Check out the Discover Wild Heritage talks on Friday nights at 6 p.m. at the Mat-Su River Park. Tonight Michelle Rogers from the Mat-Su Borough presents Food for Thought: Foraging From One Hungry Hiker to the Next.
The park sits just outside downtown Palmer at Mile 17 of the Old Glenn Highway. Talks are held at an outdoor amphitheater near the day-use field.
The Mat-Su Borough sponsors them. Mat-Su Borough Division Manager of Parks, Recreation and Libraries Andy Mergens says the series gives people something informational and instructional to do on a Friday evening. Locals, campers, and visitors of all ages are all welcome to free talk.
The series started in May. Several local organizations have presented.
Mergens notes that early turnout was inconsistent. He says recent crowds have grown to more than a dozen people.
He’d like to bring the series back next summer if interest continues. He is also considering adding a winter version at Government Peak Recreation Area.
Two of the speakers dig into the valley’s roots. The Chickaloon Village Traditional Council focuses on the history of the area before the 1930s. The Palmer Museum of History and Art focuses on the 1935 government colonization project that brought settlers to the Valley.
Chickaloon Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Angie Wade says the talks are informal and conversational. She says the Indigenous and early settler history goes back long before the Colony Project. Wade notes that the series fits Chickaloon’s mission to preserve and share Athabascan history.
The Alaska Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center brings live birds to its talks. One program featured a kestrel.
The talks are free and open to everyone. They start at 6 p.m. and run about an hour. They are relaxed and family friendly.
Next Friday the Palmer Museum talks about local history and the 1935 project. Presentations are scheduled through September 4.
Keep an eye on the Mat-Su Borough Recreation and Library Services Facebook page for the speaker each week.
The story is based on the article that appeared in the matsusentinel.com earlier this month.
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Image: Shannon Jensen of the Alaska Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center gives a presentation on a red-tailed hawk during the Matanuska-Susitna Borough’s “Discover Wild Heritage” series at Matanuska River Park in Palmer. (Photo courtesy of the Matanuska Susitna Borough)