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On a rainy afternoon, Penny Steve of Stebbins stood between rows of carrots, testing a new gardening tool: a hula hoe.
The long-handled tool has a flat metal loop that rocks back and forth. Steve pushed and pulled it through the soil, slicing through small weeds.
“We are just taking out the extra grasses that don't belong there. Leaving the good carrots and produce and taking out the excess,” Steve said. “It's a good workout. Back at home, we usually just rip them out by hand, rip them out and put them in the compost.”
Steve was weeding the garden at Pilgrim Hot Springs, also known as Unaatuq, which is about 60 miles northeast of Nome. It is a rare place for agriculture in the largely treeless subarctic region, thanks to geothermal activity, fertile soil and its sheltered, tree-filled valley.
![Penny Steve of Stebbins (left) and [NAME] of [LOCATION] (right) weed Pilgrim Hot Springs garden at Bering Strait Ag Leaders Summit, August 5, 2026. Margaret Sutherland/KNOM](https://bunny-wp-pullzone-nbz5hk1bys.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/102A0238.jpg "102A0238")
Steve and other gardeners and community leaders from across the state gathered at the site last week to exchange know-how on growing food close to home during the Bering Strait Ag Leaders Summit.
On the second day of the three-day event, participants learned the low-till growing methods used at Pilgrim’s garden. The approach focuses on building healthy soil while limiting disruptions to the microorganisms that help plants grow.
Earlier sessions covered composting, soil testing and using local materials like seashells and wood ash to improve soil.
“That's something new for me, because I haven't done that when I was gardening,” Steve said. “That's something new to learn. I can go home and use that when the produce isn't growing good.”
Steve manages the Stebbins community garden. She was among 22 summit participants from across the state including Stebbins, Nome, Golovin, St. Michael, Solomon, Kwethluk, St. Mary’s, Palmer and Juneau.
Kawerak, the regional tribal consortium, co-hosted the event with Rural Alaska Community Action Program, or RurAL CAP, a statewide nonprofit.
“The summit brings together people from rural communities who are either actively leading community gardens or would like to start,” said Noah Emerson, a coordinator with RurAL CAP’s GROW program. “And provide them with technical training, information and inspiration to bring technical knowledge and projects back to their home communities — and to build relationships and connections throughout the state.”
RurAL CAP’s GROW program, which supports food-security projects statewide, holds similar technical trainings around Alaska. The organization also helps fund community gardens, including the Stebbins garden and the ongoing project at Pilgrim Hot Springs.
The work is intended to strengthen food security and food sovereignty in a state where much of the grocery food is shipped in. Emerson, who is based in Anchorage, visited the region to facilitate the summit.
“It’s especially important in rural Alaskan communities where it’s very expensive and difficult to ship food out to these communities,” Emerson said.
In Stebbins, Steve said grocery-store produce is expensive and, especially during winter, frequently arrives inedible.
“Some of our produce comes moldy and no good,” Steve said. “Most of it is really bad – rotten, soft and no good. So they kind of throw it at us, and we use it in our compost.”
Representatives of the store in Stebbins could not be reached for comment, but other local officials had similar anecdotes about the grocery produce.
The Stebbins community GROW garden started in 2022. Steve said it has become a local fixture.
When vegetables are ready to harvest, the garden’s three staff members distribute them to the community, starting with elders. Steve said turnips and radishes are among elders’ favorites because they pair well with subsistence foods.
“They come and check up on us almost every couple of weeks and say, ‘Are they ready now?’ I say, ‘No, no, not yet. Give it another month.’ ‘How about now?’ ‘No, no, no, not yet,’” Steve said with a laugh.
For Steve, the summit offered a chance to learn from other gardeners working in subarctic conditions and bring new ideas back to Stebbins.
“I want to see what other people have at their place, see if their gardening’s going good,” Steve said. “I'd like to learn a little bit more info from them, how they're doing it, so I can go home and see how it is at home, too.”
The summit’s final day included training on seed saving and plant propagation before participants returned home to continue — or begin — food-growing projects in their communities.
