Daily Sitka Sentinel

April 17, 2020, Community Happenings

On Earth Day, STA, F.S.

To Plant Tlingit Potatoes

The Sitka Ranger District and Sitka Tribe of Alaska will join forces for the fourth consecutive year to educate people about Tlingit (also called Maria’s) potatoes and plant potatoes. 

The community is invited to participate in a web-based educational program on April 22. USDA Forest Service staff, the Tribe and Tribal citizens will show how to grow Tlingit potatoes, and offer the biology, history and cultural aspects of the root vegetables.

Separate from the education event, Tongass National Forest employees will, this year, plant the potatoes themselves. Since 2017, the Sitka Ranger District has provided a sunny plot of land to serve as the shared potato garden and provided the seed potatoes to plant the garden. In previous years, the Sitka Tribe’s Traditional Foods Program, the gardening class from Pacific High School, and Sitka community volunteers have assisted on the project.

“Because of the limited window for planting and the need to keep people safe and healthy, we decided that a virtual event, followed by one or two employees planting the bed, was our best plan of action for 2020,” said District Ranger Perry Edwards. “By teaching people through a web-based event, even more people can learn how to grow and sustain an easily grown, very productive traditional food.”

The virtual educational event is happening on Earth Day, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Attendees should use a computer or tablet, and are encouraged to sign in a few minutes early using their full name. Organizers will use a Teams meeting at: https://tinyurl.com/tlingitpotatoes for both video and audio. Organizers suggest using the button: “join in on the web instead” once they have connected to the Teams meeting. For information, contact Michelle Putz at 747-2708 or email michelle.putz@usda.gov.

Tlingit potatoes have been present in Tlingit gardens for more than 200 years. The potatoes originated from Mexico or Chile, and were a trade item in Southeast Alaska in the early 1800s.

For interviews and information to be used for publication, contact the Tongass Public Affairs Officer at 907-228- 6201 or paul.robbins@usda.gov.

 Sitka Lutheran

Worship Online

Sitka Lutheran Church worship has moved online. As always, all are welcome to attend. To receive an invite  email sitkalutheranchurch@gmail.com, go to sitkalutheranchurch.com or call 752-0123 and leave a message with email included.

‘Advance Directives’

Class to be Online

SEARHC Health Educator Erin Matthes will offer multiple opportunities to participate in a free online class, ‘‘Advance Directives 101.’’

Classes are scheduled 10-11 a.m. April 21; 4-5 p.m. April 23; 10-11 a.m. April 27; and 4-5 p.m. April 29.

Matthes also is available to all community members for one-on-one phone consultations for advance care planning. Contact her at ematthes@searhc.org or 966-8720 to register for a class or to schedule a phone consultation.

Climate Connection: Climate Change, Coronavirus

By Libby Stortz

Here in Southeast Alaska, we’ve become more and more aware of the ways climate change affects our lives.

Warming oceans are often noted. Fish species seek cooler waters, so fisher-folk go farther, and some species of warmer water fish are showing up. Birders are seeing big changes from warming climate. We see and can’t help but enjoy an array of new birds from warmer climates. We’ve also experienced very concerning Muir die-offs and starfish wasting disease.

Another ripple effect of climate change and human activity, such as deforestation, monoculture planting and home building, is diminishing wildlife habitat. Rising temperatures lead to animals mixing in new ways, creating more opportunities for diseases to spread. Many mammal species that would otherwise have little interaction  with each other are now check by jowl, whether in market cages awaiting sale or passing diseases from each other in smaller habitat. In fact, about 60% of the new human diseases cropping up around the world are zoonotic - coming from domesticated animals or wildlife - and scientists have observed and documented an increase over time. An incomplete list of examples includes camel pox, cowpox, monkey pox and bats, pangolins, mongoose, civet cats, chickens, snakes, pigs, fox and badgers are just some mammals that share diseases with each other and humans too.

So here’s another good reason for us to work together to mitigate climate change. Look how well we can work together when we recognize that we have to!

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Written by Libby Stortz, volunteer with Sitka’s Citizens Climate Lobby.