| Dr. Locke’s COVID-19 Update – Mon Apr 20 – 9:45 a.m. *Online* Weekly COVID-19 weekly update with Jefferson County Public Health Officer, Dr. Thomas Locke at today’s meeting of the County Commission. To watch live or recorded videos of the entire 9 a.m. Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting, including the 9:45 a.m. COVID-19 update, go to the website for videos of meetings. You can choose “Streaming Live” or, if viewing later, “Recorded.” You can also listen live to Dr. Locke at 9:45 a.m. on KPTZ or find listen to Dr. Locke recorded on KPTZ home page. Climate on Tap – Mon. April 20th *Online* “Earth Day 2020: 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. Where were we then? Where are we now?” is the topic. As we prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we’ll take a long look at where we were then, where we’ve come in 50 years, and where we are headed. If you were there in 1970, bring your stories. If you weren’t around, or even on the planet, come for some fascinating historical context! Join Climate on Tap by going to the Finnriver events page to find the link to the Zoom room. This is a special replay of the session from last March to honor the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22nd. Co-sponsored by Local 20/20 Climate Action and Jefferson County Public Health, this is not a lecture series, but a discussion. For further information email Laura Tucker or call 360-379-4491. Note new time: 7-8:30 p.m. Zoom Drop-in Help – Tues April 21st *Online schedule change* Join Jefferson County Librarian Andrea Hergert for help in learning how to use Zoom online meeting software. She’ll show you how to download the app, how to set up and join meetings, audio and video settings, and more. Tuesdays from 9:30-10:30am. Join the class on Zoom by clicking here. Fungi Day. – Tues April 21st *Online* Join a virtual gathering featuring live- streamed conversations with researchers, educators and solutionaries about our planet’s most pressing environmental and global challenges. Featuring Paul Stamets, Louie Schwartzberg, Suzanne Simard, Jason Silva and many more special guests, the panel discussions will run throughout Fungi Day and be available to watch for free on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Go to Fantastic Fungi to register and see the full day schedule here. EARTHRISE on Earth Day – Wed April 22nd *Online* Earth Day goes digital with EARTHRISE, which is 24 hours of live events and opportunities to engage. Tune in as 12 digital teach-ins from some of the world’s most inspiring voices for change are released. More at earthday.org. Earth Day Musical – Wed April 22nd *Online* Watch an Earth Day musical that the whole family is sure to enjoy. See details on Finnriver’s InCider Space, for Wednesday at noon. Finnriver is hosting the “Live Music in the Living Room” Special of Ella Bella Bee & the Pollinators. Access on Finnriver’s Facebook page to watch the live show! Time: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Garden Notes: What’s Blooming Now – Thurs April 23rd *Online* This week in WSU Master Gardeners’ “Garden Notes” live video program, learn “What’s Blooming Now.” Presented for the public to take advantage of the season and do their part to promote community resilience. For relevant local gardening information you can use immediately, join on Zoom at 3:00 p.m. every Thursday afternoon in April. Don’t be late – the Zoom room can only hold 100 participants. Recorded sessions will be posted on the WSU Jefferson County Extension website the following Tuesday. Here are the remianing sessions led by local Master Gardeners: 4/23: What’s Blooming Now – https://wsu.zoom.us/j/705202928 4/30: Growing Crops in Pots – https://wsu.zoom.us/j/621066165 Coffee with City Manager Mauro – Thurs April 23rd- *KPTZ 91.9FM* Port Townsend City Manager John Mauro has moved his weekly coffee meetings with the public onto KPTZ’s Discovery Road, hosted by Tim Quackenbush. This week John Mauro will be taking questions from 10:00 -10:30 a.m. Call in on 360.215.7270 or submit your questions to John ahead of time by email here. If you’re unable to listen live, the conversations will be posted on the Discovery Road page. Composting 101 – Thurs April 23rd *Online* Create compost to amend your soil, retain moisture, provide essential nutrients for your plants. Join Jefferson County Public Health Educator Laura Tucker to learn how to turn your food and years waste into treasure. The class is free unless you wish to purchase the Earth Machine Composter for $25. Register with the Food Co-op here. You’ll receive an email with the Zoom meeting link before the class. Time 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Port Townsend Conversation Café – Fri April 24th *Online* The primary purpose of the Port Townsend Conversation Café is to give people the opportunity to interact with others in “a structured and civil setting.” Participants practice extemporaneous speaking and listening skills while exploring a variety of topics and a range of opinions. “Intuition.” is the topic for this week’s Conversation Café, which will be held via Zoom. To request access to the Zoom room, email Mark Clark or call him at 360.301.6748 Jefferson County Farmers Market – Sat April 25th Farmers markets are essential businesses that provide a healthy open-air environment for grocery shopping with fewer people coming in contact with the food. The opening market of the season will be small and tightly managed. There are plans for launch our online farmers market. Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Location: Uptown, Tyler Street. Climate Prep Action Group – Local 20/20 – Mon April 27th *Online* Interested in learning more about how climate change will impact Jefferson County and what we can do as a community to prepare? Attend our meeting to learn about current projects and how to get involved or learn more here. The meeting will be online: contact Cindyif you would like to join in or for more information. Time: 2:00 – 4:00p.m. Location: Online. Permaculture Homesteading Internship – June 18th-August 31st Join The Dirt Rich School for a three-month Permaculture Homesteading Internship! If you are exploring the idea of farming or gardening as a vocation or lifestyle, or just looking for a skills-based education, this is the program for you! Check out the website for more information. Email Kateen with questions about the application and sign-up process. Duration is June 18 – August 31 at The Dirt Rich School at Compass Rose Farms, 1463 W Uncas Rd, Port Townsend. |
| Community Notices Local 20/20 COVID-19 Resources *l2020.org/COVID-19/ *Updated* This week there’s a new link to a Brinnon website with local goods and services. Other recent updates include prescription delivery options county-wide. Support local retail businesses by using their online shopping options, including to buy gift cards for future use; the Chamber of Commerce has a new list here. Thanks to JCIRA, there’s help for undocumented immigrant neighbors who are unable to access support through unemployment benefits and government relief checks, or to have equal access to healthcare. Local 20/20 COVID-Resources is by the community, for the community, with 10 organizations coming together to contribute. Did you know… – Our Public Health Officer, Dr. Locke, gives a COVID-19 update every Monday at 9:45am? Links to live or recorded update are in the Daily Page Highlights box. – How many farms in East Jefferson County are growing our food? Find 25 (!) of them on our Local Farms list (Thanks, WSU Extension Small Farms Program!) – The Dept. of Emergency Management puts together a new situation report each weekday that tells you all about COVID-19 in Jefferson County? Find it at the top of the page. – You don’t have to wonder if our restaurant list or grocery list is up-to-do because we literally have two DEM volunteers personally contact every single restaurant and grocery store every few days to get that information to you. Dates of updates are next to our lists. – There are several groups working seriously hard to make sure that food assistance is available. Food bank info is changing rapidly and it’s all captured in our Meal Program list. – You can also find out about growing your own food and how to give help and get help with housing, business, unemployment, mental health, and more! Celebrate Earth Week! *New* – Plant a free native tree or shrub for Earth Day! Plants can be hand delivered and left at your doorstep. Limit, one per family or one per child, while supplies last. We use a safe and clean packaging and delivery system. Specify if you prefer, Oregon White Oak, Russet Buffaloberry, Oceanspray, Golden Currant, Oregon Grape, or Chokecherry, To order, email Michael at Friends of the Trees Society. – Play Salmon BINGO here! Read the BBC article,”Ten Simple Ways to Act on Climate Change.” Contemplate how you might integrate these ideas into your life. – Participate in the Earth Day Ecochallenge! It has already started but it can be a great resource with information and ideas. – Learn about five ways to compost while we’re quarantined – Organize a neighborhood community food garden as a group. Many exist in Jefferson County. The advantage of local community gardens is that they are collectively planted and collectively harvested, so you can be a garden organizer and not need a lot of gardening skills. All the skills needed can be drawn from the talents of the entire group of participants. Find available land space, and invite neighbors who are interested. See Local 20/20’s Community Gardens page for more information on how to start. Host a Meeting on the Local Housing Emergency *New* Are you looking for a meaningful way to connect with your community during this time of isolation? Convene a group for a virtual event focused on learning about Jefferson County’s housing emergency, hosted by Housing Solutions Network. HSN is offering an opportunity for groups – families, friends, clubs, neighborhoods, and church groups – to collectively watch a 13-minute video about the local housing crisis and participate in a facilitated conversation. Learn about possible housing solutions and be invited to imagine how to engage in cultivating those, and more, solutions. This free 1-hour program on a Zoom conference platform is an opportunity to connect to others while you learn about and contribute thoughts on housing concerns. HSN will provide the Zoom invitation, the online video link to watch, (either in advance of, or during the event), support to access Zoom for those who need it, facilitation of the conference discussion, and any follow up that participants may want. To initiate a screening watch the video trailer and contact Justine Gonzalez-Berg. Library Resources A to Z Bookmark this Jefferson County Library page to access to a HUGE number of free resources from A (Academic Search Premier, Ancestry.com, and Automotive Resources) to the Washington Anytime Library with its e-books and audiobooks. In between find Kanopy for three free full length films per month plus unlimited Kanopy Kids and The Great Courses. ProQuest takes you to scholarly journals, dissertations and theses, books and videos. (A feature that limits searches to peer-reviewed material yielded 503 studies for the search term COVID-19.) Classes? Try Mango for languages, Lydna.com for computer skills and more. You don’t even need a library card to access the Khan Academy for homework help from pre-school up through advanced placement and test prep. If you have trouble logging in, call 360-385-6544 Mon-Fri between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to get help from a librarian. Volunteering in National Volunteer Month “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth,” said Muhammad Ali. The April issue of the City of Port Townsend newsletter has a shout out to city volunteers and calls for more. Learn about jobs and training here and here, and complete a Volunteer Inquiry form here. For City Boards and Commissions, check vacancies here and the application form here. The COVID-19 emergency brings new opportunities for online and on-site volunteering. See Local 20/20’s COVID-19 Resources for info on volunteering with OlyCAP or with Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management as a medical, security, or emergency responder, or as a maker in the Community Face Mask Program. The Washington Department of Health is enrolling and activating emergency volunteer health practitioners. See WAserv volunteer registration guide. Qualified UN Volunteers may telecommute or be deployed once coronavirus travel restrictions are lifted. Volunteer Match lists virtual opportunities for 90,000+ volunteers including 700+ in Washington alone. WSU Seed Library offers Seeds by Mail Program The WSU Extension Master Gardener Seed Library is offering their community seed inventory to new members by mail. We encourage gardeners to borrow seeds, grow plants, and return the seeds from some of your plants at the end of the season. The process of becoming a Member is simple. 1. Visit their website to check the Planting Guide for the available seed inventory. 2. Fill out the Seed Library Request form, and 3. Click Submit. Once they receive your request, they will mail the seeds to you and add you to their mailing list. They will also send you information on Seed Saving Basics throughout the growing season. No payment is necessary, however monetary or stamp donations are accepted. Remember that although these seeds are free and come from donated and community-saved seeds they are all at least one year old. Also everyone is encouraged to support our professional seed companies, local seed vendors and nurseries. Help support community seed resilience! For more information email the WSU Master Gardener Seed Library here. Jefferson County Master Gardener Foundation Grants The Jefferson County Master Gardener Foundation has a small grants opportunity to encourage and support volunteer horticulture and environmental stewardship projects. Residents of Jefferson County may apply for grants up to $750. Applications due May 1. Additional information and the application form are here. Webinars on Community Gardens and Small Farms Free webinars on Mondays and Tuesdays in April focus on safe operations in during the coronavirus. Best Practices for Community Gardens During COVID-19 is today, April 6th at 11 a.m. Presented by Dr. Stephanie Smith of Washington State University, the webinar features cleaning and sanitization practices and a discussion of policies that should be put into place. Best Practices for Farmers Markets & Farm Stands During COVID-19 is Monday April 21 at 11 a.m. WSU’s Faith Critzer looks at strategies for these businesses to consider. Getting Started with CSA on Tuesday, April 21 explores how the CSA model has been used successfully by farms of all types and sizes. Presenter is Ariel Agenbroad of University of Idaho Extension. Best Practices for Farm Deliveries, Pick-Ups & CSA’s During COVID-19 covers best practices for making deliveries and picking up produce during the pandemic and is presented by WSU’s Stephanie Smith, Washington State University. Register here for one or more webinars in the series. Surviving the Future: Conversations for our Time This is an 8-week online gathering for curated conversations that focus on the converging crises that our global society faces at this moment in time. Each week will contain a mix of readings, videos, audio recordings, discussion forums, and live webinars. Inspired by the work of David Fleming and facilitated by Shaun Chamberlin and Philip Ackerman-Leist, the series will also include participation from Helen Norberg-Hodge, Rob Hopkins, Kate Raworth, Martin Kirk, Lucy Neal, Nate Hagnes and Richard Heinberg. This is hosted by Sterling College and you can find the details including the sliding scale registration costs here. The COVID-19 Emergency Fund Jefferson Community Foundation – along with our partners United Good Neighbors and the Housing Solutions Network – launched the COVID-19 Emergency Fund. This emergency funding campaign will support local nonprofits and community-serving government agencies that help meet basic human needs and are facing an increased demand for services or are dealing with their own organization’s financial hardship. Anyone can make a donation by clicking here. People can give to a general fund or directly to one of the local organizations who has registered with the campaign. The list of organizations will grow in the upcoming days and weeks to come as more response efforts are rolled out. Organizations that want to have needs posted – ones that help meet basic human needs and are facing an increased demand for services or are dealing with their own organization’s financial hardship – can email Jen Kingfisher or call her 360.385.1729. LION Emergency Loan Program LION, the Local Investing Opportunities Network, has established a new loan program for Jefferson County businesses and non-profits needing funding to deal with the COVID-19 emergency. The loan application and instructions are downloadable here. Since 2006 LION’s 60 local investors have invested in over 75 Jefferson County businesses and non-profits. LION members opted to initiate a new fast track application route to provide emergency loans to as many non-profits and business as their members can afford. LION welcomes inquires from people who would like to become a member and increase the resiliency of our local community. LION is affiliated with Local 20/20 and EDC Team Jefferson. Information is on the LION COVID-19 Emergency Loan Program website. Email Brian Kuh or call him at (360) 379-4693 for further info. Calling Local Photographers! Local 20/20 Weekly Announcements invites local photographers to submit images that capture the character of our community and its natural setting. For the opening photo of each weekly email, we seek local color, horizontal (“landscape”) orientation, and jpeg format. Please no children, pets or recognizable faces. Kindly send to events@l2020.org. Please include your name in the jpeg filename. We are an all-volunteer non-profit, so compensation for your talent and generosity is a photo credit and our profound thanks. Take a walk! Local 20/20 Transportation Lab’s popular walking times map is downloadable here. Walking is healthy, social, fun, costs nothing, keeps your carbon footprint small and allows you to maintain social distance. Emergency Text Alerts from Jefferson County DEM Local 20/20 has an emergency preparedness action group, and we recognize that communication is key to successfully coping with disasters and emergencies. The Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management participates in the “NIXLE” system which can send text alerts to your cell phone. Visit their web page here for further information and to get signed up. There you will also find information about other alert and warning systems including the tsunami warning system and the WASDOT alert system. A Tool for Neighborhood Organization *Updated* Nextdoor is a private social network for neighborhoods. Use this link to join one of 51 Nextdoor Neighborhoods (NDN) in Jefferson County. Currently there are 10,719 subscribers, with many new members joining each day. Email Pete Hubbard with questions or comments. March King Tide Info & Photos The tide waits for no man, and not even COVID-19 can stop it! There was a higher than average predicted tide on March 13th (9.0′ predicted), that gave us another chance to visualize the higher sea levels along local shore. The Local 20/20 Climate Action group regularly monitors king tides in Port Townsend. Photos and the analysis of the recent king tide are at the link above. Solstice Family Farm Internships Available Solstice Family Farm is a 33-acre homestead farm on Beaver Valley Road in Chimacum. They grow produce, eggs and animals for market, and much of what they need for their table. They seek two enthusiastic interns to work now through November, to learn growing techniques for vegetables, fruit, meat and eggs, orcharding, pasture management, animal husbandry and other sustainable agriculture skills. In exchange for 21 hours of labor and 4 to 8 hours of feeding and chores per week, interns receive lodging, a row in the vegetable garden and the opportunity to enjoy surplus produce and eggs. For details, visit the farm website or call Jennifer White 360-215-0786 |
| Resilience Readings Do you have readings, podcasts or videos to share that are aligned with our Local 20/20 mission? Please submit them here for consideration. The Sequel: a David Fleming movie The visionary thinker and economist David Fleming used the term “Climacteric” to describe the set of converging crises that would punctuate the era of market capitalism. His thoughts and essays were gathered into a dictionary called “Lean Logic“, edited and published posthumously by Shaun Chamberlin. Chamberlin also out out an interpretive book based on Fleming’s works, “Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy.” This book was the focus of a Local 20/20 discussion group last year. Fleming’s prognosis for how to reorganize after the end of this era was localization. And while transitioning to a system of localized everything when we’re still a global culture seems near impossible, in Fleming’s words, “it has the decisive argument in its favor that there will be no alternative.” Recently a film has been released describing some of the key concepts of Fleming’s work and how they’re being implemented around the world. You can find “The Sequel” here. Its offered by Vimeo for a $2.99 rental fee. Four ways COVID-19 will change Food Systems and Food Security Another great food-focused article! Humans are social animals. No man is an island. Food is social. Author Wayne Roberts places our food system into context with regards to the nature of our species and the dysfunctional nature of how we manage food, health care, and much of our society. I especially like the call to recognize the value of our food system workers, to acknowledge that in our current crisis the average grocery worker is a super hero. Take some time to think about our local food system, link to the article is here. Weeds we Like to Eat Foraging skills are fun to learn. How to work chickweed and miners lettuce into the spicy arugula for a salad. Its always good to know what exactly is growing around us, and that’s especially so in these times. Read this article from author Kara Stiff and learn about what’s available to eat all around us. The Lessons that Coronavirus can Teach the Human Species This article is beyond thought-provoking. Its like the poke of a stick in your eye and a smart clap to your ears. Author Luis González Reyes takes us on a high altitude review of the human species from primitive to technological. He picks up the hubris of the technological western variant of our species and rubs it like salt into a wound. The discussion reviews the interconnection of systems upon which human global society is utterly dependent upon, and reveals to us that we are neither omniscient nor invincible. Reyes’ closing line puts it bluntly, “One of the organisms that make up Gaia (the human species), thanks to a mutation, has converted into a pandemic that is putting it at serious risk. The coronaviruses of Gaia are anthropocentrism, capitalism, and technocracy. Therefore, we need to banish them urgently, taking the draconian measures that are necessary.” In this sense Reyes offers perhaps a hopeful warning- that when we emerge from this COVID-19 crisis we will have the opportunity to reorganize the way human societies are organized. Please find, read, and “enjoy” Reyes essay at resilience.org. |
| Tracking the Pandemic – *Updated* New York Times correspondents Thomas Fuller and Tim Arango analyze the culture and practice that has allowed California to flatten the curve: Early social distancing; a work from home culture; low-density living; and the state’s robust disaster response capacity. Still it’s likely that large summer gathering will be banned, temperatures will be taken at the door, and students will attend school in shifts in the fall. The Seattle Times’ Sandi Doughton reports on new models from the the UW’sInstitute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) indicating states that might ease restrictions sooner and later. The IHME Director cautions, however, that the dates are likely to change as more data comes in from individual states. The availability of testing is also a variable that will impact decisions made by state and local officials. “Right answers are NOT what epidemiological models are for,” writes Zeynep Tufekci in The Atlantic. “Epidemiologists routinely turn to models to predict the progression of an infectious disease…Here’s the tricky part: When an epidemiological model is believed and acted on, it can look like it was false. These models are not snapshots of the future. They always describe a range of possibilities—and those possibilities are highly sensitive to our actions…That variety of potential outcomes coming from a single epidemiological model may seem extreme and even counterintuitive. But that’s an intrinsic part of how they operate…A near miss can make a model look false. But that’s not always what happened. It just means we won. And that’s why we model.” Global, federal, state and local public health authorities use specialized data services to model and project the development of the pandemic. Data are fed in daily to show whether curves for a given area are flattening or steeping. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington tracks numbers and locations of cases, deaths, recoveries, hospital beds, ICU beds, and ventilators. On the IHME COVID-19 Projections site, you can select for the United States or for individual states and use interactive features to understand the implications of the changing shape of the curves. Comparing Washington and New York states is instructive. The New York Times Coronavirus Map is a user-friendly site with a color coded U.S.map showing the number of cases and case doubling time for each of 4000 + counties in the United States. Familiarization with situations in places where loved ones live, enables you to encourage them to stay home and stay safe, particularly if you see on social media that they are out and about. The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center COVID-19 Data Center is another respected service that tracks global data and trends and is updated daily. Their COVID-19 Map shows data for every country affected. The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Map of Humanistic GIS Lab at University of Washington collects global data from WHO, CDC, PHA, China CDC, NBC News, Wikipedia, and Baidu and data for U.S. states from CDC, state officials and NBC News. The Coronavirus Dashboard by Seattle teenager Avi Schiffman is one of the earliest trackers. The site automatically scrapes data from global sources and updates every minute with stats on confirmed cases, serious cases, deaths and recoveries. |
| AB’s Handwashing Tutorial (Caution: Original Bloody Stump Version!) *New* Alton Brown presents a brief public service announcement for these troubling times. The complete how and why to annihilate coronavirus from your hands. (Not for Kids. If you’re showing this to kids or squeamish folks look for the “No Cleaver” version or quit at 4 min 25 sec.) Thank you, Science Educator Laura Tucker! For a prettier version of these, see the announcement here. Sign up for the weekly announcements here. |
| Local 20/20 Mission Working together toward local sustainability and resilience – integrating ecology, economy and community through action and education. |
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