Two Coming Sustainability Events

Friday evening, February 22- Open to the Public
At Kodiak College

Sounds of Sustainability: A journey of passion, music, academics, and activism

An evening of discussion, lecture, and music by singer, song-writer, author, and educator Libby Roderick. http://www.libbyroderick.com/bio.html

*****

Saturday morning, Feb 23

Please join the Kodiak College teaching community to explore Difficult Dialogs and Sustainability with UAA CAFÉ’s Associate Director Libby Roderick on February 23!

RSVP by February 18 to reserve your spot, (907) 486-1215.

http://difficultdialoguesuaa.org/

Kodiak Electric Association embraces net metering policy

Kodiak Electric Association lineman at work

If you want to connect your own renewable energy generator to KEA's power grid, now you can get buy-back credits.

Starting January 1, 2013, KEA's revised Rules and Regulations for Electric Service and Rate Schedules accommodate heat pumps and net metering. For some folks, this can be a little confusing.

"Something we want to make sure people understand with net metering is that installing a residential-scale wind or solar installation can be expensive," says Jennifer Richcreek, "and the buy-back rate for excess power put onto the grid is based on KEA's diesel use. So the less diesel KEA uses, the less the buy-back rate for the resident generating their own renewable power."

If you have questions about the new policy, contact the Kodiak Electric Association. Many articles can be found on the KEA e-news website.  

Photo of new net meter 

New amp service for heat pumps

KEA has added a new residential 400-amp service rate to accommodate electric heat service to larger homes.  According to Jennifer, "As KEA does a better job supplying electricity at affordable stable rates, there's a growing interest in the community with converting home heating systems over from oil to electricity."  

This is a great improvement. If you had standard 100 or 200-amp service, you had to install multiple meters.  

"This new policy allows more power to be supplied to a residence through a single, more powerful meter.  This new service rate is not exclusive to heat, but electric heat would be the type of load that would typically require more power."

How much electricity comes from wind, hydro and diesel?

In 2012, 95.7 percent of KEA's generation portfolio, as it's called, came from renewable resources. You can follow KEA's progress on the KEA website. 

Author Charles Wohlforth Speaks at College tonight

Nature and Human Nature: Are we capable of the cooperation needed to save the Ocean?
Charles Wohlforth, author of The Fate of Nature, explores how culture, not technology, holds the key to humankind's ability to solve global environmental problems, including climate change, ocean acidification, overfishing, and oil spills. He uses Alaska as a microcosm of conflicting world views in a talk that includes dozens of spectacular photographs. http://fateofnature.com

7:00 pm-9:00pm, Benny Benson Building Room 130

Not to be Missed!

Village Chickens and Community Gardens Thriving in Igiugig

Truly Inspiring!
Village Chickens and Community Gardens Thriving in Igiugig
27th September
2011

(With thanks to Alan Austerman's blog http://www.alanausterman.com/?p=1838)

For the last few years we have been learning about some really amazing projects in Igiugig, one of the westernmost villages in District 36. The 64 residents of the village on the southwest tip of Iliamna Lake have been developing a community food system bit by bit… beginning with community chickens nearly a decade ago. At this point, they have a community greenhouse with power and heat to extend the growing season; a wonderful egg program; and access to significant quantities of delicious vegetables and fruit that were impossibly expensive just a few years ago. Some of the ideas and lessons from their projects are absolutely inspiring, and may be instructive for villages all around District 36 and the rest of Alaska.

Staff in our office had a good chat with AlexAnna Salmon, president of the Igiugig Village Council, and learned more about the projects.

The Egg Program

Like most fresh food items in Igiugig, eggs used to arrive via plane from Anchorage, and would often arrive broken. In 2002, when AlexAnna’s father Dan was the administrator for the Igiugig Village Council, they initiated an egg program. Eggs were expensive, says AlexAnna, “but keeping chickens themselves are not.” In the beginning, friends of some of the residents sent chickens to the village. They were kept in a private coop, and people could go by and grab eggs as they wanted. As demand grew, they took the next step to grow the operation. With a mini grant from the Alaska Food Coalition and a considerable local match they were able to procure freezers, a fridge, and an egg incubator. This allowed them to “produce” new chickens when they needed them, and to freeze excess food scraps for the chickens for future use. They also built a larger coop.

Today the coop and its 30 chicken residents are located at the landfill, and is incorporated into the town’s solid waste program. Residents and seasonal lodges in the area separate food scraps from their regular waste. Some of that food scrap is used to feed the chickens. (More on other food scrap uses in just a minute.) The chicken area is located within the gated landfill area, where they’re safe from the region’s bears.

Eggs were initially free, but with growing demand from the lodges in the region an honor-system fee was implemented–a $3.50 donation for a dozen fresh, local eggs! Elders in Igiugig still get their eggs free of charge.

The program is very popular, and provides a nutritious food source for the residents. With a decade in operation, it’s still going strong!

Growing Food

With the chicken program in place and popular, the community started looking to other food items. The next step was a community potato garden. With seed potato obtained from the long-running farm at the community of Port Alsworth on Lake Clark, they were able to plant the first potato plants. The potato garden also took off. The community embraced the project, and responded to the gardening successes by creating a potato festival and potluck at harvest time.

Igiugig's community greenhouse complex.

As often happens, more ideas grew from there. During the community’s planning process residents identified a community greenhouse as something that would be valued in Igiugig. The village council picked up the project and ran with it. They developed a business plan for the concept, envisioning the operation as a profit generator with potential sales to the 24 nearby lodge operations. They applied to the Alaska Federation of Natives’ Alaska Marketplace competition, which provides seed funding for innovative business ideas. The Kvichak Organic Produce plan won one of the top prizes, taking away just under $40,000 to initiate the project. With that money in hand, Igiugig was able to leverage additional funding support, including $60,000 from the Pebble Fund for three wind generators, a USDA grant related to farmer’s markets, and smaller grants from the Alaska Food Coalition (for starter seeds) and the Division of Agriculture (for innovative equipment).

A Labor of Love

Keilan Wassillie (left) and Kaleb Hill enjoy the tropical jungle of the Iliamna community greenhouse.

Today the Igiugig community greenhouse is largely supported by the volunteer labor of community residents. In addition, AlexAnna has been able to bring in volunteers from out of state who work in the greenhouse in exchange for an amazing summer experience in Alaska. By starting small and taking small steps, the project has been able to grow, to the point where today the community has:

* A 24′x48′ indoor polycarbonate green house
* A 10′x20′ outdoor cold house
* Space in the greenhouse for all the families in the community to have plots
* Space for growing food for local lodges that generates revenues for the project
* A wood boiler that will be used for the first time this year to extend the growing season.
* Locals saving seeds so that seeds won’t have to be purchased from outside the community.
* A community food scrap program that takes scraps from residents and lodges and transforms them into either chicken food or compost for the garden projects.

In addition, they’ve been able to offer a greenhouse growing class through UAF, with instruction right in the community. Participants earned college credit.

AlexAnna estimates that the total costs in the greenhouse project, including the wind generators, is about $300,000. Much of that came from community match, she said, but it also went together bit by bit. With the increased focus on community agriculture and sustainability, a number of funding options have been available along the way.

Challenges

AlexAnna reports that the volunteer labor in Igiugig is tremendous, but people’s seasonal obligations mean that having a full time greenhouse coordinator makes a big difference. With so much going on, she says it’s really needed! The village council has had luck bringing in people from outside for a summer adventure.

They’re also hoping to improve the watering system. Gutters currently collect some of the rainwater that fall on the building, but AlexAnna says the system could be expanded, and she hopes that a misting system can be built in the greenhouse to make the watering more efficient and less labor intensive.

Sustainable?

Today, the inputs that keep the community greenhouse going are minimal. In the beginning, soil was flown in from outside the community as they worked to get their composting system going, but that should not be a need in the future. In addition to using food scraps to feed the chickens, as described above, the community landfill now includes composting of other food scraps and compostable items. Specialty items such as blueberry bushes or other plants could be brought in, but the only significant remaining input from outside the community is organic fertilizer. AlexAnna notes that the community could produce its own fertilizer from fish scraps and other items, but they’re not there yet.

For the chickens, the community continues to order chicken feed via barge. Though chickens are happy on scrap food, they also need nutrients that the feed provides.

An Inspiration for Other Communities

All in all, Igiugig’s accomplishments are admirable, and show what is possible with some passion and a dream. And the benefits–greater self-reliance, healthful food, and a sense of participation and volunteerism–far exceed their costs.

AlexAnna said that potlucks in Igiugig now feature big salads and vegetables grown in their own earth. These never would have been on the menu before–the cost and the lack of availability meant they just weren’t part of the community fare. Nowadays, a big bowl of salad can be the feature dish!

Kodiak Hoophouses get Great Press Coverage

Web posted Thursday, August 18, 2011 http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/081811/bus_snuatg.shtml

State's new USDA agronomist talks growth

By James Brooks
Kodiak Daily Mirror


Guests at the Kodiak Soil and Water Conservation District growers potluck Aug. 3 in Kodiak take their pick of food provided by Kodiak residents, including fresh-grown produce and beef. The event was a chance for local growers to meet Craig Smith, the new USDA agronomist for Alaska. AP Photo/James Brooks/Kodiak Daily Mirror

KODIAK (AP) — If you listen to new Alaska state agronomist Craig Smith for long, you'll probably come away believing hoophouses, formally called high tunnels, are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

In Kodiak, that might not be far from the truth. While they won't do the slicing, hoophouses have tripled crop yields in farms across Kodiak, Smith said.

Smith was the featured speaker at a recent growers potluck, sponsored by the Kodiak Soil and Water Conservation District.

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Smith, who works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, said a three-year pilot program to expand the use of hoophouses has been wildly successful in Kodiak and Homer, helping the service reach its congressional mandate to reduce the amount of energy needed to transport food to consumers.

"(Hoophouses have) been one of our successful programs," he said at the Aug. 3 event. "It has been small-scale farmers that are trying to decrease transportation costs and transportation difficulty by growing their own fresh vegetables."

Smith said much of his job involves answering questions that staff at the local soil and water office forward to him.

"Here on Kodiak . they call up, visit or email the district staff, and if they can't answer it and feel it deals with agronomy, they pass it on to me," Smith said.

Mark Kinney, district conservationist for Homer and Kodiak, is one of those staffers. He joined Smith in promoting the hoophouse gospel.

"When you buy locally, you're not only supporting the local economy, you assure yourself you're eating well," Kinney said.

Under the subsidy, which was only available to established growers, the NRCS required participants to purchase a hoophouse kit and maintain it for four years, including soil testing, pest control and fertilizer. In return, NRCS paid $4.86 per square foot of hoophouse. To put this figure in perspective, an eligible 480-square-foot model available online costs $1,039, not including shipping.

Kinney said of the 234 hoophouses subsidized in the first two years of the NRCS pilot program, 153 have been built in the Homer-Kodiak area and 31 constructed on Kodiak Island. There were 134 applications from the area for the third year of the project, including 25 from Kodiak. That's more hoophouses built and more applicants than any other NRCS region in the country.

"That really shows the desire here to extend the growing season," he said. "It's a minimum of six weeks added to each side of the growing season . That's three months additional growing time."

With that growing time, "The farmers market is firing up as a result," he said. "We have people growing fruit trees, apples and cherries, here on Kodiak. . We saw people growing and harvesting corn here in Kodiak."

As the three-year pilot project reaches its conclusion, Kinney said time will be needed to analyze the data generated by the project, whose stated goal was to determine whether hoophouses are economically viable in Kodiak.

When asked if that seems to be the case, he had a quick answer: "Absolutely."

With the high cost of transportation to Kodiak, there's a niche for local producers to create locally grown produce and take advantage.

"Kodiak producers are very clever," Kinney said.

Save the Date: Great Film April 1

Sustainable Kodiak and Kodiak College Community Engagement Committee Present:

Friday, April 1, 6:30 pm, room 130 The Age of Stupid

Bullfrog Films has just released a new documentary film, The Age of Stupid by Franny Armstrong.

About THE AGE OF STUPID
The film is a drama-documentary-animation hybrid which stars Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, watching archive footage from the mid-to-late 2000s and asking "Why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?"
Amid news reports of the gathering effects of climate change and global civilization teetering towards destruction, he alights on six stories of individuals whose lives in the early years of the 21st century seem to illustrate aspects of the impending catastrophe. These six stories take the form of interweaving documentary segments that report on the lives of real people in the present, and switch the film's narrative form from fiction to fact.
Details, awards and a trailer can be found on Bullfrog Film's website here http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/aos.html

Alaska Climate Change Compact

For your consideration: Should Kodiak join this statement?

Alaska Coastal Communities Global Climate Change Compact

Alaska has more miles of coastline than all the rest of the United States. The vast majority of our state’s residents call our coastal communities home. These communities generate billions in economic activity. From Metlakatla to Kaktovik, people have lived along Alaska’s vast coast for thousands of years and depended on rich biological ocean resources for survival. Today, the cultural identity and survival of Alaska’s coastal communities still depend on the ocean resources that support commercial fishing, tourism, recreation and subsistence.

We, the undersigned Alaskan local and regional governments and elected officials, express our deep concern about human-induced global climate change and ocean acidification and issue a call to policymakers to take strong and immediate action to prevent catastrophic impacts from greenhouse gas emissions. We recognize the validity of the following statements:

1. Global climate change represents one of the greatest threats of our time. The Intergovernental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s leading scientific body on this subject, has presented compelling evidence of climate change’s dangerous effects and has recommended steps to avoid them. The IPCC has called on nations to collectively curtail greenhouse gas emissions to ensure that atmospheric concentrations peak no later than 2015 and decline 80 percent by 2050, compared to 2000. The IPCC has concluded with 90 percent confidence that today’s climate changes are attributable to human activity, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels.

2. Ocean acidification is caused by increased carbon dioxide concentrations from the burning of fossil fuels and is accelerating. The daily uptake of over 22 million tons of carbon dioxide into the ocean is causing ocean acidification and threatens many forms of marine life by decreasing the ability of certain organisms to build their shells and skeletal structures. Ocean acidification has the potential, within decades, to severely affect marine organisms, food webs, biodiversity and fisheries.

3. Global climate change and ocean acidification threaten communities in Alaska. Because high latitude regions of the earth are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of global climate change, Alaska has been described as “ground zero” for climate change. Coastal erosion, thawing permafrost, and spruce bark beetle infestations are evidence of climate change in Alaska. In addition, ocean acidification threatens the fisheries that provide food, jobs, and cultural identity to many Alaskans, particularly in coastal communities.

4. Alaskan coastal communities are important to the nation, and Alaska can play a role in addressing climate change and ocean acidification. Alaska produces more than half of the seafood caught in the United States. Alaska also has potential to mitigate climate change and ocean acidification, through development and export of renewable energy technologies that can be used throughout the developing world.

5. There are compelling economic arguments to act now. Positive economic development and diversification of Alaska’s economy will be associated with addressing climate change in the state. Furthermore, the economic costs of inaction will be far greater than the costs associated with immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with IPCC recommendations.

6. The United States has an obligation to take a leadership role in addressing global climate change. With only 5 percent of the world’s population, the United States produces approximately 25 percent of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.

7. For the well-being of current and future generations, immediate action must be taken at all levels of government and throughout society to address global climate change and ocean acidification. Given the seriousness of these problems, policies and programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions must constitute a priority when allocating government resources.

We hereby express support for the following policies, actions and initiatives:

1. At the national level, immediately enact climate legislation that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet or exceed the goals recommended by the IPCC; e.g., 80 percent reduction from 2000 levels by 2050.
2. Reengage at the national level in the international process of dealing effectively with global climate change.
3. At the national and state levels, enact legislation and fund initiatives that will dramatically increase energy efficiency and the production of renewable energy.
4. Utilize a significant portion of the proceeds from national cap-and-trade legislation, carbon tax, or other sources to fund initiatives in Alaska that will:

- develop renewable energy resources, improve energy efficiency in buildings, transportation, etc., in all sectors of the economy
- increase public knowledge of issues related to greenhouse gas emissions,
- create a skilled workforce for a new clean-energy economy
- help vulnerable communities adapt to unavoidable climate-related impacts
- protect or rebuild infrastructure that is threatened by climate impacts
- enhance research in the area of ocean acidification
- enhance research in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy.

We further express our commitment to:
1. network with other Alaskan coastal communities on the issues of climate change and ocean acidification;
2. encourage actions within our own communities to mitigate climate change and ocean acidification and adapt to unavoidable changes;
3. make wise and effective use of resources provided by the state and federal governments for such actions; and
4. support community efforts to educate the public on these issues.

Signatories:
City and Borough of Sitka
City of Homer
City of Petersburg
City of Dillingham
City of Gustavus
Kenai Peninsula Borough

Eco-tourism in Kodiak

Local tour operators Harry and Brigid Dodge have qualified! They will be reporting briefly at the Sept. 25 Sustainable Kodiak meeting (6:30 pm at Kodiak College) on eco-tourism certification and encouraging anyone who does charters, tours, and trips to certify their own businesses.

Here are some excerpts: Adventure Green Alaska: Tourism Certification Program
Your guide to sustainable tourism in Alaska! http://www.adventuregreenalaska.org/

"Are you thinking about a trip to Alaska but want to use tourism businesses that care for the environment, are sensitive to Alaska's Native cultures and rural way of life, and are good community citizens? Are you confused by the multitude of companies that describe their business as "green" or "ecotourism"? We created Adventure Green Alaska (AGA) for people like you."

Business Spotlight

Kodiak Treks, owned and operated by Brigid and Harry Dodge

The key to Kodiak Treks success has been maintaining a focus on the health of the environment and wildlife species that attract our guests. Balance is critical since we aim to share the beauty of Kodiak Island with nature enthusiasts from around the world while minimizing impact on bears, other animal species, and the entire ecosystem that supports them. We strive to instruct guests how to behave respectfully in bear country as opposed to trying to train bears to accept human presence for our own economic gain.

By offering a small-group experience (6-guest maximum) we are able to closely manage each group and spend time with our guests in a personal setting. The small group design also allows us to run the lodge on solar power and minimize fossil fuel consumption.

Kodiak Treks Sustainability Principles:

* Minimizing impact on wildlife
* Small group and staff size
* Education-based program
* Investment in local community
* Relationships with land managers

Congratulations and thanks to the Dodges for leading the way to a new area of sustainable business and life in Kodiak!

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.