The Mat-Su Copper River Cooperative Extension Service district office is located in Palmer, 42 miles northeast of Anchorage. The district is the size of West Virginia, covering a region stretching from Valdez in the south to Cantwell to the north.
It is the fastest-growing region in Alaska, with a population of about 116,000 with a diverse economy. It is considered Alaska’s agricultural heartland and world-famous for the giant vegetables grown there, as well as potatoes, oats, hay, greenhouse produce and sod. The offices are located on the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center, a working research farm.
The district offers outreach programs in agriculture and horticulture; health, home and family development; integrated pest management; nutrition; and 4-H and youth development.
Upcoming events
Events
May 20
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/matsu/8217;s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Categories: Public events calendar - ËÄ»¢Ó°Ôº, Cooperative Extension calendar, Anchorage CES calendar, Bethel CES calendar, Bristol Bay/Dillingham CES calendar, Delta Junction CES calendar, Southeast CES calendar, Kenai/Soldotna CES calendar, Kodiak CES calendar, Mat-Su/Copper River CES calendar, Northwest/Nome CES calendar, Sitka CES calendar, ËÄ»¢Ó°Ôº/Tanana CES calendar
Could this event have 200 or more attendees? There are campus considerations for large events.: FALSE
May 21
Matanuska Experiment Farm & Extension Center Kerttula Hall 206
Thursday, May 21, 2026, 12 – 1pm
Join our Matanuska Experiment Farm Manager Aimee Young for a free walking tour of the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center on Thursday, May 21, at noon.
This one-hour outdoor tour will highlight current and upcoming research at the farm. If you&/ces/districts/matsu/39;ve ever been curious about the farm, come on out and learn all about it!
Dress for the weather and be prepared for uneven and muddy terrain.
Location: Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center, 1509 S. Georgeson Drive, Palmer. Meet in the lobby of Kerttula Hall. For more information, contact the farm&/ces/districts/matsu/39;s front desk at 907-745-3360.
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/matsu/39;s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Categories: Public events calendar - ËÄ»¢Ó°Ôº, Cooperative Extension calendar, Anchorage CES calendar, Mat-Su/Copper River CES calendar
Could this event have 200 or more attendees? There are campus considerations for large events.: FALSE
May 22
Matanuska Experiment Farm & Extension Center Kerttula Hall 206
Friday, May 22, 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
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&/ces/districts/matsu/160;amnorris2@alaska.edu&/ces/districts/matsu/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/matsu/160;amnorris2@alaska.edu.
This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture&/ces/districts/matsu/8217;s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Categories: Public events calendar - ËÄ»¢Ó°Ôº, Cooperative Extension calendar, Anchorage CES calendar, Mat-Su/Copper River CES calendar
Could this event have 200 or more attendees? There are campus considerations for large events.: FALSE
Events
Monday-Friday 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Phone: 907-745-3360
Fax: 907-745-6268
Email: matsu.ces@alaska.edu
We are located at 1509 S. Georgeson Dr. in Palmer at the Matanuska Experiment Farm. Find us with !