Next month, Sarah Lewis of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Extension Service will help Wrangell residents develop the skills they need to ride out the dark winter days, from preserving delicious foods to reducing those shocking seasonal energy bills.
From Dec. 8 to 11, she will teach a wide variety of home skills and food preservation classes in collaboration with the Wrangell Cooperative Association, the nonprofit RurAL Cap and the federal Tribes Extension Program.
Lewis, a licensed architect with a master’s degree in social work, has managed to turn her unique educational background into a career. “A job existed that takes all of my favorite things, from architecture to local food resources, and puts them into one job,” she said. As the health, home and family development agent for UAF, she shares her knowledge of food preservation, home energy efficiency and emergency preparedness techniques. “I’ve been doing this for 10 years, mostly in Southeast,” added Lewis, who is based in Juneau.
On Dec. 9, she will test community members’ pressure canner gauges in the Wrangell Cooperative Association cultural center from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Regular handling of pressure canners is enough to affect the accuracy of their gauges over time, so she recommends recalibrating the dial gauge yearly.
Inaccurate readings are a food safety issue — if the pressure is too low, the canner may be unable to kill harmful bacteria, particularly the botulism toxin, which can grow in low-acid foods like red meat, fish and poultry.
While she tests gauges, she will also field questions. People who have significant experience in food preservation or emergency preparedness might not choose to take a class, she explained, but she can respond to their more specific, detailed inquiries during this time.
From noon to 1:30 p.m., she will demonstrate the basics of smoking and canning fish. She usually doesn’t do full classes on smoking because “there are usually some excellent, longtime experts in every community,” but in recent years, the number of new smokers and smokehouses has increased. In 2021, the Wrangell Cooperative Association used federal pandemic aid to build 70 new smokehouses for area households. The class will be geared toward beginners, avoiding “the nitty-gritty about the best marinades to use” and focusing on fundamental steps to get would-be smokers started.
In the evening, she will hold a family-friendly pickling class in the Stikine Middle School kitchen. Attendees don’t need to bring their own vegetables for canning — all ingredients and tools will be provided, though students are welcome to bring a favorite apron or chopping knife if they choose, Lewis said. Students should RSVP to ensure that there are sufficient supplies.
On Dec. 10, there will be a two-part food preservation workshop, also at the Stikine Middle School kitchen. The first session, which will focus on high-acid foods like fruit and berries, will last from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The second session, which will focus on low-acid foods, will last from 2 to 7 p.m. “People can take both, or just one or the other,” Lewis added.
The final day of workshops Dec. 11 will focus on home skills, like improving indoor air quality, concocting natural cleaners, conserving energy in wintertime, and preparing for emergencies, from natural disasters to job loss. “It’s relatively quick and basic to get people started on thinking about things they can do in their home in these four categories.”
For Lewis, offering extension classes is a way to fill gaps in generational knowledge and help people who may be experiencing major life changes. “These home-based skills, especially food preservation, a lot of people will say their aunties or their grandfather did these and (they) watched it being done but never did it (themselves),” she said. For others, “there comes a point in their life, whether they have their first home or they’re starting a family … to make home skills a little more of a focus.”
WCA IGAP Coordinator Valerie Massie encouraged people of all backgrounds and skill levels to participate. “Sarah has done this for many, many years,” she said. “She’s got information for those who are advanced … but if you’re brand new at this, please feel welcome to come.”
Unfortunately, the emergency pet care class that was originally scheduled for Dec. 8 has been canceled. Since cooperative extension courses are administered by a land-grant university, they must be peer-reviewed to ensure that their lessons are based on accurate scientific research. Emergency pet care is a completely new program, so it hasn’t been peer-reviewed yet.
Instead, Lewis will host a family workshop called “cooking with apples” that will help students harness the nutritious, delicious goodness of the fall fruit. The class will teach sweet and savory apple recipes while familiarizing kids with essential kitchen skills. It will be held in the Stikine Middle School kitchen from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Lewis still hopes to make the class available to Wrangell residents after it is approved by University of Alaska Fairbanks. “I will attempt to offer (emergency pet care) online,” she said. “There is a need in Southeast Alaska for pet care.” The Dec. 8 class slot will be filled with another workshop that will “probably be kitchen-based,” she said. The class will be announced later.
The WCA sponsored similar classes last spring, but they were only open to tribal members. These classes will be free to all. “We’ve got probably 10 folks signed up already,” said Massie.
The full schedule is available on the WCA IGAP Facebook page. To RSVP, email igapcoord.wca@gmail.com or fill out the registration form.
Reader Comments(0)