Harrigan Centennial Hall

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• Sitka Food Hub chosen as one of Sitka Health Summit’s two new community wellness projects for 2013-14

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Summit_LogoWhen the Sitka Health Summit met on Friday at Sweetland Hall to choose its new community wellness projects for the next year, Sitka residents chose creating a Sitka Food Hub as one of the priority projects.

The Sitka Food Hub has multiple purposes. It will serve as a local community food bank, and provide emergency food storage for Sitka. In addition, it will be a program that can help teach food storage and canning skills so residents can fill their own pantries.

Some of the reasons members gave for creating a Sitka Food Hub included eliminating hunger in Sitka, providing canning and food education, providing a community food storage on high ground, helping Sitka prepare for emergencies and have community resiliency, increasing Sitka’s food security, and more.

The goal of the Sitka Food Hub is to work together as a community to make sure everyone in Sitka has access to healthy food daily and for any emergencies. The project will receive $1,500 as seed money and facilitation help from the Sitka Health Summit. The Sitka Health Summit’s other community wellness project this year is to create a task force to prevent the use of meth in Sitka.

The first meeting of the Sitka Food Hub group will be from 6:30-8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 3, at Harrigan Centennial Hall. All community members are invited, especially if they are connected to local schools, emergency planning organizations, food organizations, clergy, government agencies, health programs, and others who deal in hunger and food security issues. If you can’t attend, but might be able to provide us with resources and partnership opportunities, please contact us.

To learn more about the Sitka Food Hub and to get onto the group’s email list, contact Marjorie Hennessy at 747-7509 (days) or marjorie@sitkawild.org.

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• Seventh annual Sitka Health Summit helps celebrate a culture of wellness in Sitka

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The seventh annual Sitka Health Summit is coming up, and this year’s event features health fair, lunch-and-learn, community planning day and community wellness awards.

This annual event got its start in 2007, when leaders from Sitka Community Hospital and the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) got together to try and build bridges between their health organizations. Working with other partners, they created the Sitka Health Summit as a way to help improve the health culture in Sitka.

Summit_LogoThis year’s summit opens with the Sitka Community Health Fair, which takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, at Sweetland Hall on the Sheldon Jackson Campus. This event features workers from the Alaska Health Fair Inc., who will provide a variety of medical tests such as cholesterol checks, glucose tests, vision screenings, flu shots, and more. It also includes informational booths from a variety of health-related programs in Sitka.

At noon on Monday, Sept. 23, at Kettleson Memorial Library will be a lunch-and-learn with Dr. Don Lehmann, a local physician and sports medicine specialist. He will give a brief talk called “Whistle While You Walk,” which will feature highlights about Sitka’s trail system. Participants can enter for a chance to win a set of walking sticks.

The “Community Planning Day: Selecting Sitka’s Wellness Goals” is from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27, at Sweetland Hall. This all-day event is when members of the community get together and select two community wellness projects to work on this year. The two projects will receive $1,500 in seed money, plus facilitation to help get the project going. Last year’s three winning projects included the Sitka Downtown Revitalization project, Walk Sitka‘s work in applying for a Walk Friendly Communities award, and the Sitka Community Food Assessment. Some of the top projects from previous years include the Sitka Bicycle Friendly Community award applications in 2008 and 2012, the Choose Respect mural at Blatchley Middle School to raise awareness about sexual and domestic violence, the Sitka Outdoor Recreation Coalition’s Get Out, Sitka! project to get more families and kids outdoors, supporting the Hames Athletic and Wellness Center as a community resource, etc. There also have been several projects related to local foods, such as creating a Sitka Farmers Market, expanding community gardens and building a community greenhouse, planting dozens of fruit trees around town, promoting more local fish in school lunches, community composting,, and more. The first 65 people to RSVP will receive a free lunch (contact Clara Gray at clara.gray@searhc.org).

Finally, this year’s Sitka Community Wellness Champion Awards will be presented as part of the Monthly Grind at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5, at the Sheet’ká Kwáan Naa Kahídi on Katlian Street. The awards are made in a variety of categories, such as physical fitness, nutrition, tobacco control and policy, holistic health, injury prevention, and general wellness.

For more information, call Doug Osborne at 966-8734 or go to the Sitka Health Summit’s website at http://www.sitkahealthsummitak.org/.

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• Sitka shows off its gardens to International Master Garden Conference cruise

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InternationalMasterGardenersConferenceLogoSome 1,100 participants in the 2013 International Master Gardeners Conference were in Sitka on Wednesday, Sept. 11, when the Holland America Lines cruise ship Westerdam docked in town.

As part of the visit, the Sitka District office of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service prepared a walking tour for the conference participants to show off local gardens and other highlights. The walking tour was a unique opportunity to showcase the challenges and methods used to garden in Sitka as well as interact with Master Gardeners from various locales. In addition to visiting Sitka, the Sept. 7-14 cruise took the conference from Seattle to Juneau, Glacier Bay, Sitka, Ketchikan, Victoria (British Columbia) and back to Seattle.

The Sitka walking tour started at Harrigan Centennial Hall and included a stop to look at apple trees by KCAW-Raven Radio, a stop at the Sitka Pioneer Home to look at the roses and other gardens, a stop at the Russian Bishop’s House (where kindergarten students from nearby Baranof Elementary School plant vegetables in the spring and harvest them in the fall when they return as first-graders). From there the walking tour went to St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm (where the Sitka Local Foods Network grows veggies to sell at the Sitka Farmers Markets), then it was on to the Sheldon Jackson Museum and on to Sitka National Historical Park. The final two stops were at a garden on the Sheldon Jackson Campus (between the Yaw Art Center and Hames Athletic and Wellness Center), and on to the US Geological Survey Geomagnetic Station and UAF Cooperative Extension Service demonstration plots (at the site of the original USDA Sitka Experimental Farm (Page 7), which was the first in Alaska and had more than 100 acres of crops from 1898-1931).

Also at Harrigan Centennial Hall, Sitka filmmaker Ellen Frankenstein hosted a couple of showings of her movie “Eating Alaska,” which examines the food choices one makes, especially when they live in Alaska where produce can be marginal but fish and game are widely available.

UAFMasterGardenerProgramLogoThe Master Gardener (MG) program started in Seattle in the 1970s as a way to extend the horticulture resources of Washington State’s land grant university  to the urban horticulture public in Seattle. The Master Gardeners receive 40 hours of training, similar to a basic three-credit-semester-hour, college-level horticulture class.

In return for this low-cost education the MG participants provide 40 hours of service to their community using Cooperative Extension information resources from their home states. The MG service may be in food gardening, pest management, youth gardening, tree and landscape care, public gardens, etc. Since the initial Seattle project, Master Gardener programs now exist in every state in the U.S., as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. A Master Gardener course was taught in Sitka in April at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus.

• Sitka garden walking tour map for 2013 International Master Gardeners Conference

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• Daily Sitka Sentinel features Keith Nyitray with his winning cabbage from the Sitka ‘state’ Fair

BIG PRODUCE – Sitka gardener Keith Nyitray arranges the leaves on his 17-pound cabbage Sunday during the second annual Sitka “State” Fair at Harrigan Centennial Hall. The cabbage earned a blue ribbon at the fair, which had categories for vegetables, jams, hobbies, crafts, photography and spam hors d’oeuvres, among others. The event included music by the SitNiks and performances by Celtic dancers. (Daily Sitka Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

BIG PRODUCE – Sitka gardener Keith Nyitray arranges the leaves on his 17-pound cabbage Sunday during the second annual Sitka “State” Fair at Harrigan Centennial Hall. The cabbage earned a blue ribbon at the fair, which had categories for vegetables, jams, hobbies, crafts, photography and Spam hors d’oeuvres, among others. The event included music by the SitNiks and performances by Celtic dancers. (Daily Sitka Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

The Monday, Aug. 12, 2013, edition of the Daily Sitka Sentinel included a photo of local gardener Keith Nyitray with his winning cabbage from the Sitka “state” Fair held Sunday, Aug. 11, at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

The second annual Sitka “state” Fair was hosted by the Greater Sitka Arts Council. More details about the event and some of its contests can be found here.

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• Greater Sitka Arts Council seeks entries for Sitka “state” Fair on Aug. 11

2013 Sitka State Fair flierHave you always wanted to participate in one of the official Alaska State Fairs, but didn’t have the money or time to get to Haines, Palmer or Fairbanks? The Greater Sitka Arts Council is seeking entries, including food entries, for the second annual Sitka “state” Fair, which takes place on Sunday, Aug. 11, at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

“The thinking was there are a lot of people in Sitka with a wide variety of interests and talents and a state fair would give them an opportunity to share them, show them off, and have some good old-fashioned, state-fair-type competition,” said Jeff Budd of the Greater Sitka Arts Council. “We also did it because it seemed like a lot of fun and meets our  stated Vision: Art is vital to a healthy vibrant community, and Mission: To increase awareness of the value of arts in Sitka through education, advocacy and programming. Also, as we were the first capital of Alaska that we deserved a state fair as much as Palmer or Haines.”

Entries will be taken for three age divisions — age 0-10, age 10-17, and age 18-older. Entry fees are $3 per item, with a maximum of nine total entries. Ribbons will be awarded for first, second and third place in each age division and category. Food contest entries should include two samples (one for the judges, one for display). Items are for display only, and no sales will be permitted.

Entries should be dropped off from 8-9 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11, at Harrigan Centennial Hall. They will be judged from 9 a.m. to noon, and the fair will be open to the public from noon to 5 p.m. All entries must remain on display until 5 p.m.

Categories to be judged include:

  • Cupcakes
  • Savory Pies
  • Sweet Pies
  • Savory Bread
  • Sweet Bread
  • Artisinal Bread
  • Scones
  • Muffins
  • Jams
  • Jellies
  • Canned Fruit
  • Canned Vegetables
  • Home-Grown Vegetables
  • Hobbies (Crsfts, Collections)
  • Flower Arranging
  • Spam Hors d’Oeuvres
  • Pickling
  • Chickens (Caged)
  • Bunnies (Caged)
  • Vegetable/Fruit Art
  • Canned Fish
  • Smoked Fish

In addition, there also is a “Sitka Tuf” photography contest hosted by the Harry Race Photo Department. To learn more about it, go to the Harry Race website or the Harry Race page on Facebook.

To learn more about the Sitka “state” Fair, go to the Greater Sitka Arts Council website (scroll down for details) or the group’s Facebook page. Entry forms can be downloaded below, or you can get copies at the GSAC office, Room 108 of the Yaw Building on the Sheldon Jackson Campus, or at the Harry Race Photo Department.

• 2013 Sitka State Fair entry form

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• Alaska Division of Forestry Community Forestry Program to host tree care and planting classes in Sitka

A cluster of Parkland apples (photo from the Alaska Pioneer Fruit Growers Association gallery, http://www.apfga.org/)

A cluster of Parkland apples (photo from the Alaska Pioneer Fruit Growers Association gallery, http://www.apfga.org/)

The Alaska Division of Forestry Community Forestry Program, in partnership with Sitka Tree and Landscape Committee, is coordinating three classes on tree health care and planting in Sitka. The classes are open to the public at no charge. Sign-up beforehand is not required. The schedule is as follows:

  • Diagnosing Tree Health Problems
    Monday, June 3, 6:00 – 8:30 pm
    Bob Gorman, UAF Cooperative Extension Service Sitka Office
    Natural Resources & Community Development Faculty
    Learn to observe signs and symptoms and to gather information about the biological, environmental, and cultural factors that affect a tree’s health.
  • Tree Selection, Planting, & Care
    Tuesday, June 4, 6:00 – 8:30 pm
    Patricia Joyner, Alaska Division of Forestry
    Community Forestry Program Manager and certified arborist
    Learn to select the right site, choose a high quality tree, and plant and maintain it.
  • Plant a Tree
    Wednesday, June 5, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
    Patricia Joyner
    Help plant trees in a city park. Apply what you learned in Wednesday’s class in the real world.

The classes will be held at Harrigan Centennial Hall on Monday and Tuesday and will meet at Centennial Hall on Wednesday before going to Sealing Cove for a tree planting. For information, contact the Division of Forestry at patricia.joyner@alaska.gov, 907-269-8465, or Lynne Brandon, Sitka Parks and Recreation, at 747-1852.

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• Sitka Local Foods Network to host April 24 meeting to discuss Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center

This is the inside of a community greenhouse built above the Arctic Circle in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada, that has been one of the models for the Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center (Photo from http://www.cityfarmer.org/inuvik.html).

This is the inside of a community greenhouse built above the Arctic Circle in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada, that has been one of the models for the Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center (Photo from http://www.cityfarmer.org/inuvik.html).

Are you interested in helping Sitka increase its access to fresh, locally grown produce all year round? The Sitka Local Foods Network will host a gathering from 7-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24, at Harrigan Centennial Hall to discuss plans for the Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center.

Building a community greenhouse and education center was a community wellness goal from the 2008 Sitka Health Summit, but over the years there were a few problems bringing the project to fruition (usually with securing land). We are looking to build a 30-foot–by-52-foot greenhouse on a couple of possible sites, including on the Sheldon Jackson Campus or near the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus, among other locations around town. This is the closest we’ve come to being able to start building a community greenhouse, which will help provide Sitka residents with more local produce, and it also will work with schools and local residents to teach gardening and horticulture.

In addition to the availability of land, we have been offered locally harvested wood to build the greenhouse frame, which will be modeled after another successful greenhouse built near Sitka in 2011.

For more information, contact Kerry MacLane at 752-0654 or Doug Osborne at 966-8734.

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• Sitka Local Foods Network to host March 26 meeting to discuss Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center

Sitka residents interested in building a Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center pose with Shane Smith of the Cheyenne, Wyo., Botanic Gardens (front row, second from right) after he spoke at a March 12, 2013, meeting about the greenhouse.

Sitka residents interested in building a Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center pose with Shane Smith of the Cheyenne, Wyo., Botanic Gardens (front row, second from right) after he spoke at a March 12, 2013, meeting about the greenhouse.

The Sitka Local Foods Network will host a meeting from 7-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26, at Harrigan Centennial Hall to continue discussions about creating a Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center.

The construction of a community greenhouse will help Sitka increase its access to fresh, locally grown produce all year round. The greenhouse also will serve as an education center, helping local residents learn about what it takes to grow fruits and veggies in Sitka, Alaska. This was a Sitka Health Summit project from 2008 that recently regained momentum.

The group currently is looking to build a 30-foot-by-52-foot greenhouse, possibly at the Sheldon Jackson Campus near the Hames Athletic and Wellness Center. Other locations are being considered, but this has been the best potential offer of a site since the start of the project. To learn more, contact Doug Osborne at 966-8734 or Kerry MacLane at 752-0654.

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• Sitka Local Foods Network to host March 12 meeting to discuss Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center

Shane-SmithAre you interested in helping Sitka increase its access to fresh, locally grown produce all year round? The Sitka Local Foods Network will host a gathering from 7-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12, at Harrigan Centennial Hall to discuss plans for the Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center.

Building a community greenhouse and education center was a community wellness goal from the 2008 Sitka Health Summit, but over the years there were a few problems (usually with securing land) bringing the project to fruition. It now appears the Sitka Fine Arts Camp will allow us to build a 30-foot–by-52-foot greenhouse on the Sheldon Jackson Campus, next to the Hames Athletic and Wellness Center. This is the closest we’ve come to being able to start building a greenhouse.

In addition to the availability of land, we have been offered locally harvested wood to build the greenhouse frame, which will be modeled after another successful greenhouse built near Sitka in 2011.

Please join us on Tuesday to learn more about this exciting project. In addition, Shane Smith, the executive director and founder of the Cheyenne (Wyo.) Botanic Gardens and author of the Greenhouse Gardener’s Companion, will be at the meeting to provide advice based on his experiences building a similar project. Shane Smith also will give a presentation on greenhouses and high tunnels from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 9, at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus Room 229, and he’ll have a booth at the Let’s Grow Sitka garden education event from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall, 235 Katlian St.

“The Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center would be a tremendous asset to our town and we’ve never been closer to making that dream become a reality,” Sitka Local Foods Network President Kerry MacLane said.  “Having Shane’s expertise and guidance to draw from just puts us that much closer to making this happen this year.”

For more information, contact Kerry MacLane at 752-0654.

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• Sitka Conservation Society, other groups to host Sitka Food Film Festival on Feb. 22-24

Food Film FestThe Sitka Conservation Society and several other partners will host the Sitka Food Film Festival on Friday through Sunday, Feb. 22-24, at Harrigan Centennial Hall and the Larkspur Cafe. The films are free, but donations will be accepted to help cover costs.

In addition to the dozen films, the festival will feature an appearance by Tlingít chef Robert Kinneen about the Store Outside Your Door (a project with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) promoting healthy traditional foods). There also will be a roundtable discussion about Sitka’s food resiliency (food security).

The festival opens with a feature film TBA at 8:30 p.m. on Friday night at the Larkspur Cafe.

On Saturday at Harrigan Centennial Hall, the schedule includes Ratatouille (a family friendly movie) at 10 a.m., Ingredients at 12:30 p.m., End of the Line at 2:30 p.m., Two Angry Moms at 3:45 p.m., followed by a roundtable discussion about Sitka’s food resiliency from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday’s schedule concludes with another feature film TBA at 8:30 p.m. at the Larkspur Cafe.

Sunday’s schedule at Harrigan Centennial Hall opens with A Feast At Midnight (a family friendly movie) at 10 a.m., Food Fight at 12:30 p.m., Bitter Seeds at 2:30 p.m., and Food Stamped at 4 p.m. Robert Kinneen is the keynote speaker at 6 p.m., discussing the Store Outside Your Door and showing film shorts from the project. The festival concludes at 7 p.m. with The Economics of Happiness.

Besides the Sitka Conservation Society, the film festival is sponsored by the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, SEARHC, Sitka Food Co-op, ArtChange Inc., Sitka Film Society, Alaska Pure Sea Salt Co., and the Larkspur Cafe. On Tuesday, Feb. 19, Tracy Gagnon with the Sitka Conservation Society and Andrianna Natsoulas with the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust were interviewed on KCAW-Raven Radio’s Morning Edition program about the film festival, and you can click here to listen to the interview.