Another amazing year of Snow School in the Chilkat Valley came to an end last week. All students in Haines, Klukwan and homeschool in grades K-8 had the opportunity to participate. Students learned about winter ecology, the importance of snowpack, snow science, and winter recreation safety. Students in K-3 went on hour-long snowshoeing field trips around the school grounds, and students in grades 4-8 went on day-long cross-country skiing adventures at 25 Mile. This year 198 students participated! This program would not be possible without a tremendous effort from this community. Thank you Chilkoot Indian Association’s Liam Wirak-Cassidy, Haines Avalanche Center’s Brittany Dunbar, Jeff Moskowitz, Beth Fenhaus, and Haines Huts and Trail’s Nate Arrants, Eben Sargent, Jim Jurgeleit, and Leslie Evenden. A big thank you to Glen Scott for helping with trail grooming and our biggest shoutout goes to Jim Stanford who ensured we always had groomed trails for skiing and provided snowmachine support during the field trips. This program would not be possible without these collaborative partners and Takshanuk Watershed Council is grateful for their support!
Tracy Wirak-Cassidy, Takshanuk Watershed Council