Thirteen T3 Alliance students visited Anan Wildlife Observatory twice this past June before bears were in full swing for salmon season. T3 is a science and math group that stands for Teaching Through Technology Alliance. Their mission at Anan? To install additional live cameras.
Spencer Petticrew graduated from Wrangell High School last year and is now attending Boise State University for neuroscience. He said the group set up two more cameras in addition to the two that were set up last year.
“We have two cameras on the newly built photo blind overlooking the Lower Falls and fishing holes down there,” he said. “We have one camera looking up the river, Anan Creek, and then one camera right behind the observatory, watching this crossroads where you see a bunch of different bears.”
The group took the cameras offline before winter hit. In order to get all cameras working, they first had to set up a Starlink connection. Petticrew said it was a bit of a conundrum. They had to raise it a few more feet from last year in order for a proper signal. They also had to redesign the electrical system to pull in solar energy.
Getting organized
This is something Anika Herman intently focused on last year. She graduated from Wrangell High School this year.
“I sort of knew what was going on, but just dealing with these over and over again, because we had to cut them and redo them, was just a hassle,” she said. “Then trying to figure out missing links, just making sure everything was just organized.”
The T3 program began collaborating with the U.S. Forest Service a few years ago and started working at the Anan site last year. The group stayed in the nearby Anan Bay cabin for three to four nights each trip last month. It’s a new cabin that was built after a spruce tree fell on the old one, located a half mile to the trailhead that leads to the wildlife observatory.
“Bears were around the cabin, mink were running over. We actually saw moose on the other side of the bay lagoon area,” Wrangell High School graduate Ander Edens said. “I think we were some of the first people to have such a large group in the very new cabin. And it was honestly great. Very clean, very. And it smelled lovely of cedar.”
“We had a lot less photos and videos to produce out to people.”
Another student, Timothy Garcia, said the biggest highlight was working with Friends of Anan on social media outreach. He documented everything through photos and video for the new non-profit organization. Friends of Anan was formed this past winter by Wrangell community members. They will focus on education outreach and the interpretive side of Anan through the partnership with the Forest Service.
“Last year, there was a lot less of what we could say, and we had a lot less photos and video to produce out to people,” he said. “This year, with Friends of Anan, it’s trying to help a lot more to get that information out there to people, having it online, because the Anan website is honestly a bit lackluster.”
He said they’re putting more of a presence of their stories on Instagram, Facebook and explore.org with the cameras. They also have their own website and soon they plan to have videos on YouTube. Garcia said the goal is to reach as many people as far away as they can.
All of the cameras went live on June 20 this year. People can tune in from anywhere to view the bears at explore.org or friendsofanan.org. As of today, 195,831 people have logged onto the videos since they went live this year.
Next year they plan on installing a salmon camera, which would show bear claws for salmon in the Anan Creek. They also plan on installing a live stream camera at the remote Upper Falls of Anan, in collaboration with the Forest Service.
