Mission
Vision: A planet healed from the ravages of human impacts.
Mission: To protect and enjoy the natural places in South Florida, to teach others to understand and respect the fragile environment in which we live, to promote the responsible use of South Florida’s ecosystems and resources , and to encourage all to be sustained through a plant based diet and minimize or mitigate their personal environmental footprint.
Despite our past successes, the fight to save Earth is never over. There are always new projects and proposals that threaten the delicate balance of nature. Miami Group has successfully fought off two challenges to our founding concept - one is that Everglades National Park needs to be a quiet, peaceful place without an airport.
The second challenge occurred in 1996 when the Dade County Commission took back the Homestead Air Force Reserve Base and sold it to a development company for the building of a new airport between Biscayne National Park and Everglades National Park. We know that a win is often a temporary win, but a loss of nature is forever. Now more than ever, we are living in a time where life as we know it may soon change unless regular people, like you and each of us, help rise to the challenge.
History
The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization founded on May 28, 1892 in San Francisco, California by environmental-enthusiast and preservationist John Muir. Since its inception, the Sierra Club has spread throughout the United States and now boasts over 3,500,000 members nationwide. It has also inspired the founding of the Sierra Club du (of) Canada.
Our Miami Group was started in 1972 when local governments were threatening to build a new airport in the middle of the Everglades. Our local founding members were from the Audubon Society, the Boy Scouts of America, and other organizations. They formed the Sierra Club Miami, and banded together to prevent the airport plans from becoming a reality. The Group is part of the Florida Chapter of Sierra Club and forty-eight years later we are still dedicated to protecting the Everglades and the wonders of nature in South Florida.
Executive Committee 2023: Noel Cleland, Steven Leidner, Linda Benson, Jim Teas, Kaatje Bernabei, Kathy Teas
Chair/Political/Programs: Noel Cleland - miami-chair@florida.sierraclub.org
Vice-Chair/Secretary/Conservation: Steven Leidner- miami-conservation@florida.sierraclub.org
Outreach/Volunteer: Vacant
Newsletter Editor: Jim Teas
Treasurer: Linda Benson - Linda.Benson@florida.sierraclub.org
At-Large: Kathy Teas
Miami Group Leaders 2023:
Political Co-Chair: Naomi Papirno - Naomi.Papirno@florida.sierraclub.org
Webmaster Editor: Jim Teas - miami-webmaster@florida.sierraclub.org
Inspiring Connections Outdoors (ICO): Karen Kerr - KarenKerr50@gmail.com
Outings Chair: Vacant