Scores of curious Islanders visited the Disaster Hubs Demo at Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church on Saturday, June 15, despite the Juneuary 13-degrees-in-one-hour temperature drop and hail storm. Visitors were greeted by friendly Bainbridge Prepares volunteers who provided a map of the hub’s layout while seated before two white boards that, during a disaster, would be updated with the latest information from the City.

You’ve heard about the 14 disaster hubs located around the island—the centers where you will go for information and medical care after a large-scale disaster. But what will they be like? What specifically will they offer you?

The Northwest is a great place to grow food, especially if you know what to do about our region’s pests and diseases. Arm yourself to recognize and thwart them at the June 4 Veg Club session.

The task for June is to get 3 weeks ready. In the event of a large-scale emergency, Bainbridge Islanders are likely to be isolated for at least three weeks. The bridge might be down and the ferry might be out of service.

The annual Trillium Run, which happened May 11, takes runners from Battle Point Park, up the Forest to Sky Trail, through the Grand Forest, and finally to Hilltop Meadow. The event, hosted by the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation, was supported in part by Bainbridge Prepares volunteers.

The task for May is to gather important documents. The idea is to make sure you have these documents ready if you need to evacuate. During a disaster is not the time to try to think through the paperwork you will need. Such considerations will require quick and easy access to documents that could be inaccessible after a disaster or destroyed by it.

Twenty volunteers from the Medical Reserve Corps of Bainbridge Prepares gathered at Bainbridge Fire Station 21 this past Saturday, April 27, to refresh their skills in managing and inserting intravenous lines (IVs). The four-hour training was a collaboration between Bainbridge Prepares and the University of Washington Medical Center’s (UWMC) Community Partnership Council.

A healthy soil ecosystem can be the difference between an ok garden and a thriving one. In the Veg Club May 7 session learn why and how to support soil life easily to make your garden happier and more resilient. 

The Bainbridge Prepares Interpretation Team are those folks who show up during emergencies at Disaster BHubs and other key sites—such as at our numerous COVID vaccination and testing clinics—to provide language interpretation for people who don’t speak English. On May 24, they’re celebrating their skills and the community with a Spanish Dance Party at Sister’s Cider House.

On January 23, Futurist Bob Johansen (iftf.org) and community organizer Scott James (preparedneighborhoods.com) discussed “Being Future Ready in the Noisy Now” for an audience at Eagle Harbor Books. This 55-minute interactive conversation is now available for viewing on video.

The task for April is to prepare a go bag. This task involves gathering important items that you need to take with you when you have to leave quickly. But this is also a good time to prepare commuter and vehicle bags. A vehicle bag contains emergency supplies and stays in your vehicle. A commuter bag carries portable essentials and goes with you to school or to work.

Last Sunday evening, March 24, Bainbridge Prepares hosted a Child Safety and Reunification Town Hall to address the issue of child reunification in disasters on the Island.

In our April session, meet (virtually) the many beautiful, friendly, and powerful insects that protect our gardens from pests. Learn to support these often unseen and unappreciated allies so they're ready to go to work when pests arrive. It’s easier and more fun than you might think. Everyone everywhere at all levels of experience is welcome.

The Bainbridge Prepares Child Safety and Reunification Town Hall happens tomorrow March 24, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

We all know an earthquake will eventually hit the greater Seattle area. If that happens during the school day, the Bainbridge Prepares partnership - in conjunction with local child-centric organizations - has developed an islandwide child reunification plan.

Want to grow food better, earlier, and longer?

In our March 5th Veg Club session, you’ll learn how to get weeks of more food from your garden with three succession planting strategies as well as how to protect early season plants, make heat lovers more productive, and extend your harvest season with unusually easy-to-make, easy-to-move protection.

The task for March is to create a water supply. This task involves storing an emergency water supply, protecting your existing water supply, gathering water treatment methods, and identifying backup water sources. Read more about water supplies here.

Sunday, February 25, was the perfect day for the annual Chilly Hilly bike ride on Bainbridge: There were the usual hills and it was bone-chilling cold. Eight members of the Bainbridge Prepares Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) skipped the hills but braved the chills for 2.5-hour shifts to provide first aid to the riders.

The task for February is to make an action plan. Creating an action plan involves deciding what to do when a disaster strikes and practicing it in advance. There are three main steps to creating an action plan.

The popular Veg Club returns for its 2024 season on February 6 with a class on achieving the best start for your garden. Learn how to choose the best site and bed type, where to get local amendments, and all about local community gardens so you can have a garden even if you have no space. You’ll also get Northwest-adapted seed sources and precise, region-specific planting calendars.