Shelby Herbert/Alaska Public Media

Fairbanks birdwatchers braved temperatures well below zero this month for the Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count, an annual citizen science project that surveys bird populations.

The Milken Family Foundation awarded $25,000 to "phenomenal educator" Emily Snyder, a reading instructor for Nenana City School. The school serves about 200 kids in Nenana, a small town about 50 miles south of Fairbanks on the Parks Highway.