Are you prepared if a natural disaster strikes your home?

Transition Longfellow is an all-volunteer group of Longfellow/South Minneapolis neighbors who create opportunities for neighbors to get to know one another while also learning how they can reduce their energy use and waste, grow their own food, and prepare for extreme weather ahead. Visit www.transitionlongfellow.org to learn more.

Preparedness Book Group meets Wed., Sept. 6, 6:30pm, at Moon Palace Books, 3260 Minnehaha Ave., and Wed., Sept 20, 6:30pm, at Lake Coffee House, 3223 E. Lake St. The group is reading “Making Home: Adapting Our Homes and Lives to Settle in Place” by Sharon Astyk, chapters 11 and 12 on preparing for greater resilience in the face of a changing climate. Astyk suggests that the future will look less like the Mad Max fantasies of film and more like friends and family members losing their homes and coming to live with us (think Katrina). How do we prepare and welcome them? No need to read the chapter in advance; the group reads out loud.

When Climate Change Comes Home Speaker Series continues on Thurs., Sept. 21, 6:30-8:30pm, at Longfellow Park Building, 3435 36th Ave. S. This is the last informational workshop in the speaker series that examines the real-life impacts of a changing climate here in the Twin Cities. The topic is “Protecting Yourself from Insect and Water-borne Diseases.” Speakers Jenna Bjork, Trisha Robinson, and Lisa Strong, all from the Minnesota Health Department, will provide information about new tick (including Borrelia miyamotoi, discovered first in Minnesota) and mosquito-borne (West Nile Virus, Jamestown Canyon virus and Powassan virus), and water-related illnesses (like Naegleria fowleri).

A wrap-up session is planned for Sat., Oct. 14, in which information and ideas gathered at all of the informational workshops will be reviewed by community members to begin creating a community preparedness plan.

See the Transition Longfellow website (www.transitionlongfellow.org) as information becomes available on Ready Camp, a 4.5-hour training that teaches residents how to be prepared for emergencies, natural disasters and weather extremes, staying safe until emergency services can arrive.

Movie Night is scheduled for Fri., Sept. 15, 6:30pm potluck, 7:15pm movie, at Minnehaha Communion Lutheran, 4101 37th Ave. S. Meet new friends and neighbors and share a meal together. This month’s movie is “Real Value,” a documentary on how business can be used to create value beyond profit, with professor of psychology and behavioral economics Dan Ariely, explaining the science behind our perception of value.

The film offers inspiration for business owners, entrepreneurs, and customers who want to better understand what happens when a business puts people, planet, and profit on equal footing.