Summary
KBNERR in partnership with the Kachemak Bay Environmental Education Alliance worked with schools across the bay for Sea Week 2026.
An Annual Tradition in Education for our neighbors across the bay.
Sea week is an annual tradition for the communities across the bay. Every April/May during the low tide series, these schools dedicate a week to celebrating the bounty and beauty of their coastal communities. KBNERR Education staff are always excited to be able to be a part of Sea Week in Nanwalek, Seldovia and Port Graham.
In Nanwalek, KBNERR education staff led field trips out onto the reef for intertidal exploration and identification. Students found endless gunnels, sea stars (agyaruaq), and worms! In the afternoon, the older students took plankton samples from both the lagoon and shoreline, comparing the plankton species between sites. The cumaceans in the lagoon were incredible and abundant – no wonder the salmon and crabs like that habitat!
In Port Graham, KBNERR staff helped create algae art, and took the school out to the beach for intertidal exploring and monitoring. They also trained the students on the COASST protocol for monitoring for birds on the beaches. The beach south of the dock was host to thousands of clams and we even found a small octopus!
This year was the first time Seldovia had celebrated Sea Week since the COVID pandemic, and it was exciting to reignite the tradition. KBNERR assisted with activities around invasive species monitoring and seabird identification and monitoring. The grand finale was a boat trip and tour of Kasitsna Bay Lab!
