Archive for April, 2011

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Event Summary: Preparing an Emergency 4-day (96 hour) Food & Water Pack

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

4-Day Pack For 1

by Catherine Haug, April 27, 2011

(Photo of 4-day food pack by Lana Nelson; NOTE: fruit leather is missing from the photo)

This event was held on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 7 PM in the Bigfork High School Music Room, and was hosted by the recently formed Bigfork Emergency Response Team (BERT), as part of their 2011 Community Preparedness work.

Topics covered at this event:

  • Welcome by Cheryl Richmond
  • Report on current situation, by Mark Noland
  • Ways to become involved, by Bruce Nelson
  • Emergency communication, by Jim Eddington
  • 96-hour Food Pack and Water by Lana Nelson
  • 4-Day (96 Hour) Emergency Kit (Food Only), by Lana Nelson (printable pdf)

In addition, I have added some recommendations from ESP community members.

Here are two news items about how other communities came together to recover from floods:

  • After Floods: Nashville Proud of Model Recovery (NPR News Item): As communities across the country’s midsection respond to potentially historic flooding, federal emergency officials say they could take some cues from Nashville. The city endured record-breaking rainfall and devastating floods one year ago, and FEMA continues to point to the local response as a model. From member station WPLN, Blake Farmer reports.
  • Community Preparedness for Flooding  in Vernonia OR (ESP post based on article in The Oregonian): A small, rural community organized to deal with, and recover from an oncoming, devastating flood.

(more…)

Posted in Community, Emergency Preparedness, Food-Nutrition-Health, Gathering Summaries | 5 Comments »

Are You Prepared for Flooding or Other Disasters?

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, April 17, 2011, updated April 27, 2011 (red text)

Local news reports are projecting major flooding in the Flathead this spring; some parts of Montana are already seeing flooding. But this is not the only natural disaster that can befall us here. Our mountains are of volcanic origin; a major fault line traverses our valley; violent winds and avalanche are common; forest and other fires happen every year.

Are you prepared? Is your community prepared?

ESP is planning an evening discussion for our regular July 20, 2011 gathering, on the topic of community awareness for emergency response & preparation. This event will be held at:

Bethany Lutheran Church, 8559 Mt Highway 35, Bigfork, (basement)

Located just south of the junction of Highways 35 and 209

By then, we should all have begun to recover from the 2011 flood that is predicted for all of Montana, so we will know how important it is to be prepared for any disaster, that can come without warning.

The following will be attending the event to assist with the discussion and address questions that arise during discussion.

  • Marv –  Assistant Fire Chief Ferndale
  • Wayne – Bigfork Fire Chief
  • Cindy – Flathead Co. Assistant Director, Office of Emergency Services
  • Steve – Lake Co. Coordinator Office of Emergency Services
  • Susan – Director, Flathead Center for the Aging

To prepare yourselves for potential disaster and also for this discussion event, check out the ready.gov and FEMA.gov documents listed below.

See also Event Sunmary: Bigfork Prepares for 2011 Flooding, and Preparing an Emergency 96-Hour (4-Day) Food Pack.

(more…)

Posted in Community, Emergency Preparedness, Home & Ranch | Comments Closed

Foraging for Native Food: Event Opportunities 2011

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

Wild Asparagus

by Catherine Haug

Can you really find adequate nourishment growing wild in the Flathead? Oh sure, you can hunt, fish and pick huckleberries, but what about salad greens, veggies, nuts, seeds and other fruits?

The answer is an abundant YES! Native Americans from our area were successful hunter-gatherers, at least until America moved west. Early pioneers also relied on foraging for their sustenance. And the day may surely arrive when we, too, must depend on our knowledge of what is/is not edible, and where to look for these foods.

To learn more, read on… (more…)

Posted in Community, Food-Nutrition-Health, Remedies | 5 Comments »

Julienne’s Bees

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

Small Cell Hive

By Catherine Haug, April 20, 2011

(Photo, right, from Flathead Beekeepers’ Club Facebook page)

The Flathead Beacon features Julienne and her bees with an online-only article: The Proof is in the Pollen, by Dan Testa, 4/20/11.

Julienne, a lifelong beekeeper in Somers, is a member of the Flathead Beekeepers Club. She has also been a panel member for the ESP gathering on Raising Chickens & Rabbits, and was present with other Alpine Spinners & Weavers at their demonstration on Making Cloth for our March 2010 gathering.

The article also discusses other members of the Beekeepers Club, including Veronica Honthaas, who has presented at the ESP gatherings on Herbs & their Traditional Uses and Managing an Organic Beehive, and will be a member of our upcoming panel presentation on Making & Using Sourdough (May 18, 2011). Ronny practices the regression technique for raising smaller, stronger bees; she also advocates including wild bees in the hive.

Read the article: The Proof is in the Pollen

Posted in Agriculture, Home & Ranch | Comments Closed

Event Summary: Bigfork Prepares for 2011 Flooding (042111)

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, April 22, 2011

With mountain snowpack estimated as at least 150% of normal, county and emergency services predict both the Flathead and Swan Rivers and their tributaries will experience flooding this year. Members of the greater Bigfork community met Thursday April 21 to learn more about potential impacts and what we can/should do to prepare.

Additionally, a meeting on how to prepare a 72-hour food pack for $20 is planned for  Tuesday April 26, 2011, 6 PM, Bigfork High School Music Room.

Here’s a summary of the April 21 session.

(more…)

Posted in Community, Emergency Preparedness, Home & Ranch | Comments Closed

Alternative Sourdough Starters

Sunday, April 17th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, April 15, 2011

Traditional sourdough was discussed in my post on Sourdough, and will be the topic of our May 2011 gathering. While alternative sourdough starters will not be a presentation topic at that event, several members of our community are interested in alternative starters including:

  • gluten-free
  • other cultures such as kefir (rather than traditional wild culture) (more…)

Posted in Fermentation, Culturing & Curing, Food-Nutrition-Health | 1 Comment »

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