Student Speaks of Inspiration

Last week's Pathway to the Outdoors dinner in Chicago, Illinois, exemplified how outdoor experiences are able to provide today's youth with inspiration and opportunity. The event celebrated the fourth year of a fruitful partnership between the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago and the Building Bridges to the Outdoors Project of the Sierra Club. Along with the Club's Illinois Chapter, Building Bridges to the Outdoors staff has worked diligently to establish outdoor education opportunities for Keystone Club members of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago for youths age 14 to 18. "Partnering with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago's Keystone program was so smooth thanks to their dedicated and tireless staff," said Douglas Chien, Conservation Field Representative with the Illinois Chapter. Building Bridges to the Outdoors, along with the Illinois Chapter and the Chicago Inner City Outings program of the Sierra Club, run an annual outdoor program that gives these youths a weekend educational experience at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The importance of such an outdoor program is highlighted by Chien, "Nature provides a welcome respite from the noise and stress of living in a large city."

At last week's dinner, participants of this program shared some of their inspirational experiences and many of the organizational leaders of the program were in attendance. Martin LeBlanc, who manages the Building Bridges to the Outdoors Project and is the National Youth Education Director of the Sierra Club, shared his outlook on the dinner, "What I found gratifying was not just the numbers, but the excitement that future members have in wanting to participate in the program and become involved with the Sierra Club." In particular, the experiences of one program participant stood out to LeBlanc.

"The highlight of the night was Jerone Thadison," says LeBlanc. Thadison, who grew up on the West side of Chicago, was a participant of the program's first outing in 2005. Now, in his second year at Chicago State University, Thadison described how profoundly his single outdoor experience with the program had changed his life. As keynote speaker at the dinner, Thadison explained that he had never thought about the environment at all before his trip. He vividly recalled and recounted to the audience his outdoor experiences during the outing, from testing water-quality, to hiking along the dunes, to eating s'mores and seeing stars for the first time. The crowd listened in silent admiration as Thadison described how these experiences had inspired him to start an environmental club at his local Boys and Girls Club Chapter and to become interested in plant biology. He currently majors in biology at Chicago State University and maintains a 3.3 GPA.

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." -John Muir

Club Helps Alabama School Kids Get Green

Nineteen sixth-graders from D.C. Wolfe School in Shorter, Alabama, attended a 3-day environmental workshop at the Camp McDowell Environmental Center in northern Alabama this spring. Alabama Sierra Club leader Margaret Wade Johnston, director of the Environmental Center, secured a grant from the Club's Building Bridges to the Outdoors Project to fund the workshop.

The program was followed by a field day sponsored by the Auburn University Environmental Institute, tied to the Camp McDowell workshop. One of the day's activities was for the kids to create a "quilt of environmental learnings," below, based on what they learned at the camp.

"Even though they live in a rural area, a lot of these kids don't get to spend much time outdoors experiencing nature," says Kay Stone of the Auburn Environmental Institute, who administers an environmental science and arts program in Alabama's Black Belt, and who put Johnston in touch with the D.C. Wolfe School. "This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many of them."

The Camp McDowell workshop combined classroom learning with hands-on outdoor activities like pond and stream ecology, nature journaling, and rock quarry geology. "Many of these kids have never been away from home overnight before except to grandma's house," says Stone, "but when it came time to leave, most of them practically begged to stay."

"We at McDowell Environmental Center love teaching children from all walks of life," says Wade Johnston, "but the D.C. Wolfe children were amazing. We all fell in love with them! It was wonderful to see students who asked us, when we visited the school a few months ago, if they were going to see dragons and tigers at Camp McDowell, become comfortable in nature in only three days! One of the McDowell instructors teared up as she shared memorable connections that happened for young people that week."

All the kids who participated took home a Sierra Club t-shirt. "The Club was so generous to provide funding, including chartering the bus to get the kids to Camp McDowell, since their school has none," says Stone. "And the art project was amazing."

The week after the follow-up field day, the kids presented the quilt to their school. "Now their teachers are using vocabulary that the students learned in their environmental studies," Stone beams.

Camp photos by Laura Catherine Conville of the Camp McDowell Environmental Center. Quilt photos by Kay Stone.

Island Festival Celebrates Endangered Leatherback Sea Turtle

At 10:00 am on April 26, a parade of children marched through the streets of Luquillo, Puerto Rico, dressed as sea turtles. Ushering in the Third Annual Festival del Tinglar (Leatherback Turtle Festival) the children were welcomed to the plaza by community members, local businesses, non-profits and artisans from all over of the island. Music and dancing soon filled the square as people sang along to new and familiar songs. “Move your hips like you are ready to dance and wave your arms like a leatherback turtle,” sang music group Son de Almendro.    

This Leatherback Turtle Festival began in 2006 to raise awareness and support for the protection of the Northeast Ecological Corridor, one of this U.S. territory’s most precious natural treasures. The Corridor is a 3,200-acre stretch of eastern shoreline located between the towns of Luquillo and Fajardo and is made up of forests, wetlands, beaches, coral communities and a bioluminescent lagoon. Its beaches are one of the three most important nesting sites for the leatherback turtle in the U.S.

Drawing over 2,000 people, including Puerto Rico Sierra Club activists (above), the event included more than 50 artisan booths, 30 non-profit resource tables, a tent for corridor education, natural food vendors and more. Music and dancing lasted until well into the evening.    

This year the festival celebrated a true conservation victory. Last October 4, Puerto Rican governor, Anibal Acevedo Vila, signed an executive order designating the Northeast Ecological Corridor as a Nature Reserve, limiting development in this region to eco-tourism.  With this monumental win behind them, the Sierra Club Puerto Rico Chapter and its partners in the Coalición Pro Corredor Ecológico del Noreste are helping the towns of Luquillo and Fajardo design eco-tourism plans.  This work will bring potential investment and employment to local residents and entrepreneurs who have historically not benefitted from the economic boom of island tourism. It will also provide visitors with direct access to the corridor.   

Sierra Club Says "Happy Birthday" to César Chávez

During the week of March 31, Sierra Club joined allies in the Latino, labor and civil rights communities to honor the legacy of American hero César Chávez by recognizing his birthday. César Chávez, best remembered as a champion of workers rights who fought to ban dangerous pesticides, co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW), an organization dedicated to garnering better wages, working conditions and respect for farm workers. Events honoring his March 31, birthday took place in cities across the country, from Los Angeles, CA to Boise, Idaho. 

Sierra Club Regional Conservation Organizer, Juana Torres, attended the César E. Chávez National Holiday campaign press conference held on March 26, in Los Angeles. During the event, co-chair of the campaign, Carlos Santana expressed his commitment to work to win support for a national holiday. Evelina Alarcón, Executive Director of the campaign for the national holiday, in her introduction, recognized Juana Torres from the Sierra Club, and mentioned the work and support the organization has given to the campaign. 

 

In DC, Congressman Baca (D-CA) held a press conference in support of the holiday. He was joined by Isabel Long, Sierra Club Associate Representative for Latino Programs and representatives from the League of United Latino American Citizens (LULAC) and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), as well as AFL-CIO Executive Vice President, Arlene Holt Baker, among others.  Sierra Club marched along side allies in San Antonio from Guadalupe Church to the Alamo, joining in the chant of “¡Sí se puede!”

The Sierra Club has endorsed the César Chávez National Holiday Campaign. Carl Pope explains that César Chávez’ advocacy work for “justice, public lands, citizen action, corporate accountability and the rights of workers and communities to a safe and healthy environment are core values of the Sierra Club.”

César Chávez’ vision and leadership continue to inspire us today as we organize to confront global warming, environmental injustices and other threats to our health and families.

Green Awakening Fashion Show Benefits Sierra Club

Kayla Bonczek, a senior at North Haven High School in Connecticut, says she has always loved fashion. But she developed another passion during her junior year after taking an advanced placement class in environmental science. "After learning about the importance of sustainability in our environment I decided I wanted to meld these two interests together," she says.

Bonczek's teacher, Abigail Walston, agreed to let her do an independent study class in environmental science her senior year with the final project being an eco-friendly fashion show. As soon as school started she got permission to hold the fashion show at her school, contacted designers for clothing donations, found volunteers, and organized the show, which she called Green Awakening. "I also had to decide on an environmental organization to donate the proceeds to," Bonczek says. "Right away, I chose the Sierra Club because of its long history of preserving and protecting the outdoors."

The Green Awakening fashion show was held on Earth Day, with clothing and accessories donated by various designers put up for bidding at a silent auction after the show. "More than $1,500 was raised from the admission price and silent auction!" says Bonczek. "It was a pleasure to raise money for such a great organization—I hope to be involved more with the Sierra Club in the future." Starting this fall she will begin a major in fashion merchandising at Marist College, and eventually she hopes to own her own store that sells clothing made by local designers out of organic cotton and sustainable and recycled materials.

It appears that when Bonczek sets a goal for herself, she attains it. "Kayla is an amazing and inspiring young lady," says Abigail Walston.

Navajo Activists Get the Cold Shoulder From Sithe

A delegation of indigenous peoples from all over the world rallied in solidarity with the Dooda Desert Rock Committee outside the offices of Sithe Global Power in New York City on April 25 to make sure Sithe understands the impacts of its proposed Desert Rock coal-fired power plant on the local Navajo people at the proposed site on the Navajo Reservation in northwestern New Mexico.

Elouise  Brown (above left), president of the Dooda Desert Rock Committee, and Enei Begaye, executive director of the Black Mesa Water Coalition, attempted to deliver a letter to Sithe telling them that local people do not support the project. Sithe declined to meet with them. Brown and Begaye were in New York for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

News reporters accompanied the two into the building where Sithe Global's offices are located, but were ordered to "leave immediately." Receptionists called Sithe several times and left messages, but the company did not come down or call back, and the receptionists would not deliver the letter, directing Brown and Begaye to a messenger center at a different location.

"I don't understand how the proponents of the Desert Rock Energy Project from our Navajo Nation can do business with a corporation that will not speak to members of the Nation who would be directly impacted by the project," Brown says. "At least we delivered the letter and they have an idea there are many Navajo people opposed to this project and only a couple who want it."

The Navajo Nation's private energy development firm, Dine' Power Authority, has given Desert Rock the thumbs-up, but most tribal members oppose the project and have been fighting it from the get-go. When the Bureau of Indian Affairs recommended that Desert Rock be built, Navajo grassroots activists called it "a BIA-issued death certificate for the Navajo people."

Photographs courtesy of the Indigenous Environmental Network.

Everything Must Change Tour Spreads Word about Living Lightly on the Planet

The Sierra Club is breaking new ground this year by sponsoring a Christian book tour by author, pastor and environmental advocate Brian McLaren. Club staff and volunteers in eleven cities will join thousands of people of faith for the “Everything Must Change” tour to hear Brian share his concerns about major crises facing the human family today: climate change, pollution and species loss, global poverty, and war. According to McLaren and his partners at Deepshift.org, these crises are manifestations of broken systems that disregard the ecological balance and human dignity.  They also demonstrate a spiritual crisis caused by problematic framing stories about the meaning and purpose of our lives that dominate today’s culture.

The tour kicked off on February 1st in Charlotte, NC with strong attendance driven by newspaper and radio interviews with McLaren, and then moved to Boise, Idaho and Dallas, Texas later in the month. The gatherings feature slides of melting polar ice caps, a Sierra Club DVD on the injustices of mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia, and original songs and poetry that call for forgiveness and strength to seek justice.  McLaren hopes to take participants into deeper awareness and transformation, empowering them to challenge the strongholds of greed, consumerism, and corruption so rampant in our culture.

Sierra Club and co-sponsors Sojourners and Faith at Work are organizing follow-up activities at several sites designed to help people understand the connections between environmental degradation and poverty, and identify some possible next steps. In Charlotte, we sorted donations at the “Really, Really Free Store” where residents of surrounding low-income neighborhoods can find used clothes, furniture, toys, and appliances for free. Pictured below are some of the participants.  Participants in Texas engaged in breakout conversations to discuss tangible ways people can live more lightly on the planet. In New York City participants will join forces with local activists and residents for an afternoon of urban planting at the A Badillo Community Rose Garden in the Melrose section of the Bronx.

Cool Cities Campaign Picks Up Steam in Colorado

   

In March, the Sierra Club's Cool Cities team hosted a training at REI's new community center in Boulder, Colorado. Forty-three volunteers from as far away as Pueblo, Grand Junction, and Laramie, Wyoming, spent the day learning how to make their hometown a Cool City, how to implement a climate action plan, and how to build alliances with like-minded communities. Below, Cool Cities coordinator Colleen Sarna talks about how volunteers can get involved locally.

Former Boulder mayor Mark Ruzzin, now regional director for ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability), spoke about his experience implementing the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in Boulder and how ICLEI and the Sierra Club can work together. Upcoming Cool City, Cool County, and Cool State opportunities were discussed, with examples provided by volunteer leaders Jenny Kedward and Bob Millette. Late in the day, participants broke into four geographical groups to formulate action plans for grassroots organizing and recruitment, contacting mayors and county officials, and building alliances.

"This training will really help activate new volunteers and team leaders in both our Cool Cities and Partnerships programs," says Colorado Sierra Club organizer Roger Singer, below, who co-moderated the event with fellow staffer Katie Ryder.

 

Tribes, Club Win Temporary Protection for Sacred Peak

Mt. Taylor, an 11,300-foot peak in north-central New Mexico considered a sacred cultural site by many Native American tribes, is threatened by renewed uranium mining threats. But thanks to the efforts of a coalition of the Navajo, Hopi, Laguna, Acoma, and Zuni tribes, with an assist from the Sierra Club, the sacred peak has won a one-year temporary designation as a Traditional Cultural Property from the New Mexico State Historic Preservation office.

The New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division has a streamlined process in place that allows mining activities without giving notice to affected tribes when the site is less than five acres and there is no Traditional Cultural Property involved--bypassing an Executive Order signed by Governor Bill Richardson requiring statewide tribal consultation for the protection of sacred places.

Radiation threats remain from more than 1,000 mine sites abandoned after the end of the cold war, but the nuclear power industry is seeking to resume operations on and around Mount Taylor. Tribes oppose the plans because the state has failed to perform environmental analysis on underground drinking water supplies and impacts from exploratory wells, among other issues.

"The Traditional Cultural Properties designation means pueblos and tribes can't be ignored when there are imminent threats to a sacred mountain," says Sierra Club Environmental Justice organizer and Navajo tribal member Robert Tohe, above. "This decision will allow the tribes and the State Historic Preservation Office to carefully evaluate applications for mining permits that may affect the cultural properties."

The Sierra Club supported the tribes' application to the Historic Preservation Office, organized meetings bringing different tribes together, and testified on the tribes' behalf. Rio Grande Chapter organizer Dan Lorimer, below, urged protections for public lands on Mt. Taylor at the Indian Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

Read more about the Sierra Club's tribal partnerships work and the effort to protect Mt. Taylor.

"Historic Green" Event Helps Rebuild Lower Ninth Ward

From March 8-23, the Sierra Club will be participating in the 2008 Historic Green event to rebuild a sustainable New Orleans. Hundreds of students and young professionals in the construction industry—architects, engineers, planners, landscape architects, interior designers, and contractors—will converge on the Crescent City to work hand-in-hand with residents of the Holy Cross Historic District, part of the Lower Ninth Ward that was among the city's hardest-hit areas during Hurricane Katrina.

Sierra Club organizer Darryl Malek-Wiley, pictured above, and below with volunteers at a Public Lands Day cleanup of Bayou Bienvenue in the Lower Ninth Ward last year, has been working for years with Club volunteers and the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association to help rebuild and renew the area. "We're hoping Historic Green will be an annual event until the whole Lower Ninth is rebuilt as a sustainable, carbon-neutral neighborhood," Malek-Wiley says.

Organized by the Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, Historic Green will help homeowners "green up" their historic properties, provide free sustainable rebuilding consulting services, help with green deconstruction of homes that are beyond repair, initiate a playground/park rehabilitation project, plant community gardens, and offer neighborhood survey services in cooperation with the Lower Ninth Ward's Neighborhood Empowerment Network Association.

The Sierra Club is hosting lectures and coordinating bayou restoration and trail work on the path leading to Bayou Bienvenue, an historic cypress swamp that was inundated with salt water by an Army Corps of Engineers project in the late 1950s, and which residents of the Lower Ninth now want to bring back. Once the trail work is done, the Club's New Orleans Group will be sponsoring a canoe trip on the bayou.

Learn more about the Sierra Club's work to help rebuild the Gulf Coast.