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".

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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

Bioneers in Alaska- Sustainable Communities and Kodiak workshop

5th Annual Bioneers in Alaska Conference

"Creating Sustainable Communities"

October 17-19, 2008, University of Alaska, Anchorage

The annual Bioneers in Alaska conference brings together Alaskans to explore practical and innovative ways to live more sustainably and strengthen our communities. Highlights of the 2008 conference include: keynote speakers David C. Korten and Lisa Dolchok, workshops on renewable energy for Alaska, growing community through local food, protecting the health of present and future generations and other vital issues of our times, presentations via satellite from the 19th Annual Bioneers Conference in California and abundant networking opportunities. Bioneers in Alaska is for everybody! Early registration through September 21. Scholarships and Work Exchange opportunities available. For more information or to register, visit www.sustainak.org , or email info@sustainak.org . Phone: (907) 677-9087. Bioneers in Alaska is a project of the Alaska Center for Appropriate Technology.

Community Sustainability Initiatives: Highlights from Anchorage, Homer and Kodiak (day and time to be announced, Theresa Peterson will speak for 10 minutes on Kodiak during this workshop)

Spurred by concerns over the impacts of climate change, Alaskan communities large and small are taking tangible steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the process, communities are engaging in broader discussions of sustainability. In this workshop we will highlight new steps the Municipality of Anchorage is taking to promote a sustainable city and how citizen-led efforts in Homer and Kodiak are helping to shape public policy, fuel local foods movements and stimulate green business development. From expansion of curbside recycling in Anchorage to Homer’s ambitious Climate Action Plan, communities are leading the way to a more sustainable future. This workshop is for anyone wishing to learn more about positive change taking place in Alaskan communities right now and specific ways you can ignite and/or support such efforts in your community.

Kudos to Theresa Peterson for presenting on our own community at this event!

Island Harvester Labor Day Picnic

A summary and catch-up of the Labor Day Picnic

By Switgard Duesterloh

Despite the bad weather during the days before the picnic, it actually did not rain during the picnic and we had a fire and BBQ going (thanks to Hans-Ullrich Tsersich). There were a total of 19 people (incl. 3 children), though some left early and others came late.

We had some great foods, many of which contained locally harvested components. There was a great chunk of white king salmon on the bbq that was donated (ask Hans-Ullrich for the donor's name) and 3 packs of locally made salmon hot dogs who were taken home and enjoyed by several of the attendees. These were donated as samples by the Kodiak Solstix company.

In addition, there was smoked silver salmon, a salmon dip, a potato-salmon-bean salad, a great blueberry pie and locally harvested lettuce. Mary brought some oven-fresh bread with locally harvested poppy-seeds and calendula flower petals, and I had made blueberry juice.

Besides the food sampling there was a great opportunity to sit around a fire and exchange recipes, ideas, and information. Some went to pick salmonberries around the picnic site.

I had organized a plastic/aluminum recycling container from threshold (they have some "event containers" available for loan) but we didn't need it because NO plastic or paper cups, nor throw-away silverware were used at this event!

Overall we would have hoped for more attendance but owing to the rainy and stormy day were pleased about the number of people that did show up. A good time was had by all and when all was over, the rain began to fall again and put out the smoldering remains of our camp fire.