August 31, 2015 Community Happenings

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Category: News

Created on Monday, 31 August 2015 10:16

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BMS to Host

Parent Meeting

Blatchley Middle School will host an informational meeting for Blatchley Middle School parents interested in the Title I reading and English as a second language programs 5-6 p.m. Thursday Sept. 3, at the school library.

Refreshments will be served. Contact Principal Ben White or reading teacher Elvia Torres at 966-1400 with questions.

     Families Sought

For Gardening Project

The Sitka Local Foods Network education committee wants to help families in Sitka learn how easy it can be to grow some of their own food. The group is seeking up to three families who would like to learn about and try vegetable gardening in their own backyard through the Family Garden Mentor project.

This is the third year of the program.

Through a series of six workshops to be held at the families’ homes, Sitka Local Foods Network education committee volunteers will help the families:

–Choose a location for a vegetable bed (learning about sun, drainage, etc.);

–Build (or find) a planter/container or raised bed, and acquire soil and soil amendments;

–Learn about soil and prepare the soil for planting;

–Plant 2-4 easy-to-grow plants — specifically potatoes, lettuce, kale, and maybe a perennial edible such as rhubarb or fruit bushes;

–Learn to take care of their plants over the summer – teaching how to care for and pick the vegetables (without killing the plant);

–Harvest potatoes; and

–Cook a meal using the vegetables they have grown.

The Sitka Local Foods Network will provide all materials – soil, lumber, seeds, etc. – free to the participating families. Families will be expected to provide the labor, enthusiasm for gardening, and healthy appetites to eat the vegetables they grow.

The requirement to own your property or home was dropped in 2015, and people who rent now are participating through container gardening.

Interested families must first-time vegetable gardeners (this project is meant to help people who are just starting to garden, not people with previous experience, even if it was not in Alaska);  want to try vegetable gardening and be committed to participating throughout the summer; and agree to let others come and attend classes at their property.

Other criteria, such as availability and interest in a second year of mentoring, will also be used to help select the final three families. Families that are not selected will be placed on a waiting list in the hope of future continuation and expansion of this project.

The Sitka Local Foods Network has expanded the program this year to include more families and to include at least two households living in rental housing that will garden in portable containers or planters appropriately sized for their space.

It will also will offer a second year of mentoring to previous participants, so families can expand their knowledge and try growing more “difficult” vegetables such as carrots and green onions.

Workshops may start as early as the fall or winter with selecting the site, ramp up in the spring of 2016 and run through September’s late harvest. First-year classes will focus on the easiest-to-grow vegetables (and fruit) in Sitka — potatoes, lettuce, kale and rhubarb.

Families interested in participating should contact Michelle Putz at 747-2708, and provide a name, address, and contact phone number.

Story Time Set

“In a Village By the Sea,” by Muon Van, will be one of the readings during preschool story time 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, at Kettleson Memorial Library.

Readings, rhymes, songs and a craft project are included and all are welcome. For more information call 747-8708.

Open House Set

At Island Institute

The Island Institute will hold an open house to introduce its new office and event space to the community 3-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at 304 Baranof Street.

All are invited to join the unveiling of the work and a presentation on the program.

Light refreshments and good cheer will be provided.

Ranger-Led Walks,

Talks Set at Park

Sitka National Historical Park offers daily guided programs teaching visitors about the park’s natural and cultural resources.

This week’s programs are: Sept. 1, noon Totem Walk and 1:30 p.m. Salmon Talk; Sept. 2, 10:30 a.m. Russian American walking tour, 2 p.m. Totem Walk; Sept. 3, 11 a.m. Salmon Talk; Sept. 4, noon Totem Walk; and Sept. 5, noon Totem Walk.

For more information about the ranger-guided tours at Sitka NHP, call the visitor center at 747-0110.

Seniors to Hike

SAIL’s Senior Hiking Club will feature Molly Johnson, Sitka Conservation Society, 9:15-11:30 a.m. Thursday Sept. 3. The group will meet at 9:15 a.m. at Swan Lake Senior Center. Transportation, trekking poles and snacks will be provided. The cost is $5. To RSVP contact Claire at 747-6859.

SOAR to Meet

SAIL’s senior outdoor recreation program will meet every Thursday morning in September. Activities include hiking, kayaking and crafting. Volunteers with skills in these areas are being encouraged to accompany the events.

For questions or to receive the monthly calendar, contact Claire at 747-6859 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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