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Category: Introductions

  • Introduction – Louis Seymour

    Hey! My name is Louis. I’m currently a Wildlife Biology student here at UAF. I’m excited to take this class so that I can familiarize myself with the plants that grow here in Alaska. I transferred to UAF from Clemson University in South Carolina this summer, so I’m still very new to Alaska, and I don’t know much about the plant life here. While I am not a botany student, both of my parents were. I grew up going on hikes in the Appalachian mountains, where they would teach me about the rich plant life there. As a result, I’m very familiar with the botany of that region, as well as the field as a whole. Additionally, I’ve taken Forest Biology, Dendrology, and Forest Ecology classes at Clemson, where I learned all about plant physiology, taxonomy, and identification. It certainly wasn’t easy, given the diversity of plants there, but it was an enjoyable challenge.

    I enjoy hiking and camping, as well as photography. Both the featured image and the images below are photos that I took back home. My interest in the outdoors is ultimately what sparked my interest in plant and animal life. Spending time outside made me want to learn more about what I was seeing/taking photos of. My future plans are to work in the conservation of the Arctic, specifically in fisheries and wildlife management.

    My favorite plant is such a difficult choice as it depends on the season. I’ll put a few of my favorites below. I think my all time favorite is probably Fraser Fir (Abies fraseri).

    Catawba Rhododendron (Spring)
    Mountain Ash (Fall)
    Fraser Fir

  • Introduction

    Hello everyone! My name is Erik Doering. While I may not be a biology major of any kind, I have always taken a keen interest in identifying the wildlife around me. I grew up foraging a little bit with my parents in Wisconsin. My dad and I would walk through the woods and quiz each other on the names of trees, bird calls, and animal tracks. Today I am a professional piloting major at UAA, and while this class doesn’t pertain to my future profession, I have a great deal of personal interest in the flora around me. My favorite plant is a hard one to pin down, but here is a picture of the Forget-Me-Nots I saw while in Hope over Memorial Day Weekend.

  • Introduction

    My name is Joshua Clausen and I don’t really know much about botanical studies, which is one of the reasons I took this class so I can learn more about it. I do enjoy Hunting, Hiking, and Camping due to some of the sights that you can see, especially the way plants and trees look which sparked my interest in learning more about botany. I added a picture of my favorite plant which is a Lilac Bush, This is my favorite plant for a couple of reasons but the main reasons are how my grandma used to have them all over the house and they smell good.

  • Introduction

    Hello everyone. My name is Isabella, and I’m a recent high school graduate from South Central Alaska. I’m an ethnobotany student and an enthusiastic plant lover, so I’m thoroughly excited to delve deeper into botany with an emphasis on Alaskan flora! I’ve been exploring my love of plants through various modalities since my interested first sparked. Foraging for berries, wildcrafting medicinal plants, and eventually studying herbalism and ethnobotany were the paths I ended up following. Currently, I’m finishing an herbalism certification program that I’ll soon graduate from after six months of intensive learning and studying. Beyond wildcrafting, I also enjoy making my own plant medicines, where I’m beginning to dabble in formulations.

    I have already had some exposure to botany while studying ethnobotany and herbalism, however, I find that unless I use and recall botanical terms daily, they slip through the cracks of my memory. In taking this course, I hope to revitalize my knowledge and solidify it. In the future, I’d like to incorporate more technical botanical terms into my plant identifications and learn more about plant family patterns.

    I have many favorite plants, but perhaps one of my most loved is devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus). During last summer’s ethnobotany class, I became familiar with this plant and recognized why it is so revered in many Alaska Native cultures. It’s a very formidable and imposing plant with its sharp and pervasive thorns, but they protect the potent medicine in its roots and stems. I enjoy making salves from it, and have witnessed its healing abilities.

    I’m looking forward to expanding my knowledge and learning more about plants!

  • Introductions

    Hi all – I’m your TA, Steph, and I’m very glad to see all of you!

    I’m Steffi’s grad student. I took this class about 4 years ago and loved it, so I’m thrilled to see what you all come up with for your assignments! I’m here to help, so if you have any problems getting going, feel free to contact me – szaborac@alaska.edu.

    For fun, here’s my favorite flower – Jeffreys Shooting Star (Photo credit: Lisa Hupp/USFWS)!

    At some point soon, I’m going to arrange a Zoom meeting, to give some pointers on how to use iNaturalist. I hope to see you then! And Remember: Have fun!

  • Introduction

    Hi, I am Terry. I’m currently living.in Two rivers I took this class a couple years ago and didn’t realize I had an incomplete and decided to wrap up the class finally. I am mostly interested in the medicinal properties of plants.

  • Introduction

    Hello!

    My name is Emma Heil, I’m currently a Sophomore and pursuing a degree in Wildlife Biology and conservation:)

    I’ve taken some botany classes in the past, unfortunately the information never seems to stick with me, but I’m hoping finding some interest in identification of Alaska Flora, and searching for plants around me in person will help greatly. I’ve always wanted to be more knowledgeable on identification itself. I’ve been here in Fairbanks for about three years now, but I used to work as a plant merchandiser for Lowes down in New York and I used to help customers all the time find plants they were looking for and researching specifics! I learned a lot then and I hope to rekindle it a bit. Working there did develop a great love for houseplants, because of that Id say my most favorite plant I’ve ever grown is a Rabbits Foot Fern! Why?? I’m not sure but Its pretty and I love looking at and caring for it!

    Hers my cat mid photoshoot trying to eat it.

    I’m currently attempting to grow a garden this year, we shall see how it goes! I’m participating in the gardeners club that UAF offers here, Its great! I think you can still join if anyone is interested.

    -Emma Heil

  • Welcome to BIOL190 – Introduction to Flora of Alaska

    https://media.uaf.edu/media/t/0_urjbf5kw

    Welcome to class! Finally the day has come that we are unveiling the online version of BIOL190 – Introduction to Alaska’s Flora (in its sixth year).   Sorry the video is using the old class name, but you are in the right class BIOL190. I hope you are as excited as I am to learn about our incredible flora, get to know some of its players by name, and get close and personal with them through plant dissection.   The class will throw a lot of new terms at you, do not despair if that is a little overwhelming at first.   Look at it like learning a new language, you want to talk with your foreign friend and have a good conversation, but first you need to get all the vocabulary down. The first conversation might not be as refined as you may wish, but it will all fall into place once you have many small conversation with your friend(s) and classmates, and soon the concept of botanical terms will become second nature. Soon you will sit at the kitchen table and contemplate using canned or fresh berries for your tomato sauce :).   Have fun, and I am looking forward to learning more about the plants that grow in your area, and your adventures exploring your outdoor botanical laboratory.

    As some of you night have noticed, you will see posts from previous students on the WordPress site. That was done by design. You might even be interested in browsing through previous posts.   Lots of good stuff there from students that took the class in previous years.   Please do not plagiarize their work though :).

    Cheers, Steffi.

  • Introduction (a bit late)

    My name is Gavyn and I’m Fairbanks born and raised. I really love the plants that I live with and am excited to take this opportunity to know them closer. My family has a cabin out on Tenderfoot Hill, and I have run amok out there my whole life. Out there we have lots of good birch, aspen, and spruce (White or black depending on what part of the hill you’re on). We have low bush cranberries (lingonberry is apparently what they’re called, but I stick with the term I grew up with), high bush cranberries, and raspberries growing on the property that I know are edible. We have some orange berries that I need to look up. My mom always told me they made you sick so I never ate them. Oh! And my mom planted wild strawberries, we have yet to have fruiting plants, but the runners are all over the place. But my favorite plant is actually YARROW! I love the pretty flowers and its use as a trail medicine. In Fairbanks, yarrow comes in white mostly, but it can also come in pinks and yellows! It helps blood clot on a wound in you make a pulp with it and set it on the wound. I think I am going to use it to make a toner for my skin before they all are past their prime for the season. So now I will need to look into that. I am looking forward to the whirlwind of fun I’m going on this week.

    “Western Yarrow (Achillea lanulosa)” by Mary Vaux Walcott, born Philadelphia, PA 1860-died St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada 1940/ CC0 1.0

  • Delayed Introduction

    Hi Everyone! My name is Jayce Bjelland. I am originally from San Diego, CA but moved up to Fairbanks with my 3-year-old German shepherd Arlo in 2022 after transferring to UAF from my previous college. I am currently majoring in Wildlife Biology. I have a huge passion for waterfowl and am currently fostering that passion in my current job at Creamers Field working for Alaska Fish & Game.

    I’ll admit I have never had much particular interest in plants but have enjoyed the plant-focused courses I have taken at UAF so far and would love to continue building that foundation of knowledge, especially as I have become more interested in foraging and gardening since moving to Alaska. I don’t know that I have a specific favorite plant but I tend to most enjoy plants that are “odd” or have unusual, unique features either in the way they look or function. Lately, I’ve been particularly captivated by the tall bluebells I’ve been finding around town, I really love the way the flowers hang so delicately!

    Me and my dog Arlo.
    Tall Bluebells (Mertensia paniculata)