If you're a writer seeking to jumpstart your creativity, Author Jennifer Wilhoit's entertaining and inspirational guide to writing and nature may be exactly what you're looking for. Learn more when she presents her newest book, Writing on the Landscape: Essays and Practices to Write, Roam, Renew, at Eagle Harbor Books on Thursday, January 11th, at 7 pm.

Calling her provocative, yet practical, ideas “a pairing of nature and writing toward wholeness,” author Jennifer J. Wilhoit, Ph.D suggests that our connection to the natural world supports us in reaching the depths of our inner world. It is in this profound relationship that we will find the landscape for our most honest writing.

Jennifer will explain how starting with twenty-six words can take us beyond writer’s block. She will discuss the benefits of creating a writer’s log as a map to the most productive and enjoyable routines for our work. And, drawing from the chapter on spirit, she will demonstrate how awe and beauty can inform our writing and take us to a place of wholeness in our lives.

Be sure to mark your calendar for this joyful and enlightening evening.

Credits:  BCB host: Charlotte Cook; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Diane Walker.

What is the intersection of climate change and social justice?

Find out in this podcast as BCB host Christina Hulet interviews Running-Grass, a long-time environmental justice activist and multicultural environmental educator on Bainbridge Island. He is moderating the next Climate and Energy Forum discussion on January 17.

The Forum – sponsored by Climate Action Bainbridge, EcoAdapt, Sustainable Bainbridge, Friends of Island Power and Citizens Climate Lobby – hosts a monthly series featuring speakers and discussion topics to increase our community’s awareness and response.

This month, the topic is “Climate Justice: Climate Change through a Social Justice Lens.” Panelists include: Kim Powe, Director of Climate Justice at Puget Sound SAGE, Hodan Hassan, Climate Justice Organizer at Got Green, and Sapna Sopori, Director of Youth and Community Education at IslandWood.

Running-Grass shares with us the origins of the Environmental Justice movement and his role as a delegate to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991, which launched the movement onto the national stage.

We also learn about the disproportionate impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations such as racial minorities and low-income communities in our region. These impacts are distributed unequally and must be approached within an inclusive social justice context.   

To learn more, you can attend the next Climate & Energy Forum event on Climate Justice on Wednesday, January 17 from 7:00 – 8:30pm at Eagle Harbor Congregational Church.

For more information on the Climate and Energy Forum, please visit: www.bainbridgeislandforum.org.

Credits: BCB host: Christina Hulet; audio editor and publisher: Diane Walker.

"Life as Collage: Whimsy and Romance" is the title of Wendy Brown's new exhibition, which will open at the Bainbridge Island Library Friday, January 5th, as part of the island's January Art Walk.

Listen here as BCB host John Fossett talks with Wendy about her unusual pieces and the process by which she builds them. Wendy, who has been making collages for 40 years, is self-taught and inspired by all things old and beautiful.

A self-proclaimed "die-hard romantic," Wendy shares with us about her adventures traveling and collecting the thousands of tiny knick-knacks she uses to feed into her whimsical collages. Postcards, beads, stamps, and trinkets galore dance out of her unusual frames to tell the story of a life deliciously lived.

Credits: BCB host: John Fossett; audio tech: Chris Walker; audio editor and publisher: Diane Walker.

This week Tastes of Bainbridge host Bob Ross discusses the season's produce with Joe Pulicicchio in Joe's native habitat: the Town and Country produce section in Winslow. 

Walking through the aisles, Joe introduces us  to fruits like the cute Rockit apples (a perfect size for Christmas stockings!), the specially cared for Comise pears, some of the interesting berries that have lasted late into December, and of course the various kinds of oranges so popular this time of year. 

Seasonal favorites like chard, kale,  leeks, fennel, and endives capture our attention, and there are also fresh chives and figs to be seen.  Joe gives us a tip on how to save money when buying mushrooms, and explains how dried mushrooms can be used even when the recipe calls for fresh.  (We believe Joe pronounced all the japanese mushrooms correctly, but what do we know?)

Credits: BCB host, Bob Ross; audio tech and editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher, Diane Walker.

Looking for a quiet break from the holiday rush? Listen here as noted Shakespeare expert, actor, and co-director of inD Theatre Tom Challinor reads Dylan Thomas’s Christmas classic, “A Child’s Christmas in Wales.”

Tom will perform this poem again live this weekend at Eagle Harbor Congregational church, at the corner of Winslow and Madison on Bainbridge Island.  That reading, which will be accompanied by violinist Lea Fetterman, is free, appropriate for all ages, and open to the public.

So bring the kids; come Friday or Saturday December 22 or 23 at 1, 2, or 3pm, and treat yourself to the sights and sounds of a good old-fashioned Christmas.

Credits: Audio tech: Chris Walker; Audio editor and social media publisher, Diane Walker.

If you're worried that today's children spend too much time on screens and too little time outside, Kevin Mills has an idea to change that.

An industrial designer turned 'adventure playground advocate and creator,' Kevin Mills joins BCB host Bob Ross in this podcast to share his thoughts on play and why we need to begin thinking differently about its role in children's lives. 

Citing examples in Europe and the U.K., Kevin delves into the meaning of play and how it helps engage young folks in the process of taking risks, learning resilience and problem solving techniques.  Ideally, he believes, children’s play should even offer opportunities to create and build their own playgrounds; including building, tearing them down, and restructuring, all with minimal supervision by trained and skilled play workers. 

Sound intriguing? Listen here to learn how you can bring the adventure playground movement to life right here on Bainbridge.

For more information and to get connected into the Adventure Play network, visit Kevin’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/playczar .

Credits: BCB host, Bob Ross; audio editor and social media publisher, Diane Walker.

If you’re looking for fun ways to brighten these dark, cold days of winter, and celebrate the holiday season, look no further!  In this podcast Bloedel Reserve’s Programs and Events Manager, Shayla Miles, tells us about two delightful upcoming events at Bloedel this month: The Holiday Village, and the Solstice Walks.

Open Tuesdays through Sundays, December 9-31 from 10 to 4, the Holiday Village offers magical houses created by Island resident  Dwight Shappell.  You’ll see a French Chateau, a Log Cabin, a Castle, a Treehouse, a Cookie Factory, a Gingerbread House, and more, all painstakingly built with wood from Dwight’s workshop, and fully furnished.  Young and old delight in these fanciful structures.  As an added benefit, the Bloedel Mansion is beautifully decorated for the season, and cider and cookies are also provided!

The Winter Solstice Walks allow folks to walk the trails after dark on the shortest days of the year.  Families are encouraged to come on Dec. 17 & 18, while Dec. 19 & 20 are reserved for adults and older children who appreciate the quiet and tranquility of Bloedel’s trails at night.  Doors open at 4:30 and walks begin at 5:30.  Dress warmly and for the weather.  Lanterns will be provided to light the way for these beautiful walks. 

For more information about Bloedel Reserve, the Holiday Village, and these special events, visit http://bloedelreserve.org/events.

Credits: BCB audio tech: Chris Walker; BCB host: Betsy Lydle Smith; audio editor and publisher: Diane Walker.

Maya Fletcher, Zack Huck, Daniel Muir, Cameron Albee and Kyle Schroer are all members of the island’s first LEGO Robotics Club. Their team, called “Mission Implausible," is one of many clubs around the country that teaches middle-school students about engineering through LEGO-based robots of their own design.

As part of their work, each team is required to do a community project. Our group of 6th graders decided to do this podcast on how to access water during an emergency.

Listen here to learn about their talks with city officials, what they've discovered about what happens to our local water supply when the power goes out, and how to make your own home-grown water filter. And, as an extra bonus, stay tuned at the end of the podcast to hear Daniel Muir's interview with Scott James, author of Prepared NeighborhoodsON-021.

All very helpful information indeed!  We want to thank our youth for doing their part to strengthen our community. For more information on emergency preparedness, please visit: www.bainbridgeprepares.org.

Credits: BCB host, Christina Hulet; audio editor and publisher, Diane Walker