Radio Script
1999

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Caretakering the Pribilofs
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STORY: Located 200 miles north of Alaska's Aleutian chain, the communities of St. Paul and St. George decided to take their children's natural and cultural history education into their own hands. Local educators turned to traditional etiquette for guidance, and with the help of trained science teachers, made the islands' out-of-doors their working classroom. They formed what is known as the Pribilof Islands Stewardship Program to house their concept of island caretakering. Karin Holser of St. Paul tells about the program:

KARIN HOLSER: "I think the whole concept of stewardship that you know we really have promoted with the program is the connectedness with your environment, and that the responsibility that goes with living and eating off of your environment--you also have to caretaker it."

Taking ownership, for the people of St. Paul, has meant becoming involved with the variety of off-island organizations interested in their wildlife. The large populations of nesting birds and breeding fur seals have been historically under the watchful eye of the National Marine Mammal Lab and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Getting young people involved meant creating a mentoring program where they could work side by side with agency biologists and independent researchers. High school sophomore Lynnette Melovidov likes the program:

LYNNETTE MELOVIDOV: "It's a good experience and I'm really glad that they have a program because they're giving us a chance to learn, and hands on, it's really cool!"

Karin Holser says the success of the program has come in seeing some of the younger people mentor the children, and then go off to college. One such star students is Candace Stepetin:

CANDACE STEPETIN: "For about three years going on four now, I'm mostly an assistant to the National Marine Fisheries biologists that come out, and we try to take young people with us so that they can learn the procedures, and I kinda give them the heads-up on everything. And I kinda take 'em under my wing and make sure they don't get hurt."

Aquilina Bourdukofsky, one of the program resident founders, thinks the concept of stewardship evolved from a community need. Now Tribal Ecosystem Conservation Office Co-Director, she says she sees her office as an opportunity to continue the concept of island stewardship. This way there is a nice flow from youth to adulthood. Her goal has been to develop environmental fields that have a cultural basis. Programs come and go, but concepts evolve and grow along with the youth . . . Bourdukofsky is nothing but hopeful.

AQUILINA DEBBIE BOURDUKOFSKY: "Our older participants that started five, six years ago, they're becoming young adults, and we need these other organizations to be able to bring them onboard with stewardship concepts in every walk of life in a sense. And maybe they go into environmental fields, but maybe they also go into industrial fields, and you're at least guaranteeing that they go in with stewardship concepts."

OUTRO: From the Sea Grant Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, this is Arctic Science Journeys. I'm Kathy Turco.