State, grant comes through for new NSI property

TALKEETNA — Among the various projects funded in the state’s budget this year was $150,000 to help buy property for the Northern Susitna Institute.

NSI, which was founded in 1995 as a think-tank, has grown to be something like a community school, serving as an umbrella organization for:

• Build-A-Plane program teaching aviation to school kids;

• Classroom with a View, an outdoor leadership school that teaches through wilderness adventures;

• Career Exploration and Applied Learning Academy, which brings professionals together for job shadow and internship opportunities;

• and Alaska Folk School, which teaches a range of classes from canoe paddle making to basket making to blacksmithing.

The overall goal, according to the institute, is to foster “real learning in the real world.”

“This award, if approved by Gov. Sean Parnell, will help NSI match the Rasmuson Foundation dollar-for-dollar challenge grant, and provide a giant step forward toward the purchase and renovation of the property,” reads an NSI press release about the state earmark.

The idea is to buy the property that the institute currently leases in downtown Talkeetna and then renovate it and turn it into a campus for the institute.

“We especially want to thank Rep. Wes Keller and his staff for helping usher this project through the legislative process,” said Erin Aulman, NSI board president.

Elsewhere in news about NSI, the CEAL Academy and Build-A-Plane programs got $20,000 from BP Alaska. Also, the Medallion Foundation said it intends to install a flight simulator there for student and veteran pilots.

The institute also welcomed new roommates when the Upper Susitna Soil and Water Conservation District moved into its facility.

“We’re excited about working with their Youth Conservation Corps program,” NSI says in its press release.

The institute also is working toward becoming an accredited supplementary school and is meeting with AdvancEd Alaska. Supplementary schools don’t grant diplomas, but can award high school class credit.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.