Georgeson Society, ThrivAlaska host green-up raffle

Leaf buds on an aspen are primed to unfold in this
2010 photo. Photo by Eugenie Euskirchen

Guess the first day of spring “green-up” on Chena Ridge correctly and you can be entered in a drawing for two Alaska Railroad tickets from Fairbanks to Anchorage.

The Georgeson Botanical Garden Society and ThrivAlaska are hosting the 2018 Spring Green-up Raffle. Guesses are $5 each. Proceeds will benefit both groups. The botanical society helps support the operations of the Georgeson Botanical Garden, and ThrivAlaska is a parent-run nonprofit group that provides services to families.

Green-up is defined as the first day when buds in birch and aspen open just enough to produce a “faint but distinct green flush through the forest canopy.” The National Weather Service will make the call. In 2016, green-up was April 26, the earliest date on record, and last year it was May 8.

Second prize is a 10-punch card to Heart Stream Yoga. Raffle ticket buyers must be 18 or older. Tickets may be purchased through 6 p.m. April 22 at locations around town, including If Only, Sipping Streams, Northern Business Systems, Ivory Jack’s, River City Café, the Fairbanks Children’s Museum and Sunshine Health Foods. Tickets may also be purchased at the Georgeson Botanical Garden office at 117 West Tanana Drive.

Raffle ticket holders will also receive a $2 discount to the Earth Day Celebration from 2-4 p.m. April 22 at the Fairbanks Children’s Museum. The botanical society and the children’s museum will host the event, at which participants will make an edible terrarium, learn about the environment, browse the museum and more. For more information, see www.georgesonbotanicalgarden.org or call 474-7222.