1 Introduction Panel

Click here to view a pdf version of the original panel format.

Permafrost Grown Art & Science Walk

A black and white print created using relief printmaking with a rubber block. The art shows an adult and child walking in a field with a hidden sinkhole underneath.

A black and white print created using relief printmaking with cut out foam sheet paper painted over with watercolors. The art shows an open crack in the ground in the center and leaning deciduous (likely birch) trees on both sides leaning towards it.

Picture: A tractor in a hay field with a tire that has partially collapsed into a sinkhole.

A colored print showing three growing zucchini and zucchini blossoms at the top.

Picture: Benjamin Jones (left) and Mikhail Kanevskiy (right), preparing to collect permafrost cores using a SIPRE core barrel at a site in Bethel, Alaska.

Picture: Bloomed pink peonies at a project collaborator’s farm.

Picture: An ice wedge exposure (a large body of pure ice that is shaped similarly to a pizza slice and viewed as a cross section) at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility in Fox, Alaska.

Picture: Two rows of cabbage crops with ground temperature monitoring sensors installed at a project collaborator farm.

A black, gray and white Tetrapak Print showing an above view of ice wedges. The print shows the interconnected nature of ice wedges with polygon shaped spaces in between. Picture

Picture: Prints created for this exhibit hanging to dry during a printmaking workshop held in January 2026.

A group photo of project team members during a tour at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility in Fox, Alaska.

The Science

Permafrost Grown was created in response to local farmers need for information on permafrost in agricultural fields.

As a result, a team of University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers and 10 Alaska farms are working together to understand the interactions between permafrost and farmland — how permafrost presence and thaw affects cultivation practices and how cultivation affects permafrost.

The goal of this research is to provide data and education to inform on-farm decision-making and contribute to creating more sustainable food systems in Alaska.

The Art

This exhibit uses art to educate about the complexities of permafrost, its effects on people’s lives and the variety of ways permafrost research is conducted.

Art pieces were produced by the Permafrost Grown team to illustrate scientific concepts and express knowledge gained through participation in this research. Many of the pieces were created during a printmaking workshop led by Sara Tabbert, an artist and research technician with the project.

Our intent is that, by reviewing the content of this exhibit, everyone can learn something new about permafrost, agriculture and how these two systems interact in Alaska.

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