but overall, the program was a success, despite having to move away from its in-person programming format. All expeditions were cancelled due to COVID, but staff offered online programming they called 'Expeditions@Home.' Inspiring Girls Expeditions is about getting girls away from devices and screens and into nature, so it was a ground breaking summer!. Before starting such an approach, applicants were asked if they would be even interested in something online, given the circumstances. They received overwhelming support for the idea. Many girls were hungry for any kind of inspiring experience, even if it looked really different than what they originally thought.

So Expeditions@Home was launched with two different levels of commitment -'Observe & Discover' was a 4-week seminar series with guest lecturers open to as many top applicants as interested (Approximately 40 were in attendance). A class called 'Explore & Connect' was also conducted, which was a deeper dive, and teams of 9 with 2 instructors (similar to our in-person ratios) met weekly for several hours for 6 weeks, and moved through an entire curriculum of content focused on 'exploring nature in their own home landscape' - whether that was a backyard, a park, a tree lining their street, or whatever was safely accessible to the participating girls.. This entailed doing semi-guided science and art activities together and then girls did more on their own time during the week. At the end of the 6 weeks, they even presented to a virtual public audience the findings of science experiments they did together (virtually) in small groups.

Surveys at the end of the program indicated that overall participants were very happy with the program and gained a lot from the experience. These participants have all since been invited to an online alumni network (on Mighty Networks) and those that are still within the age limits can re-apply in 2021, if they choose.

As part of delivering this content online, activity boxes were mailed out to each 'Explore & Connect' participant with some basic science and art supplies, and a field book that our long-time, local Fairbanks artist instructor put together at record speed. It captures a lot of our curriculum and educational philosophy.

Below are some photos of some of the students work from this past COVID summer.

"Artwork (or field guide activities) prepared by participants in Inspiring Girls Expeditions "Expeditions @ Home" summer 2021 online/remote programming"

Socially distanced classes. A student showing her field guide work with others via the internet.

Journal showing a participants field journal and her rendition of her online teammates.

Fund Supports The Conservation Fund's Acquisition of Snow River Lands on the Kenai Peninsula!

Monies from the Erin K Johnson Fund were able to support The Conservation Fund’s efforts to acquire 156 acres along the Snow River, which lies in the heart of the Kenai Mountains. It comprises the headwaters of Kenai Lake and the world-famous Kenai River. Nearly the entire watershed is undeveloped backcountry with habitats and water quality largely unaffected by man. The property to be acquired contains 1/3 mile of the Snow River and more than 100 acres of pristine wetlands, providing spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and dolly varden. Uplands contain old growth trees and provide nesting habitat for migratory waterfowl, grouse, and raptors. It is the site of one of the earliest homesteads in the region, now reclaimed by the forest, and is crossed by the historic route of the Iditarod Trail. The property will become public land, incorporated into the Chugach National Forest and managed by the U.S. Forest Service for wildlife habitat. 

We know these beautiful and productive Snow River lands are just the kind that Erin would be happy to see being protected as public lands!

Below is a map showing the lands that were acquired.

Lands purchased by The Conservation Fund (https://www.conservationfund.org/where-we-work/alaska). They are now working with the USFS to se it become part of the Chugach National Forest.

Close up map of the156 acres purchased.

Challenges of the Pandemic Created An Even Greater Need for Organizations Like Onward & Upward

Resiliency and empowerment through adventure based learning and self-discovery is the focus of Onward & Upward Alaska (https://onwardandupward.org) and this year was challenging with the pandemic. The Erin K. Johnson Memorial Fund helped support these efforts to reach out to many in need in the Mat-Su Valley during this past year when there was an even greater need and there were fewer opportunities to connect in person. Staff did a great job of developing ways to incorporate experiential education via zoom, with a few safe outings and they made a big difference. Below are some photos of activities from this past summer and a few quotes.

"Thank you for having courses like this, It has been so beneficial for my son especially during this weird Covid summer." ~Parent

“I felt safe to be myself and share about me.” –Lucy

“I felt a connection to the community talking to everyone, a lot of people are staying home and you don't usually reach out to a lot of people at one time.”- Cooper

Onward & Upward teens exploring nature and becoming trail stewards, It wasn’t easy but they wore masks, stayed in small groups, and socially distanced.  They also had to use Zoom for a lot of the courses.

“I felt connected because I was learning about new plants.”-Myles

Onward & Upward tudents getting out and learning how to ski.

"Thank you for offering this course, the instructors were amazing!" ~Parent

“It was like they tell you to get out of your comfort zone.  They try to not pressure you, but push you to break out of your shell.” – student

“They’ve been really encouraging like they say you can do it and stuff. I really believe that I can do it.” -student

Inspiring Girls on Ice- 2019

The Erin K. Johnson Memorial Fund helped support one of the Inspiring Girls Expeditions which served 9 young women on Girls on Ice, Alaska.

Last summer’s expedition took place in Fairbanks and on Gulkana Glacier in the Eastern Alaska Range from June 21 to July 2, 2019. During their expedition on the Gulkana Glacier, the team learned about the complexities of field science, explored their surroundings through artistic inquiry, and gained confidence and new skills through practicing leadership and living in the backcountry.

The team standing at basecamp, located at the base of the Gabriel Ice Fall on Gulkana Glacier.

Credit - Brita Irving

Photo below:

Taking scientific measurements using mountaineering equipment!

Credit - Klara Maisch

Erin K. Johnson Fund helps support Portage Pass Trail

The Erin K. Johnson Fund is supporting efforts in Alaska to purchase a 255-acres of private lands at the head of Passage Canal, surrounding the Historic Portage Pass Trail. In cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, the intent is to preserve the existing trail access in perpetuity, and subsequently improve the trailhead and parking area, This effort is being spearheaded by The Conservation Fund- Alaska. Erin loved this beautiful area and we are thrilled to be able to help support this effort to protect a very special part of Southcentral Alaska.

This looks down at Passage Canal from the Portage Pass Trail.

This is the view looking the other way towards Portage Glacier and Portage Lake from the Portage Pass Trail.

Fund supports students needing scholarships to go to Denali

The fund recently supported students from an elementary school in the Matanuska Susitna Borough School District who needed financial help to be able to go on a science field trip to Denali National Park this fall. Attached are a few pictures from their trip.

Fund supports scholarships for students going to science camps and to support efforts to created better public access to Chugach State Park..

The fund has begun to distribute monies to causes Erin would have loved.  Scholarships have been provided to a science-based summer camp called Trailside Discovery Camp.  In addition, money has been given to Greatland Trust to help assist the organization in providing public access to regions of concern within Chugach State Park.  The Erin K. Johnson Memorial Fund was asked to provide some financial support elementary students who could not afford to go on the culminating marine science camp in Seward and a science field trip to Denali National Park with their classes. Below you can see some of the letters the students wrote back to the fund thanking them for making it possible for them to go.