Community Corner Archives | Page 5 of 8

Community Corner: Partnerships help involve the next generation in the council’s mission

January 27, 2017January 26, 2017 by Amanda Johnson

By Lisa Matlock
Outreach Coordinator

Council receiving partnership award from Alaska Geographic, photo courtesy of Alaska Geographic - color fix Since 2009, the council has partnered with the Chugach Children’s Forest to help youth from the Exxon Valdez oil spill region connect to Prince William Sound directly through unique outdoor experiences. The council has co-sponsored multiple expeditions in which students from Cordova to Kodiak ply the waters of Prince William Sound by kayak, charter vessel, and ferry. The wonders of the Sound, its wildlife, its communities, and its beauty have touched them all, and along the way these youth have learned how the Exxon Valdez oil spill affected this special place and how they can be part of preventing future spills.

The Chugach Children’s Forest, itself a partnership between the Chugach National Forest and the non-profit organization, Alaska Geographic, introduces diverse, young Alaskans to their wild backyard. One of the Children’s Forest’s goals is to “address the critical challenges of people’s growing disconnect from nature paired with mounting impacts on our natural world” and to “bring together communities, educators, land management agencies, and environmental and social non-profits to offer a wide range of innovative programs.”

Community Corner: A tour of the crown jewel of local oil spill response

February 20, 2020May 11, 2016 by Contributing Author

By Lisa Matlock
Outreach Coordinator

Lisa Matlock, center, poses with the Seward High School students and teachers in the bow of the Glacier Explorer. Scroll down for more photos.

I was a Homer resident for five years. Each spring I watched a fleet of fishing boats carrying noisy, funny-looking machines and pulling long orange and yellow lines around in circles near the Spit. I can remember asking, “What are they doing out there?” The answer was always, “Oh, that’s just SERVS training.” I never learned more than that until my first year with the council when I had the opportunity to observe that training personally.

For two days, I participated in classroom training with a group of fishermen and other mariners about spill safety, oil spill tactics, wildlife protection, and Geographic Response Strategies for sensitive areas. I learned about different types of hydraulic power packs, skimmers, and oil containment boom.

Community Corner: The importance of public comment

January 29, 2016 by Amanda Johnson

By Lisa Matlock
Outreach Coordinator

The council regularly provides public comment on behalf of our 18 member entities on matters that support our mission of safe oil transportation in Prince William Sound. We are proud of our role as advocates on many technical topics of importance to our local citizenry.

Community Corner: Passing the torch through story

December 29, 2016September 16, 2015 by Amanda Johnson

By Lisa Matlock
Outreach Coordinator

Matlock will appear on a future episode of Phillipe Cousteau’s Xploration Awesome Planet, talking about the council’s long term environmental montioring in Prince William Sound. Photo courtesy of Steve Rotfeld Productions.

Many of the council’s volunteers and staff experienced 1989’s Exxon Valdez oil spill firsthand. Memories of the smell, the terrible sights and sounds, and the social and environmental impacts on communities drive our volunteers to keep such a thing from happening again.

For today’s youth, who will someday join the board to represent communities impacted by that spill, the need to be vigilant and resist complacency can seem vague and somewhat disconnected to their daily reality.

A recent focus of the council on oral history of the oil spill and our creation as an organization, is helping fill this gap.