Jodie Anderson is the director of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension. Anderson has expertise in Agriculture, Horticulture, Field Crop Production, Soil Management, Composting for Home Gardens, Food Systems. Anderson is a soil scientist whose personal life has shaped her passion for the mission of a land grant university. She is the great-niece and granddaughter of two Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service professionals. “I love what I do and give 100 percent to my job,” Anderson said. “I plan to follow the ‘engaged university’ model where IANRE will be a unit that is responsive, accessible, integrated, academically neutral, respects our partners and promotes resource partnerships.”
In addition to promoting research and Cooperative Extension Service activities, Anderson said, she also wishes to continue growing personal connections through service and her famous barbecues, which are known for bringing her team and stakeholders together.
Anderson came to Alaska in 2003 after 11 years of teaching chemistry and life sciences to high school and college students in North Carolina. In Alaska, she began and managed the Alaska Community Horticulture Program for UAF. A self-described “nerd to the core,” Anderson’s research focuses on soil building, organic nitrogen soil supplements, compost development and community gardening.
In her spare time, she likes to barbecue and grill, fish, hike and do other outdoor activities.
A strong communicator, Anderson has traveled throughout Alaska, developing collaborations and relationships with teachers, growers and communities. Jodie and her family moved to Palmer in 2003 where she worked UAF in both the Cooperative Extension Service and the School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences for eight years. While at UAF, she began and managed the Alaska Community Horticulture Program and focused research on soil building, organic nitrogen soil supplements, compost development, and community gardening.
In 2007, Jodie began taking soil courses to improve her ability to convey necessary research to cooperating growers, non-commercial producers, and Alaska gardeners. She enrolled in the UAF Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Soil Biochemistry. After UAF in 2011, Jodie went to work with an engineering and environmental consulting firm as a soil scientist for five years. Later, she accepted a position with the Department of Natural Resources in the Division of Agriculture as the Alaska Farm to School Coordinator. Jodie’s work at UAF afforded her many opportunities to travel to rural Alaska and develop collaborations and relationships with many teachers, growers, and communities.
So what is IANRE? It’s the Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension. Its based at University of Alaska Fairbanks, and has extended work in Matanuska Valley in Palmer, research labs all over the state and greenhouse space for additional research that produces spectacular vegetables and flowers. At Alaska’s land-grant university, the team is working hard to enrich the lives of Alaskans through research and outreach that is grounded in the needs of our communities.
IANRE has,
- 2,340 acres of farmland
- 2 Experiment Farms
- 1 Botanical Garden
- 7 research labs
- 11,608 square feet of greenhouse space
IANRE Outreach Efforts Are Statewide
- 350+ Informative publications on everything from planting food to keeping your home safe.
- 300+ Classes, taught by experts and offered across the state.
- 2200+ Youth served through 4-H programs statewide.
IANRE Experts can guide you on greenhouses, soil testing, lawn care, composting and a variety of other topics.
So many great things are happening under the umbrella of IANRE. The Georgeson Botanical Gardens, two experimental farms one in Fairbanks, other in Palmer, Co-operative extension and its numerous programs, publications, Master Gardeners program, It grows in Alaska You tube videos, Variety Trials, and many hundreds of publications that help all levels of gardeners and those who want to learn food cultivation and preservation. The gardens boast its newly designated recognition as the imminent Peony Research Garden, as Peony research by Dr Pat Holloway led Alaska to produce and ship peonies all over the world. Apparently we here is Alaska can grow them well. The community outreach segment invites everyone to the gardens free of charge, enjoy Music in the Gardens in summer months, The Currant Festival and on and on… there is no end to what we can learn, participate and enjoy with the many outreach efforts by IANRE.
Most importantly, the important and relevant research helps farmers and home gardeners alike to grow what grows best in interior Alaska.
Please visit,https://www.uaf.edu/ianre/ for so much more information on the good work being done here at UAF campus and statewide.