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Useful News with a Sustainable Focus! 

November 2013 
In This Issue
BASE: "Legitimate Local"
Student Conservation Corps
BI Parks Comprehensive Plan ard
Trashy News
Free Holly
Winter Beach Explorations
Weed Wrench Work-out
Salmon Report
WSTB story
From the SB Board

Quick Links to
our website and programs
 
November brings Thanksgiving, and time to reflect on the many things for which we are grateful. On Bainbridge, we have an abundance of local, fresh food at hand, a plethora of wonderful parks and trails to encourage healthful activity, and friends and neighbors who are working to make our community ever more sustainable.  At Sustainable Bainbridge, we are especially grateful for all of you.  Thank you for your work, your support, and your ongoing commitment to a more resilient community!

  

Are you a Facebook fan? Follow Sustainable Bainbridge as we keep you informed of daily and weekly sustainability news.

 

As always, if you have a sustainability issue that inspires or interests you, please let us know! Sharing our ideas strengthens relationships, weaves a community together and becomes the heart of sustainability. You can contact us by email or by phone at 206/842-4439. We look forward to hearing from you!

BASE:  Taking It To The Next Level
 Friday, November 15 
5:30-7:00 pm
Bainbridge Public Library    

 

  

Learn to communicate the importance of "Legitimate Local", and discover ways to build community through a strong local economy from Michael Kanter, the founder of a dynamic 40 year old business--Cambridge Naturals.

  

Enjoy some wine and nibbles with Michael after the talk.  

 

  

 

RSVP for this FREE event:  bi-local.eventbrite.com 

  

SCoCo students
Student Conservation Corps: Opportunities for Action
 

Sunday, November 10, 1 to 3:30 pm 

 Join us to plant ferns at Fort Ward where goats ate invasive ivy and SCoCo cleared layers of tangled roots this summer. We will restore this area by tucking hundreds of sword ferns into a blanket of natural Big Leaf maple mulch. If you have too many ferns in your garden, bring some to share, and your shovel! We will meet at the boat ramp parking area, rain or shine.

Saturday, November 16, 1 to 3:30 pm

Join SCoCo for a shoreline workparty at Blakely Harbor Park, 1 to 3:30 PM. The Park District has a new restoration plan for the north area of the park and we will work on clearing invasive weeds to help that effort. Bring work gloves and your favorite loppers or pruners, and plan to be inspired by SCoCo energy. We will meet at the 3-T/Blakely Avenue parking lot.

Community Invitation:  Bainbridge Island Metro Parks and Recreation District    
 Comprehensive Planning Process
 
Tuesday, November 12, 7:00pm
                               Aquatics Center 
 8521 Madison Avenue   
or 
Thursday, November 14, 7:00pm
Strawberry Hill Center 
  7666 NE High School Road 
Questions?  email:  Perry Barrett. 

Zero Waste:  Trashy News 
 

Did you know that, for each one trash can filled with household waste,  seventy- one trash cans of waste were generated from resource extraction and manufacturing processes? That's why finding ways to reduce, re-purpose, reuse, or borrow is preferable to purchasing new or even recycling.

Our Road Map to Zero Waste will guide you to local groups or stores that reuse or recycle various materials. Freecycle Bainbridge and Buy Nothing Bainbridge are two online groups that encourage giving among individuals. And the Trash Backwards website - available as an app, too - offers all sorts of ideas on re-purposing and fixing everyday items.

Zero Waste would like to hear from you about waste reduction strategies that our group might explore with community retailers, restaurants, schools or nonprofits. Please write to us with your suggestions at [email protected] . Or come to our next meeting on Wednesday, November 20 at 7pm at the Marge Williams Center. The conversation is always lively!

 


holly

Weed Warriors: Free Holly    
Friday, November 22, 1:00 pm 
  Pritchard Park

Join Weed Warriors and Bainbridge Island Metro Parks & Recreation on Friday Nov. 22 at 1 pm when we cut down 2 well-berried holly trees at Pritchard Park. Turn left at Creosote Pl. and park. The trail is on the left, and you will see orange ribbons.

 

Free bunches of holly for all who participate. We will be cutting and bundling the branches to give away at the Winter Market on Sat. Nov. 23 from 10 to 3. Volunteers are also needed that morning.

 

On Friday we will be tagging the bundles to explain why holly is considered an invasive weed, what to use instead, and how to dispose of it properly (do not compost berries!).

 

So if you love holly in your holiday arrangements but hate trying to pull it out of the Grand Forest, dress warmly, bring gloves and pruners, and join us either November 22 or 23. Student volunteer service hours available.

 

Call Jeannette Franks at 206-755-8461 [email protected]

 

 

BBN: Winter Beach Explorations

Monday, December 2, 9-10:30pm
Tuesday, December 31, 9-10:30pm

There are only two night-time beach explorations this winter, hosted by
Bainbridge Beach Naturalists.  The times and tides are not very cooperative this year! 

Join us at the beach at the Bainbridge Ferry Terminal, accessed via Harborview Drive,
which is reached via Olympic Drive.   The footbridge across the Winslow Ravine is still closed, but check to see if it is reopened by the time of the beach exploration.  If the bridge is open, parking is available on Brien and Bjune, near the Waterfront Park Community/Senior Center, with access over the bridge to the trail that run alongside the condos to the beach. 

Wear warm clothing and be prepared for rain. Wellington-type boots are the best footwear to wade around in the edge of the Sound.  And bring your strongest flashlight.  See you on the beach.
 

Weed Wrench Work-out    

Looking for a cool-weather work-out to get your blood moving and your yard or meadow in good ecological health? The ground is once again soft from recent rains and now is a great time to pull scotch broom seedlings.

The bad news: The fabulous Weed Wrench Company has closed for good.

The Good news: Let's Pull Together has three new Weed Wrenches, last of the inventory- and yours to borrow. These tools are the work-horses of invasive weed removal. Get in touch and try one out. We might even lend a helping hand!

Email Barb at [email protected]


Watershed Council: Local Salmon Numbers on the Rise



 
The Bainbridge Island Watershed Council has been monitoring returning spawning salmon to our streams annually since 2005. Dozens of volunteers have been critical to monitoring four of our Island streams every week for a two-month period each fall and watch for our returning spawning salmon.

The good news: more salmon are returning to our streams!
 
To read more details about this data and our salmon monitoring program, or to contact us about future opportunities to get involved with salmon monitoring, please visit our website at www.biwatershedcouncil.org 
  


 

 

WSTB Stories:  A Bit of History  

 by WSTB member, Bruce W

 

 

It is difficult to believe that it's already been more than two years since we organized the first meeting of what was to become West Sound Time Bank (WSTB). Initially, there was a core group of about a dozen volunteers that met weekly for a few months, progressing from the philosophical and conceptual strategies to identifying and articulating the specifics. While "Vision and Mission" were juicy topics, considerably more time was spent on pragmatic elements such as liability and financials. Using the experiences and expertise from other Time Banks and the support of Sustainable Bainbridge, WSTB's web site was launched in January 2012.  

Read more...

From the Sustainable Bainbridge Board
 There's still time to include us in your giving through One Call for All. Responding to the red envelope is a great way to support our community organizations.
 
We'd love to talk with you about our programs and plans.   
Contact us at
[email protected].