Photo by Marc Much
PALMER — Alaska Pacific University (APU) has received a $50,000 grant from Wells Fargo to support its Growing Alaska’s Farmers project on APU’s Kellogg Campus. The grant is funding a new tractor to expand current farming production from one to four acres, as well as greenhouse upgrades, to provide more produce for farmers’ markets and APU’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.
Growing Alaska’s Farmers will support local farmers through educational programs on sustainable food systems and successful regional growing techniques that have the potential to extend Alaska’s growing season and provide fresh, organic, locally-grown produce throughout the state.
Wells Fargo volunteers will help harvest vegetables and present a check to Alaska Pacific University at the Kellogg Campus on Friday, September 12th at 1:00 pm, followed by a tour of the property.
The Kellogg property, founded as the Spring Creek Farm by Louise Kellogg, was bequeathed to APU upon Kellogg’s death in 2001 as part of the Kellogg family trust. The Kellogg Campus has since been developed as a site where farming and the classroom come together for the purposes of outdoor and environmental education. In addition to its gardens that supply the APU Anchorage campus kitchen, local CSA subscribers and local farmers’ markets with fresh, organic vegetables, the Kellogg Campus is the main site for APU’s Master of Science program in Outdoor and Environmental Education. The Kellogg property also hosts Louise’s Farm School for home-schooled children between the ages of five and 13.
APU is one of three Alaska organizations to receive a total of $125,000 through the 2014 Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities grant program. Wells Fargo awarded $50,000 to the Alaska Zoo for its polar bear exhibit expansion and $25,000 to the Anchorage Park Foundation for its Youth Employment in Parks greenbelt restoration project.
The Alaska grant recipients are among 54 environmental nonprofits to receive a total of $3 million . The philanthropic grants support projects focused on land and water conservation, energy efficiency, infrastructure, and educational outreach in communities across America.
The grant program began in 2012 as part of Wells Fargo’s commitment to provide $100 million to environmentally-focused nonprofits and universities by 2020. Wells Fargo has invested $350,000 in nine such Alaska nonprofits and universities over the last three years, including a $75,000 grant to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center for its wood bison restoration project.
Administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the 2013 Wells Fargo Environmental Solutions for Communities grants collectively helped to plant 132,709 trees and restore more than 1,600 acres of habitat. These projects have trained 150 people in “green” jobs, while engaging more than 689,000 community members in the supported environmental grant programs.
“We believe that helping our communities become better stewards of the environment will improve the long-term quality of life of our customers and team members,” said Dana Rogers, Alaska community affairs manager.
Details of the program and a link to the 2015 application can be found at the NFWF application website. Projects benefiting underserved communities and encouraging volunteerism are given priority consideration.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo has 850 team members in Alaska who serve customers through a network of 57 banking, mortgage and investment offices, and 115 ATMs, in 28 communities.
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.6 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 locations, 12,500 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com), and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 29 on Fortune’s 2014 rankings of America’s largest corporations.
In 2013, the Company invested $275.5 million in grants to 18,500 nonprofits, and team members contributed more than 1.69 million volunteer hours around the country. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives and stories are also available at blogs.wellsfargo.com and at wellsfargo.com/stories.
A leader in reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions and operating sustainably, Wells Fargo has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Center for Corporate Climate Leadership, the Carbon Disclosure Project and the U.S. Green Building Council. Since 2005, Wells Fargo has provided more than $28 billion in environmental finance, supporting sustainable buildings and renewable energy projects nationwide. This includes investments in more than 300 solar projects and 47 wind projects that generate enough clean renewable energy to power hundreds of thousands of American homes each year. For more information, please visit: www.wellsfargo.com/about/csr and the Wells Fargo Environmental Forum.
Press Contact
Lynn E. Paulson
lep@alaskapacific.edu
907-564-8251
Accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, Alaska Pacific University is committed to personalized, experiential learning that incorporates Alaska as our principal classroom. APU is Alaska’s only four-year, private baccalaureate liberal arts university.
