Hanna Craig, Alaska Public Media

For 11 years, Gulf of Alaska Keeper (GoAK) has cleaned marine debris from remote Alaskan coastlines. In the summer of 2015, GoAK organized a large-scale project to collect debris from across the Gulf of Alaska by barge and helicopter. Approximately 440 tons of debris was taken to Seattle, where it will be sorted and disposed or recycled.

Big, white plastic bags called “super-sacks” line a beach on Montague Island in Prince William Sound. The sacks are filled with marine debris like fishing nets, water bottles and Styrofoam. This summer, the team from Gulf of Alaska Keeper has spent 50 days on Montague so far collecting the debris, as part of a multi-year effort. Download Audio:

George Peck began riding unicycles around Seward, Alaska in the eighties. Eventually moving on to riding the ultimate wheel - a unicycle with no seat - on mountains and beaches, George pioneered the sport of "rough terrain unicycling" and began a family tradition carried on by his children, Kris and Katie Peck.

Iñupiaq artist Ross Schaeffer spent most of his life hunting, trapping, and fishing around Kotzebue, Alaska. Only in recent years has he transformed his lifestyle into creating artwork and carvings that blend traditional and modern techniques. Using age old materials such as woolly mammoth bone, Ross works on carvings inspired by his culture and natural environment, and encourages young folks to try artwork themselves.

Elmer Brown knows that it takes patience, and a willingness to weather the cold, to catch sheefish on Kotzebue Sound.

Long-time Iditarod racer DeeDee Jonrowe shares her experience of life on the Iditarod Trail, her connection with her dogs, and perseverance through health struggles.