After-school sailing club launches with 20 students, 4 new boats, thanks to generous donations

Twenty students from San Juan, Lopez and Orcas Islands glory in the sun, the wind, and the sea on Griffin Bay twice a week with the Sailing Club at Jackson Beach. Because distancing occurs naturally between sailors in single-handed sailboats, this is a great activity for these students.

And as they say, it takes a village to make this possible, and many thanks are due.

The program is sponsored by the SJI Sailing Foundation. Tuition for the fall program is $100, which doesn’t cover all expenses. This low cost and the availability of full and partial scholarships are made possible thanks to individual donors and a $1,000 matching grant from the San Juan Island Community Foundation (sjicf.org). The Sailing Foundation sincerely thanks them all for their support.

The Sailing Club launches from the far end of Jackson Beach at the Net Shed. Use of this building is generously provided to the Sailing Foundation by the Port of Friday Harbor, and thanks go to the Port as well. Continue Reading

League of Women Voters hosts online General Election Candidate Forums

The Leauge of Women Voters of the San Juans will host three nights of online forums for local candidates in the Nov. 3 General Election.

From 5:30-7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6, incumbent Rick Larsen will face his opponent Timothy Hazelo, who are both running for U.S. Representative for Congressional District 2.

From 5:30-7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 7, San Juan County Council candidates will meet. Incumbent Rick Hughes and challenger Cindy Wolf are both running for San Juan County Council Residency District 2. Ryan Palmateer and challenger Christine Minney are both running for San Juan County Council Residency District 1. Continue Reading

New individual desks

Spring Street International School would like to thank the San Juan Island Community Foundation for hosting, coordinating, and including us in the SJICF Fair Matching Grant Program.

The Fair Matching Grant Program helped us raise $4,605 that went towards preparing our school to open up safely this fall and provide our students with an innovative education in the midst of this public health crisis.

With these funds, we have made 114 individual desks with the help of our board members, parent volunteers, and students. We were able to purchase event tents that will be used for outdoor classroom space. We also are improving our online distance learning format to continue to prepare for the unexpected. Continue Reading

The timing couldn’t be more perfect: This Saturday, September 26, 2020, on National Public Lands Day, Zylstra Lake Preserve officially opens for day-use public access.

National Public Lands Day embodies the same values that inspired your Conservation Land Bank and the San Juan Preservation Trust to form a public-private partnership in 2015 to preserve the 313-acre property. This annual event celebrates connection between people and green space in their community and inspires environmental stewardship, along with encouraging use of open space for education, recreation, and health benefit. Docents from the Land Bank and Preservation Trust will be on site this weekend and look forward to answering any questions.

For a sneak peek on what you’ll find at the Preserve, click the image above for a video tour via the Land Bank’s YouTube channel. Please remember to follow County Covid-19 safety protocol, which includes practicing social distancing and covering your face when a 6-foot distance cannot be maintained. And above all, stay home if you are feeling sick.

Continue Reading

Until Public Health regulations allow for audiences to enter theatres again, SJCT is going all-digital with some exciting new programming that will be filmed and distributed FOR FREE. Films will be available on our website, at www.sjctheatre.org.

• Week of October 5: Melodious Notes Over the Harbor
• Week of October 26: Desolation Sound
• Week of November 2: Emily Anton from The Ballet and Movement School
• Week of November 9: SJCT’s Family Theatre presents Super Happy Awesome News
• Week of November 23: Pilots in Training
• Week of December 7: Salish Sea Ballet
• AND MANY MORE TO COME!*Release dates are approximate to accommodate film editing.

Additionally, SJCT’s new sketch comedy web series Friday Harbor Happenings will be premiering in late October and releasing a new sketch every two weeks!

There are many more performing artists on San Juan Island that we are already speaking with or excited to invite for filming! Stay tuned for more information!

The San Juan County Land Bank is offering a once-a-year opportunity to purchase locally grown wildflowers native to San Juan County. Reserve your plants online September 18 – 27, and pick them up on Saturday, October 3 at locations on Lopez, Orcas, and San Juan islands. All plants are produced locally by the Salish Seeds Project.

Many of the wildflowers offered are hard to obtain commercially and are uncommon even in the wild. Most are showy, excellent for native pollinators, and drought-tolerant. 20 species will be offered, including broadleaf sedum, common red paintbrush, great camas bulbs, Canada goldenrod, Idaho blue-eyed grass, and farewell-to-spring seed. A complete list of species, descriptions, and prices will be available on the Land Bank’s website starting September 18.

Plant reservations must be made online September 18 – 27 and picked up at the following locations on Saturday, October 3 between 12 – 1 pm:

• San Juan Island – Salish Seeds Project nursery at Red Mill Farm
• Lopez Island – Sunset Builder’s Supply
• Orcas Island – Coffelt Farm

The Salish Seeds Project is dedicated to restoring native wildflowers and grasses in the San Juan Islands. Plants and seeds for habitat restoration are produced at a nursery located at Red Mill Farm in San Juan Valley. In a fruitful partnership, The San Juan Preservation Trust owns the property and the Land Bank runs the nursery.

For more information contact Outreach/Volunteer Coordinator, Tanja Williamson at 360-370-7655 or email [email protected].

San Juan Island Library announces that renowned regional author Clare Hodgson Meeker will host a Zoom talk on Friday, October 2, at 7:00 p.m. Meeker’s latest book, Growing Up Gorilla: How a Zoo Baby Brought Her Family Together, is a 2020 Washington State Book Award Finalist for Young Readers.

Meeker will discuss writing Growing Up Gorilla and share information on the gorillas of Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. The talk will include how she gained access to the gorillas’ behind the scenes life, as well as updates on how they are doing since the zoo’s recent reopening. For more information about Clare Hodgson Meeker visit www.claremeeker.com.

To attend True Animal Stories with Author Clare Hodgson Meeker, please email Melina Lagios, Youth Services Manager, at [email protected] to receive the required Zoom invitation information. All San Juan Island Library Zoom programs are free to attend. Information about upcoming library programs for all ages can be found at www.sjlib.org.

$12,000 given in scholarships

Island Artisans is a local non-profit organization whose goal is to raise funds in support of young artists within our community. We have served San Juan County for approximately 40 years by granting scholarships to graduating students and supporting practicing artists.

Island Artisans Holiday Market, our primary fundraiser, has always been held on San Juan Island the weekend after Thanksgiving. This year has been very different with the outbreak of a pandemic. The board of Island Artisans has decided rather than canceling our market, we are moving it to the spring with the possibility of it happening in April.

Proceeds from artisan’s booth fees and a percentage of sales go towards the scholarships we grant annually. There were $12,000 worth of scholarships awarded in June to 7 seniors from 3 different high schools.

Watch for upcoming announcements. Interested parties can email [email protected].

As of Sunday, September 20th, the Burn Ban in San Juan County is lifted. Please be safe when enjoying recreational campfires. A reminder that campfires are limited to 3’x3’ in size and are for burning only clean split firewood. 

Permitted residential burning is scheduled to reopen on October 5th. Weather permitting. 

https://www.sanjuanco.com/1096/Open-Burn-Info 

Please follow the link to learn more about burning in San Juan County. 

Stay safe.

San Juan Islands Community Network (SJICN) launches online solutions news channel spotlighting island community members and organizations building a more resilient and thriving San Juans

On Monday, September 21, San Juan Islands Community Network (SJICN) launched to the public, publishing its website and initial video news stories created to inform and engage islanders around the community’s most pressing challenges and opportunities.

SJICN is a community storytelling network and digital media channel dedicated to exploring the environmental, economic and social challenges facing the islands—with a focus on opportunities and solutions. By spotlighting individuals and organizations responding to these challenges with innovative, community-centered solutions, SJICN’s mission is to help ensure a healthy, resilient future in the San Juan Islands where all residents, human and non-human, can thrive. Continue Reading

Town of Friday Harbor 2021 Lodging Tax (LTAC) Grant applications will be accepted up until 4:30 p.m. Monday, September 28^th. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis for funding tourism promotion of events and activities taking place within the town in 2021. Preference will be given to those operations and activities that encourage tourists to visit during the shoulder and winter seasons.

The total amount of funds available for the grant program will be determined later this year. Grantees are advised that distribution of 2021 awards may be delayed or suspended if tourism promotion and/or events are prevented due to state or local COVID-19 mandates.

LTAC grants are awarded annually by the Town Council and are funded with the state’s Hotel Motel Tax collected on all in-town lodging stays of less than 30 days in length.

Interested parties should review the Request for Proposal (RFP) and complete the LTAC Grant Application available at Town Hall, 60 Second Street, Friday Harbor, WA, and at the Town web site: www.fridayharbor.org.

Resource Allocation to Growth and Structure: The Energetic Cost of Mussel Byssal Thread Attachment, by Molly Roberts

Dr. Molly Roberts completed her PhD with Dr. Emily Carrington in 2019 in the Biology Department at UW. Her research involved both experimental work at FHL and fieldwork at Penn Cove Shellfish in Coupeville, WA. Prior to her time in graduate school she was a technician in the FHL Ocean Acidification Environmental Laboratory. She is now working with Dr. Sarah Gilman to predict barnacle growth at a field site at Friday Harbor using an energetics framework.

Specialized biological structures such as teeth, bone, and spider webs are key for organisms’ survival. Animals use the energy they acquire from food to maintain their body tissue, to grow new tissue, and to build specialized structural materials like those above. It’s a constant challenge for organisms to allocate, or distribute, this energy to a range of different biological processes and growth of materials in such a way that maximizes their survival.

One way that resource allocation can be conceptualized is through a framework called Scope for Growth. Similar to how we all must balance our financial budgets by calculating our income, cost of rent and net savings, biologists use Scope for Growth to calculate the intake of energy from food, metabolic costs and resulting surplus energy available for the growth of new tissues. What is less well-understood is how much of their ‘energy budget’ animals allocate to building specialized structural materials.

Continue reading…

Now’s the time if you haven’t been counted yet in the 2020 Census. Click here to see what options you have.

About the 2020 Census
The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years. The 2020 Census counts everyone who lives in the U.S. on April 1, 2020. Census statistics help determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and how billions of dollars in federal funds will be allocated by state, local, and federal lawmakers every year for the next 10 years.

Pelindaba Farm – photo by Kalina Jazuk

Small businesses are relying more than ever on your support as they creatively cope with COVID.  Here’s the second of a series of stories about their survival.

When COVID-19 became a global pandemic in March, all of us were suddenly navigating uncharted waters. However, San Juan Islands businesses have responded with compassion and ingenuity during these tough times.

This is the second of a series of stories to highlight how businesses on Lopez, Orcas, and San Juan Island have coped, giving you a chance to get to know and support them and all businesses in staying “San Juan Islands Strong.”  We also encourage you to share stories with us of businesses that have created magic in their own ways, we know more stories are out there.

You don’t have to travel far to have a total escape. Sometimes, it’s found in your own backyard…

Story 2: Pelindaba Lavender Farm – A Natural Balm

Pelindaba in the Zulu language means a “place of great gatherings,” a nod to owner Stephen Robins’ South African heritage. By nature, Pelindaba has embraced their guests and invited them to “great gatherings” every summer, including their July lavender festival. This season, however, they had to focus more locally and think creatively to stay open safely and respectfully. Continue Reading

Island Rec has 2 Great LEGO camp options for you this season! The first, tap into your imagination from the comfort of your own home with the guidance of an experienced Play-Well instructor and simple pieces from your own LEGO collection – all while connecting virtually with other young LEGO engineers.

Students will explore their creative boundaries, learn new building techniques, and connect their projects to practical real-world STEM concepts, with a focus on open-ended builds that do not require special LEGO pieces. You must have your own LEGOs to participate in this class, Island Rec has a limited supply to loan, please let us know during registration if you need to borrow LEGOs. Register by September 24^th for $59.00 Class is held Tuesdays October 6-27, 3:30-4:15pm. Ages 6-11.

Option 2, Bring Minecraft to life from the comfort of your own home! Protect yourself from Creepers and do battle with the fierce Ender Dragon as you explore your creative boundaries, learn new building techniques, and connect your projects to practical real-world STEM concepts. Continue Reading

Crews from SJIF&R and SJIEMS at the fuel dock in Friday Harbor completing an after-action debriefing following their mission on the morning of September 13, 2020 – Contributed photo

Special Deliveries: On One Morning, San Juan Island Fire & Rescue Joins Partner Agencies With Two Baby Deliveries

This time, it wasn’t the stork who made the middle of the night call to assist two pregnant mothers.

Just before 3:00 a.m. on Sunday, September 13, pagers beeped throughout San Juan Island announcing an urgent need for a San Juan Island Fire and Rescue fire boat crew and San Juan Island EMS to assist two mothers, in very active labor on two different islands – one on San Juan Island and one on Orcas Island.

Air transport options were denied due to a combination of resource limitations, environmental conditions, and mechanical issues and with our two islands’ mothers desperately needing transport to Island Hospital, SJIF&R Fire Boat Sentinel was the only available option. The fire boat has radar, forward-looking infrared radar (FLIR) and marine automatic identification system (AIS) to assist with safely navigating in limited visibility operations. Continue Reading