Climate Connection: 100 things Sitka can do...
By Leah Mason
Climate Connections is about making a difference even when things seem to be out of our control. You wouldn’t know from what you see in the news, but there are so many things we can do right now that it is difficult to know where to start. In 2019 we highlighted actions we can take at home, but in 2020, we’ll be talking more about what we can do as a community.
January 16 is the first of our monthly get-togethers where Sitkans can discuss Draw Down, a book and a website that explores 100 significant, proven things we can do about climate change! No waiting for politicians to get on board. No waiting for a new technology. No excuses for twiddling our thumbs. The Drawdown Learning Circle meets to discuss Sitka’s options for turning climate problems into solutions and opportunities. This month’s topic is number 3 in the list of the most effective things we can do to “draw down” greenhouse gases - reducing food waste.
According to Paul Hawken, the author of Draw Down, economies such as the U.S. waste around 35% of the food we buy. Finding ways to reduce food waste in Sitka would make a great contribution in a couple of ways. First, it would help take more than 70 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents out of the atmosphere. Second, it would help our local economy by reducing the existing cost of disposing of that “waste.” Money saved is as good as money earned, as they say, but could we go one better? What if we could do something as a community to turn that “waste” into a resource that saves us money on things like fertilizer and soil? Could we combine our food waste with fish waste to create a product that we could sell? After all, we are also living in a world that is running out of conventional fertilizers!
What would it take? A little cooperation? A lot of gumption? Some funding? A solid business plan? You? Me? Sitkans can join the Draw Down Learning Circle at the Sitka Public Library on January 16 from 5:45 to 6:45. We’d love to hear from you, and talk about what this plucky little community can do to turn a problem into a solution. Check out https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/food/reduced-food-waste to see more about this month’s topic!
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Leah Mason is a member of the Sitka Citizens’ Climate Lobby and participant in the Drawdown Learning Circle.
James W. Parker
Services Pending
Services for James W. Parker, 87, are pending. The longtime Sitka resident died Jan. 9 at SEARHC Medical Center in Sitka.
A full obituary will be published in the Sentinel.
Affordability of
Child Care
To be Discussed
A public discussion on ‘‘Affordability and Availability of Child Care in Sitka’’ is 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, at Centennial Hall. It includes a free dinner, childcare and transportation.
Sitka’s Early Childhood Coalition will lead discussion to create long-term and short-term goals for child care solutions.
Project Homeless
Connect on Jan. 29
Those in need of warm clothing and access to resources can attend the Project Homeless Connect event 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the Salvation Army. A free lunch will be provided.
Project Homeless Connect is sponsored by the Sitka Outreach and Support (SOS): Lifeline group. For information, contact Julia Smith at 738-6336, eastergroupsitka@gmail.com.
Grief Support
Group Postponed
Brave Heart Volunteers, in partnership with SEARHC, will host an eight-week grief support group for those who have experienced a loss and are seeking support and education. The group was to begin next week, but has been postponed. The new start date will be determined.
The group, free of charge, meets at the Manager’s House on the Pioneers Home campus. Dinner is provided.
To register, call Brave Heart Volunteers at 747-4600 or email anna@braveheartvolunteers.org.”
Bowhunter Ed
Field Day Set
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is offering a bowhunter education field day 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at the Sitka Sportman’s Association, 5211 Halibut Point Road.
Students must first complete an independent online study and test. Students who successfully pass the written test then register online and attend the field day in person to complete the certification. The field day includes a simulated blood trailing exercise and shooting proficiency test.
Registration of $30 can be completed online at http://www.bowhunter-ed.com/alaska/. Additional information about the bowhunter education online course and field day can be found on the ADF&G website at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=huntered.fdbow.
Contact the Sitka Fish and Game office at 747-5449 with questions.
‘The Universe’
Exhibition Jan. 28
Sitka Fine Arts Camp will present ‘‘The Universe at an Exhibition,’’ an evening of science and music with astronomer and photographer José Francisco Salgado and pianist Christopher Staknys 7 p.m. Jan. 28 at the Sitka Performing Arts Center.
Images and film from NASA and the European Space Agency, along with Salgado’s own photography, will be paired with Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and Debussy’s beloved “Claire de Lune.”
Part of Salgado’s Science and Symphony concert series, the films are intended to be art pieces that inspire audiences to learn more about the Universe and music itself, organizers said.
Tickets are $20 general, $15 for youths, and are available in advance at Old Harbor Books or at www.fineartscamp.org/shows.
Story Time Set
The preschool story time at Sitka Public Library will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 16. A book by two-time Caldecott and Geisel Honor Book winner Laura Vaccaro Seeger will be the featured reading.
The program includes rhymes, songs and a craft project. Everybody is welcome.
Family Fort Night
At the Library
Families can register to participate in the second Family Fort Night After Hours 6-7:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at Sitka Public Library. Participants are asked to arrive by 5:45 p.m. and take their own sheets, pillows and blankets to build their fort.
The program includes building and reading time. A prize for the best fort will be awarded. Free snacks will be part of the program. Registration is required and space is limited.
Unitarians Meet
The healing power of nature will be discussed Sunday at the Sitka Unitarian Fellowship. Cerisa Swanberg will lead a guided meditation, discussion and writing prompts on the need to preserve wilderness areas. Participants can take their own photographs, stories, art and poems to share.
Gathering begins at 10:30 a.m., with the program beginning at 10:45 a.m. Soup and bread follow at noon. The Fellowship Hall is located at 408 Marine Street, with parking behind off Spruce Street. All are invited to attend. For information, call 747-3702.
Film Screening
For Tribal Elders
Sitka Tribe of Alaska will host Tribal elders for an afternoon movie screening of ‘‘Rise,’’ a documentary series about indigenous resistance movements in North America, will be 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi.
Attendance is free, snacks will be provided, and friends and families of elders are welcome.
Call 966-9661 or email xannie.borseth@sitkatribe-nsn.gov with questions.
Farmers Markets
Manager Sought
Sitka Local Foods Network is seeking a manager to coordinate the upcoming Sitka Farmers Markets. The application date has been extended to Jan. 15.
It is a contract position, and the manager receives a small compensation, depending on experience, for work organizing the markets. The manager receives a monthly check for the five months from May through September.
Applications should include a cover letter, resumé and three recommendations, and they are due by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
For information or to submit applications, contact SLFN board president Charles Bingham at 1-907-623-7660, or you can email the SLFN Board at sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com by putting “Sitka Farmers Market Manager” in the subject line.
Description of duties is at https://sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/2019/11/28/sitka-local-foods-network-seeks-manager-for-2020-sitka-farmers-markets/job-description-sfm-manager-2020-version/.
Creative Play Set
At SJ Museum
Sheldon Jackson Museum’s Creative Play for ages 5 and younger will be 10-11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25.
Creative Play focuses on fostering social skills, movement, and creativity and gives parents and kids a place to gather for imaginative play with sensory toys. A parent must be present and should call 747-8981 to register.
‘Project Chariot’
Film to Screen
The Sheldon Jackson Museum will screen the film ‘‘Project Chariot’’ 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8. It is being shown as part of the Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum Winter Film Series.
The documentary by Inupiaq filmmaker Rachel Naninaaq Edwardson tells the story of how in 1958 the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission planned to detonate thermonuclear bombs near North America’s oldest continually inhabited settlement, and how the Inupiaq village stopped the most powerful agency of its time.
Contact the museum for more information at 747-8981.
