After a huge dump of late February snow, March has been a surprisingly sunny respite to the shoveling. While winter has kept us busy with many endeavors, we are looking forward to the increased sunlight and spring to return to Southeast Alaska.

The season 3 finale of A Matter of Degrees delves into the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world and a vital carbon sink: the Tongass.

This episode investigates the impact of decades of industrial logging in Southeast Alaska and political debates pitting ecology against economy. We learn from the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people who have lived on these lands for more than 10,000 years.

Someone seriously turned the thermostat down in Southeast Alaska, because it has been chilly. But Spruce Root and the Sustainable Southeast Network are bringing the heat in terms of deploying services and business financing across the region. We hope you stayed warm this February. Grab a cozy blanket, a cup of hot chocolate, and snuggle up with our latest newsletter.

We're off and running at Spruce Root. January and February have already been busy with the first Business Basics for Artists workshop complete, the Path to Prosperity Business Competition winners announcement, and the Southeast Conference Mid-Session Summit.

Two Southeast Alaska tourism businesses – Costa Brava, Bakery & Pâtisserie and New Earth Fungi – have been selected as the winners of the 2022 Path to Prosperity Competition. Each winner will be awarded $25,000 to grow their businesses. To commemorate their achievements, each will receive a Tlingit wall carving, hand-crafted by Brian Chilton, as part of the formal winners' announcement at the 2022 Mid-Session Summit hosted by Southeast Conference on Tuesday, January 31st.

We're crawling out from our winter holiday hibernation with a new perspective and appreciation for possibilities in 2023. And there's already so much on our plate -- and resources aplenty to share with communities and clients alike.

You can now select Spruce Root as a charity through your PFD and Pick. Click.Give. Visit pickclickgive.org to learn more and access your MyAlaska account. Your support of Spruce Root through Pick.Click.Give allows us to provide critical support to small businesses and artists and to further our mission of building a regenerative Southeast Alaska through community and economic development.

Well, we made it. Another year in the books. And it's a big one for us -- celebrating our 10-year anniversary.

A lot has changed in 10 years. Some of our staff have moved on. We added new team members -- but the mission has stayed true to Southeast Alaska -- and we couldn't be prouder of its communities and the people we've collaborated with over the years. As we reflect on 2022 and our 10 years of service, we look forward to 2023 and all the possibilities it holds. 

We've been pretty busy with prepping for Business Basics in Utqiagvik in cooperation with Alaska Growth Capital, as well as partnering with the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes to offer some Business Basics courses to Tlingit and Haida tribal members.