Hi, my name is Owen (he/him). I live in Anchorage, Alaska. I work for UAA, which, for those of you who aren’t from Alaska, is part of the University of Alaska system along with UAF. My position is basically a data analyst for Enrollment Services. One of the best parts of my job is the tuition waiver benefit, which allows me to take courses from all three Alaska universities! I am taking this class as part of the OEC in Ethnobotany, but I am also just very interested in learning more about plants and wild Alaska flora.
It is hard to name a favorite plant, so I’m going to go with the iconic fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium (L.) Holub). While I’ve always appreciated it for its beautiful flowers, I have only recently become familiar with it as an edible plant. The fireweed isn’t currently in bloom right now, but here is a photo of one opportunistically growing through a rock wall.
