5-acre field school campus surrounded by 23,000 acres of wilderness near Glacier National Park
Alaska
Welcome to Southeast Alaska! We are located in the heart of the Tongass National Forest at the doorstep of Glacier Bay National Park. We purchased our property (a 5-acre fishermen's homestead surrounded by 23,000 acres of wilderness) in January 2018 and we're now converting it into a field school campus.
We are currently looking to ramp up our “homesteading”, sustainability, and education capabilities; expanding gardens and planting fruit trees, reviving the forge, building soil, an outdoor kitchen, and much more! We are searching for WWOOFers to help with this transformation and can host year-round.
Work this spring/summer/fall includes, but is not limited to:
CONSTRUCTION: wood shed/shop, 4-bin composter, smokehouse, floating greenhouse/sauna, composting toilet modifications, dock/grid improvements.
GARDENING: new garden design & construction, implementing hugelkultur/permaculture practices, seed planning/acquisition/saving/starting, integrating compost tea irrigation system, planting fruit trees and edible perennials, improving composting systems (humanure, fish emulsion, seaweeds, kitchen/garden scraps, etc.), maintaining worm bins.
FOOD SECURITY: harvesting from both wild (seaweeds, berries, mushrooms, etc.) and domestic (garden & greenhouse veggies, flowers, fruit trees, etc.) plants and preserving them through canning/dehydrating/smoking/salting/pickling/fermenting/freezing/etc., baking everything we can onsite (bread, bagels, english muffins, rolls, tortillas, crackers, scones, muffins, etc. etc.), harvesting and preserving local proteins (salmon, halibut, deer, etc.), poultry (duck & chicken) care, and basically ANYTHING that lessens our dependency on “outside” goods.
FIREWOOD, FIREWOOD, FIREWOOD: using a chainsaw to put up (fall, limb, buck, transport, split, and stack) firewood, use a chainsaw mill to turn trees into lumber for various construction projects.
**One of our missions is to be fossil fuel free as soon as possible. Due to wood being a local, sustainable, and renewable resource in this region, we have removed the majority of diesel and propane appliances on the property and are replacing them with wood stoves (for both heating & cooking).
MISCELLANEOUS: brewing beer/wine/Kombucha, using the forge (blacksmithing), growing mushrooms, building a pizza oven, maintaining a blog and/or other social media, furniture construction, tanning hides, skin sewing, improving recycling system, support scientific research and data collection/documentation, tinkering with outboard motors, maintaining micro-hydroelectric system, assisting with basic plumbing & wiring, installing wood stoves, troubleshooting, and much, much more!
While you are here (during both your on and off time), you will have the opportunity to hike through old growth forests, go kayaking, boating, hiking, camping, backpacking, snowshoeing, fishing, wildlife viewing (lots of whales, sea lions, sea otters, porpoises, etc.), and otherwise explore the best Southeast Alaska has to offer. Google “Glacier Bay National Park” or “Tongass National Forest” to get a taste of the endless opportunities this area provides. This island, with a wintertime population of 3-4, is also a great setting to relax, experience “bush” living/pace at it’s finest, and focus on any endeavor (writing, relationships, cooking, learning, reading, WHATEVER) you may seek.
Due to our remoteness, we ask for a minimum of a month long stay. We will cover your round-trip travel from Juneau, Alaska to the Hobbit Hole. (WWOOFers are responsible for their own travel to Juneau, Alaska.) Transportation in this region is generally by boat/ferry, but float planes are also an option (for personal travel or emergencies).
We ask for 30 hours of work per week. Indoor housing provided with (limited) access to computer, internet, and phone. Vegans are difficult to accommodate in bush Alaska, especially throughout the winter, but we do the best we can and always seem to make it work. Otherwise, we eat lots of delicious, locally harvested and prepared flora and fauna.
Organic methods: Vermiculture, composting
Certifications: Not Certified Organic
Current projects: Carpentry, gardening, composting, homestead maintenance, and firewood, firewood, firewood!
Internet access available
Read more
Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Wild foraging
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Host type
Nonprofit / Community
2
Hectares
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5
Acres
Accommodation
Zachary
Member since 2022
Languages spoken:
English
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Zachary is not accepting visit requests at this time.
Response rate: 6%
Response time: typically within 15 days
Alaska
Juneau, Alaska
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