Knox College students and faculty member Nicolaas Mink have arrived in Alaska for a four-week field course in which the group will travel by kayak, study ecology, and interact with local experts and citizens.

Audrey Todd, a 2012 Knox graduate and one of the students in Mink's "Forests, Fisheries, and the Politics of Wilderness" class, will provide periodic updates about the experience on a new blog, Knox in Alaska.

In her first blog post, Todd gives an overview of the course. One of the group's stops will be the United States Forest Service False Island Camp, where students will work with Forest Service Rangers on river restoration.

"These are important to restore in order to improve the salmon habitat," she writes.

Before traveling to southeast Alaska, the students prepared by taking a 10-week Spring Term class on the Knox campus with Mink, visiting assistant professor of environmental studies.

Read more from Audrey Todd here, and keep checking the blog for further updates.