subsistence

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• Sitka Conservation Society hosts wild foods potluck on Wednesday, Nov. 2

The Sitka Conservation Society will host its second annual wild foods potluck on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., with food served at 6 p.m.

Come celebrate Alaska’s bounty with friends and family. Bring a dish featuring food fished, foraged, hunted or cultivated in Southeast. If you don’t have any wild foods to share, just garnish your dish with a local plant. After dinner is served there will be a short presentation by SCS Community Sustainability Coordinator Tracy Gagnon about the Fish To Schools program.

There also will be presentation by Sitka High School musicians and booths from the Sitka Local Foods Network, the Slow Food Southeast Alaska group, the Sitka Sound Science Center, Sitka Trail Works, Recycle Sitka, Sitka Bicycle Friendly Community Coalition, Sitka 4H Club, Sitka Maritime Heritage Society, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Mt. Edgecumbe High School Youth for Environmental Action, Sitka Seafood Festival and more.

Prizes will be given for first place in the following categories: Best Entree, Best Side, Best Dessert, Most Creative, and Incorporation of the Most Local Ingredients. Entries should include a wild/local food. Pick up an entry form at the front table when you arrive at the potluck.

This event is open to the entire community; you do not need to be a Sitka Conservation Society member to attend. Non-alcoholic hot drinks will be provided.

For more information, contact Ashley Bolwerk at the Sitka Conservation Society office at 747-7509.

• Wild Foods Potluck flier (opens as PDF file)

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• Sitka Local Foods Network hosts seed-saving workshop on Sept. 11

The Sitka Local Foods Network will host a seed-saving workshop with James David Sneed from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11, at Sprucecot Gardens (308 Peterson).

This free workshop will cover basic seed saving concepts and include hands-on practice with peas, radishes, beans, squash and grains. Information will be provided for those interested in saving seed from the cabbage (kale, broccoli), carrot and beet families.

Learn how to save seed and prepare for next season’s garden.

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• SEARHC, UAF Cooperative Extension Service to host ‘Basics of Food Preservation’ classes

University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service Tanana District Agent Roxie Dinstel demonstrates proper home canning techniques (Photo courtesy of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service)

University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service Tanana District Agent Roxie Dinstel demonstrates proper home canning techniques (Photo courtesy of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service)

Are you looking for ways to safely put up your grub? Do you have extra salmon or veggies you want to preserve for eating this winter? Two “Basics of Food Preservation” classes will be taught Wednesday, Aug. 31, in Sitka.

The first class takes place at noon on Aug. 31 at the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) S’áxt’ Hít Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital Litehouse Cafeteria conference rooms. The second class is at 7 p.m. at Kettleson Memorial Library.

Both one-hour classes will be taught by University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service Tanana District Agent Roxie Dinstel of Fairbanks, who will cover safe canning and preserving for various types of foods. Roxie helped create the UAF Cooperative Extension Service‘s new Preserving Alaska’s Bounty online tutorials for home canners, which can be found at http://www.uaf.edu/ces/preservingalaskasbounty/. (Note, Adobe Flash Player required to view tutorials, but it can be downloaded from the site.) She also helped write several of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service’s publications on canning, which are available from your local UAF Cooperative Extension Service office (at the University of Alaska Southeast-Sitka Campus in Sitka) or can be downloaded online at http://www.uaf.edu/ces/publications/.

In addition to the two classes on home canning, Roxie also will be available to test pressure gauges for home canning equipment owned by Sitka residents. These tests can tell you if your gauge is still accurate, or if it needs to be replaced for safe canning.

These classes are sponsored by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, Kettleson Memorial Library and SEARHC Health Promotion. All are welcome to attend, and the classes are free. For more information, please contact Martha Pearson at 966-8783 or martha.pearson@searhc.org.

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• Sitka Seafood Festival steering committee to meet Aug. 23 to plan 2012 festival

The Sitka Seafood Festival will host a planning (or “see if we can make this festival happen again”) meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 23, in the fireplace pit at the Westmark Sitka Hotel (330 Seward St.).

The third annual Sitka Seafood Festival is tentatively planned for Aug 3-4, 2012, but there is a lot we need to figure out to make sure this can actually happen. If you are interested in any capacity, please either attend the meeting, or get ahold of Alicia Olson prior to the meeting.

Alicia will have specific job descriptions and tasks to try and delegate, and the steering committee will discuss the possibility of merging or piggybacking so this event can be sustainable in the future. If your organization would like to be involved, please send a rep or contact Alicia as well.

“I have heard nothing but positive, amazing comments regarding this festival, and I know we would all like to see it continue to grow, so spread the word,” Alicia said. “Thanks again to everyone for so much hard work and effort … and see you on Tuesday.”

For more information about the Sitka Seafood Festival, contact Alicia Olson at Alicia Olson at 1-928-607-4845 or sitkaseafoodfestival@gmail.com.

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• Sitka Conservation Society hosts a Sitka Salmon Tour for Kids

The Sitka Conservation Society will host a family friendly walking tour of Sitka’s salmon habitat from 5:30-7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 26, starting at the Sitka Sound Science Center(834 Lincoln St.).The walking tour will explore the magic of salmon from stream to plate. It is similar to the walking tours offered this summer by Sitka Salmon Tours and the Sitka Conservation Society.

This special family friendly walking tour is a benefit for the Fish to Schools program, which provides local fish and stream to plate education in Sitka schools. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children and available at Old Harbor Books. Space is limited to 20 participants.

For more information, contact Sitka Salmon Tours and/or the Sitka Conservation Society at 747-7509 (both can be reached at this number).

• Flier for Sitka Salmon Tour for Kids

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• ADF&G offers basic hunter education course July 22-23 in Sitka

A Sitka black-tailed deer feeds on one of the barrier islands near Sitka

A Sitka black-tailed deer feeds on one of the barrier islands near Sitka

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is offering a two-day basic hunter education class July 22-23 in Sitka. The class takes place from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, July 22, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 23, at the Sitka Sportsman’s Association building toward the end of Halibut Point Road (by the shooting range next to the ferry terminal).

To register, students must purchase a $10 study packet that is available at the Sitka ADF&G office, 304 Lake St., Suite 103. The packet workbook must be completed before the start of the first class. The course is open to anyone, but it is designed for students ages 10 and older. A minimum of six students is needed for the class to take place.

For packet workbooks and additional information, contact the Sitka office of ADF&G at 747-5449. More information about the basic hunter education class also is available online at this link.

This class is required before hunters are allowed to get permits for some of Alaska’s game management areas. Successful completion of the class earns the hunter a certificate recognized by all other states, Canadian provinces and territories, and in Mexico.

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• ‘Getting Real About Food and the Future’ film explains the importance of local food

Why is it so important to promote local foods and local foods systems? This 30-minute video by Christopher B. Bedford explains some of the reasons why local food is so important.

According to the brief synopsis, “The growing oil, water, and climate crises threaten food security in all communities. This new film by Chris Bedford looks at the deeper issues of food security and community survival in this new age of global chaos and scarcity. ‘Getting Real About Food and the Future’ features the wisdom of John McKnight, Bill McDonough, Lester Brown, Bob Costanza, and David Korten in a 30 minute film designed for use in classrooms, meetings, and conferences.”

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• James David Sneed to present food self-sufficiency talks and demonstrations

Why is salty seaweed good for tomatoes, potatoes and broccoli? Is raising small livestock in Southeast Alaska feasible? What seeds can we save here?

James David Sneed, from Price of Wales Island, has been experimenting with food self-sufficiency in Southeast Alaska for 30 years. He also has presented on this topic in Washington state.

James David will give a talk on food self-sufficiency from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 11, at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

James David also will present a hands-on workshop from 10 a.m. to noon the following Saturday, June 18, at Judy Johnstone’s Sprucecott Gardens (306 Peterson Ave – up the hill from McDonalds). This workshop will feature hand tool use and care, garden layouts, bioregional aspects of gardening and nutritional gardening.

Each workshop costs $10, or $15 for both. Low income and WIC enrollees are free. Tickets available at Old Harbor Books, from Sitka Local Foods Network board members and at the door. Funds raised benefit the Sitka Local Foods Network.

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

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• Kayaaní Commission to meet on Thursday, March 24

The Kayaaní Commission is regrouping and it will hold an organizational meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 24, in the upstairs conference room at the Sitka Tribe of Alaska administration building, 456 Katlian St.

The Kayaaní Commission was created by an ordinance from the Sitka Tribe of Alaska as a way preserve and protect plants and the traditional ways they are used in Sitka. The group looks at medicinal, ceremonial and food uses of local plants.

To learn more, contact Leighanne McGough (747-7167 or leighanne.mcgough@sitkatribe-nsn.gov) or Kristin Rothblum (kristin.rothblum@sitkatribe-nsn.gov) at the Sitka Tribe of Alaska.

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• UAF Cooperative Extension Service conducts Southeast Alaska Food Security Survey

A display shows the typical mileages food needs to travel to get to Sitka stores. The mileages are for several vegetables that are easy to grow right here in Sitka.

A display shows the typical mileages food needs to travel to get to Sitka stores. The mileages are for several vegetables that are easy to grow right here in Sitka.

Bob Gorman, the Sitka-based Natural Resource and Community Development faculty member for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, sent this e-mail out last week to local food people, health professionals and others interested in food security issues.

Please feel free to send this survey request around to other Southeast residents so they can complete it, too.

Subject: Southeast Alaska Food Security Survey

Dear Southeasterners,

Does everyone in your community have access to good, healthy food?  Will this always be true?  Do you have questions or concerns about your personal or community’s food security?

Southeast extension agents of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service (CES) and Marine Advisory Program (MAP) are looking to engage university resources in addressing research based questions about Southeast Alaska’s food security situation.  Before CES and MAP can initiate this work, we need to determine if there is a real need and interest.

Please take a moment to fill out the online survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/foodsecurity

If you have any questions about filling out the survey or need a hard copy sent to you, please call Linda Watson at 796-6221 or email ljwatson@alaska.edu.

If you know others interested in this issue and would care to forward this email, it appreciated.  We will wrap up this survey by the end of December, so please don’t delay.

Thank you for helping on this effort.