Observation: The conditions are apparently perfect for berries this year. We suspect the ample rain and sun plus warm weather and early spring are contributing. The rains (above average this summer) may have really saved us as their was little snow pack to water the berry bushes, and record warm temperatures. When you can stay in one spot and pick for a half hour, you know it is good. Lots of blueberries and blackberries. It was not like this last year. And only a few years ago there was a berry harvest failure due to the caterpillar infestation. Climate change seems to be translating into boom and bust cycles for berries. So we pick and enjoy our berries when we can. Blueberry pie. Yum!!
LEO says: LEO Network is hosting in collaboration with USGS an annual survey about berry harvest in Alaska. If you are a berry harvester you are welcome to participate in our LEO Berry Assessment. See also the published report, How are your berries? Perspectives of Alaska’s environmental managers on trends in wild berry abundance. (J. Hupp et al.)
Media: Interesting read, Another warm spring means another year of bountiful berries across Alaska - ADN Article
Resource:
Alaska Plant Profile – Bog Blueberry / Alpine Blueberry, "description: Low shrub (Vaccinium uliginosum), 6”-16” high, prostrate and mat-forming, or erect; strongly branched, the branchlets rounded in cross-section. Leaves dark green above and paler underneath, less than ¾” long, leathery, obovate, oblanceolate, or oval with smooth margins, broadest above the middle and strongly veined underneath. Leaves are deciduous, turning red-purple before falling. Flowers dark pink to white-pink, egg or urn shaped with 4 (sometimes 5) lobes. Fruit a dark blue round or barrel shaped berry covered with fine waxy bloom, 5-10 mm. in diameter." Compiled by Donald R. Ross, State of Alaska Plant Materials Center
International Journal of Circumpolar Health – The antioxidant level of Alaska's wild berries: High Higher and Highest, "In the last few years, antioxidants have become the stars of the nutritional world. Antioxidants are important in terms of their ability to protect against oxidative cell damage that can lead to conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and heart disease – conditions also linked with chronic inflammation. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Alaska’s wild berries may have the potential to help prevent these diseases." Published online 2013 Aug 5.
Video: This short-video was produced in the community of Akutan, Alaska titled, Akutan Berry Compote :: Store Outside Your Door :: Aleutians. "In this short 4:10-minute video, ANTHC's Store Outside Your Door brings you into the beautiful Aleutian Island Community of Akutan, where we highlight a delicious berry recipe. Alaska berries are super high in antioxidants and are a good food for a healthy metabolism. In the Fall, Akutan is a virtual berry paradise, with mossberries (aka "crowberries"), salmonberries, and blueberries ready for harvest all around the community. ANTHC Store Outside Productions travel around the State of Alaska highlighting our First Peoples, their food, culture, and ways. Our goal is to re-invigorate local, sustainable food systems by showcasing our people who hunt, fish, gather and grow their own food. Eating well - like our ancestors did - and remembering that our food is our medicine." Published, December 25, 2012 (ANTHCStoreOutside) M. Tcheripanoff
