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.

Because of climate change and human expansion into wilderness, fire season is now an annual event. That means that at least once a year, you need to take measures to keep your home safe, be prepared to evacuate (read more here), and protect your family’s air quality.

The National Weather Service is predicting high, unsafe temperatures in our region with moderate risk of heat-related impacts for later in the week and major risk for Saturday.

Puget Sound Energy’s Wildfire Mitigation and Response Program is designed to help our region stay safe during wildfire events. During wildfire season, which can run from now into October, certain conditions—such as high winds, extra dry vegetation, and low humidity—can increase the risk of fire from power lines.

The task for July is to get fire safe. When talking about fire, we are referring to fire prevention, preparation, and swift and appropriate response.

It’s not too big of a stretch to think about winter in Juneuary, but in July . . . ? But now is exactly the right time to start thinking about your fall and winter crops.

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.

Our partner Cascadia Ready has created emergency pouches for on-the-go Bainbridge Islanders.

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.