KMXT's Sustainability Campaign

KMXT's spring fund drive (starting May 4) celebrates sustainability!

In fact, they've devoted a special KMXT Sustainability Campaign on the section on the KMXT.org website.

Why?

"...To educate and inform the Kodiak community about how to reduce energy consumption, recycle resources and products and reuse rather than discard materials."

Learn more about the campaign and how you can participate:

First, a little background...

Two years ago KMXT launched a public information campaign aimed a getting more of our neighbors aware of and involved in recycling. The response from local government, businesses, service organizations and individuals was extremely positive. In the year that followed, Threshold Recycling Services experienced a 50% increase in the volume of recyclable materials that were shipped off Island.

We are still committed to recycling but have broadened the scope of our public awareness efforts to include reuse and conservation of resources as well as information about new technologies and tips for saving energy and money in earth friendly ways. Toward that end, we are launching an informational campaign designed to get more of our neighbors thinking about and involved in sustainability.

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development has three components: environment, society, and economy. The well-being of these three areas is intertwined, not separate.

We believe that sustainability means new technologies and new ways of doing business, which allow us to improve the quality of life today in all economic, environmental, and social dimensions, without impairing the ability of future generations to enjoy quality of life and opportunity at least as good as ours.

$120 Minimum Buy-In TEN 30 - 60 Second EPSA’s
“Sustainability” Enhanced Public Service Announcements sell for $12 each. Due to production costs, a minimum purchase of 10 EPSA’s is required of each participant. Each message will appear in a familiar music bed that listeners will associate with the campaign.

$500 Buy-In FIFTY 30 - 60 Second EPSA’s
Participants buying 50 or more spots will receive a discount of $2 per EPSA. Messages will be broadcast randomly throughout the day (placement at KMXT’s discretion) for a period of up to one year. Sponsors will be recognized on a rotating basis.

To become an underwriter or for more information contact Fred Hawley or Mike Murray at 486-3181.
E-mail: fred@kmxt.org or murray@kmxt.org

Gifts of Soil Complement Hunting and Fishing on the Family Table

By Hank Pennington
(Published by permission. Thanks, Hank!)

Here’s an interesting question for you. What proportion of your family’s food originates on Kodiak Island?

Sure anglers and hunters can make significant contributions to the family larder, but in all honesty, how much meat do you buy in addition to that which you bring in from the field.

Of course, when we’re talking about food, there’s more on our table than fish, fowl and red meat. Do you garden? Do you harvest wild plants and berries?

With the high cost of food these days, any contributions you can make along those lines is going to have a direct impact on your family’s food budget.

I’ll be the first to admit that hunting and fishing is expensive. But I also have to admit that if I stopped buying fishing tackle and hunting gear tomorrow, I could probably continue putting meat on the table for another ten years or more. That’s right. An awful lot of what I buy is a matter of interest, curiosity and impulse rather than necessity.

But let’s return to my original question and see how our household compares to yours.

I’m absolutely certain that we don’t spend as much as $50 a month on any meat products. That which we buy is more of a supplement to our wild meats than necessity.

Our own list includes bacon or sausage, a little chicken, and on rare occasions other forms of pork ranging from roasts to chops to steaks.

The remainder of our meat supplies comes from Kodiak.

By actual count we have fourteen species of local fish and shellfish in our freezer right now, and some years the total runs higher. Year after year our larder includes some mix of all five species of salmon, Dolly Varden, rainbow trout, halibut, cod, Pollack, two species of rockfish, ling cod, greenling, two species of flounder or sole, scallops, Dungeness crab, king crab and tanner crab.

Wait a minute! There are twenty-one species on the list! And there are lots more possibilities not on the list. But we have fewer species in the freezer right now because I didn’t crab much last year, and we ran out quickly. I just didn’t get around to catching some of the others either.

Move into the field for the meat sources, and our freezer also holds venison, rabbit, ptarmigan, and three species of ducks. Come to think of it, there are also a few packages of elk, mountain goat, moose and caribou that friends shared with us.

And there’s even more. Through exchanges with distant friends and relatives we also have fish and meats from distant places.

Consider all the product forms possible and all the recipes we can make from that long list, and there’s very little need for us to buy meat in any form, much less any reasonable excuse for us to become bored with Kodiak’s riches.

Drop the rod and gun and pick up a shovel, and another large portion of our food comes from Kodiak. As time allows we’re active gardeners. And while some garden goodies are perishable, others keep well for enjoyment year around.

It doesn’t take much space or the faintest tinge of green to your thumb to grow potatoes on Kodiak. And protected from light, cold and moisture, they keep wonderfully. Most years our enjoyment of planting potatoes exceeds our ability to eat all the yield, so we have an excess.

In fact, most root crops grow well on Kodiak and keep well, too. In addition to potatoes we produce our own carrots, rutabagas, parsnips, turnips and beets. Some years we grow our own onions and garlic, but production is highly variable from year to year depending upon the weather.

Other crops do well on Kodiak, though not all keep well. For a few months a year at least, you can enjoy your own home-grown lettuce, collards, spinach, kale, cabbage, parsley, leeks, peas, radishes, strawberries, raspberries, currants, gooseberries, rhubarb and more.

That’s a really short list of all the possibilities Kodiak soils can produce. I’m by no means a master gardener, but you should take heart from that. If I can do it, anyone can produce their own too! Kodiak has a host of really talents gardeners, and they’re only too willing to pass along their hard-earned experience.

Then there’s the question of all the other wild plants available on Kodiak. I don’t need to point out that most years Kodiak is awash in succulent salmonberries. Talk about an opportunity to sweeten up your table!

But if you’re willing to climb search for them or climb for them, there are other options for your sweet tooth. These include high bush cranberries, low bush cranberries, as well as high bush and low bush blueberries. Then there are nagoon berries and moss berries. And I wish I could tell you more about the possibilities for greens. We’re comfortable harvesting and eating delicacies like beach greens, fiddleheads, half a dozen species of edible mushrooms, goose tongue and a few more that escape my mind at the moment.

But that’s a very short sampling from a long list of possibilities. With a little study and an open mind towards delicacies from other cultures, Kodiak is a treasure house of edible plants.

As you consider all the possibilities from Kodiak waters and fields, a couple of simple facts should become apparent.

Number one, harvesting, collecting or growing all that food takes time. If your time is short you need to plan ahead and make an extra effort to be in the right place at the right time, as well as set aside a little of each day for watering and weeding a garden.

Number two, you will almost certainly need advice as you work to expand your food horizons. You are simply going to have to invest the time to find out who knows how to grow, harvest and cook all the new varieties.

And number three, you have to figure out where to keep and how to preserve the new products. They don’t come neatly packaged like the foods from the supermarket, so you’re going to have to do that yourself. And you’re going to have to do it in such a way that the quality is preserved.

Where to start? My first stop would be the public library. Kodiak’s library has a wonderful selection of information, but equally important experienced people are working there. They can help you find the information you need from their varied sources, plus they can probably provide the names of local experts willing to help.

Another great source of information is the University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service. They have a wealth of information about preserving foods safely to retain quality. And among the employees I know, there are some exceptional cooks. With very little prodding, they are more than willing to share outstanding recipes.

If your budget is a little tight this year, Kodiak’s wild and domestic food sources offer real opportunities to put food on your table at minimal expense.

Concerned about the health of the planet? You can greatly reduce the “carbon footprint” of the foods on your table by relying on local sources.

A little bored with the routine in your life? Hunting and fishing for new species, as well as gardening and learning about wild food plants should liven your life up nicely.

Take it from me. The more you learn to gather and utilize the wealth of foods available on Kodiak, the more you will enjoy and appreciate life on our remarkable island.

Inspiring Film Festival Comes to Kodiak

Films to help communities find environmental solutions

A section of award winning films that will leave you feeling inspired and motivated to go out ands make a difference in your community and the world will be in town. The largest environmental film festival in North America is coming to Kodiak when Alaska Marine Conservation Council, Future Farmers of America Kodiak Chapter and Sustainable Kodiak host the Wild and Scenic Film Festival on Tour at the Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium Choral Pod on February 27^th, from 7:00 to 9:30 pm.

The tour brings together a selection of films from the annual festival held the second week in January in Nevada, City, CA. “The films include narratives coming directly from people throughout the world engaged in protecting our natural resources and wild places” says tour manager, Susie Sutphin. “The films highlight the “tipping points” that the planet is reaching, yet portrays the “Turning of the tides,” as communities realize what needs to change and how they are responding with creativity, resolve and heart.”

This will be the second annual film festival in Kodiak and this year films will carry viewers into the world of sharks and behavior different than most people would expect to a fantastic journey where a spell has been cast causing people to forget about the ocean and its importance to our lives. Explore two rules: nothing purchased for three months; and living off of only the things, clothing, and food found in the trash. Connect with activists confronting an emerging coal based United States energy policy who have experienced first hand the devastation caused by its extraction and then travel to Oaxaca, where unsustainable land use practices have made it one of the world’s most highly eroded areas.

The Wild and Scenic Film Festival was started by the watershed advocacy group, the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL). The festival’s namesake is in celebration of achieving Wild and Scenic status for 39 miles of the South Yuba River in 1999. By partnering with grassroots organizations, SYRCL is sharing their success as an environmental group with other organizations nationwide. It is building a network of grassroots organizations connected by a common goal, to use film to inspire activism.

The festival is a natural extension of the Future Farmers of America (FFA), dedicated to making a positive difference by developing leadership, personal growth and career success through sustainable agricultural education, Alaska Marine Conservation Council, (AMCC) and their work to advance conservation solutions that address the interdependence between healthy marine ecosystems, strong local economies and coastal traditions and Sustainable Kodiak, working to identify, practice and promote sustainable methods and technologies to benefit our community island and ocean..

Tickets to the festival cost $5.00 and proceeds will go to benefit of the sponsoring organizations to support community conservation through education and awareness. Tickets for general seating will be available at the door and at the Treasury on the Mall. A silent auction featuring a variety of island artists and donated goods will be on hand in the foyer for those seeking treasures to further benefit the organizations. Supervised activities for children in the gym will be provided by FFA while adults sit back and enjoy the films. Complimentary snacks will be provided in the foyer at intermission. Take advantage of an evening to journey into global environmental issues from the comfort of our island home which we all have the power to impact.

See you there!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Does it add up for Kodiak?

+ Did you know that some garbage pick-up services are free?
+ Do you need to pre-sort your recyclables?
+ How does the global economy effect recycling in Kodiak?
+ Got a dumpster gripe or story?
+ Would you like to participate in a beach cleanup party?

For answers to these and many other questions, come to the next Sustainable Kodiak meeting, Thursday, January 29, at 7:00 PM at the Kodiak Refuge Visitors Center, downtown. The meeting will be a special "panel format" for questions and answers.

For more information about recycling, and solid waste in general, contact Tracy Mitchell at the Kodiak Island Borough (486-9348).

Positive Energy in Kodiak

At the December 8, 2008 Sustainable Kodiak meeting, a number of important energy issues were shared:

1. Jennifer Richcreek and Bob Coates from KEA (Kodiak Electric Assn) talked about current LED lighting projects around town, plus steps you can take to reduce your electric bill.

2. Dave Cooper introduced different bartering systems he's researching.

3. Chris Lynch provided an overview about Threshold Recycling's services and Cindy Harrington, a member of the Solid Waste Advisory Board introduced the idea of a committee to tackle litter problems.

4. Local high school teacher and builder Tom Kelly shared his inspiring experiences with building an energy efficient house in Kodiak. No easy task as Kodiak is one of the most expensive places to build in the State. In Tom's words:

The project at 512 Oak St. began when we noticed the original 1952 Aleutian house in a state of disrepair. The roof was collapsing, and the place was trashed. I have always been interested in sustainable building, and an advocate for housing with some dignity.

I know that construction costs are high and will continue to increase over time, so building quality is important. The increases in fuel costs through 2008 were scary, so we wanted to design efficiency to around $1,000 per year. The seismic concerns for building in Kodiak, coupled with the exposure we have, prompted me to build to the 2006 International Building Code vs. the 1999 UBC. That house is built to withstand a magnitude 8.o earthquake; a certainty in our future.

I know that my future housing needs will change, and I won't need 2000 square feet. I thought it would be a nice to build that home in 2008 and move in around 2020. If seeing is believing, and beliefs drive behavior, then we should see more use of sustainable technologies. Total electric, propane, and oil are still less than $200 per month, and will decrease as we get more daylight.

>>> For more information about solar technology for home builders: www.solarroofs.com.
>>> To contact Tom Kelly: (907) 481-2848; Email: tkelly01@kodiakschools.org

In Defense of Food

I just watched Bill Moyers interview with Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. It was excellent, full of, not just insightful ideas, but what we can do, now, to reform our food system. You can watch (and read) the whole interview here: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11282008/watch.html

Cheers and blessings, Marion

Excerpt:

BILL MOYERS: What else? Give me a list, quickly, of what we can do to make a difference in this reforming the food system.

MICHAEL POLLAN: Well, plant a garden. If you've got space, and if you don't, look into a community garden where you might rent a little bit of space, like we saw in East New York.

Cook. Simply by starting to cook again, you declare your independence from the culture of fast food. As soon as you cook, you start thinking about ingredients. You start thinking about plants and animals, and not the microwave. And you will find that your diet, just by that one simple act, that is greatly improved. You will find that you are supporting local agriculture, because you'll care about the quality of ingredients. And you know, whether you're cooking or not is one of the best predictors for a healthy diet. It's more important than the class predictor. People with more money generally have healthier diets, but affluent people who don't cook are not as healthy in their eating as poor people who still cook. So, very, very important. If you don't have pots and pans, get them.

Now people say they don't have time, and that's an issue. And I am saying that we do need to invest more time in food. Food is just too important to relegate to these 10-minute corners of our lives. And you know, even if you would just take, you know, we watch cooking shows like crazy on television. We've turned cooking into a spectator sport. If you would merely invest the time you spend watching cooking shows in actually cooking, you would find you've got plenty of time to put a meal on the table.

Fall, 2008

Schedule for Sustainable Kodiak, Fall 2008

Monday, Oct. 13: 7-9pm Sustainable Kodiak general meeting at Refuge Center meeting room

Monday, Nov. 10: 7-9pm Sustainable Kodiak general meeting at Refuge Center meeting room

Lisa Hupp will present a report on the ICLEI community-wide carbon emissions survey. Not to be missed!

Monday, Dec 8: 7-9pm Sustainable Kodiak general meeting at Refuge Center meeting room

Sustainable Kodiak special guest lecturer Rich Siefert , in partnership with Kodiak College Community Engagement committee: Scheduling still in progress. We hope to have programs including a public awareness evening lecture, focusing on how to take advantage of the energy conservation funding and why it is so important to do so, and a retrofit workshop another day. (It is three hours long and updated since the one last fall.) Another topic which will likely be timely is "Burning wood for heat safely".

!

Meetings of interest

October 11 to November 8

Organic Gardening class. Instructor: Marion Owen. Learn how to reduce your food bills by growing your own vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruiting shrubs. Fall is an important time for every garden and this dynamic class introduces organic methods and materials for ecological gardening practices: soil management and improvement, composting, harvesting, storage, mulching and more. To sign up, call Kodiak College, 486-1235