| This Week Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Check out local service opportunities below. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – Today – Mon, Jan 17th *New* If you are looking to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday (observed) as a “day on- not day off” check out https://americorps.gov/newsroom/events/mlk-day for local volunteering opportunities. If you are unable to volunteer, please consider donating to organizations working year round to support the social justice causes: the Equal Justice Initiative or National Urban League. [You can also view these announcements here for prettier formatting.] The Port Townsend Marine Science Center is hosting the 10th Annual Martin Luther King Jr Day of Service with a shoreline restoration event. All ages welcome. Volunteers will be pulling invasive dune grass. Wear sturdy gloves. Some tools will be provided. workers are welcome to bring shovel/ pitchfork. Meet at noon PTMSC Portico. RSVP encouraged: contact Erin Merklein at emerklein@ptmsc.org or 360 385-5582 ext 113. Time: noon-3pm | Location: Museum Portico, Fort Worden State Park Local 20/20 Council Meeting – Wed, Jan 19th *Online* The monthly Local 20/20 Steering Council meeting is open to all and welcomes those interested in active involvement in Local 20/20 leadership. Newcomers are always welcome. If you’d like a virtual orientation, please email Marlow at marlow@l2020.org. For online meeting information, contact us at info@l2020.org. Time: 4-6pm | Location: Online Zoning HAT Inaugural Meeting – Thurs, Jan 20th *Online* This past year has seen increasing awareness of how exclusionary zoning laws work against providing affordable workforce housing, laying the foundation for big structural change in 2022 and beyond. In response, the Housing Solutions Network is launching a Housing Action Team (HAT) to advocate for the development of a greater diversity of housing in Jefferson County, particularly “missing middle housing” (smaller units in denser neighborhoods). The agenda for this first meeting will center on identifying opportunities and challenges in the zoning arena. We will build on previous work of the Housing Solutions Network (HSN) in 2021, including the HSN-hosted Port Townsend City Council candidates forum on housing, in which all the candidates pledged to put zoning changes on the table if elected, and the advocacy work of the Tiny Home Communities HAT which shaped the county’s Temporary Housing Facilities Ordinance. We also know that the state legislature is planning to take up discussion of a number of bills to advance missing middle housing. For more information, please contact Viki. Time: 10:30-12pm | Location: Zoom Does DNR Have a Responsibility to Protect Future Generations from Climate Disruption? – Thurs, Jan 20th *New* *Online* Guest Speakers: Connie Gallant, President, Olympic Forest Coalition and Patricia Jones, Executive Director, Olympic Forest Coalition (OFCO). Connie and Patricia will discuss the historic “All the People Case” (Conservation Northwest, Washington Environmental Council, Olympic Forest Coalition, et. al. v. Franz), now before the Washington Supreme Court. The case challenges DNR’s narrow interpretation of Washington’s Constitution and federal law in managing trust forest lands. Central to this is whether DNR’s sole fiduciary responsibility is to generate revenue from timber sales or whether it has other obligations to Washington citizens not now being met (e.g., mitigating the adverse effects of climate change). RSVP Required. Time: 7pm | Location: Zoom Yard and Garden Lecture Series, #3: “Bring Back the Pollinators: Sowing Biodiversity for Bees and Beneficial Insects.” – Sat, Jan 22nd *Online* The third lecture of the Jefferson County Master Gardener Foundation’s 2022 Yard & Garden Virtual Lecture Series. Eric Lee-Mäder, co-director of the Pollinator Program at the Xerces Society for invertebrate conservation, and author of several books about bees, including Attracting Native Pollinators and Farming with Beneficial Insects. Eric’s lecture on January 22 will be “Bring Back the Pollinators: Sowing Biodiversity for Bees and Beneficial Insects.” The lecture will last approximately 90 minutes, and will allow time for the audience to ask questions. Tickets are available for $12, and may be purchased from yardandgarden.brownpapertickets.com/. Ticket sales help support Jefferson County Master Gardener Program programs. Learn more about the speakers, lectures, and the series at jcmgf.org. Time: 10 am- noon | Location: Online, live webinar Family-to-Family Class – Starts Sat, Jan 22nd *New* *Online* NAMI Family-to-Family is a free, 8-session education program for family, friends and significant others of adults with mental health conditions. NAMI Family-to-Family provides information about anxiety, depressive disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other mental health conditions. Other topics covered include communication, problem solving, treatment and recovery. The course is designed to increase understanding and advocacy skills while helping participants maintain their own well-being. The program is taught by trained family members who have a loved one with a mental health condition. NAMI Family-to-Family is an evidence-based program (EB). For information on the research base for the program, visit nami.org/research. NAMI offers the NAMI Family-to-Family Education Program FREE of charge to participants. Saturday, January 22, thru March 12, 2022. To Register: Call 360-390-4547 or 360-385-1716 or email namijeffco@yahoo.com Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. | Location: ZOOM |
| Upcoming Events Sea Lions of Salish Sea Virtual Program – Wed, Jan 26th *Online* Friends of Fort Flagler is proud to present a virtual program: Sea Lions of Salish Sea. Ever wonder what type of marine mammals can climb to the top of a jetty or buoy? Or wonder what just porpoise out of the water with such grace? Join Dr. Greg Frankfurter to learn about these acrobatic and curious neighbors, we call sea lions. Dr. Frankfurter will discuss their lifecycle, successes, challenges and where to find them. Dr. Greg Frankfurter is the veterinarian at SR3. SR3 is a nonprofit organization that focuses on response, rehabilitation and research of local marine wildlife. He has made it his career to work in wildlife rehabilitation. He graduated UC Davis with a veterinarian degree. His work has included increasing global marine mammal disaster response readiness including expanding preparedness for disaster affecting marine mammals. He enjoys finding novel uses for existing and emerging technologies to improve wildlife handling, care, and management. The program will be offered through Zoom at no charge to attendees. Register here. Time: 6pm | Location: Zoom Why All the Excitement About EVs? – Thurs, January 27th *Online* If you’ve been thinking about electric vehicles but have questions or just want to learn more, join Olympic Climate Action member Tony Billera for a virtual program on EVs. In the rural North Olympic Peninsula, emissions inventories conducted recently by local governments show that transportation is the largest source of carbon dioxide (66% of Jefferson County’s carbon footprint). And recent modeling work in Jefferson County indicated that rapid transition to electric vehicles is a top greenhouse gas reduction opportunity for our community, along with a variety of ways to reduce vehicle miles traveled. Billera will review the history of EVs, the rapidly expanding choices, home and public charging networks, and battery technology and recycling. He’ll also cover purchasing incentives, EV performance, and the low maintenance. As an EV owner, he’ll also talk about what it’s like to drive and maintain EVs. “After owning EVs since 2017 for over 75,000 miles, I can unequivocally say that EVs exceed my combustion engine experiences in every way,” Billera said. To register, go to the Olympic Climate Action website. For additional local information on EVs, see Local 20/20’s new EV pages at jeffersoncan.org/electric-vehicles/. Time: 6:30 – 8:00 pm | Location: Zoom Yard and Garden Lecture Series, #4: “What on Earth? Taking Care of Garden Soils.” – Sat, Jan 22nd *New* *Online*  The third lecture of the Jefferson County Master Gardener Foundation’s 2022 Yard & Garden Virtual Lecture Series. Christina Pfeiffer, author of Pacific Northwest Month-By-Month Gardening: What to Do Each Month to Have a Beautiful Garden All Year, and horticulturist with an emphasis on sustainable and efficient techniques. Christina’s lecture on January 29 will be “What on Earth? Taking Care of Garden Soils.” The lecture will last approximately 90 minutes, and will allow time for the audience to ask questions. Tickets are available for $12, and may be purchased from yardandgarden.brownpapertickets.com/. Ticket sales help support Jefferson County Master Gardener Program programs. Learn more about the speakers, lectures, and the series at jcmgf.org. Time: 10 am- noon | Location: Online, live webinar River Otters virtual program – Wed, Feb 9th *New* *Online* Join Sara Penhallegon from the Center Valley Animal Rescue to learn about the life of river otters. They are such cute and curious creatures that live throughout the Puget Sound. In this presentation you’ll learn about their life cycles, homes and why they may end up at Center Valley Animal Rescue. Sara Penhallegon is the founder and Executive Director of the Center Valley Animal Rescue located in Quilcene. Having worked under other licensed rehabbers and their facilities since 2000, Sara has built a reputation of knowledgeable care and housing of injured wild animals through their eventual release. She became a licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator in Feb 2012. In that same month Center Valley Animal Rescue (CVAR) became a permitted Wildlife Rehabilitation facility. Register here. Time: 6pm | Location: Online Recurring Events COVID-19 Update – Mondays *Online* Join the weekly 9:00 am meeting of the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), including the 9:45 am COVID-19 update with Public Health Officer, Dr. Allison Berry. You can also listen live to Dr. Berry on KPTZ. Additional COVID-19 information is on the County website here. Forest Bathing Walks at Fort Worden – Tuesdays Walk – Sit – Walk: As you enter the ‘cathedral’ of the park’s spaces you can walk comfortably and safely far apart without masks, or as you choose. Their walk follows paths linking the woods and meadows in the park. Several times they will pause, listen to a nature poem, and sit in silence at the Memory Vault; or possibly with a bit of guided meditation led by Ellen Falconer, mindfulness teacher. Please wear clothing which will keep you warm and dry, as we may be sitting or standing about in wet, chilly, invigorating weather. For more information call 360-316-6544 or visit their website. Walks are on Tuesdays. Time: 9:30 – 11 AM | Location: Fort Worden State Park, meet in front of the Nora Porter Commons Building, 210 Battery Way Climate on Tap – First Wednesdays starting in March (Feb rescheduled due to COVID) Climate on Tap is back – in person in FinnRiver’s cozy Pavilion! Each Climate on Tap is held on the first Wednesday of the month from 7-8:30 pm. Co-sponsored by Local 20/20 Climate Action, Jefferson County Public Health, and FinnRiver Cidery. This is not a lecture series, but a book club/discussion format. For further information email Laura Tucker or call 360-379-4491. Climate Change and Clean Energy: a Six-Part Series – Thursdays *Online* Jefferson County Library will be hosting a 6-part clean energy and climate change discussion series weekly beginning January 13. Sessions will be presented by experienced energy scientists as we explore this complex challenge and some solutions, including the efficacy of renewables, CO2-free electricity, nuclear power, and how to bring clean energy to everyone. January 13 – February 17 Time: 6:30pm | Location: Zoom Birding in the Park – 2nd and 4th Fridays beginning March 25th *Updated* Beverly McNeil, Admiralty Audubon trip leader and photographer, is conducting bird walks at Fort Flagler. Birding and nature tours are on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month. Wear sturdy footwear and dress for changeable weather. Bring binoculars and your own water. Registration: Please send Bev an email, including where and when you’d like to join at Bevybirds53@gmail.com. It is important to include this information as Beverly does walks in multiple locations and dates. Please note this program is dependent on good weather. Beverly’s photographs are displayed at the Port Townsend Gallery. Time: 9 am | Location: Fort Flagler | Dates: 2nd and 4th Fridays starting 3/25 Yard and Garden Lecture Series – Saturdays *Online* Jefferson County Master Gardener Foundation’s 2022 Yard & Garden Virtual Lecture Series is underway. The series will be conducted in a live webinar format, and will run on six consecutive Saturdays from January 8–February 12, 2022. Topics include: Planning Your 12-Month Garden, How to Successfully Prune Any Shrub, Bring Back the Pollinators: Sowing Biodiversity for Bees and Beneficial Insects, What on Earth? Taking Care of Garden Soils, Growing Community Food System Resilience for Uncertain Times, and Mulches and Crop Rotations. Each lecture will run from 10 a.m.– noon. Lectures will last approximately 90 minutes, and each event will allow time for the audience to ask questions. Single-event tickets are available for $12, and recorded videos are available 30 days after the event for ticket holders. Tickets may be purchased from yardandgarden.brownpapertickets.com/ Ticket sales help support Jefferson County Master Gardener Program programs. Learn more about the speakers, lectures, and the series at jcmgf.org. Community Notices Editor announcement: Historically, we have not accepted “sales-related” submissions to this newsletter. We are reevaluating this position, and will now accept submissions related to vending and sales that are related to our mission on a trial basis for addition to this Community Notices section. Please refer to the bottom of this newsletter for how to submit an announcement. Greywater Reuse Book Discussion *Online* How can we reuse water from our homes to irrigate gardens, lower water bills, and increase septic system capacity? Greywater, Green Landscapes by Laura Allen has the answers. In two, hour-long sessions on Zoom they’ll explore greywater technologies and how codes for alternative systems have been successfully adopted elsewhere. Facilitators are Genevieve Schutzius, P.E. of PHLUSH and Sergio Scabuzzo of Greywater Action, who serves on Washington State’s HB 1184 rulemaking committee for water reuse. Brought to you by the new Sanitation HAT (housing action team) of the Housing Solutions Network. Get the book from your bookseller or library. Sign up by emailing carol@phlush.org, who has several loaner copies and will schedule meetings according to participants’ preferences. Sunfield Farm Job Opportunity *New* Sunfield Farm in Port Hadlock, WA seeking an Assistant Farmer. Please see link for more details: http://sunfieldfarm.org/employment-opportunities/. “We Are Puget Sound: Discovering and Recovering the Salish Sea,” photo exhibit – through Feb 2022 The Port Townsend Marine Science Center is pleased to announce an engaging photo exhibit, “We Are Puget Sound: Discovering and Recovering the Salish Sea,” which continues through February 2022. The striking photographs and stories will be on display at 1001 Water Street in downtown Port Townsend on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 12-3 p.m. More information can be found on the the PTMSC’s website at https://ptmsc.org/visit-us. Free to the public. 12-month Calendar for 2022 for sale: Birds in and around Port Townsend, WA. An educational project of the Admiralty Audubon Society. Learn more about our local birds, enjoy beautiful photos with educational text. Preview the calendar here. To request a calendar, contact Audubon educator Gary Perless. A suggested donation $15-20 supports environmental projects with kids. Port Townsend StyroCyclers Styrofoam Recycling The volunteer Port Townsend StyroCyclers group is recycling expanded polystyrene, commonly known as styrofoam, from East Jefferson County residents and businesses. Because of the huge volume processed by their Kent-based recycler, the StyroCyclers can only accept pieces that are white, rigid, clean, and dry, with all tape, labels, paper cardboard, and packing peanuts removed. The styrofoam is packed and stored at Fort Worden in Port Townsend, then delivered to Kent once per month thanks to OlyCap and Northwest Harvest food bank trucks. At the Kent facility, a densifier machine uses heat and pressure to convert the styrofoam into a toothpaste-like consistency that cools into heavy, glassy blocks, which are then sold to manufacturers of products such as picture frames, construction details, and surfboard blanks. The densified product is in high demand because it is less expensive than virgin plastic. The StyroCyclers accept styrofoam by appointment only. Donors will be given an appointment for a community collection event or individual drop-off or pick-up. Message them at any time at PTStyroCyclers@gmail.com or through their Facebook page. Jefferson Land Trust Discovering the Forest Program Series *Online* Forest ecosystems are characterized by fascinating relationships between wildlife, plants, trees, water, and air. Add human use and economies into the mix, and the dynamics at play become even more complex. Join them as they set out to explore these interconnections and ask, how does a community forest thrive for the good of all? In Discovering the Forest, all will come together as a community to deepen shared understanding of forests and what a community forest can be. That understanding will be used to shape the vision of the amazing opportunity there is for community involvement at Valley View Forest and Chimacum Ridge Forest. Fall Sessions are in progress now (video recordings available). Winter and Spring sessions upcoming. Learn more and sign up. Friends of Fort Flagler Virtual Program Series As the winter approaches, Friends of Fort Flagler will be offering free virtual programs October through April. Their goal is to offer one program a month. If you have attended a program in the past, you will be automatically invited to the events. If you are not receiving their program invitations and would like to be added to the mailing list, please send an email to:fortflaglerfriends@gmail.com. Community Resources New informational Electric Vehicle web tools for Jefferson County Jefferson County’s 2018 Greenhouse Gas Inventory indicates that transportation accounts for 66% of our greenhouse gas emissions. This might be your best excuse yet for buying the most responsive (fast), fun vehicle you’ve ever had! Our community has a new set of web tools that can help you in your EV research: https://jeffersoncan.org/electric-vehicles/ Local 20/20’s COVID-19 Resources Online Local 20/20’s COVID-19 resource page is a central location for community-wide information relating to COVID-19, updated frequently. Includes Reliable Information Sources, Vaccine info, Food Sources, Community Covid-19 Resource pages, Giving and Getting Assistance, Community Events Online, Community Face Mask Program, and information web posts related to COVID-19. Look in the red box at the top of the page for all the newest information. Master Gardeners Q&A Have a question about a plant/insect/composting/landscape issue? Master Gardener volunteers are here to help. You can fill out our online intake form and a Master Gardener will get back to you via email. Just Soup on Tuesdays Every Tuesday at 11:30 – 1:30, Just Soup provides free, hot soup lunches at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1020 Jefferson St, on the Tyler St. bus line (by the Bell Tower). Enter the rear church parking lot on Franklin, and whether you are on foot, bike, or car, you will be in line for curbside pickup, with masks, gloves, and safe distancing protocols in place. Pick up a lunch for yourself or your neighbor in need. No questions asked. Many partners and supporters have come together to feed Port Townsend one bowl at a time. This information also appears on Local 20/20’s COVID-19 Resources Meals Page. Time: Tuesdays, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM | Location: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1020 Jefferson St. Emergency Text Alerts from Jefferson County Sign up to receive Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management’s emergency alerts by text on your mobile phone and/or by email. NIXLE messages provide crucial information in an emergency & are sent directly to your text-enabled device and/or email. The sign up web page also has information about other alert and warning systems, including the tsunami warning system and the WSDOT alert system. NPREP: Prepared Neighborhoods Prepare for emergencies with your neighbors by joining or starting an NPREP neighborhood. There are currently over 100 NPREP neighborhoods organizing here in Jefferson County. Learn if you live in an NPREP trained neighborhood. Learn about NPREP. A Tool for Neighborhood Organization Nextdoor is a private social network for YOUR neighborhood. Use this link to join one of 59 Nextdoor Neighborhoods in Jefferson County. Currently there are 14,158 subscribers, with many new members joining each day. Email Pete Hubbard with questions or comments. Calling Local Photographers – Thank you to those who sent in Winter photos! 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 (which is also posted to our website), 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. Resilience Readings Do you have readings, podcasts or videos to share that are aligned with our Local 20/20 mission? Please submit them here. Quimper Community Harvest 2021 Gleaning Season and Applesauce Project Successes The Quimper Community Harvest group, part of the Local 20/20 Local Food Action Group, made impressive progress in 2021 with over six tons of fruit delivered to twenty organizations! And, the group successfully fundraised for, and implemented, the “applesauce project”, where a cooler was designed and built to quickly cool the fresh sauce. The result was 700 pounds of applesauce being made, to be offered to local schools and other organizations from now until next season. Learn more about these successes, and how you can get involved, in the recent Local 20/20 PT Leader Column about the efforts. Anticipated Meteorological “Bomb” Documented by King Tide Team The Local 20/20 King Tide team documented the tides and water levels on 10/25/21, during a rapidly developing low pressure system, referred to a meteorological “bomb”. The event was selected based on the predicted storm surge and strong winds during a time of moderately high tide. Since the winds had largely subsided and the remaining waves were in the 1′ range, the wave runup appeared to be only about 0.1′. With that in mind, this event was a good chance to compare the storm surge forecast to the difference between predicted and observed water levels at the tide gauge. In this case, the surge forecast was very good! See the post linked above for photos of the event and the full analysis. Local 20/20 Leader Column on Electric Vehicles and New Web Tools The October Local 20/20 Leader Column highlighted some of the many reasons to consider buying an electric car. It discussed how far they can go on a charge, compares costs, and notes rebates available. Also described are the wide range of electric vehicles available now – not just passenger cars, but SUVs, motorcycles, and pickup trucks! And it mentions the new web tools where you can learn more about Electric Vehicles at https://jeffersoncan.org/electric-vehicles/. New IPCC Report on Climate Here is an excerpt from climate.gov about the new climate report released a few weeks ago. “….the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the Physical Science Basis report from Working Group 1, a major part of their sixth Assessment Report. This report includes the most up-to-date understanding of the climate system and climate change, providing the best scientific evidence in order to understand the past, present, and future changes to our planet from global warming. The conclusions are clear: climate change is already affecting nearly every part of the planet, and human activities are unequivocally the cause. The report, co-authored by 234 scientists from around the world, finds that we are now around 2.0°F (1.1°C) warmer than in 1850-1900, warming at a rate without precedent in at least 2000 years, possibly longer. This report confirms that the climate-driven changes occurring around the world are widespread, rapid, and intensifying. Our influence on the climate is making extreme weather and climate events—like heat waves, heavy rain, and droughts—more frequent and severe, putting more people, property, and natural resources in harm’s way. Unless there is a rapid and large-scale reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to a 2.7°F (1.5°C) threshold will be beyond reach. Scientists warn that the more humans drive Earth’s average temperature above this threshold, the more frequent and severe extreme weather and climate events will become.” Read the full article here. Local 20/20 NPREP Featured in Resilience.org Learn how the Local 20/20 Neighborhood Prep effort got started in this article from resilience.org, based on interviews with Deborah Stinson and Judy Alexander. Interestingly, it all started with Hurricane Katrina! And the preparedness continues today: learn more at Local 20/20’s emergency preparedness page. |
