Youth and Education (TYCS)

Hands-On STEM Education & Youth Opportunities

TTCD aims to foster community self-determination in natural resources management and conservation through hands-on education, training, and career opportunities for Alaska Native youth. We work closely with the Tebughna School in Tyonek to offer culturally relevant STEM lessons for grades K–12 throughout the school year.

Place-Based STEM Curriculum

Since 2017, TTCD has been funded by the Alaska Native Education Program to develop and deliver year-round, place-based educational programs that are culturally relevant for Tebughna School students.

Our curriculum spans lessons on soil health, watershed ecology, plant anatomy, and the Pacific salmon lifecycle, designed to increase STEM aptitude and career interest among local youth. Complete lesson plans are available in our Youth Educational Resources library.

Students participate in a combination of classroom modules and outdoor field science—learning ecological relationships between moose and willow, examining the predatory impacts of invasive northern pike on native salmonids, and identifying traditional medicinal and edible plants. Including students directly in conservation projects has created a vital avenue for youth leadership in major community initiatives, such as the design of the Tyonek Garden and the Tyonek Area Watershed Action Plans.

Three School Hydroponic Towers

Students are an integral part of seeding, maintaining, and harvesting from three Lettuce Grow hydroponic towers located inside Tebughna School:

• Elementary Grades: Younger students plant and tend leafy greens and herbs with an eye toward healthy cafeteria snacks.
• Middle & High School: Older students design controlled experiments, testing nutrient levels and light cycles while mastering the scientific method.

Learn more about how the school hydroponic towers connect with broader village food security in our Community Agriculture and Food Security programs.

Salmon in the Classroom

Each year, TTCD partners with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) to conduct the annual Salmon-in-the-Classroom project. Students care for and rear a batch of live salmon fry inside a specialized classroom aquarium over the winter, gaining firsthand experience with salmon life stages, water quality parameters, and habitat conservation.

In May 2024, operating under an ADF&G permit, the salmon fry reared by Tyonek students were transported and released into Cheney Lake in Anchorage.

Shani Galeq (Summer Books) Reading Program

Co-sponsored by TTCD and the Tebughna Foundation, the Shani Galeq summer reading program encourages literacy and cultural pride across the village. Students choose from science, ecology, traditional cookbooks, recipe cards, and Alaska Native stories.

Children’s picture books have been specially labeled to include traditional Dena’ina names for every plant and animal in the story. Books are accessible to all families at the Tyonek Boys & Girls Club, the Indian Creek Health Clinic, and the community mini-library at the Tyonek Garden.

Youth Employment & Internships

TTCD operates two specialized summer internship tracks providing local youth with competitive pay, mentorship, and professional growth:

• Tyonek Grown Internships: Youth interns support seasonal operations at the Tyonek Garden—handling soil management, seed propagation, weed mitigation, harvesting, washing, food safety, packaging, and weekly Farmers Market sales. Interns work flexible schedules (~18 hours/week) designed not to conflict with family subsistence fishing and hunting. Contact: Cayley Eller (celler@ttcd.org).
• Youth Conservation Technician Internships: Youth work alongside TTCD biologists and field technicians on aquatic research and habitat restoration projects. Interns assist with stream temperature logging, stream flow velocity measurements, minnow trapping, and invasive northern pike eradication. Contact: Nicole Swenson (nswenson@ttcd.org).