Sitka Walks, Talks and Lox
This walking tour will introduce you to the heart and soul of Sitka by providing an overview of the current and past issues that our community faces. Take a stroll through historic downtown with one of Sitka’s community leaders who has spent countless hours listening to stories and making the headlines. Lisa Busch is both a former journalist and a non profit director who has been on both sides of the news. Each tour is exclusively tailored to the group highlighting current affairs of the day including fisheries, environmental issues, housing, healthcare and human interests. Get the inside scoop on what Sitkans are thinking about, why they love their town, and what are their daily challenges. You’ll walk the streets of a town with more historic landmarks than other place in Alaska learning what made those places special then and what makes them important today. This is a wonderful introduction to one of Alaska’s most unique rural and Tribal communities. Finish the tour with a bagel and wild Alaska salmon lox sitting in a unique sitka locale depending on the weather.
Lisa Busch is a community leader and organizer in Sitka where she has lived, played and worked for 40 years. An engaged citizen and huge Sitka fan, Lisa is a formal journalist who advocates for local news and supports the local newspaper in a variety of ways. She is the former executive director of the Sitka Sound Science Center where she oversaw a team of researchers and science educators for the non profit she helped build into a nationally recognized institution. A well known science communication expert, she has trained hundreds of researchers in how to engage with rural and Tribal Alaskan communities. Today, she works throughout the region on helping small communities understand and prepare for landslide risk.
Lisa came to Sitka right out of college as a public radio reporter covering fisheries, forest, government and human interest stories. She was a science journalist for 20 years producing the award winning program Encounters: Radio Experiences in the North with cultural anthropologist Richard Nelson. She has been involved in the formation of several community based non profits and has built partnerships across the community through public engagement and developing personal and professional relationships. She was appointed member of the Climate Change Action Leadership team by Governor Walker, was a cofounder of Sitka Trail Works and Sitka Tree and Landscape Committee and today sits on the board of the Alaska News Coalition, that supports local newspapers throughout Alaska.
She built a house with her family out of wood they milled themselves, raised two interesting and outdoorsy daughters and hosted countless exchange students. A compulsive volunteer, and a student of civic engagement, she has helped the Sitka Skippers, Sitka Fine Arts Camp, Sitka Homeless Coalition, Sitka Barracudas, Braveheart Volunteers, Mt. Edgecumbe Preschool, the Sitka School District, Greater Sitka Arts Council and a host of others by aiding with fundraising and just pitching in because that’s such an important and fun part of Sitka culture.
She holds a BS in Geology and Environmental Studies from Tufts University and a MA in Northern Studies from University of Alaska Fairbanks. Her free time is spent ocean sculling, gardening, hiking and running, where she and her pals spend more time solving world problems than trying to improve their 5K times.
Rates
This is an exclusive tour for small groups that really want a personal, authentic tour of Sitka by the Sea.
$600/group (1-12 in a group)
Food is additional cost.
Contact Lisa at lisajeanbusch@gmail.com or 907 738 3004