The group hosts multiple events throughout the year, including monthly community conversations and a multi-day Seward Science Symposium in the fall.  

June 5, 2025 Fiona North

Special to the Folly

Seward is a community full of knowledge-bearers, scientists, researchers, educators, and conservationists who care deeply about the place we live. Four Seward organizations made up of these professionals created a collaborative partnership called Stewards of the Bay. Stewards of the Bay is comprised of the Chugach Regional Resources Commission and their Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute, the National Park Service’s Ocean Alaska Science and Learning Center, the Alaska SeaLife Center, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Seward Marine Center.  

The goal of Stewards of the Bay is to create meaningful connections with local scientific research and cultural knowledge in the Seward-area community. The group hosts multiple events throughout the year, including monthly community conversations and a multi-day Seward Science Symposium in the fall.  

Science Symposium participants get a tour of Chugach Regional Resources Commission’s Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute. NPS Photo/A. Lattka

The Seward Science Symposium is an annual community event that highlights local science, culture, and research. This three-part event consists of a Seward High School field trip day, an evening poster session, and engaging workshops and discussions. Both the poster session and the workshop day are open to the public. This event involves all community members, from Seward students, who spend a day with local organizations learning about career opportunities in STEAM fields and cultural work, to the public, who are invited to learn about ongoing projects from researchers working in the Seward area. This symposium focuses on the intersection between culture and science, emphasizing the sharing of projects that support wellbeing on a community level.  

 Student artwork created during a local artist session for a Stewards of the Bay Calendar. Stewards of The Bay photo

Stewards of the Bay hosts a monthly talk or conversation open to the public called the Community Connections Series. Previous topics include Puffin Research on the Kenai Fjords Coast, Plankton of Resurrection Bay and Alaska SeaLife Center, citizen science and invasive species monitoring at the harbor, and community beach cleanup opportunities. The Chugach Regional Resources Commission’s Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute hosted a conversation about community wellbeing as it relates to food sovereignty, ocean monitoring, and self-determination. Seward’s local National Ocean Science Bowl team held a community ocean science quiz bowl, testing local knowledge and sharing information about the annual science bowl event hosted by UAF.   

The Seward Science Symposium and the Community Connections Series raise the visibility of science, including Indigenous-led research, in the surrounding community to elevate the important work of many local organizations and agencies.  Follow our partner organizations on our websites and social media pages to stay up to date on Stewards of the Bay events. If you are interested in being added to the Stewards of the Bay email list or want to participate as a presenter, please email Fiona_North@nps.gov