Summer camps are ubiquitous in Alaska. Though few offer the chance to get paid to learn new skills and build a resume. Anchorage’s Youth Employment in Parks (YEP) provides that opportunity for Anchorage high schoolers ages 16-19. YEP is a program of the Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department in partnership with the Anchorage Parks Foundation and Alaska Trails. Crews work on trails, learn to work in a team and about land management, remove invasive plants and plant trees, and have fun! This past June a crew was working on improving the trails around University Lake, a popular dog-friendly park. Host Paul Twardock spent some time with them and their supervisors learning about what they were doing and learning.
HOST: Paul Twardock
GUESTS:
- Annie Dubois, Brant Hylinski, Kaytherine Pugh, EnzioRangel, Nathan Worden, and Ben Ervin
LINKS:
Youth Employment in Parks (YEP)
BROADCAST: Thursday, July 21st, 2022. 10:00 am – 11:00 a.m. AKT
REPEAT BROADCAST: Thursday, July 21st, 2022. 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. AKT
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Eric Bork, or you can just call him “Bork” because everybody else does, is the FM Operations Manager for KSKA-FM. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the FM broadcast. He produces and edits episodes of Outdoor Explorer, the Alaska-focused outdoors program. He also maintains the web posts for that show. You may have heard him filling in for Morning Edition or hosting All Things Considered and can still find him operating the soundboard for any of the live broadcast programs.
After escaping the Detroit area when he was 18, Bork made it up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where he earned a degree in Communications/Radio Broadcasting from Northern Michigan University. He spent time managing the college radio station, working for the local NPR affiliate, and then in top 40 radio in Michigan before coming to Alaska to work his first few summers. After then moving to Chicago, it only took five years to convince him to move back to Alaska in 2010. When not involved in great radio programming he’s probably riding a bicycle, thinking about riding bicycles, dreaming about bikes, reading a book, or planning the next place he’ll travel to. Only two continents left to conquer!
Paul Twardock is a Professor of Outdoor Studies at Alaska Pacific University, where he has worked since 1988. He is the author of Kayaking and Camping in Prince William Sound and help found the Alaska Sea Kayaking Symposium/Paddle Sport Fun Day. At APU he teaches a variety of undergraduate classes included Sea Kayaking, Recreation Program Design, Nordic Skiing, The Business of Recreation, and Wildland Ecosystems and Human Impacts. Paul received his BS in Outdoor Recreation from Western Illinois University, went to work instructing for NOLS in Alaska, then received his MBA from APU. Paul’s research includes monitoring of campsites in Prince William Sound and Chugach State Park for human impact, trail use in Chugach State Park, and the Alaska Recreational Boating Safety Incident Database. His passions include sea kayaking, river boating of all sorts, hiking, mountain running, climbing, skiing of any kind, and birding. One of his last adventures involved a mule ride.
Paul is one of several hosts for Outdoor Explorer
