The City of Bainbridge Island’s emergency and news alert system, Everbridge Nixle, went through a change at the end of October. The City had been using Nixle to let people know about major events and scheduled road work as well as emergencies.

The task for November is to prepare for sheltering in place. Sheltering in place is not something we have much reason to do in western Washington. But when we do, it is of utmost importance to do it right. Almost always, the occasion will be a chemical, biological, or radiological event.

Bainbridge Prepares Founder Scott James and Kari Seybolt-Murphy, Team Lead for our Child Safety and Reunification Team, will be the guests of the next Peacock Family Services’ Partners for Early Learning Workshop Series. James, Seybolt-Murphy, and other BP team members will address the topic of how to prepare families and child caregivers and teachers for large-scale emergencies.

On October 17, join FEMA and millions of people worldwide in the annual ShakeOut earthquake drill. Designed to promote earthquake preparedness and safety, this international event takes place at 10:17 a.m. local time,

I recently spoke to a neighbor who said that she had been planning to do Prepare in a Year and had saved the information from our series of monthly articles but that she had so far not done any of the preparation activities. I told her it didn’t matter that it was October; she could still start now. Doing anything, I said, is better than doing nothing.

It’s October and that means it’s time to shake it. The Great ShakeOut happens October 17 at 10:17 a.m. Atr that time, everybody who’s smart about earthquake preparedness is going to drop to the floor, seek cover under a large piece of furniture, and hold on.

The task for October is to prepare for earthquakes by gathering supplies, readying your household, and practicing what to do when the shaking starts.

It’s time to get another supply of free COVID-19 test kits. Residential households are now eligible to receive free at-home tests from USPS.com.

What’s one of the most important supplies in an emergency? Food. Local farms are the core of our island’s food resilience system. Celebrate and support that resilience at the Winney Farm Fall Festival, September 28, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

In just two days, at our annual Day of Preparedness, you can learn everything you need to in order to ready your household for emergencies. This year, DOP will be held at the Woodward Middle School covered play area. The event happens September 21, from 12 to 4 p.m. As always., it’s free.

Our annual Day of Preparedness (DOP) event happens Saturday, September 21, from 12 to 4 p.m. This year the event will be held in the Woodward Middle School covered play area. As always, the event is free.

The task for September is to stash your under-the-bed supplies. Under-the-bed supplies are those items you can reach for when you’ve been awakened by a crisis, such as an earthquake.

Grow tree fruit in your yard, whether large or small. Learn how in Darren Murphy’s incredible fruit garden. The head of Bainbridge Island Fruit Club, Darren grows many dozens of fruits, including berries, grapes, and multi-grafted tree-fruits, in his small suburban garden on Bainbridge Island.

Remember when we introduced our board in an article back in February? Well, since then we’ve expanded the board further, adding six more people.

The annual Arms Around Bainbridge island-circumnavigation fundraising swim happened Saturday, August 10, clockwise. Four Bainbridge Prepares teams provided support for the event: the Medical Reserve Corps, the Bainbridge Emergency Auxiliary Radio Service (BEARS), the Flotilla, and BIGWEELS.

The Bainbridge Metro Park District’s free movie at Battle Point Park on Friday, August 16, is Twister. Although we don’t get too many tornados here in western Washington, the event naturally lends itself to discussion of natural disasters and emergency preparedness, and Bainbridge Prepares will be handing out preparedness information and answering questions before the movie starts.

Tomorrow night, August 6, from 4 to 7 p.m. join your fellow citizens at the annual National Night Out celebration and information fair.

The task for August is to get utility safe. Utility safety largely consists of familiarizing yourself with the turnoff valves for gas, water, and electricity and making sure your gas systems and electrical systems are safe.

Learning and practicing self-defense gives Bainbridge Prepares volunteers the skills needed to assess and protect themselves in unsafe situations. On Saturday, July 27, 22 volunteers gathered at the Transmitter Building at Battle Point Park for a self-defense class led by former Army Ranger David Jones, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA, and self-defense instructor.

New to Veg Club this year is a special session on climate change and the ways it will challenge and change our gardens and orchards. How can we prepare them to thrive? Learn what’s expected for our area, including future crop prediction tools, local resources, and methods to help your garden and orchard adapt to our new conditions.