• Sitka dedicates a new covered bike shelter of second-growth wood at Sitka Sound Science Center

On Tuesday, Jan. 28, Sitka residents gathered together near the Sitka Sound Science Center to dedicate a new covered bike shelter built using second-growth timber from the Tongass National Forest. Before the dedication ceremony, a group of cyclists led by Sitka Assembly member Phyllis Hackett and including a small girl on a pushbike held a community bike ride from Totem Square to the new shelter.

The new shelter (link goes to previous post announcing dedication ceremony) was constructed by students of recently retired Sitka High School construction instructor Randy Hughey and community volunteers. It was designed by Dan Sheehan to use second-growth timber from the Tongass National Forest. The shelter is part of a project coordinated by the Sitka Conservation Society and funded through theNational Forest Foundation’s Community Capacity and Land Stewardship program.

The dedication was led by Sitka Conservation Society employees Ray Friedlander and Marjorie Hennessy, and included a few words from Hackett, Perry Edwards of the U.S. Forest Service-Sitka Ranger District, Sitka Sound Science Center Executive Director Lisa Busch, and Hughey, Hennessey also presented Hughey with a few gifts for leading the construction. After the ceremony, there was a reception at the Sitka Sound Science Center with salmon chowder and locally produced root beer from the Baranof Island Brewing Company. Click here for KCAW-Raven Radio‘s story about the dedication ceremony.

• Two-page flier from Sitka Conservation Society about the young-growth timber used to build this bike shelter

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• Community bike ride set for Tuesday, Jan. 28, to help dedicate new bike shelter at Sitka Sound Science Center

Sitka Assembly member Phyllis Hackett will lead a short community bike ride at 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28, to help dedicate a new bike shelter at the Sitka Sound Science Center, with coordination from the Sitka Conservation Society. Bike riders should meet at Totem Square for a ride to the Sitka Sound Science Center where a dedication ceremony will take place at 3 p.m.

The new bike shelter was constructed using local, young growth timber as part of a project coordinated by the Sitka Conservation Society and funded through the National Forest Foundation’s Community Capacity and Land Stewardship program. The project was led by Sitka High School construction instructor Randy Hughey and Dan Sheehan, who designed the building and constructed it with the help of Sitka High School students and community volunteers. The project provided local, young growth timber to students and volunteers to gain practical woodworking skills, produce a community asset, and further explore the applications of young growth timber.

The shelter is a beautiful timber framed structure made of young growth Sitka spruce and old growth red cedar. Not only is the bike shelter a much needed asset, it is charming in its execution thanks to the vision of Randy and Dan’s design. Randy, who recently retired after 30 years, taught the Sitka High construction and industrial arts courses, while Dan is an experienced timber framer. The two partnered up for this project and collectively poured about 300 hours of work and dedication into the construction of the shelter along with the help of SHS students and local volunteers. Collectively, over 900 hours of work and volunteer hours went into the construction and moving of the shelter.

This shelter will serve as a demonstration project, highlighting the importance of local products, local craftsmanship and knowledge, the strength of community and contributing to local economy. Multiple partners came together, culminating in a donation from Coastal Excavation who relocated and installed the shelter on Thursday, Jan. 16.The bike shelter is located near the Sitka Sound Science Center, Crescent Harbor playground, and across from the Sheldon Jackson Museum, making it ideally located to access all of these community amenities, along with the newly installed Sitka Sea Walk.

For more information, contact Sitka Conservation Society Conservation Solutions Coordinator Marjorie Hennessy, or Sitka Conservation Society Executive Director Andrew Thoms at 747-7509, or contact the Sitka Sound Science Center Executive Director Lisa Busch at 747-8878. To learn more about second-growth structures from the Tongass National Forest, watch this video.

(Photos by Adam Andis and Charles Bingham)

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