NCW Collections Handbook

Nancy Warner

2021 Edition

For the people of North Central Washington who have helped gather, share, and care for the stories about this place.

Appreciation

IRIS wishes to thank our sponsors, partners and friends who have contributed in countless ways to the process of gathering and sharing the stories about this place. Our sincere thanks to all who contributed their own stories, as well as those who conducted trainings, recorded and transcribed oral histories, donated photos, helped write scripts, composed music, and led local Gathering Our Voice teams in completing special projects. You showed how community can get things done.

We also extend our appreciation to all who shared stories as part of the NCW Community Success Summit, hosted the event in school gyms and other venues, and provided the local leadership and facilitation needed to showcase our communities. Thank you for your “can-do” attitude, a quality we also appreciate in the many partners who continue to collaborate with us to develop strategies for strengthening the food systems in our region and state.

Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to the North Central Washington Library, the Washington State Library, and to librarian Chad Roseburg, who helped make the dream of a searchable digital archive a reality. We hope it helps you think like a community and that you will also help it grow!

Nancy Warner, NCW Collections Program Manager, Handbook Writer/Editor

Chad Roseburg, NCW Collections Systems Manager, Archive Design, Online Handbook Design

Daniel O’Connor, Handbook Design

Cheryl Dawes, Peggy McKie, Erin Mundinger, Diana Sanford, Neal Hedges, Judy Pitchford, Patty Rose, Evan Robb, Chuck Warner; Handbook Reviewers

Gibbs Graphics & Spencer Piestrup, IRIS Website

Landscape illustrations, Connor Poppie

IRIS Board

Brooklyn Holton, Board President

Erin Mundinger, Vice President

Mike Yale, Treasurer

Maggie Reilly, At Large

Marcia Ostrom, At Large

Contents

• 1. About this handbook and the IRIS collections
  • 1.1. How the collections are organized
    • 1.1.1. NCW Collections categories
    • 1.1.2. A work in progress – how to contribute
• 2. Thinking Like a Community
  • 2.1. How does thinking like a community foster sustainability?
• 3. About IRIS
• 4. How did you come to this place?
  • 4.1. Coming into Place Sampler
• 5. Oral Histories, Gathering Our Voice
  • 5.1. The Gathering Our Voice Story
  • 5.2. Using the Gathering Our Voice Collection
    • 5.2.1. Listen for story seeds
    • 5.2.2. Share a Picture of Health
    • 5.2.3. Focus on one interview
    • 5.2.4. Piece together your landscape history
    • 5.2.5. Come together to share your story
    • 5.2.6. Focus multiple interviews on a topic
• 6. Stories & Events, Success Story Exchange
  • 6.1. North Central Washington Community Success Summit
  • 6.2. Using the Success Story Exchange Collection
    • 6.2.1. Assess the Situation
    • 6.2.2. Convene a Local Success Summit
    • 6.2.3. Conduct a group interview with fellow community members
    • 6.2.4. Develop a community timeline
    • 6.2.5. Form a community study group to assess your community
    • 6.2.6. Fill gaps in the Success Story Exchange
    • 6.2.7. Develop a community tagline and logo
• 7. Videos, Reports, Curricula - Food Systems
  • 7.1. Using the Food Systems Collection
    • 7.1.1. Explore the natural diversity of your own foodshed
    • 7.1.2. Learn more about our local food systems
    • 7.1.3. Create a lesson plan
    • 7.1.4. Explore recommended actions for strengthening our food system
• 8. Activities & Resources
  • 8.1. Related Links

Indices and tables

• Index

• Search Page