Growing a Productive, Sustainable Garden in Alaska – NRM 194, 3 credits, CRN 35237
The next class will be offered Spring 2025.
Growing a Productive, Sustainable Garden in Alaska is offered through the Natural Resources and Environment Department and is taught by Heidi Rader as a spring semester class. Heidi taught the Alaska Master Gardener Online Course for 15 years. She teaches hands-on and virtual gardening workshops in villages across Alaska (especially in Interior Alaska) through the Tribes Extension Program. She writes the blog, It Grows in Alaska, and has filmed a series of Alaska Gardening Videos available on YouTube.
The cost of the course is roughly $800 but depends on a number of factors. For registration dates, go to the UAF calendar. You can register here when registration is open.
Is this an Alaska Master Gardener Course?
Although this is not exactly an Alaska Master Gardener class, students can request Alaska Master Gardener certification from the Alaska Master Gardener state program leader, Steve Brown, upon successfully completing this class and 40 hours of volunteer service.
In this course, students will learn how to successfully grow vegetables, flowers, fruit, herbs and more in Alaska, including the Master Gardener content. The course covers botany, starting plants, soil, composting, season extension, greenhouses, house plants, entomology, pests, diagnostics, and landscaping.
The course is hosted on Canvas. The class is a media-rich experience filled with research-based resources that are relevant to Alaska including readings, presentations, videos, assignments, discussions, and quizzes. The course is instructor paced but there are no specific meeting times. Students will be challenged and engaged through various assignments—from determining your soil texture to calculating how much food you need to grow to meet your personal goals.
Students should be proficient with Canvas, have reliable and fast Internet, and be ready for a fast-paced, engaging course.
All required reading material is provided in the course, digitally. Students may wish to purchase a hard-copy of the Alaska’s Sustainable Gardening Handbook but it is not required.