Join Us For EARTH DAY!     

Saturday, April 20th @ 9:00 am- 2 pm (Central Time)      

Location: 100 Willow Road, Wheeling, IL 60900    

Join us in celebrating Earth Day by dedicating a few hours of your day to honor and give back to our local natural habitat through restoration work! We invite you to come and partake in this special occasion, where we will come together to show appreciation for the beauty and importance of our environment.

In addition to the fulfilling experience of contributing to the well-being of our local habitat, we are delighted to offer a complimentary lunch for all participants and special guest speakers who will share with us their insights and expertise!

We kindly request attendees to come dressed appropriately in fully-covered shoes and clothes, and to bring along gloves if available. Let's unite in our efforts to preserve and protect our environment!

The event will be family friendly, so we encourage you to bring along everyone you can— but please register ahead of time!

Victory: Cook County bans toxic driveway sealant

On Thursday, March 14, the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted to ban the retail sale and the commercial application of driveway sealants based on coal tar. Thirteen commissioners voted in favor, two (Stanley Moore and Frank Aguilar) voted present, and two (Dennis Deer and John Daley) had excused absences. Commissioner Maggie Trevor introduced the ordinance late last year and refined it several times over the last months. The Sierra Club played a big part in this win.

Congratulations to all who made this victory possible! We have taken an important step to protect the health of the county’s people and local waterways.

Backpacking & Outing Events

Earlybird Advanced Backpack Shawnee National Forest
Date & Time: Friday, April 12th, 9pm - Monday, April 15th, 3pm
Location: Ferne Clyffe State Park, Goreville, IL 62939
This is a self-contained hike into the Shawnee National Forest for experienced backpackers in good physical condition (self-contained means that every hiker is responsible for their own food). Hikers should be prepared for three days of hiking, 10, 11 and 6 miles on rough trail, moderately dry to rainy weather under 50-60 degree days and 30-40 degree nights. 

For more information or registration, go here.

Backpacking Yellow River State Forest, Iowa
Date & Time: Friday, May 3rd, 6pm - Sunday, May 5th, 12pm
Location: 784 Donahue Rd, Harpers Ferry, IA 52146
This backpack will be a moderate to vigorous hike through a hilly trail area in eastern Iowa, two-hours west of Madison WI.  This will be considered an exploratory trip, as the leader has not hiked it himself and is relying on the information posted and verified by the ranger.  The Paint Creek Backpacking loop is 13.5 miles and will be conducted over two days.

For more information or registration, go here.

Annual Spring Hike in Miller Woods at the Indiana Dunes National Park
Date & Time: Saturday, May 11th, 10am
Location: 20 N Lake St, Gary, IN 46403
Join us for a rigorous day hike in the Miller Woods area of the newly established Indiana Dunes National Park to view the spring wildflowers. The Indiana Dunes area has some of the highest levels of biodiversity in the country!  Even better, the spring wildflowers should be at or near peak this time of year!  During past trips, we have seen fantastic blooms of lupines, Indian paintbrush, columbines and other wildflowers along the trail. Tom Serynek, a native to the Dunes area, will accompany us on the hike. Tom will share his knowledge of the wildflowers, native plants and local history of the area.

For more information or registration, go here.

North Manitou Island Backpack Trip
Date & Time: Thursday, June 6th, 9pm - Monday, June 10th, 2pm
Location: VXR4+MV DHD Group Campground, Glen Arbor, MI 49636
Join us for a 4-day leisurely backpack and swim in the pristine wilderness of North Manitou Island part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Minimal, recent backpacking experience required. Notable features include ruins, eagles, deer, sandy dunes and orchards. Limit: 15. Deposit is the cost of the trip $75, which includes most meals, park & camping fees and other trip expenses. Call the assistant leader Scott Etienne 847-269-3143. The leader is Erik Sander.

For more information or registration, go here.
Backpacking Kettle Moraine Northern Unit
Date & Time: Friday, October 4th, 6pm - Sunday, October 6th, 2:30pm
Location: VXR4+MV DHD Group Campground, Glen Arbor, MI 49636
This backpack will be a moderate to vigorous hike through a section of the Ice Age Trail through Kettle Moraine State Forest - North Unit (KM-N) from Butler Lake to the trailhead to the north.

For more information or registration, go here.

In search of volunteers!

Are you looking for a way to get involved with your local Sierra Club group? We welcome new faces who want to get involved.  A couple areas of need are with Communications (committee lead, newsletter, social media) and Programs (finding good program topics and making arrangements with the help of the executive committee). Please let us know if you're interested by emailing nwccsierraclub@gmail.com.

At Risk Natural Spaces

Do you know of any local (NW Cook County) natural space- prairie, wetland, marsh, or similar- that is at risk? Please let us know by emailing nwccsierraclub@gmail.com