Over 1000 hours of  time from 41 volunteers along with generous in-kind donations from the community amounted to almost $58,000!  Wow! PNA 8th Graders have much to celebrate!  The Pacific Northern Academy Ruth Arcand Park Project (PNA RAPP) has reached its peak. All obstacles for the course have been installed and the surrounding trail has been improved.

This amount more than doubled the $20,000 matching grant PNA 8th graders received almost two years ago from the Anchorage Park Foundation for their park design idea.  And, this project still has around $4,000 to spend on the project!

Next Steps: Youth Employment Program (YEP) will work to break a trail from Lake Otis to PNA’s developed section of trail, granting access to Ruth Arcand Park from the west side of Lake Otis. PNA 8th graders also plan to design, create, and install signage to the area of Ruth Arcand Park before the end of the school year.

It is the hope of the PNA Middle School that the obstacle addition and continued trail improvement will be maintained and upgraded by PNA for as long as it is located in this area.

This week, 8th graders were able to share their hard work and efforts with Kindergarten through Middle School.  WIth 7th grade students leading small groups, all students walked out to the park site, learned about the project, and got to try out the course for the first time.  It seemed like everyone had a great time!

Enjoy the photos of the journey and the celebration!