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Journey through a landscape shaped by fire

Spend 12 days exploring the plants, soils, wildlife, and waterways of the boreal forests of subarctic Alaska on our Girls* in the Forest expedition in Fairbanks, Alaska. We’ll float through the landscape in packrafts, boats that were invented in Alaska for adventures just like this, exploring how wildfire - a natural and important part of the subarctic Alaska ecosystem - has shaped this incredible landscape over time.

Itinerary

Every year, the day-to-day details of the expedition will change due to weather or other circumstances. Here’s a snippet of the basic itinerary:

• Day 1: Meet the team, pack for your expedition, and stay in remote cabins at a private campsite in the Chena River State Recreation Area.

• Day 2: Practice packrafting skills on a small lake at our camp.

• Day 3-9: Paddle and hike along the Chena River, exploring forest fire sites and local ecology. Develop and test science experiments, practice art, and continue refining your boating skills!

• Day 10: Finish paddling on the Chena River and drive back to the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

• Day 11: Stay at the university while wrapping up science, art, and reflection activities. Deliver public presentations in small groups about science experiment results and the overall experience of the expedition.

• Day 12: Enjoy a final morning of activities together before heading home!

The Girls* in the Forest program travels along the upper Chena River on the traditional lands of the Lower Tanana Dene people. In traveling along the Chena River (a Tanana name meaning “river of game”) by foot and by boat, we will be following in the footsteps and paddle strokes of the Dene people who have hunted and gathered in this area for thousands of years.

History

Girls* in the Forest is part of an NSF-funded EPSCoR program called Fire & Ice, a large collaborative program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks that supports research and outreach on boreal fires and ice in the ecosystem, and that also originally hosted our Girls* on Water sea kayaking program. This expedition first launched in 2021!