Outdoor Explorer - Alaska Public Media Alaska Public Media

For as long as humans created art nature has inspired us. From cave paintings in France to Indigenous art in Alaska to western artists like Rockwell Kent artists and their work celebrate the wonders of the natural world. The Forest Service's Voices of the Wilderness program continues the tradition with an artist in residence model of service and art. Individuals apply to the program and if accepted spend a week or more in a Wilderness or Wilderness Study Area with wilderness specialists. During that time they help with service projects and work on a creative piece that is then shared with the agency and the general public. On this Outdoor Explorer host Paul Twardock discusses the program with Barbara Lydon, program coordinator with the U.S. Forest Service; Marybeth Holleman, author and poet; Youpa Stein, multimedia artist; and Klara Maisch, painter. We learn about the program and the work they created from the inspiration they got during their time with the program in the wilderness.

HOST: Paul Twardock

GUESTS:
Barbara Lydon, program coordinator with the U.S. Forest Service
Marybeth Holleman, author and poet
Youpa Stein, multimedia artist
Klara Maisch, painter

LINKS:
Forest Service Voices of the Wilderness
Marybeth Holleman
Klara Maisch
Youpa Stein
Barbara Lydon
Prince William Sound Natural History Symposium
]]>

Volunteers contribute immensely to our ability to access and enjoy the outdoors. Whether building and maintaining trails, organizing races, teaching and mentoring beginners, pulling invasive weeds, picking up trash or serving as board members, volunteers are the core of the outdoor community. Volunteers also require work and commitment from the organizations they contribute to.

HOST: Paul Twardock

GUESTS:
Kikkan Randall, Executive Director, Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage
Maya Kaup, Volunteer and Communication Coordinator, Alaska Trails
Mike Morganson, Single Track Advocates and a volunteer with Alaska Trails
Peter Taylor, President, Mountaineering Club of Alaska

LINKS:
Alaska Trails Volunteer Opportunities Page
Alaska Trail Stewards Page
Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage
Mountaineering Club of Alaska
Single Track Advocates
Habitat for Humanity
]]>

On this Outdoor Explorer host Lisa Keller sits down with Harlow Robinson, executive director of Healthy Futures and the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. On April 30, the Hall will induct the class of 2024. Harlow tells us about the people and the moment that comprise this year’s class, as well as the annual Director’s Awards and the popular 100 Miles in May.

HOST: Lisa Keller

GUEST: Harlow Robinson, executive director, Healthy Futures and the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame

LINKS:
Alaska Sports Hall of Fame
Healthy Futures 100 Miles in May
]]>

Alaska's mountains and oceans provide some of the most dramatic landscapes on earth. Anchorage trails have connected the Chugach Mountains and Cook Inlet for decades, with a few gaps. Just recently newly created trails make it possible to bike, hike, run, or ski from Glen Alps to Knik Arm of Cook Inlet without crossing a single road. The Anchorage Park Foundation designated a route called "Mountains to Sea Trails," with a video, signage, and other information to help people navigate from Glen Alps trailhead in Chugach State Park to Westchester Lagoon and the Anchorage Small Boat Launch, around 24 miles. To help explain the route and its history Host Paul Twardock is joined by Anchorage Park Foundation's Diana Rhodes, cyclist Christina Grande, and filmmaker William Melton.
]]>

In 2012 Michael Engelhard, an outdoor guide, writer, and anthropologist decided to hike and paddle from Canada to Kotzebue, acting on a lifelong goal. Though not the first to make the trip, and just the start of the "through hike" trend occurring in the far north, Engelhard brought his unique Alaskan background to the trip. This spring The Mountaineers published his memoir of the trip "Arctic Traverse." The book is a mix of travelogue, natural and cultural history and philosophy. Michael joins host Paul Twardock to discuss his motivations for the trip, how the book came about, doing a two month solo trip, the natural history of the Brooks Range and his musings on wild lands and development.
]]>

On the this Outdoor Explorer, we hear from MaryBeth Goodman, director of the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Alaska Behavioral Health. The Cohen Clinic is on the leading edge of recognizing that the outdoors is a critical piece of mental health. Along with their partners, the clinic offers programs that address the wholistic needs of veterans, using the outdoors as a path to healing from trauma.

HOST: Lisa Keller

GUEST: MaryBeth Goodman, Director of the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic

LINK:
Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Alaska Behavioral Health

BROADCAST: Thursday, March 28th, 2024. 10:00 am – 11:00 a.m. AKT
REPEAT BROADCAST: Thursday, March 28th, 2024. 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. AKT
]]>