The
INSIDE Letters to the Editor
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Power of Children’s Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
Sports Preview
Anne Willis photo
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Islands’ eekly W
VOLUME 35, NUMBER 39 • September 25, 2012
Sharing the wisdom of Lopez KnowledgeShare is a local organizations that aims to educate, nurture community connections and promote healthy living By Cali Bagby
Special to the Weekly
THANK YOU from Lopez Island Center for Community and the Arts! The 2012 Home Tour, our major annual fundraiser, was a huge success thanks to the generosity of homeowners, sponsors, volunteers and for those who purchased tickets and visited homes. See you next September 2013!
Twenty-five people, each with their own instrument, crammed into the cafe ready to learn how to play like an Appalachian String Band. “Everyone had a blast,” said Callie North. The music class was hosted by KnowledgeShare, an organization that aims to cultivate and support the exchange of community wisdom on Lopez Island. North and Milla Prince started KnowledgeShare in February. After that first session, people started coming to the two women with
subjects they wanted to teach. North said it was just that simple. “As young homesteaders we recognize that there is no need for us to ‘re-invent the wheel’ because the community is full of folks who have walked this path before,” North said. In the last eight months, KnowledgeShare has held 14 classes that have focused on a range of topics such as native ecology, lacto-fermentation, tanning hides, knot-tying, plant genetics and composting. The age of students range from as young as eight to 70 years
LOPEZ LOBOS Home Games This Week: 9/28 Volleyball 2 pm Soccer 2 pm
old. Prince said teachers have been anyone from renowned experts to skilled craft people and passionate laymen. KnowledgeShare is a notfor-profit group and anyone can join as a teacher, student or organizer. “We are having a lot of fun and would love to have even more input and assistance from our community,” Prince said. Class tuition ranges from free to $60 for a series. Financial support and childcare is available. Their goals are to share local knowledge, nurture community connections and promote healthy living and learning. In line with that philosophy, North and Prince are organizing a swap called “Preserve and Fall Bounty Exchange” as a fundrais-
SCREENED TOPSOIL & DOUBLE GROUND WOOD CHIPS/MULCH $32/yard delivered on Lopez STRAW ALSO AVAILABLE
A DIVISION OF BUFFUM BROTHER FARMS, INC.
618 Channel Rd, Lopez Island, WA 98261 360-468-2320 • 360-468-3450 FAX • buffumbros@rockisland.com
FILM:4
in a series of 8 showing each Wednesday at 7PM
Bitter Seeds
for more info visit: www.itvs.org/films/bitter-seeds
Wednesday September 26th 7PM Lopez Library
that This film will take us inside a village in India U.S. by ded uses genetically modified seeds provi . government agencies that promote them
Lopez Center
er for Initiative 2012-4, GMO Free San Juans on Sunday, Sept. 30, 12 - 4 p.m., at Vortex Juice Bar and Cafe. GMO-Free San Juans is a group that has placed Initiative 2012-4 on the November ballot. The initiative will make it unlawful to propagate, cultivate, raise or grow plants, animals and other organisms that have been genetically modified. It does not affect growing of hybrid plants or limit what is available in stores, according to GMO-Free San Juans organizers. “This [GMO-free San Juans] is one the most important issues our world is facing today. It is important because the production and proliferation of GMO seed could mean irreversible damage to the ecosystem, human health and the future of our planet,” said North. “We are at critical point in human history and the scales could be tipped in either direction. If this initiative passes it could be the start of real food security in the San Juan Islands.” The upcoming “preserve swap” follows a trend that is growing popular across the country. But North said they are taking it to the next level by including everything from winter storage crops like potatoes, onions, garlic and squash to fermented foods. They will be raffling off a 50-pound sack of LopezSee wisdom, page 8
Live in Concert
Saturday October 6th, 7:30pm
Kurtis Dengler By donation