.png)
Glennallen High School Educational Moose Harvest
The GHS Educational Moose Harvest is a collaborative, hands-on education program that connects Glennallen High School students with local wildlife, food systems, cultural knowledge, and natural resource careers.
Through classroom lessons, a permitted educational moose harvest, meat processing and preservation workshops, and a community meal, students experience the process from wildlife management and harvest to processing, preservation, and sharing. The program brings together local organizations, agencies, businesses, and community members to provide students with instruction and practical experience rooted in the Copper Basin.
The program is designed to strengthen students' knowledge of local wildlife and food systems while building practical skills, leadership, and connections to future educational and career opportunities.
From Field to Table.
The program connects classroom learning with the experience of harvesting and processing a moose. Students participate in a series of lectures and workshops before and after the harvest, with topics ranging from moose biology and wildlife management to traditional perspectives, food preservation, and natural resource careers.
​
A limited number of students who have completed Hunter Education may participate in the field portion of the harvest. Field instruction includes identifying tracks and habitat, moose behavior, ethical shot placement, field dressing, clean meat-handling practices, anatomy, legal salvage requirements, and recognizing injuries, parasites, or other abnormalities.
Wildlife Education.
Before the harvest, students participate in classroom lessons led by professionals and community members with experience in wildlife, land management, hunting, food systems, and related fields.
​
Topics include moose biology and anatomy, wildlife management in Alaska, hunting regulations, the Copper Basin ecosystem, traditional perspectives and values associated with moose harvest, meat science, and AITRC's ongoing moose research.
​
The program is designed to help students understand not only how a moose is harvested, but the biological, regulatory, cultural, and community considerations surrounding that harvest.
Educational Harvest.
The 2026 program includes the permitted educational harvest of one moose in Game Management Unit 13. The cultural education permit identifies the purpose of the harvest as educating high school students about local wildlife management and traditional Alaskan cultural practices related to moose hunting, harvest, processing, sharing, and values.
​
During the field portion, students have opportunities to learn about moose habitat and behavior, tracking and identification, ethical shot placement, field dressing, anatomy, meat care, legal salvage requirements, and recognizing injuries, parasites, and other abnormalities.
​
The field experience allows students to apply concepts introduced in the classroom to an actual harvest.
Following the harvest, students continue learning through hands-on meat processing and preservation activities at the school.
Students learn how and why harvested meat is hung, how to prevent contamination, and how to safely butcher and package different cuts. Processing activities include preparing roasts, steaks, stew meat, and ground moose.
​
Additional workshops introduce students to methods of preserving harvested foods, including pressure canning, smoking, and drying.
These activities give students practical skills they can use with their own families while demonstrating how proper processing and preservation can extend the use of a harvested animal.
Processing & Preservation.
Traditional Knowledge & Values.
The program incorporates traditional Alaskan cultural practices, knowledge, and values associated with moose and harvest. In fact, the cultural education permit itself is intended for systematic programs emphasizing traditional Alaskan cultural practices, knowledge, and values.
​
Community members and program partners help students explore relationships with moose that extend beyond the act of hunting, including proper care of harvested animals, responsible use of meat, sharing, and the importance of moose to families and communities.
Food Security.
Learning how to harvest, process, preserve, and use local foods gives students skills that can contribute to stronger local food systems and community food security.
The broader educational initiative is intended to build practical capacity in harvesting, food systems, and resource stewardship while giving students skills that extend beyond the classroom.
​
By participating directly in processing and preservation, students see how a locally harvested animal can become food that supports families and the wider community.
Sharing the Harvest.
The program doesn't end when processing is complete.
Processed meat from the harvested moose is planned to be divided among the families of participating high school students, with additional meat used for a community meal.
Students will help plan, host, and carry out the community meal. The event will also give students an opportunity to showcase what they learned throughout the Educational Moose Harvest.
Sharing the harvest connects the different parts of the program and allows students to bring what they have learned back to their families and community.
The Educational Moose Harvest also exposes students to the wide range of people and careers involved in wildlife and natural resource work.
A career panel is planned following the educational and processing portions of the program, allowing students to interact directly with professionals working in the region.
The program also creates opportunities for students to learn about future academic, technical, and career pathways. The broader initiative includes plans for dual-credit coursework through Prince William Sound College and emphasizes workforce development alongside hands-on education.
Career Exploration.
Collaboration.
The GHS Educational Moose Harvest is built around collaboration. Professionals from local agencies, organizations, businesses, and the community contribute their knowledge and experience so students can learn from people actively working in the Copper Basin
Project Leads: Dan Gorze | Questions on this project?