| Local 20/20 Wants to Hear Your Vision for the Future! – Starting June 1 *New* The COVID-19 emergency has changed our daily lives and communities. Crises like these reveal both the strengths and weaknesses of our communities as well as what we could be doing differently. When communities are forced to rebuild from a crisis, there’s an opportunity to create what we want to be. We are inviting you and all residents to imagine a strong and resilient future for Jefferson County. The results of this effort will be gathered and distributed widely throughout the county, and will help shape where we collectively go from here. You can access the survey online and get more information here. Responses will be collected until June 30, 2020. Dr. Locke’s COVID-19 Update – Mon. June 1st – 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. “The Green New Deal” at Climate on Tap – Mon June 1st One year in, where are we at with the Green New Deal? Learn about and discuss federal legislation aimed at advancing a green economy and the simple ways to get individual and collective voices heard at the federal level. What would a Green New Deal look like on the Olympic Peninsula? Climate on Tap sessions are held on the first Monday of the month. The class is held via the Finnriver Incider Space. Check their web site for information on how to sign up and get the Zoom link. Co-sponsored by Local 20/20 Climate Action and Jefferson County Public Health, each session includes information to get the conversation started, followed by group discussions that include what locals think and what locals plan to do. For info email Laura Tucker or call 360-379-4491. Time: 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Location: Online Farmers Market – Sat June 6th – Uptown PT *Online* The Port Townsend Farmers Market is open! The Saturday Market in Uptown PT is laid out without a middle row and ten feet between vendors booths. A limited number of shoppers at a time are admitted through a single entrance. Hand washing and hand sanitizer are available. Market vendors, staff and volunteers wear masks. Food is bagged or arranged so shoppers only touch food they are purchasing. Now the market is also online! Place your order online here by 1 pm Thursday and pick it up during market hours. Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Location: Uptown, Tyler Street. Jefferson County Rain Garden Webinar Series – Tues. June 9th and Tues. June 16th *New* *Online* Erica Guttman and Bob Simmonswill present two free webinars. Register with Zoom in advance. The first, on June 9th at 2:30 – 4:30 PM is Water, Rain Garden Science and Installation Basics The second, on June 16th, 2:30 – 4:30 PM is Plant Design Principles, Maintenance, and Management They are also offering an optional ½ hour of supplemental education from 4:30 – 5:00. For more information, contact WSU the Master Gardener Coordinator at 360.379.5610 x 210. Climate Outreach Action Group – Local 20/20 – Thurs June 11 *New* *Online* Want to help educate the community on what we all can do related to reducing our carbon footprint? Attend our monthly meeting to learn more about what is currently planned, and add your ideas to the mix! Meetings are generally on the second Thursday of the month. The meeting will be online. Contact Cindy if you would like to join in or for more information. Time: 3-5 p.m. Online. Erratics Contest: Deadline June 20, 2020 *New* An erratic is a large rock transported by glaciers from other locations. As part of Jefferson Land Trust’s Extending Your Reach video series, The Quimper Geological Society is challenging people to find the largest glacial erratic on the Quimper Peninsula. If you didn’t see the presentation, you can watch it here. Rules include: 1. No erratics under 6 feet. 2. Respect private property and get access permission. 3. The erratic must be located north of highways 104 and 101. You can include as many entries as you like. Send a digital image, the dimensions of the largest part of the erratic, and GPS coordinates here. If you win, you receive a “Land Trust Erratic Hat”! Nature in Your Neighborhood with Jefferson Land Trust – Every Friday and Select Wednesdays Throughout May and June *Online* You’re invited to join Jefferson Land Trust for Nature in Your Neighborhood! This weekly virtual series will run throughout May and June and will focus on a new topic each week – including birds, trees, ferns, mammals and more! Our program will include weekly discussions and Virtual Nature Walks that are centered around what hidden wonders there are to discover in our own backyards and neighborhoods. Sign up to learn from experienced local naturalists during weekly Virtual Nature Walks, engage in weekly discussions to share about your adventures and connect with one another in an online study group. To learn more, sign up and see the full schedule, visit www.saveland.org/neighborhood or email Rebekah at info@saveland.org. PS – Can’t make it at the scheduled time? No problem! Sign up and you will be given access to all past and future event recordings. Permaculture Homesteading Internship – June 18th-October 2nd Join The Dirt Rich School for a three-month Permaculture Homesteading Internship! The Dirt Rich School is an educational permaculture farm and modern homestead that shares radical land-based living and practical alternatives to capitalism. They believe in sharing the skills and knowledge to reconnect with the land and invite others to join in. Check out the website for more information. Email Kateen with questions about the application and sign-up process. Duration is June 18 – October 2nd at The Dirt Rich School at Compass Rose Farms, 1463 W Uncas Rd, Port Townsend, WA. World Localization Day -Live Stream – June 21st *New* The group Local Futures is organizing a World Localization Day, which at first seems like a contradiction in terms. However there are some fantastic speakers lined up including Vandana Shiva, Noam Chomsky, Annie Lenox, Joanna Macy and more. They have planned short stories about localization initiatives, short films, music and comedy. Find out more at their website, WorldLocalizationDay.org. The webinar will stream live starting at 3:00 p.m. our time. You can register for it here. The future is local. |
| Community Notices Local 20/20 COVID-19 Resources l2020.org/COVID-19/ *Updated* A central location for community-wide information relating to COVID-19, updated frequently. New this past week! JeffCo’s Phase 2: What’s Open, What’s Closed in Phase 2, Public Health Mask Directive, Local 20/20 Visioning Survey. Did you know… Many questions about the nuances of different guidelines are answered in our County Commissioners and Public Health Officers’ Monday meeting? Visit the Covid Resource page to listen live at 9:45 am or catch it later recorded! There are links to everything you need to know about getting a mask, giving a mask, or making your own mask under our Community Mask section? See The Directive Requiring Masks in Public Places. Local 20/20 wants to hear your vision for the future as we rebuild from the COVID crisis? You can find out how to give help and get help with food, housing, business, unemployment, mental health, and more? Local 20/20 COVID-Resources is by the community, for the community, with 10 organizations coming together to contribute? Local 20/20 Bookkeeper Volunteer Wanted Local 20/20 is looking for a volunteer bookkeeper. The desired skills are proficiency with Quickbooks, general bookkeeping skills, and ability to reconcile bank statements. Familiarity with non-profit bookkeeping is desired but can be learned. Effort is generally 2-6 hours/month. Interested in learning more? Contact Sonja. Coffee with City Manager Mauro – Thursdays *KPTZ 91.9FM* Port Townsend City Manager John Mauro’s usually weekly coffee meeting with the public is featured on KPTZ’s Discovery Road, hosted by Tim Quackenbush. Mauro takes questions from listeners from 10:00 -10:30 a.m on most Thursdays. Questions can be submitted to John ahead of time by email here. Check KPTZ for the schedule, and find recorded conversations on the Discovery Road page. Local Economy / Currency Group Forming Local 20/20 is always looking for ways to make the local economy more resilient and with COVID 19 we are also looking for ways that might help restart our local economy. Currently, we are researching a range of local complementary currency options, including the existing one, but are open to any ideas which can make us more resilient to outside forces. If you would like to join a group whose mission is to discuss these topics please email Mark. Webinars on Community Gardens and Small Farms Cultivating Success Sustainable Small Farms Education presents weekly free webinars from WSU and partners: “Fundamentals of Product Safety: Part 2” on Tues, May 26 ; “Taking Eggs to Market: Safe Egg Handling & Delivery” on Tues, June 2. All sessions are at 11 a.m. Register here. Tutorial on Zoom use here. Compassionate Communication Course by E-mail – Starting in June. Sign up soon for a course on the use of Nonviolent Communicationsm that starts in early June. Low fee, scholarships available. Receive one e-mail per week (for 52 weeks) with information on this effective way of communicating with family, neighbors, and co-workers including an exercise for applying the information. Contact: compassioncourse.org to sign up. Contact Suzanne Jones with questions. The COVID-19 Emergency Fund So far this year, 527 people donated $483,227 to the Jefferson Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. And $425,910 has already gone directly back into the community in the form of grants for projects that meet urgent needs. See the list of recipients and learn about the funded projects here. The COVID-19 Emergency Fund supports local nonprofits and community-serving government agencies that help meet basic human needs and facing their own financial hardships. Anyone can make a donation by giving to a general fund or directly to one of the local organizations who has registered with the campaign. Organizations that want to have needs posted can email Jen Kingfisher or call her 360.385.1729. Just Soup Now Feeds Neighbors at Two Locations! On Thursdays, a free, hot soup lunch, with curbside delivery is available at the Market Kitchen, 1433 W. Sims Way from 11:30 to 1:30 through funding from the Jefferson Community Foundation. Pick up a lunch for yourself or your neighbor in need. No questions asked. On Tuesday and Friday, 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. Friday’s soup is provided to St. Paul’s by Lehani’s Deli. Many partners and supporters have come together to feed Port Townsend one bowl at a time!!! This information also appears on Local 20/20 COVID-19 Resources Meals Page here. Times and Locations: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Thurs at Market Kitchen; Tues & Fri at St. Paul’s. Virtual Tour of Recovery Cafe Join Dove House staff on a virtual tour of Recovery Cafe – a beautiful, safe, warm, drug-and-alcohol-free community where everyone is welcome to find peer support for recovery (and we’re all in recovery from something). Here’s avideo of a 3D rendering of the design of the remodel. And click here for a virtual tour of Recovery Cafe Jefferson County at 939 Kearney St, Port Townsend. For more information about this program, how we’re navigating the pandemic, or an update on construction timeline, visit www.recoverycafejc.org or email Brian Richardson or call him at 360-821-1985. Movement Generation’s Course Correction – Continuing Series on Tuesdays Movement Generation Justice and Ecology Project recognizes this pandemic as a time of possibility to act collectively to make needed ecological and economic shifts. Leading with their hearts, the group has created a four-session online course that helps reframe the COVID-19 crisis. This is an opportunity to discuss real solutions and strategies that address structural inequities. The series meets Tuesdays – June 2, June 16, June 30 – from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Spanish and ASL interpretation and live captions are available. Visit the website for full course info and updated session descriptions. The small group discussion guide is here. Questions? Email the organizers. Facebook Group for Jefferson County Food Growers *New* A new Facebook group has been formed for gardeners, community gardens, and farmers to share resources, information and inspiration. Here you can connect with other food and herb growers in our region. You can find answers to your questions about pests, powdery mildew, and all the other challenges faced by food growers. Ask for or share resources such as seedlings, seeds, manure, and more. Post pictures for plant identification or just to share your inspiration. Host a Meeting on the Local Housing Emergency The Housing Solutions Network offers a free 1-hour program on Zoom and the opportunity to convene a group to learn about Jefferson County’s housing emergency. Participants watch a 13-minute video about the local housing crisis and explore and cultivate solutions in a facilitated conversation. HSN will provide the Zoom invitationand link, support to access Zoom for those who need it, facilitation of the discussion, and any follow up that participants may want. To initiate a screening watch the video trailer and contact Justine Gonzalez-Berg. Seeds by Mail from the WSU Seed Library The WSU Extension Master Gardener Seed Library offers seeds by mail to new members. Gardeners borrow seeds, grow plants, and return the seeds from some of your plants at the end of the season. To become a member, visit the website to see the seed inventory and fill out a form. No payment is necessary, however monetary or stamp donations are accepted. Please also support professional seed companies, local seed vendors and nurseries for community seed resilience. Questions? Email Seed Library here. 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. 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. 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 Kuhor call him at (360) 379-4693 for further info. Download Port Townsend Walking Times Map Local 20/20 Transportation Lab‘s popular walking times map is downloadable here. It provides approximate travel time on foot between points. Estimates are based on an average speed of 3 mph. Walking is healthy, social, fun, costs nothing, keeps your carbon footprint small and allows you to maintain social distance. Use the map to find new routes across our beautiful town. 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 WASDOT alert system. A Tool for Neighborhood Organization Nextdoor is a private social network for neighborhoods. Use this link to join one of 59 Nextdoor Neighborhoods (NDN) in Jefferson County. Currently there are 10,955 subscribers, with many new members joining each day. Email Pete Hubbard with questions or comments. 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. 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. |
| 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. Can Planting a Trillion Trees Stop Climate Change? *New* This article from Inside Climate News, takes a deep dive into the concept of offsetting the CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels by planting trees. The author, Berwyn, starts by reviewing the recent political action on this issue. He goes on from there to describe the significant challenges that climate change and human growth already present to growing trees–drought, wildfire, deforestation, etc. Berwyn argues that planting trees by itself will not be enough. He also notes that humans think simplistically about nature’s systems and that we still have a lot to learn. Find the article here. It Will Get Darker before the Dawn *New* “Owing to past neglect, in the face of the plainest warnings, we have entered upon a period of danger. The era of procrastination, of half measures, of soothing and baffling expedients of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences …We cannot avoid this period, we are in it now…” Winston Churchill, November 12, 1936 This essay’s author, Paul Gilding, prefaces it with the prescient quote above and argues that the COVID-19 pandemic is not a Black Swan event but more like one of a herd of stampeding black elephants, a term he borrows from NYT columnist Tom Friedman. Gilding goes on to discuss the multiple systemic challenges we are facing. He notes that they include “climate change, the collapse of the fossil fuel industry, social and economic inequality, ocean and eco-system collapse, famine, mass refugees and others. As well as their direct economic impact, many will also drive social instability, civil unrest, nationalism, debt and credit crises, protectionism, geopolitical realignment and military conflict– further magnifying the economic consequences.” He makes the point that until we face the truth of our situation we will not be effective in finding a successful response. Please find this article here. A Letter from the Virus (short video) Just a little north and west of here, in the Cascadian town of Tofino, is a carved statue called Weeping Cedar Woman. In response to the rampant old growth logging of the 1980’s, her message is “Stop. And consider Nature.” A similar message from a different messenger narrates this poignant video. Please. Stop. And watch this short video, A Letter from the Virus. The Pandemic as a Catalyst for Institutional Innovation This article by David Bollier describes how the corona virus forces us to reconsider “normal” and gives us the opportunity to choose something better as we hopefully plan for a future without masks and physical distancing. This is a relatively long read and focuses quite a bit on The Commons, a concept of public space where innovation is possible. Bollier spends time describing the degeneration of our current political system and how unstable capitalism can breed authoritarianism. Bollier calls the virus the “most potent political actor of our time.” He rejects the Hobbesian view that without accepting sovereign state power we will succumb to brutishness and chaos. He believes instead that we could be entering a period of enlightenment in which humanity rediscovers the fact that we are not separate from nature. Please find the article here. Think Resilience Course Offered Free The Post Carbon Institute is offering the online Think Resilience course for free during this critical period. It features 22 short videos, quizzes and suggested readings. It provides the participant with a big picture view of our moment in history and takes us through an engaging tour of systems thinking. Its goals are tow fold: first to help us make sense of the complex challenges that society now faces, and second how we can respond to build community resilience. It is delivered in a common sense, low-key manner and is entertaining as well as informative. Highly recommended. You can explore the details and how to register here. Fraying Food System May Be Our Next Crisis Here on the Olympic Peninsula many of us feel a little exposed due to our reliance on food supplies that come by truck over a floating bridge or via ferry or by a twisty, long, two-lane road. Richard Heinberg, a classic systems thinker, explores the multiple weak links in the supply chain in this comprehensive but concise essay. As Heinberg describes, “For better or worse, this is likely to be a historic moment of change for our food system.” Please read this article and give thought to what we want our food system to look like in the post-COVID times. It’s time to prioritize food system resilience. Barter, Hours Banking and Skill Shares Current information on bartering, time-banking, and skill shares appears in the May newsletter from Zero Waste Washington. The age old traditional bartering has scaled up in Bellevue with BizX. Timebanking has a century plus of experience in exchanging time credit among those who offer skills or resources to someone in the network. Contemporary platforms include TimeBanksUSA,hOurworld, and TimeRepublik. In Washington, West Seattle, Seattle’s Belltown, Kirkland, and Spokane have timebanks and can help. For information on skillshare see Hands on Skill Share an annual event of Sustainable NE Seattle, a Transition Initiative. Email Kami for info. Other issues Zero Waste is working on are here. A Light at the End of the COVID Tunnel? Patrick Holden of the Sustainable Food Trust asks whether the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel is a new awareness of the need for resilience in our food system or is it simply the light of the train that is the globalized system. This article argues that we must move away from a centralized food production system and towards local production and processing. The author likens making these kinds of changes as analogous to reversing a supertanker with its huge forward momentum, and that this indicates the the change will have to be initiated by citizens as opposed to governments. Holden offers food for thought, the kind of thought that is organically springing up in localities all over the world. Find the article here. 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 put 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 in 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. The link to the article is here. Weeds We Like to Eat Foraging skills are fun to learn. How do you 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.F |
| Local 20/20 Mission Working together toward local sustainability and resilience – integrating ecology, economy and community through action and education. |
| Action Groups are where we do most of our work. Each is focused on an interrelated aspect of sustainability. Visit L2020.org to learn what the different action groups are working on. |
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