APF Federally Funded Jobs Support Schools, Youth, and Community
Anchorage Park Foundation was awarded a competitive Urban and Community Forestry Grant in 2023 to grow more trees, remove harmful invasive plants, and improve forest health with multiple partners in Anchorage. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is the source of this 5-year, $2 million investment in Anchorage. Recent actions by the President put a pause on those federal funds. Our organization has identified important Anchorage programs and projects impacted.
The Urban and Community Forestry Grant leveraged our work with the Anchorage School District and many nonprofit partners, coordinating Outdoor School for 5th grade classes in parks next to schools. Educating students outdoors has been a Schools on Trails initiative for many years, and was critical for teachers during the pandemic. We have no plans to pause outdoor learning, and know that APF and our partner organizations will continue to help the Anchorage School District deliver quality instruction in our unique winter city.
Federal funding for Youth Employment in Parks, a 10-week summer employment program for Anchorage teens (currently hiring for 2025 here), includes tree planting, stream bank restoration, field education, recreation, mentorship, materials, contracting, and communications. These outdoor jobs help teens take care of our parks and trails, learn about stewardship, and give back to the community. We sincerely hope federal funding is unfrozen before teens start work in June.
We secured four years of street tree funding for the Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department as a part of this Urban and Community Forestry grant. Planned expenditures for this program are on hold until further notice.
Nine grantees were awarded Neighborhood Forest Grants through this federal grant in 2024 to restore, reforest, and sustain urban trees on public and private land. Our nonprofit partners were the local arm of this historic federal investment. We have asked partners to hold spending until further notice.
“These funds are to help schools, neighborhoods & community councils, the Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department, businesses, youth organizations, tribes, and every recreation and community group you can think of to make Anchorage the place we all want to live,” says Beth Nordlund of the Anchorage Park Foundation.
The Foraker Group reports that the nonprofit sector employs 35,302 people in Alaska. Federal Funding is an important part of Alaska’s economy, and the nonprofit sector is an important employer for our
state. In Anchorage, our nonprofit sector works closely together to support schools, youth, and community. We know we are in this together, and we are hard at work for Anchorage. The Anchorage Park Foundation combines public and private dollars to get work done, and we pledge
to continue leveraging funding for community benefit.
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The Anchorage Park Foundation mobilizes public support and financial resources for Anchorage parks, trails, and recreation opportunities.
