ALASKA—Visitor Information Assistant Hazel Brewi works at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center in Ketchikan. Known to students from Angoon to Nome as “Ranger Hazel,” Brewi’s passion for making learning accessible is one reason she received the 2023 regional Gifford Pinchot Award for Excellence in Interpretation and Conservation Education.

Brewi goes  out of her way to connect with learners, communicate Alaska’s dynamic interdependence between humans and ecosystems, and foster relationships between the Forest Service and the local community.

Her background as a teacher with solid knowledge in science and math prepared her for work in conservation education—leading units with Ketchikan elementary students, meeting with local homeschool groups for hands-on learning that integrates art, science, nature, and culture, and conducting remote conservation education with the entire school in Angoon.

One example of how she ensures access to learning: If Brewi senses that students in remote villages could use tools such as measuring devices to ensure successful learning, she will send lab-to-go kits to their teachers in advance.

Brewi’s work extends beyond classrooms to reach community members, including often underrepresented people. She and the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center team collaborate with Southeast Alaska Independent Living, a group of students with disabilities, and the Pioneer Home to bring elders and people with disabilities into the museum and, in other cases, bring programming to them.

Brewi says she has the best job in the Tongass National Forest, and finds talking about Alaska, conservation and interacting with kids and diverse groups rewarding. “I love seeing people being able to interact on the forest and within the context of the discovery center building. They learn they have a treasure here right in their backyard and they should use it.”

Interpreting lands and peoples

In the summer, Ketchikan transforms into a bustling tourist destination and popular stop for cruise ships. As one of four Alaska public lands information centers, the Southeast center shares information with visitors to help visualize the enormous scale and diversity of public lands in the state. Brewi explained that her interpretation and the center’s exhibits extend beyond conservation of Alaska’s unique ecosystems to communicating the interdependence between these lands and the people who have lived here for millennia. 

“The Native Traditions exhibit is all about the cultures telling their story through the facility rather than us telling their story,” Said Brewi. She explained that the exhibit was designed by 10 Alaska Native elders who decided what should be included and, specifically, how artists created the pieces. “Several recorded legends in their native tongue and then in English, and today, relatives will come and walk through the exhibit to hear their ancestor’s voices.” 

Strengthening community ties

Brewi acknowledges that her work is only possible because of her Forest Service team at the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center and colleagues at the local ranger district. Their insights and technical support are critical to operations, from ensuring that scientific information in programming is accurate to keeping the coho salmon in the museum’s tank healthy.

The center also hosts a Friday Night Insight lecture series, and Brewi says of her colleagues’ contributions, “We make a significant impact by giving the Forest Service a place for public-facing outreach opportunities—to say ‘Hey, this is what we are trying to do—come and talk to us.’”

Brewi’s award-winning interpretation and conservation education is all about making connections—whether it is done remotely via video call, sending a package of learning tools, making space for people to hear the voices of their ancestors, or allowing the agency to engage in dialogue with the local community. She makes it accessible, diverse and always rooted in relationships.