Sierra Club Increases Its Exposure in the North Star State
Last week the Sierra Club's North Star Chapter hosted a photo booth at the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul, where Sierra Club volunteers asked Minnesotans to share their thoughts on what they'd most like to protect in "Minnesota's Great Outdoors." In turn, volunteers shared the conservation issues they're most passionate about and explained why they're active with the Sierra Club.
"North Star Chapter volunteers filled nearly 200 shifts at the booth—a total of 432 hours over 12 days—and collected nearly 1,500 photos," says Sierra Club organizing manager Michelle Rosier. "We gave everyone a handout with the chapter's priorities, with details on one activity in each priority, and provided the link where they can download their photo. So far, more than 700 people have viewed their photos online!"
The chapter plans to turn the photos—and the hundreds of postcards signed by people who didn't get their photo taken—into an album to deliver to Governor Mark Dayton, outlining the Sierra Club's conservation objectives for the North Star State.
"We'll also invite everyone who checked the 'interested in volunteering' box to our next New Member and Volunteer Night," Rosier says.
The North Star Chapter embarked on the State Fair photo project in order to connect with more Minnesotans through stories and shared values.
Below, Sierra Club volunteer Amber Buening and North Star Chapter Director Margaret Levin at a training session in advance of the State Fair.
Rosier gives "kudos to Team Minnesota—volunteers and staff—for re-envisioning our State Fair booth and working together on the trainings, recruitment, design, materials, logistics, data entry, funding, promotion, and follow-up. And a huge shout-out and thank-you to Joel Mandella for his work as this year's State Fair intern. Not only did he manage the volunteer schedule, he was a rock star checking in on the booth throughout the 12 days of the Fair!" That's Mandella, below, at one of the trainings.
Find out more about the North Star Chapter's conservation priorities and how you can get involved.
