| This Week Local 20/20 TLab Meeting – Mon, Dec 18th The Transportation Lab is a Local 20/20 Action Group working to promote a transportation system that minimizes the need for personal motor vehicles. Such a transportation system must be safe, convenient, and healthy, and it must be based on walking, the most healthful mode; bicycling, the most efficient mode; mass transit, the most efficient for moving large numbers of people; and a vastly reduced personal and service VMT (vehicle miles traveled). TLab meets the 4th Monday of every month (moved this month due to the holidays), and welcomes anyone interested in these issues to attend. Meeting location varies; for current location or for more information, please contact Richard. Time: 4:30 – 6 pm | Location: Varies Local 20/20 Council Meeting – Wed, Dec 20th The monthly Local 20/20 Steering Council meeting is open to all and welcomes those interested in involvement in Local 20/20 leadership. Newcomers are always welcome. For the wet weather months we will be meeting via zoom. If you’d like more information and/or a virtual orientation, or for the meeting link, contact us.Time: 3 – 5 pm | Location: online Donate Blood in Port Townsend – Wed, Dec 20th It takes 1,000 donors per day to sustain blood supplies for patients in the community. Bloodworks Northwest holds blood drives in Jefferson County and elsewhere in Washington throughout the year. The next blood drive in Port Townsend will take place on December 20. Get more information and schedule a donation here. Winter Solstice Celebration – Thurs, Dec 21st *New* Join Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (QUUF) in their courtyard for a contemplative, earth-based, family-friendly ritual to mark the turning of the year as the darkness gives way to the growing light. This participatory ritual will include chanting, releases and intentions, candle-lighting, singing, and a fire. Bring your own camp chair and dress for the weather! They will meet even in the rain, but if it is icy and dangerous, check with QUUF or Katy Taylor to see if they have to change their plans last-minute. See calendar listing here or join the Winter Solstice email list by contacting Katy Taylor.Time: 7 – 8 pm | Location: QUUF Courtyard, 2333 San Juan Ave, Port Townsend Wild Church Port Townsend – Sat, Dec 23rd *New* Sponsored by Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, join Katy Taylor to gather in and with creation, with other folks, and with the other beings on this earth. They practice together to move from human being to earth being, in reverence and respect for earth, on the 4th Saturday of every month. They meet outside, rain, snow, or shine, unless the conditions are severe enough to pose a safety concern. Please dress for the weather! There are three mostly equal parts: Greeting/Grounding, Wandering/Wondering, and Circling-Up/Sharing. Children are welcome, but parents need to help guide them. If wandering is not accessible, remaining in the circle is an option, too. Bring a chair! Discover Pass is required to park. Read more and find directions here, and join the Wild Church email list by contacting Katy Taylor.Time: 10 – 11:30 am | Location: Fort Townsend State Park, 1370 Old Fort Townsend Rd, Port Townsend |
| Upcoming Events Jefferson Land Trust Holiday Open House – Fri, Dec 29th Stop by the Land Trust office in Uptown Port Townsend for a warm cup of cheer (hot cider and hot chocolate) and delicious treats (including gluten-free options) to ring in the New Year. The Land Trust is grateful for all the volunteers, supporters, and partners who do so much to help preserve and care for local farms, forests, and fish and wildlife habitat forever! Whether you’re a longtime supporter or curious to learn more about the Land Trust and what they do, join them to celebrate the year’s progress together and chat about what’s ahead for 2024. Time: 10 am – 4 pm | Location: Jefferson Land Trust Office, 1033 Lawrence St, Port Townsend Writing In The New Year: A Mindfulness & Writing Retreat – Sat – Mon, Dec 30th – Jan 1st Held at the beautiful Zen River Retreat In Quilcene. Facilitators Ellen Falconer and Carrie Bancroft will offer a mixture of writing exercises, meditations, walks in the rainforest, great meals, and evening entertainment. Their goal is to offer inspiration and hold space for creative, resourceful intentions and for goals to have a “voice”. Space is limited! Details here. Local 20/20 Health & Wellness Group Meeting – Wed, Jan 3rd The Health & Wellness Group is a Local 20/20 Action Croup working to promote health and healthcare access in East Jefferson County, with a particular focus on local, affordable, quality healthcare, including behavioral and dental healthcare. Meetings take place on the first Wednesday of the month at noon, and all meetings are via Zoom. The next meeting will have a discussion on what might get accomplished during the 2024 Legislative Session. What bills are you supporting and why? What other bills might be needed in the future to support our long-term access to healthcare, clean water, and healthy foods? Come prepared to talk about what you are focusing on in 2024. For more information on the group, or to get on our regular email list, send an email here. Time: 12 pm | Location: Zoom Local 20/20 Climate Group Meeting – Thurs, Jan 4th The Local 20/20 Climate group’s scope includes reducing greenhouse gases, increasing carbon sequestration, and preparing for climate impacts. Newcomers are most welcome! The group meets alternately via zoom (3:30 – 5 pm) and in person with hybrid option (5 – 6:30 pm) every other month, always on the first Thursday. Contact cag@l2020.org for more information, including the online meeting link.Time: 3:30 – 5 pm | Location: Online “A Way Out: Resources For Managing Chronic Pain” – Thurs, Jan 4th – Feb 1st Olympic Peninsula Mindfulness offers this 5-week course to help you manage pain and increase your quality of life. The content is based on research that has been made around the neuroscience of pain. The course will discuss how the mind works for and against our whole-body experience. Each week, you will have the opportunity to practice and experience methods that can help rewire the mind to lower stress, pain, and suffering, including various mindful meditations, short imagery exercises, breathing exercises, and conscious movement practices. Registration and information here. Time: 11:30 am – 1:30 pm | Location: Fillmore Street Studio, 629 Fillmore St, Port Townsend Local 20/20 Beyond Waste Group Meeting – Tues, Jan 9th *New* The Beyond Waste Action Group meets the second Tuesday of each month via zoom. The group looks at a number of issues including food waste composting, plastics reduction and recycling, reduction of garbage on an individual and community level, and various other waste-related topics that spontaneously come up during the meeting. Newcomers are always welcome. Email Lisa for info on monthly agenda and zoom link.Time: 10:30 am – 12 pm | Location: Online Jefferson County Master Gardener Foundation Presents “Awesome Facts About Bats” – Thurs, Jan 11th *New* Meg Lunnum, Executive Director at Happy Valley Bats, a nonprofit organization that rescues and rehabilitates bats, will be speaking about bats in general, including why they have a beneficial presence in our yards, their life cycle, their needs, and how we can help them help us. For more information, go here and click on ‘Awesome Facts About Bats’ on the right side of the web page.Time: 3 – 5 pm | Location: WSU Extension classroom, Kively Center, 97 Oak Bay Rd, Port Hadlock Future of Oceans Lecture “Thalassophilic Impressions: Nautical Pursuits, Ocean Conservation, and the Confluence of Art and Science” – Sun, Jan 14th *New* Nam Siu will talk about how his art was inspired by his love of the ocean and informed by his work and experiences around the sea. Nam is a local naturalist and artist. To keep this series accessible to all, regardless of ability to pay, there is no set charge for the event; however, donations are always welcomed and appreciated. Assisted listening devices are available. Contact information here. Web links here.Time: 3 pm | Location: Fort Worden Chapel, 200 Battery Way, Port Townsend Jefferson Land Trust Tidelands to Timberline Course – Register by Sun, Jan 14th *New* Lottery registration is now open for Jefferson Land Trust’s 2024 Tidelands to Timberline Northwest Naturalist Course (April 19 – June 7). This eight-week, field-based course offers committed participants the chance to become intimately familiar with the natural history and ecosystems of the northeast Olympic Peninsula and absorb the knowledge of some of the greatest naturalists in our area. In addition to six to eight hours every Friday, the course curriculum asks participants to spend an additional three to ten hours per week learning about our local natural history — a commitment of 15 hours per week. In an effort to make access to this popular course as equitable as possible, in 2024 eighteen course participants will be randomly selected from a list of those who wish to register and who are prepared to commit to the course. To learn more and enter the lottery by midnight January 14, click here. Arts and Cultural Events Local 20/20 recognizes the positive impact that the arts have on the well-being of our community, and we are so grateful that we reside in such a community that fosters creativity. To avoid overloading these announcements and duplication with other sources, Local 20/20 announcements include art and cultural events if they are directly related to our mission of promoting sustainability and resiliency through action and education. We encourage folks to check out “Bareboards”, My City Scene, KPTZ, the Port Townsend Leader and its community calendar, and the Peninsula Daily News for local arts, music, and cultural events. For the full set of announcements, including Recurring Events, Community Notices, Community Resources, and Resilience Readings, see here. |
