Keeping Community

This article will be more focused on helping faculty and staff connect and be involved in our ‘community’, but we wanted it to be public for students or new staff to learn about how to engage or what things our campus community does, as a culture on campus for Winter 2022! One of the things that’s important in a workplace, community, or center, I’ve always found, is knowing what resources are available to you. We have a lot of new people (friends?) here at Cascadia currently, and so I wanted to share out a bit more of opportunities Cascadia has in various areas to support you in your quest for sustainable, equitable, and happy living.

Lunch Rooms CC1 book sharing shelf – Little Library

Little libraries are all over the Seattle area, and even if you’re not a visitor to these things, you can find all sorts of interesting things and books in them. We have a bookshelf in the CC1 lunchroom, come take a book, leave a book, or other useful things for other employees! I know I’ve gotten some great things from it, and have shared some of my recent favorite reads to that shelf! You can also find old Yours Truly Magazines there!!

Sustainable office supplies: – Refillable Pens and Whiteboard Markers

Our office for Student Learning has a variety of pens for use for staff – and they’re refillable, and made from recycled plastic. They have a variety of color inks and refills, so please take advantage of refilling pens. If you do have plastic pens or writing materials that are ready to discard, consider the Terracycle box in the main CC1 lobby!

Mini-max and waste sorting

Minimax bins are in all individual offices – in place of trash cans. They are Cascadia’s (and UWB’s) joint efforts to reduce office waste – and add a little personal responsibility. You control what goes in the actual “waste” trash bins, and move those to the triple stations in the hallways. Please read more FAQs on this site: https://cascadiaupdates.wordpress.com/2019/03/12/waste-sorting-mini-max-and-faqs/

Compostable Event items – can request compost bins at events

Cascadia also works to reduce single-use plastic or non-compostable items. All our on campus events use compostable silverware, plates, napkins, and (usually) cups! If you want to use those for your event (when we can host them…) please contact our admin assistants!

Access to gym in ARC

The ARC, Activities and Recreation Center, is open to access for Staff, Students, and Faculty for a variety of things. There’s a full fitness center in the lower level, which employees also have access to (with a pass).

Access to Library materials

As a staff, student, or faculty member of campus, you can check out library materials with the UWB/Cascadia library! We also have access to all the library materials for all the UW System libraries! They have more than books too – from videos, media, and more!

Community Reads with the Library

One of the most impactful things I’ve experienced with my time at Cascadia has been being able to participate in the community reads with the library. Each year/quarter, the library offers readings and programming to discuss, learn, and share experiences with powerful readings. They’d love to have you all be involved! https://guides.lib.uw.edu/bothell/communityreads

Campus Farm/ Food Forest

Our open permaculture grounds are pesticide free, and there are numerous spots on our edible campus where you can pick and peruse and forage. Check out our other Grounds and Food Forest blogs on what we grow on campus, open to the public! Our Food Forest just won a national AASHE campus Sustainability Achievement Award!

From Samantha Brown in HR, other wonderful options:

Breath and Relaxation Sessions

Samantha – “I’ve been offering these since 2014 and people find them nourishing and helpful. Sessions are every Monday and Thursday from 11:30-Noon and take place via Zoom. I offer simple breath practices, universal imagery, and supportive language to guide people into a state of greater relaxation and ease. Please email me (Samantha Brown) if you’d like to receive calendar invites. No need to write if you’re already on the invites. The invites don’t mean you need to attend! They just give you the option.”

Wellspring Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

All Cascadia employees and their family members have access to Wellspring EAP services. Please view the attached PDF (below) to learn more about Wellspring EAP offerings that are available to you and your family at no cost. It offers comprehensive information and will answer most questions.

wellspring EAP services documentDownload

In addition: Here is the winter edition of the Cascadia College resource list to support mental health and social well-being in the workplace. This list is tailored to employees, though we hope the resources also offer information that could be useful to students and to anybody in their personal lives. This list is not intended to be comprehensive. We recognize mental and social well-being is an individual journey and that there are a lot of quality resources you can access online and in libraries. This list offers resource recommendations only to help you get started and as a reminder that your mental health and social well-being matters.

Mental Health Support list Dec 2021Download

Mental Health website: https://www.cascadia.edu/advising/mentalhealth.aspx

List of Black Therapists in WA

Attached is a list of Black therapists in Washington. This list has been making its way around the community and technical college system, though I do not know its exact origins. Please share with anybody you think may find the list helpful, along with a reminder that all research into the therapists and their pricing/insurance carriers would need to be conducted by those who reach out to individuals on the list.

list-of-black-therapists-in-waDownload

Did we forget anything? Any other resources or things to help our campus community? Please share them with us, or in the comments!

Friday Letter, 6-11-21

It’s commencement day. This has typically been my favorite day of the year as we dust off the pomp and circumstance for our graduates. I am even more proud of our students, our faculty, and our staff at this graduation. I marvel at what all of us have been able to accomplish during a year that presented us with extraordinary challenges. I also believe that when we are able to rise to challenges, we emerge stronger as individuals and as communities. That is what I most want to convey on this day; I am filled with hope that our graduates will continue their education and find jobs that help them achieve their goals. Vaccinations are on the rise, case counts are slowing down, and optimism is emerging.

I also reflect today on how much of a toll this year has taken on us. From 1941-1945, Wikipedia reports that there were approximately 405,000 U.S. deaths due to World War II. In the last 18 months, approximately 600,000 U.S. citizens died due to COVID. This time period has impacted our work and families, our students and friends, and our own sense of well-being.

Led by faculty members David Ortiz and Chris Gildow, Cascadia will be pursuing a project in 2021-22 to physically memorialize this important time in history on our campus. The goal is to develop a memorial supported by the city, the community, UWB, and Cascadia that honors those who have passed and to remind us that resilience is important. After funding for this project was approved by the Trustees, I asked David to contribute to the Friday Letter this week about the project:

Cascadia’s COVID-19 Memorial affirms the enduring human spirit in the grips of a global pandemic. The first known mass infection occurred in Kirkland, Washington, at a Senior Care Facility.  After that fateful event, the COVID-19 virus took hold in communities on both the West Coast and East Coast.  Millions were infected. As a country, a state, a county, a city, and in our communities, we lost loved ones, friends. We lost those working in fruit packing plants, grocery stores, public transportation, and healthcare. The pandemic of 2020, like the pandemic of 1918, did not discriminate; it took the lives of young and old alike.

Starting in April 2021, the number of inflections subsided due to the introduction of vaccines. Multiple, powerful vaccines were introduced and used to combat the spread of COVID-19. We are now at a point of “reflection,” “relief,” and “resistance.” This epoch speaks to the need to create and build a memorial, acknowledging the lives lost and the massive effort to create vaccines, develop safety protocols, including “sheltering in place” mandates and school closures. We sacrificed a great deal to keep the virus under control; we learned to reinvent industries to produce respirators; we learned how to wear masks and wash our hands properly. We learned to avoid touching but learned quickly how to touch the lives of others through sharing meals, providing rides, and checking up on one another.

As an institution of learning, we stand on the precipice of change — we must remember what we lost while looking forward to building more resilient communities.

We dedicate the Pandemic Memorial to those we lost while looking forward to building a more equitable and sustainable future where everyone belongs and can thrive in peace.  

There will be a Task Force formed in the fall to guide the development of this project. We hope to have volunteers from every sector of the campus. We will keep you informed of the progress.

In the meanwhile, it is time to embrace our graduates and wish them well, and welcome new students and help them grow. It is time to adapt to a new normal and gather again on campus.

My tone today is one of optimism and reflection. I am optimistic because we, as educators, have a mission to prepare our community for the future. And, after a Cascadia education, I very much trust our students to create a future where we all will thrive.

Case in point, we received a Shout Out! for one of our graduates, Kathryn Beames, who served us for 2 years in Mail Services.  Along with her work in Mail Services, she also assisted with event projects, facility projects, and helped immensely during COVID to get the campus ready with plexi and PPE each quarter. In addition, she served on our joint Campus Design Review Team and on a variety of STEM 4 work groups during the pre-design phase. She is graduating today with her Bachelors of Applied Science in Sustainable Practices. Congratulations to Kathryn and the rest of the Class of 2021. 

REMINDER

If you haven’t already, please take a few minutes to fill out the survey sent out by WINN last week. While many of you have held discussions (or in faculty’s case, even a survey) recently around the topic of our fall quarter phase-in, the task force is relying on receiving your feedback via this survey. WINN will be using the Healthy Campus email address to send its communications. This is the same address used to issue the Weekly COVID Update.

https://forms.office.com/r/g626cMhRG8

Have a great summer.  The Friday Letters will be delivered on Thursdays during our summer session.

Friday Letter, 5-21-21

Global Events, Vaccines, Working in the New Normal, Campus Safety, Budget.  Those are the topics for today’s Friday Letter.

Global Events. I met with the E&I Council’s sub-committee on campus communication this morning to discuss the impact of global events over the last two weeks on our campus community members. We feel it is important to begin this letter addressing the last two weeks.

The events in the Middle East, specifically between Palestine and Israel, provide us with clear evidence that violence and oppression exist everywhere on our globe. As part of our Community Reads program last year, Angela Davis, in Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement, connects how the conflict in Gaza has influenced our own practices around identity, racism, and bias in the United States.

Cascadia does not condone violence nor oppression anywhere. It becomes even more significant when members of our community are directly impacted. Our support and solidarity goes out to those students and employees impacted by violence and oppression. The college strives to be an equitable and inclusive place and condemns this recent violence.

Vaccines. As of today’s letter, we have no new information on the “vaccine mandate”. We continue to monitor UW’s communications and plans while also engaging our own shared governance constituents. The Governor has not issued a mandate nor has he clarified any changes to masks/social distancing for higher education. As these other entities clarify the mandate, we will consult with our campus and adapt our own practices accordingly.

Working in the New Normal (WINN) Task Force. This task force is responsible for helping us understand changes to our fall workplace and to recommend best practices for health, facilities, work modalities and other emerging topics. Their first meeting is at the end of his month.

Campus Safety. Thanks to everyone who participated in our Cascadia listening session. I have reviewed the chat and appreciate the comments.  My next steps are to review the suggestions from the survey and then spend some time with Chancellor Yeigh discussing the campus’s future position. When those steps are done, I will circle back with more information.

Budget. On Wednesday, the Trustees approved our 2021-22 operating budget. This approval covers the following:

• Our operating expenses (although predicted to be more than our revenue due to low enrollment) were approved. Relief/Stimulus funds will cover the gap.
• The top 5 (of 7) budget recommendations made by the Budget Council were approved.  This includes 1) a Student Support Software System, 2) Faculty Sabbaticals, 3) a base operating budget for the E&I department, 4) an employee to help the Foundation grow, and 5) a COVID memorial.
• Authorization to cover a new assessment by the SBCTC for ctcLink. The project is costing more than expected and all campuses are required to contribute.
• Approval of the three Repair & Replacement Plans for 21-22 (Facilities, Labs, and IS).
• Approval of extra funds for two years to invest in student recruitment and marketing.

This should cover us well for next year with no disruption to our on-going mission. As mentioned to the Budget Council and the Trustees, our operating deficit can only be reduced if our enrollment goes up through recruitment and retention. We are seeking to increase our FTE by 300+ students over the next two years. With our available resources and the change to our COVID environment, we believe this is achievable.

SHOUT OUTS

A story shared by Dr. Jessica Ketchum this week:

Several years ago I had a student named Madeleine Hodgson in a film class. She left Cascadia but came back with clarity: graphic design. Fast forward to this January. I currently sit on the board for the Seattle Children’s Hospital Celiac Disease Program and took on the role to develop a website from scratch, with only some ideas and a very clear need. We knew a logo was important and I immediately went to Kathy Brown, hoping she might have recommendations for a sophisticated student to take on a time-sensitive professional project. She did! It was Madeleine. (I bet you already knew this.) 

After months of design iteration and extraordinary communication skills, Madeleine created a logo that was simply perfect for our nonprofit. And I wrapped up the website project and launched it today, right in the middle of Celiac Disease awareness month! https://eatliveceliac.org/ Note Madeleine’s “happy little fork” logo in the upper left-hand corner, which indeed, has made many people happy already. 

Just thought I’d share this story of success and collaboration amidst all the other gunk of the year!

Thanks for sharing Jessica.  Loved it.

Remember to appreciate a colleague through a shout out: FLShoutout@cascadia.edu

Have a great weekend.

Friday Letter, 5-14-21

Over the years, the Friday Letter has become a cornerstone of communication at Cascadia. I appreciate that you read the letter and I try to bring you the most valuable information of the week. The Friday Letter has a cousin, the Special Letter, and the SL is used for hot topics that can’t wait until Friday. And, over the last 13 months, we’ve also brought you the weekly Health Bulletin to talk about all-things-COVID.

There’s been a lot of information to process in our remote world and I know that reading every piece can be difficult. Our next big topic transitions from COVID-specific information to a broader view of what Working In the New Normal (WINN) means at Cascadia.

The purpose of our WINN task force is to develop a plan that supports workplace excellence in our new normal. It will continue to help us understand protocols about health & safety while also sharing information about available resources to support our mental health and well-being, as well as resources for our hybrid campus/home work environments. The Task Force, along with three associated work groups, will survey our employee/student communities and discuss, vet & make plans to address various topics as they relate to all-Cascadia issues. WINN has a dedicated website that is getting off the ground as we speak. You’ll be able to find things there like:

• Vaccine-related decisions and practices
• All COVID and health safety policies
• Resources and workshops to promote mental health
• Policies, forms, and resources related to a hybrid workplace

Each time we have new information about our 2021-22 work environment, we will announce the news in the Friday Letter, the Special Letter, or the Health Bulletin and point you to the website for details.

OUR SPECIAL NEWS TODAY: The state mask mandate and social distancing requirements have changed effectively immediately. Please refer to yesterday’s Health Bulletin (sent at 3:51 PM) for details. While these changes affect our broader communities and lives, no changes in practice are authorized yet for Cascadia. We will maintain social distancing and mask requirements through the end of the quarter. We will still be working remotely through September 13. And we will not be making changes to the course schedule published May 1. Please stay tuned for updates as the Governor’s office clarifies things for higher education.

Through multiple conversations with various teams, we know that our campus community believes it important to be back on campus. Providing in-person education is a fundamental tenet of a Cascadia education. We will begin phasing in everyone’s return given the number of students/classes on campus and the services needed to support them. I want to emphasize that everyone’s presence on campus is important to our community.  We know in-person instruction and student services translate into:

• An increased sense of belonging for both students and employees
• Better pedagogy and more consistent learning
• Improved health and sense of community

As a community college funded through state dollars, there is an expectation that we be present during our work hours to serve the students who live in Cascadia’s service district. There will be exceptions to the above, but it is the general philosophy that an in-person presence is important to the well-being of the college. We are moving forward towards that for September.

More information about Working in the New Normal will be delivered over the next 3 months as we prepare for Fall. As always, ask questions of your supervisors, the Navigators, or via your Assemblies so that we can continue having as much clarity as possible about moving forward.

SHOUT OUTS

Remember to appreciate a colleague through a shout out: FLShoutout@cascadia.edu

Have a great weekend.

In Season: Persimmons

written by BASSP student Sebastian Zhao
We are halfway through fall quarter and the fall season! Be sure to keep an eye out on persimmons that are ready to be picked in the food forest!

Persimmons usually mature late in the fall around September to December. They can stay on the tree until winter. These fruits are popular and more widely known in Asian countries. They have been cultivated in China for over 2000 years where more than 2000 cultivars have developed. Asian persimmons can be found throughout and are native to Japan, China, Korea, Burma, and Nepal.

In the name: 
The persimmon has the genus Diospyros as its scientific name. The taxonomic name “Diospyros” is a Greek word meaning “fruit of the gods.” The name “persimmon”, according to Dictionary.com, was first recorded in 1605-15, from Virginia Algonquian, likely derived from Indigenous terms of “pessemmins”, “pushemins”, etc, meaning “dry fruit”.

Persimmon cultivars are separated into two categories: astringent, and non-astringent. Astringent being that due to the high content of tannins; when you eat it it has a bitter, dry, and chalky mouth-feel, making your mouth pucker. There are three main types of persimmons: Asian, American, and a hybrid of the two. 

We have Asian and American persimmons growing in the Campus Food Forest. American persimmons are ripe and ready to be picked now!

All varieties of persimmons have a light to darker orange-red skin, most become darker as they mature, and the most commonly grown fruits for consumption are seedless.

Asian persimmons:

Diospyros kaki, often called Oriental or Japanese persimmon or Kaki, is the most widely grown cultivar. The two popular varieties are Hachiya (astringent) and Fuyu or Fuyugaki (non-astringent). Fuyu is the most popular variety of persimmon in the world. Both varieties are sweet when ripe. Hachiya is bigger, has an acorn or pepper shape, while Fuyu has a flatter, more tomato-like shape and is faintly 4-sided.

Hachiya and Fuyu persimmon diagrams
by Kodiak Cave’s Rose Haskell @Cinnamon_skyline on Instagram

Due to tannins, astringency, and maturation process, Hachiya would not be enjoyable to eat before ripe. Fuyu can be eaten any time when it becomes orange. Before it is ripe, it has a crunchier apple-like texture and is less sweet than when it is fully ripe.

Fuyu and Hachiya persimmons
Image credit: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/persimmons/

As illustrated in the diagrams and photos above, look for ripeness when the fruit is medium to dark orange and has a similar softness and give to that of a tomato. The persimmons found in grocery stores and farmers’ markets are typically of these Asian varieties.

American persimmons:

American persimmon tree and fruits in the food forest on campus
Photos taken by Sebastian Zhao

Diospyros virginiana is native to southeastern USA, more often cultivated and eaten by Indigenous peoples. These fruits are smaller and rounder than their Asian cousins, shaped more like plums. They are very astringent. There is only a brief period of time for them to be sweet enough to be eaten raw: when they are fully ripe and very wrinkly. Most of these fruits are dried or preserved. Due to the time constraint and that they are less hardy for handling and packaging is why these are not usually found as a grocery store stable.

American persimmons with a quarter for size comparison
Image credit: https://thefruitnut.com/tag/persimmons/

Hybrid:

The best known hybrid of the Asian and American types is called “Nikita’s Gift”, originating from Ukraine. This persimmon has a longer ripe period than the American and is similar in size to the Asian. These fruits are sweet and flavorful when fully ripe.

Nikita’s Gift persimmons
Image credit: https://raintreenursery.com/products/nikitas-gift-persimmon-tree

Persimmon Trees:

Persimmon trees are deciduous, losing their leaves in colder months. The leaves are bright green during the warmer months and are bright orange in the fall/autumn. The Asian trees grow taller and sturdier than other types. There are dwarf sized bonsai trees and taller ones can grow up to 60 feet. Pruning will keep them at a more manageable height. The tree will bear fruit 2 to 3 years after it is planted. Some grafted trees (such as hybrids) will bear fruit the year after planting.

Most persimmon trees are self-pollinating, (the tree can be male, female, or both) meaning the trees can bear fruit without a pollinating partner. Without pollination (from male trees), the fruits do not have seeds.

American persimmon tree with leaves in fall
Image credit: https://www.goodshomedesign.com/10-uncommon-edible-trees-and-shrubs-that-will-transform-your-garden-into-a-paradise-of-sustainability/

Asian persimmon trees with fruit, in December, after leaves have fallen
Image credit: https://www.southernliving.com/garden/grumpy-gardener/plant-a-persimmon

Health benefits: 

Persimmons contain many nutrients such as vitamins, antioxidants, and are high in fiber. 

Eating and cooking: 

Check out this awesome article on eating persimmons with the amazing drawings above, from the Kodiak Cave!

Like apples, Asian persimmons are mostly eaten raw out-of-hand or cut into slices or quarters. 
They can be used in baked goods, dried and preserved, used to make juices, beer and wine, desserts, and various other preparation methods. 
Seeds can be used as a coffee substitute.
Dried persimmons and the leaves (high in vitamin C) can be used to make tea.

Fun facts! Did you know. . .

• Persimmons are considered berries?
• “Sugar plum” may have been American persimmons
• It is best to leave astringent varieties to ripe on the tree, wait for them to fall and collect from the ground
• It is best to pick non-astringent varieties before they fall, when their skins are still tight
• You can speed up the ripening process by putting them in a bag with a ripe apple

Persimmons in Legends:

Traditional weather folklore says one can use persimmon seeds to predict the weather! 

If you have access to a local American persimmon with seeds (unfortunately the fruits we have on campus do not contain seeds) cut a kernel open to see whether the shape of a knife, fork, or spoon is revealed.

Image credit: https://www.farmersalmanac.com/persimmon-seed-forecast-32518

This revealed shape is said to predict the coming winter weather!
Knife: Frigid winter winds that “cut like a blade” are expected.
Spoon: Expect to be shoveling a lot of snow.
Fork: Mild winter with powdery, light snow.

Let us know what your seed(s) predicted!

[header image credit: http://www.schoolphotoproject.com/fruits/persimmon-photo2.html# ]

Equity: Cascadia’s sustainable connection to support diversity and our community

While we are still in an ongoing pandemic and not returning in person to campus, our efforts to provide students excellent education continues, and that certainly includes finding ways to integrate their education with current events, meaningful dialog, and important issues. 

There have been many larger issues lately, globally with COVID19 ongoing, nationally with the protests, and locally to the PNW with the return of summer smoke and fires.   

Our focus on sustainability and environmental work must include justice and equity for people, and finding ways to support our community. For reference, our program teaches the triple bottom line about balancing Equity, Environment, Economics. The first E, equity, includes the rights of humans to safety, security, education, health, wellness, quality of life, and community capital. As we protect the environment we protect vulnerable communities and as we lift up our vulnerable communities we move toward a more sustainable future for all. 

As we assess ourselves and our communities for sustainability, we should remember to consider who is the first and most intensely impacted by environmental and social degradation. Communities of color are statistically more likely to be impacted by food deserts, industrial waste and pollution, lack of green spaces, inadequate housing and infrastructure susceptible to increasingly destructive climate and weather events; and more and more evidence is highlighting these issues even now, and this is true for low income families and areas as well. 

–Cascadia Sustainability Office

Here are some of the ways the Cascadia sustainability office is taking action, and ideas for you as well:

• Sign petitions and be willing to invest energy into difficult conversations.  We’re working with our campus Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Committee, and integrating environmental justice to our goals and education plans where we can! 
• Donate or support our campus foundation – to help student opportunities.
• Contact representatives
• Educate ourselves
• Register to vote – and make sure to vote in elections!!
• Cascadia’s actions currently and resources for further reading. 
• Please don’t forget to explore our Sustainability and Campus Grounds blogs for resources and considerations.

COVID-19 response:

• Return to campus guidelines, and reentry plan
• Current updates and Campus’ documents
• Wear a mask if visiting campus!
• Remember to stay healthy, social distance, and wash your hands. 

Resources on Equity and BLM:

• Black mental health
• People of Color Therapy Resources
• Captioning for deaf and hard-of-hearing 
• 75 things white people can do for racial justice
• Supporting black-owned restaurants in Seattle
  Local black-owned businesses near campus!
  • Métier Brewing Company – Woodinville
  • Pinckney Cookie Cafe – Kirkland
  • Carolina Smoke BBQ – Bothell
  • Yungfreckle Skin Care – Bothell
  • Heaven Sent Fried Chicken – Lake City
  • Ezell’s Famous Chicken – Mill Creek/Woodinville
• Cascadia’s counseling services
• Cascadia’s Center for Culture, Inclusion, and Community
• Cascadia’s library guide: Social Justice
• Cascadia’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Wildfires:
While the smoke is past us (for now), remember that many on our coast have lost their homes, and much support is still needed to support people in need. Some are saying these are the first climate refugees in America.

Wildfire smoke can irritate your lungs, cause inflammation, affect your immune system, and make you more prone to lung infections, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that cause COVID-19. 
Cloth masks will not protect you from wildfire smoke.
Cloth masks that are used to slow the spread of COVID-19 by blocking respiratory droplets offer little protection against wildfire smoke. They do not catch small, harmful particles in smoke that can harm your health.

• WA state wildfires resources
• Dept. of Heath (DOH) wildfire smoke resources (considering COVID19)
• Washington Wildfire Combined Relief Fund
• Article considering health choices on smoke inhalation.
• Seattle Times article on how to support wildfire relief efforts
• Dept. of Ecology State of Washington air quality resources

Coast Salish People:
We should not forget our responsibility to acknowledge our presence on the land of the Coast Salish people. Here are some support ideas for indigenous people of our area.

• Real Rent – to the Duwamish People
• Duwamish Tribe
• Coast Salish Arts and Cultural Center
• Tulalip Tribe
• Hibulb Cultural Center

I’m sure there are other resources that we may have forgotten or not included! Please add them to the comments, and we can update this list!

Friday Letter, 6-11-20

This week’s Friday Letter lands on a Thursday out of respect for the Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County call for a state-wide strike tomorrow, June 12.  Many of you may be participating in this event and the executive team supports you, whether you’re here “on campus” or in the community supporting our black community.

As you know, we must back up our words of support and change with actionable items for the college.  This week, the executive team affirmed that our team will continue with or begin the following items:

1. We will finish the Angela Davis book Freedom is a Constant Struggle.
2. We will read Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility as our book read next academic year.
3. We will have a special E-Team meeting to discuss re-allocating more resources to the E&I budget.
4. We will open our eteam meetings with a question devoted to E&I themes.  As an example, this week’s question regarded how our family has played a role in our understanding of race.
5. We will take the Cultural Intelligence Assessment as a team this summer.

 Today the eteam is meeting to review the E&I Plan version 2.0.  This is college work that is also important to us and we will continue to focus on these systemic changes.  The list above is just our start with short term actions for our own group.  We know that many units are doing similar things and our campus employees are making their own individual contributions towards this work.  Together, we better help students achieve and grow.

WACTC approved last week and released this week the following documents:  WACTC Statement on Black Violence and the WACTC Statement on AAPI Harassment.  Cascadia must now determine how to support the intent of these documents in our actions.

Election Task Force

The E-Team understands that the summer and fall will be an intense time of discussion about important issues as the country prepares itself for the November elections.  As such, we are instituting an Election Task Force charged with creating opportunities for healthy discussion, monitoring that all perspectives can be heard, and assuring that hate and marginalization are suppressed.

We are looking for two co-chairs, one from the staff and one from the faculty, as well as employees to populate the task force.  Faculty who are interested in participating or becoming a co-chair should contact Chris Byrne.  Interested Staff should contact Lily Allen.  Additional duties compensation is available for anyone who is not on contract during the summer.

2020-21 Academic & Campus Theme

Last week, the Global Education Committee announced next year’s academic theme: Community.  From Dianne Fruit’s email:

We’re excited about the breadth and relevance of Community and the possibilities it offers us. What does “community” mean in our academic disciplines and our work at Cascadia? How does this theme reveal itself during times of health, economic and social crises? What does it mean to be in community or outside of it, and who defines or decides that? We’re excited about these questions and more, and we’re looking forward to working with the theme as we support integrated curricular projects and engaging programing for our campus this next year. 

Let’s all work to support this effort in our classes and extra-curricular activities.

COVID

As previously mentioned, certain guiding principles are important to our planning for a return to campus.  The Executive Team reviewed them and put them to writing.  Here they are:

1. Protect the health and safety of every Cascadia employee, student, and visitor
2. Base decisions on the best available science (UW, King County Public Health, Washington State Department of Health)
3. Meet all legal responsibilities (use Phase 2 Higher Education & Workforce Training Covid-19 Safety Requirements as guiding document)
4. Work to solicit and address employee concerns (using councils, labor relations groups, and assemblies identified for this purpose)
5. Communicate Re-Entry Plan with stakeholders via multiple platforms as soon as possible.
6. Plan to be flexible in order to respond to changing requirements from the state and county

Last week you started seeing portions of the Facilities re-entry plan in the Mon-Thur health bulletin and yesterday you saw a snapshot of the Instructional Plan. This will continue. However, starting after June 19, the Health Bulletin will be reduced to a once-per-week publication.

We continue to gather data and develop these plans.  They evolve every week.

 

From the IN Box yesterday, courtesy of Deann Holliday:

I am happy to announce that THANKS TO Ben Setzer supported by Yan Li and Charles Sapien, we were able to send our file to BankMobile (at the final hour today) for CARES funds, in the amount of $252,500.00.  We will know in the morning if they received the record and send the wire provided all looks good!!  This is a HUGE relief as I know the students are in need of these funds.  We assisted 128 students for spring quarter and this will leave us with $322,500.00 to support our summer and fall students affected by our campus closure and COVID.  (Side Note:  We also assisted 9 WASFA recipients with additional Cascadia Grant funds who remained ineligible for CARES money due to either their or their parents citizenship status. The Federal DOE has become very restrictive on who can receive funds.)

THANK YOU ALL!!

Have the best weekend possible.

BASSP Internship Feature: BEEvesting

Guest Post by Bachelors of Applied Science in Sustainable Practices (BASSP) senior Colleen Willson.

As a BASSP student, you are required to do five credits worth of an internship. This is a fact that I glossed over upon applying for the program, and soon felt overwhelmed by as I sorted through the various internship possibilities. The internship requirement is designed to provide us with real-world experiences and connections that will benefit us after we graduate from Cascadia. This is a great idea, but along with it came the pressure of feeling that I had to choose the “right” one. What I would never have guessed is that the “right” internships would involve spending nearly every spare moment watching, studying, and supporting bees. I began by participating in CCUWBee, the Cascadia College and UW Bothell Bee Research Initiative, which studied the diversity and abundance of native bees on campus. This experience led to an exciting opportunity, interning with BEEvesting, a program established by 21 Acres and their partners to invest in local agriculture and the community of Woodinville by collaborating with community and local organizations to increase awareness of the presence of small farms in the Sammamish Valley area and to provide healthy habitat for pollinators.

CCUWBee volunteers present at the BEEvesting table!

My initial meeting with the program sponsors; 21 Acres, Sammamish Valley Alliance, the Sammamish Valley Grange, and Coastal Community Bank; was an opportunity for all involved to dream big, consider possible projects and events, and start creating a plan for the future.  I took on the task of doing much of the initial research, orienting myself with the local area, identifying possible business partners, and meeting with local farmers. Prior to my involvement in BEEvesting, the program creators had worked with Rent Mason Bees to distribute 75 mason bee boxes to local farmers in an effort to boost the farmers’ annual yield. I personally visited the owners or NW Bloom, Off the Branch Farm, and Olympic Nursery to hear what they thought of the mason bees and whether the addition seemed to enhance their yield. After only one season of hosting mason bees, there wasn’t enough data for the farmers to say definitively that their yield was boosted by the presence of the bees, but they all had a positive experience and one described the mason bees as “enthusiastic pollinators.”

Since this program was in its infancy when I joined it, I was presented with the opportunity to take on a number of management tasks to help fully develop the program beyond Mason Bee distribution. My co-intern and I established the scope and mission of BEEvesting and produced informational material that reflected our mission.  After recognizing a need, I established BEEvesting’s social media presence on both Instagram and Facebook, developed a mailing list, and created a monthly newsletter.   As a team, we created a schedule of bee-related events for 2020 and designed the program in a way that will enable future interns to easily insert themselves and continue with the various projects. We also developed and are eagerly awaiting the results of a grant proposal for funds from King County to support a pollinator planting project in Spring of 2020. 

Colleen with other 21 acres interns and CCB staff

For me, the highlight of this internship included any time that I was able to interact with the community or the local farmers. I believe that developing relationships with others helps secure your value in the community, so establishing credibility with the community and other partners was a vital part of my internship experience.  Early on, I worked alongside Coastal Community Bank to promote BEEvesting during the Celebrate Woodinville events.  In September, I created a three-table display for the Sammamish Valley Alliance’s “Celebrate Fall Harvest” event during which I developed and implemented educational stations that were facilitated by volunteers from CCUWBee and Coastal Community Bank.  This event contributed to community building by providing a fun, family activity for all ages that has the potential to impact our local environment. During the Woodinville Garden Club’s annual meeting held at 21 Acres, I was given the opportunity to speak about BEEvesting which resulted in securing a small donation from the garden club to support the program with the promise of additional volunteer support in future planting events.  In the fall, I followed up with Rent Mason Bees to discuss lessons learned regarding the mason bee event and requested a cost proposal for next season’s distribution.  The information gathered from these conversations was presented to our BEEvesting sponsors to request further financial support for that project.  In November, I attended a class about pollinator conservation in agricultural land with the hopes that this information would guide our future interactions with local farmers.  All of these events provided me with the opportunity to talk to people about the importance of bees in agriculture and to hear their often entertaining stories about their experiences with bees.

The BEEvesting team would like to be able to demonstrate to the local community how they can support farmers by providing healthy habitats for native bees in their yards and hopes to foster a partnership with groups that promote alternatives to pesticides in an effort to aid in this goal.  We are also hoping to inspire non-agricultural related businesses to invest in the health of pollinators by encouraging them to plant pollinator friendly plants in their landscapes.

            This internship has given me a breadth of experience in project and program management, outreach, community organization, and lessons in agricultural practices.  The sponsors of this program have been amazingly supportive and helped me work toward developing a number of resume-building skills. I am particularly grateful to the team at 21 Acres for allowing me to use their building as my “office” during this internship and for welcoming me so warmly into their community. All three of my mentors; Robin, Brenda, and Kristi; were amazing to work with and provided me with guidance, support, and laughter throughout this experience.  Although my internship is completed, I intend to continue working with BEEvesting on a volunteer basis to complete some of the projects that we’ve started and to help recruit future interns. 

Colleen is a senior in the Bachelor’s of Applied Science program in Sustainable Practices (BASSP) and will be graduating in June 2020! You can learn more about the BASSP program at www.cascadia.edu/bassp

Friday Letter, 6-7-19

On Tuesday of this week, I hope you had a chance to admire the colorful clothing, the excited children, and the practice of Eid Prayers which occurred in Mobius Hall.

One Cascadian wrote me this email about the event:

There are days my heart swells with workplace pride. Today was one of those days. To see our campus welcoming hundreds of individuals/families as they celebrated Eid was lovely. The beauty of the moment was beyond words. I don’t just mean the physical beauty of the dresses, suits, and smiles. I mean the beauty of the group coming together and declaring themselves. I mean the beauty of having created a campus culture where the group felt safe enough to gather. We know inclusion has to be more than words and good intentions. It has to be daily actions that lead to oppressed groups feeling welcomed, embraced, and safe. I am so grateful to have been witness to this celebration. I feel really proud of our campus today. I know we still have work to do, but today gave me hope. May this group, and all historically marginalized groups, always feel safe on our campus.

For more information and background, please check out: https://bothellmosque.org/

I’d like to also direct everyone’s attention to the Special Letter posted this week on Wednesday. It updates our budget progress and shares information about next steps.

On Monday of next week, now that budget considerations are finished, I will be posting the results of another large project that has been on-going for about 4 months. We have cataloged and updated all of our committees, their membership, and to whom they report. This updated and reorganized list of “Governance Structures &Work Groups” will help everyone follow along with regard to our shared governance and where things happen on campus. During the fall of next year, we will call all Work Group leaders together to discuss how each group represents themselves on go.cascadia and the responsibilities of the leadership of each work group.

A shoutout today to Kristen Jaoui.  “She helped make the Classified Design Contest a success and provided cost conscious options.  She communicated with the many different vendors until one was found that would work with us.”  Good work Kristen!  (Shout outs to fellow Kodiaks can be submitted to: FLShoutout@cascadia.edu)

Don’t forget to order your shirt, sweatshirt, bag, or mug!

Next week is busy for all of us. I look forward to seeing everyone at all of our celebrations.

Don’t forget:  Please regularly visit the ctcLink blog to find out the latest about our progress.  https://planetctclink.com/2019/06/06/sneak-peek/

Have a great weekend.