Matson Pledges $100,000 To Support Environmental Education

From Anchorage Chamber of Commerce :

March 5, 2021

ANCHORAGE – Matson has pledged $100,000 to the Alaska SeaLife Center to construct a new, interactive discovery pools exhibit called the Rocky Coast Touch Pool. A second in-kind commitment of $12,000 will be used to transport the acrylic tanks from California to Seward.

Alaska SeaLife Center President and CEO Tara Riemer describes the discovery pools as the place “where visitors create a connection to the marine environment, which helps create a sense of empathy for animals and their habitat.”

The new discovery pool exhibit, funded in part by Matson, will feature five areas for visitors to interact with marine wildlife that call Alaska home. In addition to a holding area for animals not on exhibit, the exhibit will feature four areas where the public can explore and interact with the animals, and a fifth will teach curious guests tide pool etiquette and skills they can use while exploring coastal areas on their own. The exhibit will also include a science exploration station, which consists of three small modular tanks to promote up-close and hands-on-learning experiences.

“As a leading carrier of goods to Alaska, Matson feels a sense of obligation to help make Alaska a better place to live. Supporting the construction of a new, interactive learning experience at the Alaska SeaLife Center is one way we can help increase Alaskans’ access to education while supporting the health of Alaska’s marine environment,” said Matson Senior Vice President, Alaska, Bal Dreyfus.

The Alaska SeaLife Center team expects to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new exhibit this spring. The exhibit will be used by all visitors, especially Anchorage School District fourth graders who are part of the Sea Journey program, which teaches students marine-mammal empathy.

Roslyn Mitchell, Matson’s Alaska Sales Manager and Alaska SeaLife Center board member, says, “I couldn’t be more proud of the staff at the Alaska SeaLife Center for the months of hard work they put in to making this project a reality. The team at Matson is excited to be a part of this effort to improve the Alaska SeaLife Center’s visitor experiences and marine-environment health across the state.”

You can learn more about the Alaska SeaLife Center at alaskasealife.org.

About Matson
Founded in 1882, Matson (NYSE: MATX) is a leading provider of ocean transportation and logistics services. Matson provides a vital lifeline to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, and to other island economies in Micronesia. Matson also operates two premium, expedited services from China to Long Beach, California, provides service to Okinawa, Japan, and various islands in the South Pacific, and operates an international export service from Dutch Harbor to Asia. The company's fleet of owned and chartered vessels includes containerships, combination container and roll-on/roll-off ships and custom-designed barges. Matson Logistics, established in 1987, extends the geographic reach of Matson's transportation network throughout the continental U.S. Its integrated, asset-light logistics services include rail intermodal, highway brokerage, warehousing, freight consolidation, Asia supply chain services, and forwarding to Alaska. Additional information about the company is available at www.matson.com.

This press release was produced by the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed are the author's own.