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Wednesday, May 20, 2026, 9am – 4pm

Learn about the design and uses of a solar kiln to dry lumber. Discuss best practices and get hands-on experience in this one-day workshop led by Brian Bond, professor and associate dean of Extension at Virginia Tech.

Solar lumber drying kilns use passive solar heat to dry lumber in an insulated, ventilated chamber. We will discuss the design elements of the kiln, including the correct roof slope for optimum solar gain and how to size the chamber for the typical species and volume of lumber being dried.

Participants will learn the key concepts of the wood-moisture relationship and how to dry lumber with minimal loss to defects like splitting and warp. Cost: $25

Location: National Laboratory of the Rockies Alaska (NLRA) Campus, 955 Draanjik Drive, ËÄ»¢Ó°Ôº

Register using the or visit

For more information, contact Matt Labrenz at mtlabrenz@alaska.edu or 907-474-7192.

Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made five business days in advance to Alda Norris at amnorris2@alaska.edu or 907-474-7120. Language access services, such as interpretation or translation of vital information, will be provided free of charge to individuals with limited English proficiency upon request to amnorris2@alaska.edu.

This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture&/ces/districts/deltajunction/8217;s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

UAF online/virtual event
Wednesday, May 20, 2026, 12 – 1pm

Note: Dates have changed on some talks.

Celebrate Alaska Native Plant Month with a free webinar series dedicated to native plants and how they relate to and affect the environment and humans. Where: Zoom. or visit .

May 6 - Our Plant Neighbors with Lisa Strecker (UAF Ethnobotany Program), Jessica Newton (Kenaitze Tribe): Some plants tend to grow well in places modified by humans. And, over time, people have developed relationships with their common plant neighbors. Our panel will introduce common Alaska plant neighbors and how we can interact with them for our holistic well-being through the lens of Alaska Native plant traditions and ethnobotany.

May 13 - Hummingbirds and Native Plants with Todd Eskelin (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service): The key to saving rufous hummingbirds, an important pollinator species, may lie with native plants. We will talk about the decline of rufous hummingbirds. The discussion will focus on which native plants are needed and how we might encourage range expansion. Bring your thinking caps.

May 20 - Pollinator Planting Guides with Maddie Dong (Pollinator Partnership): Pollinator Partnership recently released two new ecoregional planting guides covering Alaska, divided into Temperate Continental and Temperate Coastal regions. In this talk, Maddie Dong will share how these guides were developed in collaboration with Alaska-based plant and pollinator experts, and how they provide targeted native plant recommendations that support pollinators throughout the growing season.

May 27 - The Bad Seed: Unwanted Varieties in Wildflower Seed Mixes with Gino Graziano (Cooperative Extension Service): Wildflower seed mixes are sought after to add beauty to landscapes and provide habitat for a variety of pollinating insects. Some of the plants in wildflower seed mixes can be weedy, spreading beyond where they were planted, and in some instances become invasive. We will review wildflower species that have become invasive, and weedy species to look out for when you purchase a wildflower mix.

For more information, contact Molly Johansson at 907-786-6313 or mjohansson@alaska.edu.

Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made five business days in advance to Alda Norris at amnorris2@alaska.edu or 907-474-7120. Language access services, such as interpretation or translation of vital information, will be provided free of charge to individuals with limited English proficiency upon request to amnorris2@alaska.edu. This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture&/ces/districts/deltajunction/8217;s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

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Wednesday, May 20, 2026, 6 – 8pm

Did you know that May is Alaska&/ces/districts/deltajunction/39;s Native Plant Month?

UAF Extension (Delta Junction office), Partners for Progress in Delta, and the Salcha-Delta Soil and Water Conservation District are hosting a free native plant identification walk in Delta Junction.&/ces/districts/deltajunction/160;

Guides Jeff Mason and Brenna Wells will show participants how to identify common native plants that thrive in Delta Junction, how and why to incorporate them into your gardens and what benefits they will bring to you, pollinators and our wildlife.

Ask questions, share observations, use field guides or apps, bring a camera or notebook to help you reference the information later. Participants may take home a few cultivated native plants from the SWCD nursery to add to your landscape.

Please dress appropriately and wear good shoes, as May weather can be unpredictable.

Pre-registration is required. Please contact Chris Lyon, info@deltacareeradvancementcenter.com, or 907-895-4605

Location details will be provided upon registration.

For more information, contact Eve Karczmarczyk at eekarczmarczyk@alaska.edu or 907-895-4215.

Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made five business days in advance to Alda Norris at&/ces/districts/deltajunction/160;amnorris2@alaska.edu&/ces/districts/deltajunction/160;or 907-474-7120. Language access services, such as interpretation or translation of vital information, will be provided free of charge to individuals with limited English proficiency upon request to&/ces/districts/deltajunction/160;amnorris2@alaska.edu.

This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture&/ces/districts/deltajunction/39;s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.