Griffin Bay Bookstore is excited to present the authors Audrey DeLella Benedict & Joseph K. Gaydos and their new book about our inland waters: The Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest, The authors will talk about their book, and show many stunning slides of our local fauna, geology, and watery surroundings. Don’t miss this special occasion! Thursday evening, April 9, 7:00 pm at Griffin Bay Bookstore. Here’s more info about the book…

The Salish Sea region is an ecological jewel straddling the western border between Canada and the United States, connected to the Pacific Ocean primarily through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There, lush and mossy old-growth forests meet waters with dazzlingly-colored anemones and majestic orcas.

A beautiful new book, The Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest combines a scientist’s inquiring mind, dramatic color photographs, and a lively narrative of compelling stories. This is the first book of its kind to describe the Salish Sea, whose name was not even officially recognized until 2008. Continue Reading

EDC offers inventors’ workshop in partnership with the NWIRC

Click to enlarge poster

Entrepreneurs with inventions in all stages of product development are invited to a dynamic full-day workshop on getting products from idea to market. The workshop will be presented by the San Juan County Economic Development Council in partnership with the Northwest Innovation Resource Center, on Wednesday, April 22nd on Orcas Island.

The course will cover everything that inventors need to know in order to bring their products to market: idea evaluation, intellectual property, designing and prototyping, marketing, sourcing, manufacturing and crowdfunding. All aspects of the workshop are specifically tailored to help inventors see their designs and ideas come to fruition. Taught by experts from all aspects of product development, the workshop will help inventors get their designs into the marketplace.

Details: Orcas Island, on Wednesday, April 22nd from 10:30 am until 3:30 pm at the Outlook Inn in Eastsound. Advance registration is required: www.sanjuansedc.org/inventor. Cost: $45, covers food and materials. Sponsored by Rosario Resort and Island Market.
The San Juan County Economic Development Council (EDC) strives to strengthen and diversify the economy of San Juan County.

San Juan County is allowing Rock Island Communications to install fiber optic cable in the conduit associated with the County’s Eastsound Village streetlight project.

“Co-locating our fiber optic cable in the streetlight conduit will save businesses located in Eastsound Village a great deal on connection costs,” said Gerry Lawlor, Rock Island’s Executive Vice President. “And, it will help us connect those businesses more quickly.”

“San Juan County Council member Rick Hughes and County Manager Mike Thomas were instrumental in making this happen,” said Foster Hildreth, General Manager of OPALCO and President of Rock Island. “It’s the best use of our county and co-op resources to utilize the existing streetlight conduit for dual purposes.”

Rick Hughes added, “I strongly support OPALCO and Rock Island joining forces to bring high-speed broadband to Eastsound and to the entire County. This is another example of how San Juan County is spearheading economic development in our community and solving complex issues in cooperation with local businesses.”

Rock Island Communications provides modern, scalable and reliable broadband services for homes and businesses in San Juan County and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Orcas Power & Light Cooperative. For more information, go to www.rockisland.com and follow us on Facebook.

Don’t forget – this is happening on Monday…

Many of you will remember the major undertaking of the Community Foundation back in 2008-2009 when our island was hit so hard by the economic downturn of those couple years. At that time, we convened a multitude of organizations and individuals to determine what the most critical needs were that could be addressed by a cross-community united effort, helping to shore up those areas of greatest need during such a difficult time.

Now it’s five years down the road, and we feel it’s time to reassess community needs and determine if new courses of action should be developed for addressing them. The 2015 Community Needs Task Force will provide a forum for discussion of community needs, increase awareness of current and future projects, and facilitate collaboration among organizations. Continue Reading

Not a recipe for a witch’s potion, but tiny amphibians that might be living in your garden!! We are lucky to live in an area where these amazing little animals are still relatively abundant, but they are very sensitive and face many threats. Come learn why they are important and what we can do to protect them.

Shona Aitken will be our speaker. She is Education Coordinator at Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. She is originally from Scotland, but has lived on San Juan Island for 25 years (so she is almost a local!) and has worked in various animal care and education roles at Wolf Hollow for most of that time. She has a degree in Ecology from the University of Stirling in Scotland and has worked in a range of wildlife-related positions including being a Countryside Ranger and carrying out research for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Come hear her share her knowledge of the world of amphibians.

At every meeting, we enjoy general discussion of gardening issues and gardening experiences of all in attendance. The topics among members and guests usually range from greenhouse gardening, container gardening, to gardening with seasonal crops and beyond.
All are welcome!!

Please join us for tea, coffee, dessert and a wonderful program. RSVP to Marguerite Bennett at 378-8524 or just drop in and join the discussion.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at 1:00 pm
Mullis Community Center, 589 Nash Street
Visit our website for more information.

San Juan Island Pilot’s Association donates $500.00 for public school Museum of flight field trip

Left to right: Bob Tauscher, Gavin Flaum, Levi Doenges and Mike Taylor – Contributed photo

The San Juan Pilots Association was pleased to donate $500 to the San Juan Public Schools Foundation to help fund the 7th grade field trip to the Museum of Flight. This donation provided assistance with transportation to the museum, located just south of Seattle.

The Museum of Flight exists to acquire, preserve, and exhibit historically significant air and space artifacts, which provide a foundation for scholarly research, and lifelong learning programs that inspire an interest in and understanding of science, technology, and the humanities.

The central focus of the Museum’s educational programs is to broaden science literacy within an historical context, relating the evolution of technology to the human needs that drive it, and the resulting changes that technology brings to humanity.

As a resource to the public schools, youth programs are designed to complement established schoolroom curricula, presenting factual, yet exciting, interactive examples of the benefits of a science and math education.

“The 7th grade goes to the Museum of Flight every year, and with budget cuts again facing the school district, we at the middle school are especially grateful for funding from such groups as the Pilot’s Association and the San Juan Public School Foundation.” said Teacher John McMain. “The students gain so much from field trips like this one.”

In the photo, a “Thank You collage” from the 7th grade is presented to Bob Tauscher of the San Juan Pilots Association and Mike Taylor of the SJ Public Schools Foundation by Gavin Flaum and Levi Doenges. (Gavin and Levi currently engage in “ground school” private pilot training and hope to earn pilot licenses eventually.)

Kathleen Foley and Tanja Williamson – Contributed photo

Meet Kathleen Foley of the San Juan Preservation Trust and Tanja Williamson of the San Juan County Land Bank for a ‘behind the scenes’ look at an exciting land acquisition project being undertaken for future public use.

Learn about the Mount Grant Preserve (formerly known as Lawson Ridge) and get a peek at its spectacular presence on San Juan island.

• Distance: 2 mi. round trip
• Terrain: Old paved road and rough unfinished path with significant uphill and down.
• Altitude gain: 500′.
• Rating: moderate to difficult.

No dogs please. Rain or shine – Binoculars suggested

Saturday, March 28th from 1:00 to 4:00 pm
Meet and park at the Preserve entrance on West Valley Road. Look for sandwich sign saying “San Juan Preservation Trust/ Land Bank Event“. Parking is limited, so please try to carpool. More information at: www.sanjuanislandtrails.org.

Lucy is this week’s Pet of the Week – Contributed photo

My name is Lucy, but my friends call me, “Lu”. My owner brought me here to this glorified YMCA several months ago when he had to leave the island and couldn’t bring me with him. I can’t tell you how sad that made me, but now I’ve got a nice group of friends who work here and some very kind volunteers who stop by to visit once in a while. Naturally, I would prefer to live with you, so you can admire me on a regular basis and not have to spend so much time in your car coming to visit me.

Folks here at the shelter tell me I’m a perfect lady and I’m sure you’ll agree once you’ve met me. Have your girl call my girl. We’ll do lunch!

Click to enlarge poster

Jan Murphy will be teaching an artists’ workshop on Mixed Media Assemblage using found objects and thrift store treasures.

This will be held at the Islands Museum of Art on April 18th from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and is open to adults at all levels.

Class fee is $95.00 and Materials fee is $20.00.

Call (360) 370-5050 for info and to register. sjima.org

2015 Relay for Life at the San Juan County Fairgrounds September 26, 2015
Theme for 2015 event: Island of Hope

Mark your calendar now – you will not want to miss this!
11 am to 12 pm: Survivors Luncheon
12 pm to 9 pm: Relay Event – FREE all are welcome. You do not need to be on a team. You do not need to run. You do not need to walk. You can just come and enjoy. Bands, entertainment, food and an auction are some of the fun things to enjoy. It is family friendly – so bring the kids!

Speakers include Terry Ogle and Mistress of Ceremonies, Deanna Osborn, who started the San Juan Island Relay for Life event.

Kids having fun at a previous Children’s Festival – Tim Dustrude photo

Island Rec is currently seeking volunteers to help out with the 25th Annual Children’s Festival! We’ve got a great line-up of entertainment and activity providers to reflect this year’s festival theme: Aloha! Escape to Paradise!

Still needed are lots of volunteers to help this event run smoothly. Many hands make light work and there are many ways to help out, whether for the whole day or even just an hour or two. Able bodies are needed for set-up and decorations before the festival; parking attendants, face-painters, clean-up crew, and other helpers are needed during and after the event.

It’s a great way to support programs for kids & families in the community and promises to be a lot of fun too! Youth volunteers can also earn San Juan Service Scholarship credit!

The Children’s Festival happens Saturday, May 2nd from 10am-2pm at the Fair Building. Those interested in volunteering are urged to contact Morgan Johnston, at 378-4953 or by email at Morgan [@] islandrec [.] org.

Click to enlarge poster

The Library is pleased to premiere a short film made by island teens participating in a filmmaking workshop last summer at the library.

Teens spent the day with local actor/director Conrad Wrobel learning about script writing, acting, directing, make-up.
Join us for this screening of their results.

This free event is open to the public, and we hope the community will attend!

Friday, March 27th at 7:00 pm
Light refreshments courtesy of the Friends of the San Juan Island Library.

Do you all remember some guy named Ian Byington? (the name rings a bell for me…) But anyway, he sent over this story and photos about this year’s first run of the international ferry. Thanks Ian!!!

The next time you sail home from Sidney, you’ll go through the new American toll booth, completed just in time for the new season in Sidney. The new building was dedicated and used for the first time on Sunday morning. Inset: This year’s button! Photo by Ian Byington for the San Juan Update

It happens every spring – the Sidney ferry begins its run to and from Anacortes and Friday Harbor. This weekend marked the first trip of the year, and the San Juan Update’s Ian Byington reports:

Sometimes borders keep people apart, and sometimes they are the place people come together.

Flags from both sides of the border were waving as the annual return of the ferry run was celebrated. Photo: Ian Byington/San Juan Update

With the earliest opening date in a decade, the Washington State Ferry’s scheduled run to Sidney, B.C. got underway Sunday. Elected officials and other dignitaries made their way to Sidney on the first international run of the year – people from Skagit Valley, Anacortes, Friday Harbor, and Sidney & Victoria gathered at the midday ceremony.

Friday Harbor Town Council Member Barbara Starr (left) took the first boat over Sunday morning to represent the Town for the day’s festivities. Photo: Ian Byington/San Juan Update

This year’s ceremony also included the official ribbon-cutting for the new toll booth as well! Continue Reading

“Aspen” the Wolf Hollow hawk – Contributed photo

Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center will be hosting an Open House on April 4th, 2015, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. This is your once-a-year chance to see behind the scenes of the wildlife care facility, not usually open to the public.

Learn how we care for injured and orphaned wildlife, see the animal intake area, food prep room, x-ray room and indoor and outdoor enclosures.

• Activities include
• Guided tours
• Educational exhibits
• Presentations
• and free snacks and drinks.

Meet staff, board members and volunteers. Weather permitting there will be presentations featuring our education birds, Aspen and Madrona.

Wolf Hollow is located at 284 Boyce Road, but parking is limited, so please catch our complimentary shuttle bus in front of the Grange on First Street (just up from the Whale Museum) every hour on the hour beginning at 11:00 am and ending at 2:00 pm.

Admission is free, donations are appreciated.

For more information go to www.WolfHollowWildlife.org or call 360-378-5000. Continue Reading

Click to see event poster

Drawing from ancient knowledge and cutting-edge science, Symphony of the Soil is an artistic exploration of the miraculous substance soil.

By understanding the elaborate relationships and mutuality between soil, water, the atmosphere, plants and animals, we come to appreciate the complex and dynamic nature of this precious resource.

The film also examines our human relationship with soil, the use and misuse of soil in agriculture, deforestation and development, and the latest scientific research on soil’s key role in ameliorating the most challenging environmental issues of our time.

At Brickworks, 6:00 to 8:00 pm Wednesday, March 25th

A free Movie event sponsored by the San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild, SJ Islands Conservation District & WSU

The Friends of the Constitution Steering Committee is pleased to announce our sponsorship of a free public forum, entitled, “An Afternoon’s Conversation with San Juan County Sheriff Ron Krebs”.

Click to enlarge poster

The forum is co-sposored by the League of Women Voters of the San Juans. The presentation will be at the Grange Hall on Saturday, April 4, 2015, from 1:30-4:30 pm.

Sheriff Krebs will present an educational talk to inform the community of his philosophy and his interpretations of his duties and responsibilities as the elected peace officer, his primary concerns regarding our community, and to discuss how the community may cooperate to facilitate his efforts.

His presentation will be followed by an intermission for refreshments and then a question/answer session with Sheriff Krebs and the audience.