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Anyone is welcome to attend and contribute to the Strawberry Safety Committee!
Next meeting: Monday, May 4 at 7:00 – 7695 Cabrini Dr SE
Agenda:
Great job on the neighborhood cleanup day, everyone! We had many homes participate, and it was great to see so many people outside working together.
We’re working hard to update the Strawberry Safety landing page with all the information you need, upcoming events, and more.
Free round 7/8 round rock provided by Kitsap Quarry is located the common area adjacent to 7986 Cabrini. Pick up by Sunday, May 3. After that, it will be spread around the common area.
Free wood chips are available in the west corner of the park near the parking area. You can’t miss it. It’s about 25 yards of chips, thanks to all of the wood piles stacked up in the neighborhood and Archon Tree Service who took care of all the piles on Monday. Pick up by Sunday, May 3. After that point, we will have it pushed into the woodline to compost.
We’ve had a lot of questions and excitement about our spring clean-up day, which is tomorrow, Saturday, April 25 from 10-2.
To help communicate all the details about this event as well as future events, we’ve added a new page to our website just for Strawberry Safety.
For the latest details about tomorrow’s event, please visit our website. You can access the Strawberry Safety page from the main menu, in between Resources and Neighborly.
Check back anytime for future updates, events, and program details. We will always notify the neighborhood via Updates for upcoming events.
Here’s what is posted on the website currently (subject to updates!):
We will have a check-in table set up with some amazing CERT volunteers at 7695 Cabrini who will also be running fire extinguisher safety trainings and you can practice USING a fire extinguisher!
Please log your work hours and report them back for us to track for our NFPA’s Wildfire and Firewise USA Programs Participation. We will have log sheets available at the check-in table as well as the QR code for the digital recording form option.
Reminder, if you choose to work on your own property in honor of clean-up day, please also document that, your efforts add to the safety of our neighborhood and we want to honor that!
If you were interested in picking up some rocks, there are two types available. Thank you to the homes listed below for volunteering their driveways for drop zones. Please check-in with homeowners if possible before removing rocks from piles at individual homes. If you need help transporting rocks to your home, let us know, we can help with that too! Thanks to Kitsap Quarry for their generous rock donation!
| Rock type | Pick up location |
|---|---|
| 3/4 minus gravel | 7965 & 7917 Cabrini |
| 7/8 round rock | 7730 Cabrini & in the common area adjacent to 7986 Cabrini |
Need to dispose of yard waste? Free yard waste bags will be available for pick-up at the check-in table! There is also a large trailer parked at 7730 Cabrini Dr where yard waste can be deposited if you have more than you know what to do with!
Please no noxious weeds and no chip-able branches. Noxious weeds can be dropped off for free at Kitsap Noxious weed drop off sites; check out their website for more details.
As part of the Firewise event, a professional chipping company will be visiting our neighborhood for one day between April 27-29. Please place all branches and logs in an orderly pile with cut ends parallel at the front of your property or group into a pile with your neighbors by Monday morning (April 27). Branches may be up to 24″ in diameter.
We will have some tools available for neighbors to borrow, so if you need something, please ask! These include electric chainsaw, pole saw, hedge trimmer, string trimmer, pruners, rakes, wheelbarrow, etc.
We are so excited for our First Firewise Neighborhood Clean-up event! Focusing on the first 15 feet surrounding homes dramatically decreases your risk from a passing wildfire.
Date and time: April 25, 10 AM – 2 PM
More details will come out in April, but for now, please consider filling out the form linked below to sign up to:
A) nominate your home or a neighbor who would benefit from help with their yardwork;
B) volunteer to help out a neighbor in need or in the common areas where we have identified areas of need; or
C) volunteer equipment (shovels, rakes, and other implements of destruction) or expertise (know how to run a woodchipper safely? Or a chain saw?)
Not available on the 25th but still want to know how you can help? Please reach out!
Special thanks to our new Strawberry Safety Committee for coordinating and organizing this event!
Great news, neighbors! The first meeting of the Strawberry Safety committee is being held on Monday, March 9 at 7:00 pm at 7695 Cabrini Dr SE, the Hagen home.
We have six homes represented so far. We’d love to have more! If you’re interested in helping, just show up.
Agenda items include:
Even if you’re not able to get involved right away, don’t forget to mark your calendar for our community clean up day: Saturday, April 18.
The Firewise program has continued to gain momentum under the leadership of homeowner Pam Darland, who has championed this effort over the past year. Alongside her, homeowner Ken Hulet—longtime CERT volunteer and advocate for neighborhood emergency readiness—has been working to strengthen our community’s preparedness for many years.
At the January board meeting, Pam and Ken shared updates on their respective efforts and highlighted opportunities for greater neighborhood involvement. After discussing how closely their goals align, the board agreed that the strongest path forward is to bring these initiatives together.
With that in mind, we’re excited to introduce Strawberry Safety, a new volunteer group dedicated to promoting emergency preparedness, fire safety, and related programs through education and community participation.
Volunteers for the Strawberry Safety committee might:
“I think Strawberry Safety is a great idea! The more people involved and your community organizes, the better resiliency.”
Trace Richard, Program Manager SKFR
Participation is completely up to you, but the more neighbors who get involved, the stronger these programs become and the safer our community will be. Pam Darland and Ken Hulet have graciously agreed to guide the committee in their areas of expertise, and Mary Mingels will serve as the board liaison.
Our next step is to gather a small team to share ideas and map out a plan. If you’re willing to be part of this planning group, we’d love to hear from you. Even an hour of your time can make a meaningful difference. The first step is to let us know you’re interested.
Make sure to vote for your favorite holiday decorations! We’ll announce the winner again this year at our summer membership meeting. This is the only award that is voted on by the community, so get your vote submitted by December 31. You will need to know the address of the house you are nominating.
Our annual dues notices will be coming to your mailboxes very soon. This letter also includes important updates from the officers and board members. Dues information as well as our mailing address and Venmo account for digital payments are on our Resources page. Don’t forget, we give an award at our summer meeting for the earliest dues payment!
Our winter board meeting is scheduled for January 7th, 2026 at 7:00 pm at 7966 Cabrini Dr SE. Members are welcome to submit agenda items to the board via our contact page or email. Board meetings are usually held 1-2 times per year and are noted on our community calendar.
2. Becoming the first recognized Firewise community in all of Kitsap County! This year, we had 10% of homes participating. Trace from Kitsap County Fire and the Firewise committee chair, Pam Darland, are hoping to double this number of homes in 2026. Great news: one of the perks of being a Firewise community, if you are a USAA member, is you can get a discount on your insurance!
We are also asking for another volunteer to help co-chair this program with Pam in the coming year. It helps our community to have input from more than one person, and you can also help talk to neighbors together. If you are interested, please let us know.
We receive a sign for the neighborhood from Firewise. When the sign arrives, we will announce an opportunity to join a photo by the Strawberry Hill entrance. There may even be an article in the Kitsap Sun in concert with Station 12, showing our community as a Firewise example. Amazing!
3. Having homeowners notice a need and fill it. Thank you, Wayne Hancock, for noticing the last storm damaged the park fence bordering Bielmeier Road – and then offering to fix it for us. We appreciate you!
Our annual Thanksgiving Day activities are open for all neighbors to participate.
🏃♂️ 9:30 AM • Walkers, joggers, strollers, wagons, dogs, and bikes welcome as we circle the Cabrini loop together. Sometimes there are cookies and cocoa provided for walkers by friendly neighbors so don’t miss this opportunity to stretch your legs and socialize.
🏈 10:00 AM • All ages and abilities welcome to join a friendly game of touch football! Hang out as long as you like. Spectators are encouraged to mill about and shout supportive remarks from the swings or dog park.
Join in the fun!
Two updates for our neighbors from the committee chair and KCFR liaison.
Fantastic news!
Thanks to the neighbors who have taken part in the exterior home safety evaluations, all who contributed by collecting data on yard waste material removal, and all who have been contributing by doing simple yard clean-up, roof and gutter cleaning and many other tasks, we are ready to file our application to the nationwide FireWise Program.
Trace Richard completed an enormous amount of time and paperwork setting us up to become the first neighborhood in Kitsap County to achieve this honor. Now, it is up to us.
Monday, October 13 at 1:00 pm, Trace will be at my home to finalize some of the data collected and to present what comes next in his plans for the second phase. This includes an easier way for us to communicate!
If you are available and interested in the future of this program, please contact me at darlandgk@gmail.com or (253) 720-8419.
Monday’s meeting is at 7535 Cabrini Dr SE.
I wanted to let the HOA know that the community members who are participating in the Firewise Community process have worked hard and overwhelmingly met all the requirements and I will be submitting the application in a couple weeks.
Most of year one and some of year two goals have been met. My plan is to have a wildfire cleanup day sometime in May to gather community members, educate them on evacuation planning and do a few hours of fuel removal around home. I know there are a couple elderly in the community who will need this help.
It will take about 4-5 weeks to get a response from the NPFA on recognition as a Firewise Community. When I receive the sign(s) I would like to do a picture of all participants and invite the Kitsap Sun to do an article on the first Firewise community in Kitsap County with the HOA permission. The HOA can place the sign where they want it. Most communities place them at the front of the community.
Strawberry Hill HOA