By LINDA IRVINE

Henderson’s checkermallow, a solar panel, a piece of charred applewood and fermented kitchen scraps. What’s the connection? They each help build a resilient future for our Whidbey Island neighbors. And they each got a boost from the Whidbey Climate FUND, a new fund at Whidbey Community Foundation dedicated to making our Island home more resilient in the face of an unpredictable climate.

The Fund is a project of Whidbey Climate ACTION, or WCA, to combat climate pollution and support ecosystem and community repair. People may be familiar with purchasing “carbon offsets,” which is paying a third party to soak up carbon pollution by planting forests or installing solar panels. But “offsets” can feel unaccountable and far removed from life on Whidbey.

WCA launched the Whidbey Climate Fund to give islanders a way to combat carbon pollution and build community resilience right here at home. Launched with an infusion of donations from WCA members, it grew to over $20,000 with additional contributions from Whidbey Islanders. The Fund issued the first call for proposals in September 2024 and received many worthy project ideas, of which they awarded four grants.

Here’s the story of four grantees and how they are repairing climate and community on Whidbey.

South Whidbey Tilth and Sweetwater Farm

As a farmer, Jake Stewart has already wrestled with the climate crisis: When the well on his Texas farm ran dry, he moved his family to Whidbey, where rainfall is more abundant. Over the past decade on Sweetwater Farm, he has built a living system for resilience — economic, ecological, and generational.

He explains his work this way: “Our practices include no-till vegetable production, climate adaptive plantings, smart-water catchment systems, off-grid energy innovation, rotational grazing and agroforestry that integrates food-bearing trees and forest systems. Our livestock — sheep, ducks, chickens, turkeys, and quail — are integral to our fertility cycle, contributing to nutrient cycling and land management. Vermiculture and composting further close the loop, reducing inputs and enhancing self-sufficiency.

“This integrated farming approach is about ensuring the survival of our farm business under increasing pressures. Producing our own fuel and fertility reduces exposure to inflation, supply chain disruptions, and soil degradation. By implementing these systems, we aim to pass on a farm to our children with enhanced fertility, stored carbon/nutrients and tools for diversified productivity in a changing world.”

The grant from Whidbey Climate Fund partially supports a pilot demonstration project: a low-emission biochar kiln and a mobile anaerobic biodigester. In layman’s terms, Jake is converting wood chips from his orchard into a valuable soil amendment and converting manure and food scraps into biogas and organic fertilizer.

He aims to make both systems – biochar production and biodigestion – affordable and replicable for small farms. His demonstrations will also be mobile, so he can bring them to other farms and workshops to encourage adoption of farm-scale solutions across the island. Jake will be showcasing uses of biochar at the 2025 Whidbey Island Garden Tour at Raven’s Roost Garden.

Clinton Community Hall

For over 100 years, the Clinton Community Hall has been a place to gather, socialize and have fun. Now, it may well be the safest place in the next power outage. The visionary Board of Directors has embarked on “Energize the Hall,” an initiative to update and modernize the Hall. They have installed efficient electric heat pumps for space and water heating, they are adding solar panels with battery backup this April, and they plan to add energy efficient windows and doors as funding allows.

These upgrades will enable the hall to function as a place of community refuge – even in the event of a prolonged power outage. The Whidbey Climate Fund was inspired by their bold vision and we hope other community halls will be inspired to follow their example. Mike Gerhardt, board president, noted “Our grant from the Whidbey Climate Fund was instrumental in making possible the installation of a solar system at the Clinton Community Hall, allowing us to increase the Hall’s energy independence and community resilience.”

Whidbey Compost Collective

Fermented kitchen scraps, anyone? Turns out, worms love them! The Whidbey Compost Collective uses a fermentation method known as “bokashi” to prepare kitchen scraps for their worm bins. Over the past two years, the Compost Collective has collected over 4,000 pounds of food scraps from a single neighborhood on Whidbey, diverting this from the landfill and turning it into worm compost gold.

The Whidbey Climate Fund is supporting a pilot to deploy a commercial worm bin at a community garden, processing the fermented food scraps and producing soil enhancements for use on site. The long-term vision is to copy this in multiple neighborhoods, with food scrap collection centers at farm stands, farmers markets, and community gardens, and worm-bin composting deployed to farms and community gardens – all adding up to a decentralized organic waste system that supports robust local agriculture. This model of decentralized composting keeps food out of the waste stream and supplies local compost, a win-win scenario: Less methane from rotting food in the landfill, less long-distance hauling of waste, more locally made compost to regenerate soil, sequester carbon, and increase the water holding capacity of agricultural soils. By collecting our kitchen scraps and making compost for our farms and gardens, Whidbey Compost Collective connects us to our local food and each other.

Pacific Rim Institute/Whidbey-Camano Land Trust

Pacific Rim Institute for Environmental Stewardship, or PRI, and the Whidbey Camano Land Trust, known as WCLT, are collaborating to revitalize two important ecosystems on Whidbey: Strawberry Point and the Keystone Preserve. PRI is committed to the care, preservation and restoration of native northwest habitat, especially endangered Washington prairie and Garry oak savanna, through careful monitoring, invasive species management, and the introduction or supplementation of native species. In addition to engaging in practical care, PRI is open to the community as an educational center and offers its expertise and resources to other organizations involved in the vital work of restoration and reconciliation with the land.

With a grant from the Whidbey Climate Fund, PRI will expand their seed production of native seeds, including the Henderson’s checkermallow, with the goal that WCLT can locally source more of their restoration plant material.

The Whidbey Climate Fund was excited to see collaboration between these two island organizations. Ecosystem restoration as these organizations are doing achieves Whidbey Climate ACTION’s goal of carbon sequestration and local sourcing of materials reduces carbon pollution. Through their robust volunteer programs, both groups are helping Whidbey Islanders build social and ecosystem health.

You can contribute to the Whidbey Climate Fund this year and help sponsor future projects to make our beloved Island more resilient to the shocks of a changing climate. Check out www.whidbeyclimate.org/fund.

We cannot live in our culture without producing significant climate impacts … carbon pollution is baked into our lifestyles. But we can help mitigate some of that damage by contributing to the Whidbey Climate FUND, whose grants are made to local projects that enhance our own island’s resilience. Every dollar adds up! If just twice as many Whidbey residents made a tax-deductible contribution this year, twice as many worthy projects could get the jump start they need to make a difference right here at home.