Yukon Island Summer Retreats
Spend two nights on Yukon Island in beautiful Kachemak Bay with hostess Gretchen Bersch who has been inviting friends, students and colleagues to her family’s beloved island for decades. There are two sessions, the first in July, the second in August. Cost per person for each session is $195; this includes lodging and meals but not the water taxi between Homer and Yukon Island. Plan on approximately $60 roundtrip, to be paid directly to the taxi operator (arrangements will be made for the group by Gretchen). Those enrolling will be sent further details about what to bring and when and where to meet in Homer. Note: Be prepared to share rooms, sleep in bunks, use an outhouse and forego showers. Expect terrific food, good company and fabulous beach walking – as well as a great learning experience. Go to http://www.yukonisland.com.
Session I - additional information
July 23‐25, 2010
Exploring Geology and Botany on Yukon Island
Teachers: Anne Pasch and Marilyn Barker
Anne Pasch is best known for her role in the discovery of the only two dinosaurs ever found in the Talkeetna Mountains. She also documented dinosaur track sites along the Colville River on the North Slope and unusual ice age shell deposits at the Bering Glacier. Professor Ermerita at UAA, she retired from the geology department after a 35‐year teaching career. Marilyn Barker began her teaching career at the old Anchorage Community College, then joined the faculty of the UAA Biological Sciences Department. She has conducted studies in everything from geobotany to range management all over Alaska from Popof Island in the Aleutian Chain to Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope. Marilyn is a founding member of the Alaska Native Plant Society.
Session II - additional information
August 13‐15, 2010
Kachemak Bay Archaeology: Delving into the Ancient Cultures of Yukon Island
Teachers: Bill and Karen Workman
Following in the footsteps of Archaeologist Frederica DeLaguna in the 1930s, Bill and Karen Workman have conducted more than three decades of research into the archaeology of Kachemak Bay, and Yukon Island in particular. They will lead us in learning about the peoples and cultures that, over 2500 years, have called Yukon Island home.
Karen Workman, the first State Archaeologist for Alaska with the Alaska Division of Parks in the 1970s, has worked in many parts of Alaska and the adjacent Southern Yukon Territory of Canada. In recent years she has focused on the historic Dena'ina Athapaskan occupation of the Seal Beach site in Kachemak Bay. Bill Workman taught Anthropology for 36 years at two Alaskan universities, retiring in 2005. He has excavated archaeological sites on Kodiak Island, the Kenai Peninsula, and in the boreal forest of southern Alaska and adjacent Canada. He is particularly interested in the prehistoric sea hunting and fishing cultures of southern Alaska.
