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Category: Introductions

  • Introduction

    Hello! My name is Alicia Maryott. I was born and raised in Dzantiki Heeni otherwise known as Juneau, Alaska. My father’s people are Tlingit from Haines, AK, Greek and Polish. My mother’s people are Stolo Coast Salish and I’m not sure from where else, as she was adopted, but her maternal family is from Fraser River Valley BC, Canada – somewhere near Chilliwack/Hope area. I have been in Juneau most of my life, but for four years in high school and college that I spent in Oregon and Washington. So my plant knowledge is generally centered around the Pacific Northwest, and more specifically, Southeast Alaska.

    I’ve always been in love with nature and being outside, but I really dove into ethnobotany starting in 2020 during the start of the pandemic and enrolled in the EBOT OEC program in 2021. I have been on a journey to learn how to put up our traditional foods and medicines, continue to pass the knowledge onto our youth and help provide for our elders. My favorite plant(s) change – usually depending on where I’m at. This summer I am living in Hydaburg – the original place name is Higdaa Gandlaay in the Haida language or Xaad Kil. As soon as I landed and got in a truck to head from Klawock to Hydaburg, I was enamored by the cedars. They are a cultural keystone species in the Tlingit culture and to other tribes in the area as well including Haida and Tsimshian. So today, my favorite plant is the cedar tree.

  • Hello…I’m Amber Hannum

    I have lived in Fairbanks, Alaska since 2006. I am taking this course because I am interested in the plants that grow locally. This will be my second year growing a vegetable garden. I also harvest local plants to create art and to use in recipes. I have used local blueberries, raspberries, rose petals, and fireweed flowers to make jams and jellies. I made a rhubarb jam yesterday. I like to drink tea and have found a recipe to process fireweed leaves into tea that I haven’t attempted yet.

  • Introductions!

    Hi everyone!

    My name is Brianna. I’m a psychology major in my last semester. I’m taking this class to fulfill my credit requirements, but I’ve always loved plants and this course seemed interesting to me. My favorite flowers are sunflowers, which I got a tattoo of when I turned 18. Looking forward to this course!

  • Greetings!

    Hey everyone. My name is Juanita Magnetek. I am taking Intro to Flora for my ethnobotany minor but also for my own gratification. I try to get out often and explore what is sprouting, blooming or fruiting in my environment and to keep tabs on the stages of growth during the season. I do a lot of planting, maintenance and watering on the UAF campus. We have just mostly finished planting for summer. Now comes the fun of watching it grow to maturity and harvesting. While I am an art major, botany is perhaps just as interesting to me, if not more so. It is very wonderful to be studying and interacting with the Flora of Alaska interior, as this summer is brief and fleeting if we do not take notice. I believe I will be using my iPhone for the dissections, however, I will very much like to use a magnifying device to perform the task. I am thinking seriously about the visor, so I will most likely make that purchase today.

    I am unable to pick a favorite plant or flower. There are too many variations and qualities. I will show a few wild things I have snapped photos of this spring and summer so far…

  • Intro: Dorothy Sherer

    Hello! My name is Dorothy and I will be starting my third year at UAF studying wildlife biology this fall. I am originally from southern Indiana and am there this summer interning at a national wildlife refuge – I am overwhelmed with greenness, flowers, and fruit down here! I have been interested and have learned a lot about the trees, native plants, and crops of the midwest since childhood, but I will never forget the awe I felt when stepping onto the tundra for the first time and seeing all of the variety of life that can grow up there, as well. I’ve learned so much from friends about plants in Alaska since moving up here and I am excited to learn even more in this class. I have a vegetable garden and lots of landscaping (soooo much weeding to be done…) and love nothing more than berry stains on my fingers from collecting various Rubus around the woods edge. My favorite plant is the Ginkgo biloba. The maidenhair – there is something so magical about seeing its leaves twist in the wind and knowing it is such an ancient plant. I am excited to learn with you all this summer!

  • Introduction! Hi !

    Hi everyone,

    my name is Jaheili (Jai). I’m 19 years old and an online student at UAF currently living in Houston. I’m in my second year pursuing a degree in Biological Sciences. Some things about me are that I love reading, and have recently gotten into audiobooks! I’m also a fan of podcasts, especially true crime but I’ve found some science podcasts lately that are very informative and interesting. I own 3 dogs but currently have 4 as we have a rescue with us right now! I love being outside and in nature and I wish I could do it more often. I hope to get into hiking as well as foraging. I’ve never been hunting but do enjoy archery recreationally and would like to do it more often as well. As for gardening, it has never been my strong suit but I’ve been learning and doing better, I’d like to keep working on it and hope to have my own herb garden as well as some veggies. I had never considered botany as an interest until I started at UAF and I’m so glad I did. Since I was little, I had always loved collecting plants and leaves and flowers and learning about them, especially edible and medicinal plants and researching about plant identification. It’s been one year since I truly started my botanical journey and took my first ethnobotany course, EBOT 100, and even though I have much to learn I’m very passionate about the details and information. Some of my favorite plants are the Chinese Blue Wisteria tree and also the group of trees known as Weeping Willows. I also love pines and spruces, something you don’t see or get to appreciate too often here. I also love the groups of plants; water lilies, and jasmine. I hope to be able to tell the individual species of my favorite groups apart one day. I had a USB microscope and am looking for it now because I have no idea where it is. If I can’t find it I will be using my phone for the coursework.

    I’m looking forward to learning with you all this summer! 😀

    Buddy

  • Introduction: Shelby Green

    Hello! My name is Shelby and I currently live in Eagle River, AK though I spent many years in Chugiak. I’m a high school student (going into senior year) trying to get ahead on credits. I intend on dual majoring in history and something else, and biology is something I am heavily considering. I’ll be staying in Alaska and attending UAA or UAF to do this. I’ve always had a distant interest in plants and biology, but this is my first step in learning more which I’m very excited about! When I was younger my mother maintained a vegetable garden that I loved to watch her tend to, and some of my favorite childhood memories took place in wildflower fields or otherwise surrounded by Alaskan flora and fauna. I currently enjoy fishing and kayaking with my mom and have been really getting into hiking.

    My favorite plant is and has always been, forget-me-nots. They’re beautiful not only in appearance but also in meaning, symbolizing remembrance, deeply rooted love, and loyalty. These meanings are rooted in the myth behind their name which dates back to medieval times. Supposedly, a knight wanted to bring a gift to his lover and was entranced by the small, beautiful blue flowers. Not long after he picked them he fell into a river and was weighed down by his heavy armor. With the flowers still clutched in his hands he cried out his final message to his lover, “Forget me not”.

  • Introduction: Noah Pereira

    Hi, Currently I’m a Wildlife Biology major at UAF. In 2014 I moved to Alaska from NY after visiting multiple times. I lived multiple places in the state but for the past 5 years have been in Fairbanks. I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors and the different activities that this state has to offer. Besides hiking, fishing, and hunting, I also enjoy gardening and growing house plants in the winter time. I’m very excited to learn more about plants throughout this course, especially those that are local here in the Fairbanks area.

    I love making spruce tip tea with the small buds in the spring time. While I don’t necessarily think black spruce are the most beautiful tree, they’re still one of my favorites. I’ve also attached a picture of a plant in the UAF greenhouse this past winter. We took a field trip there during a biology lab and it became one of my favorite places to see.

  • Scott Hall

    I’m a senior at UAF (and a senior in real life), and when I saw this class listed, I thought, “This could be fun!” Reading the syllabus, I saw that taking photos would be a part of the process. I just so happen to be taking a digital photography class this summer as well, which means I can get the most out of my camera and myself (getting outside more this summer is a goal…work keeps me indoors, and there are lots of work so I’m working on a balance). What I find common among many of us who recreate in the outdoors (hunt, hike, fish) is we wish we knew more about the area’s flora; I aim to remedy that in a small way (personally) with this class. This is my new favorite plant, Blunt Leaf Sandwort. It is my favorite because it is something I’ve seen, never paid any attention to, and have a reason to know what it is—discovered here on my property in Palmer, AK.

  • Introduction: Heather Bogardus

    Hello, my name is Heather and I currently live in North Pole, Alaska. I am a graduate of UAF, including a certificate in Ethnobotany, and teacher at North Pole High School. I grew up in rural Northwest Montana where my family lived close to the land, foraging and growing plants for food and medicine. I moved to Alaska in 2002 and have spent most of my time between North Pole and Kodiak Island. Besides a love of growing and foraging plants in my personal life, I integrate Alaska Flora into my classroom as often as possible. I began introducing my students to plants through agriculture and ethnobotany classes during the nine years I taught in rural Kodiak Island villages, and am looking forward to bringing a love of plants, culture, and sustainability to a new group of students this upcoming school year.

    My favorite plant has always been fireweed. I am inspired by its resilience, and its ability to grow and flourish in areas that have been disturbed or greatly impacted by humans or natural disasters. I love that we can utilize it as a natural calendar, to count down the progression of summer into fall. I love that all of the parts of fireweed can be utilized. I have enjoyed sautéed fireweed shoots, fireweed jelly and syrup, and fresh flowers on top of a salad. I have made tea from the leaves and salve from the roots. I have made cordage from dried fireweed stems in the winter. I have listened to stories of Alutiiq elders weaving the fluff with mountain goat hair to make blankets. This plant provides so much to us and has such a vital role within an ecosystem, how could it not be a favorite?