By James Day
Sustainable Silverton is putting on an event on how communities such as Silverton can thrive in changing times.
The free event runs 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb., 8 at the Silver Falls Library, 410 S. Water St.
Presenters in the “community conversation” will look at the examples of the 2020 wildfires and the 2021 ice storm. What helped community members stay resilient during those events will be a key thread of the presentation.
The event will be facilitated by Kelley Morehouse of Sustainable Silverton and Kayla Bordelon, a regional fire specialist with Oregon State University’s Extension Service.
Morehouse said the format will feature participants talking in small facilitated groups and report to the whole group about what helped them most in difficult times, what helped them stay resilient? What could they have used to help them will be one of the key questions to be discussed, Morehouse said.
“This event is intended to be a conversation by individuals in the community of what they feel they have in place and what they may still need,” Morehouse told Our Town. “For example, in the case of evacuation, who thinks they have a place to go? In the case of bad air quality from smoke, who has air filters? Who has a safe place for their children to play in extreme heat or smoky days? Are there resources for families?”
The Feb. 8 event is a one-time session, Morehouse said, but the feedback from the conservation “will help us plan a Saturday, April 6 event on “Thriving in Changing Times: Tools for Adaptation,” at The Oregon Garden.”
Morehouse said that some of the questions and concerns of the community raised at the Feb. 8 event at the library also will be addressed on April 6 and at other upcoming events.
“On April 6 we will have experts in the field speaking to these concerns,” Morehouse said.
“Some of the issues are known already, but this first meeting is a chance for individuals to have a voice, and to bring up subjects of individual concern and ones overlooked. As we have heard said, no one person is as smart as all of us together.”
