What We Do!
We’re proud of the variety and impact of the projects we sponsor. You’re invited to pitch in, too: it’s a great way to contribute to Anacortes and make some great friends. Click here to email us with questions and interests.
Some of our many projects are described below:
Anacortes Community Forest Lands (ACFL) Forest Monitoring
Anacortes Middle School Garden and Greenhouse
Fix-It Day
Produce Stands
Seed sharing
Skagit Community Solar
Vision 2030
Our Annual Reports from 2018 to the present are available here.
Click here to access year-end reports for 2012 to 2017
Anacortes Community Forest Lands (ACFL) Forest Monitoring
Are you interested in helping monitor the Anacortes Community Forest Lands? We now have an agreement with the City of Anacortes to do baseline studies of the forests in the ACFL so that we can monitor changes in the environment as climate change intensifies over the coming years. Receive training from forest experts to conduct basic forest monitoring of soils, plant densities, weather, and other parameters to see what changes are occurring.
Anacortes Middle School Garden and Greenhouse Project
By Warren Carr and Laurie Sherman
Students at our middle school are learning how to care for a garden, and grow food for our
community!
In late February of 2021 a group of Transition Fidalgo volunteers gathered at Gaia Rising Farm on Guemes Island. Our goal was to start 1400 spring vegetable plants to give away at the April Farmer’s Market. It was great fun! Together we mixed soil and organic amendments and created soil blocks to plant the heirloom (open pollinated) seeds without the use of plastic pots or trays.
At the market event the enthusiastic recipients of the starts were encouraged to try growing some of their own food. Although the majority of starts found a home, we had about 400 kale, spinach and mesclun plants remaining, which we donated to the Anacortes Middle School (AMS) Garden-To-Kitchen (G-T-K) Program.
The Students Plant the Garden!
In mid-April of 2021 our group of volunteers worked with the kids to plant the starts and rejuvenate the
garden, which had languished during the months in which remote learning kept them away. Our volunteers continued working in the garden through the summer so the returning students
would have more to return to than just pulling weeds. It was fun for all, and a huge success!
The kids developed lifelong skills for growing healthy and delicious produce. The students are
also learning about generosity and community giving as we distributed excess produce to
Transition Fidalgo’s “Share-the-Bounty” food stands, providing free food from June to October to those who need it.
A Greenhouse!
Growing healthy, organic produce is not easy even in the best of times. Spring 2022 has been especially challenging with cool, wet conditions. But the students in the Garden-to-Kitchen program have worked really hard to get vegetables in the ground and look forward to showing it off.
The 10’x20’ greenhouse, donated this year by Transition Fidalgo (with additional funding by Anacortes Schools Foundation) has been put to use with flats of starts and pots of tomatoes.
Summer Volunteers Needed: From mid-June through August, we will need help with watering and harvesting (for the free Share-the-Bounty stands) with occasional planting & weeding. Time required is minimal and flexible based on your schedule. We would love your help while students are away! Please contact info@transitionfidalgo.org if interested. Thank you very much!!
seedlings growing in the greenhouse
tomatoes growing well in the greenhouse
Jody Dylan, the AMS G-T-K teacher, who also instructs Science/Technology/Engineering/Math
(STEM), sees the benefit a greenhouse structure provides for both educational and production purposes. She and AMS principal Patrick Harrington understand the value of the kids participating in the entire food cycle, from early season germination to the preparation of healthy and delicious meals.
Our thanks to Ace Hardware for donating many
items, including a way to set up potato cages.
If you would like to become a volunteer for either
the greenhouse project or in the school garden, or
donate toward this project, let us know!
Thank you!
Fix-It Day
During the summer Anacortes Farmer’s Market season, TF&F volunteers staff a booth on the last Saturday of the month. They donate their labor to help re-use by repairing objects that still have life in them – lamps, small appliances, whatever a handy person can fix.
Fix-It Day will return the last Saturday of June through September 2023
9:00 am – 2:00 pm at the Depot, 7th St. and R Ave.
Fix-It Ways at other times: Larry Collinge operates our Fix-It services out of his garage in Anacortes. Donations for his services go to Transition Fidalgo & Friends. Give him a call at 360-202-5618.
Your Fix-it donations help support the many projects of Transition Fidalgo & Friends
Seed Exchanges
TF&F is working on a new program for seed saving and seed exchanges. Details are being worked out. Click here for updates.
Community solar (PV) arrays use made-in-Washington solar panels and inverters, which maximize the Washington State incentive payments to members participating in these projects. Community solar allows people to participate in renewable energy by buying a share of a larger system that is mounted on a public facility. This program is specifically targeted for people whose home is not suitable for PV installation, are renting, do not wish to invest the money needed for their own solar array, etc.
Another goal of community solar is to increase public awareness about the viability of PV technology by placing large systems on public facilities. In the summer of 2013, Skagit Community Solar started up its first community solar project on the roof of the Anacortes Middle School Gym. Since that time, Skagit Community Solar has installed four new solar arrays on the Middle School, Anacortes Library, Maple Hall in La Conner, and the Anacortes Police Station. The photovoltaic (PV) systems range in size from 16 kilowatts (16,000 watts) to 18.7 killowatts (KW) in electrical generating capacity.
Vision 2030
In April 2013, over sixty people gathered at the Anacortes Senior Center for a meeting hosted by Transition Fidalgo & Friends. Islanders from young adults to grandparents came together to visualize a community of the future that thrives despite the challenges of climate, energy, and economic upheaval.
This document is the end result of that meeting. It’s a blueprint for change and a vision of Anacortes that we can make happen – together.