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Building Bridges to the Outdoors: In March, more than thirty fifth grade students from John Muir Elementary School in Seattle, some of whom are pictured below, spent a week at the 255-acre Islandwood residential environmental education center on Bainbridge Island, Washington, through the Sierra Club’s Building Bridges to the Outdoors Project. Students learned about the diverse ecosystem of Bainbridge Island while enjoying s’mores and a good campfire. Building Bridges to the Outdoors is partnering with Islandwood to give every Seattle fifth grader an opportunity to experience a week outdoors. “This gave our students an experience to remember, as well as pride in their school’s namesake,” says John Muir Elementary Principal Awnnie Thompson. Learn more about the program at sierraclub.org/youth.
Summer Camp with a Purpose: If spending a week in a beautiful state park learning how to transform your passion and energy for the environment into concrete action sounds good to you, a Sierra Student Coalition summer training program could be just the ticket. Learn about environmental issues and activism from leaders in the field while forging friendships with other students, as four recent participants are doing around a campfire in Washington’s Lewis and Clark State Park, above right. By the end of the week, you’ll be prepared to put what you’ve learned into action on campus and in your community.
The SSC’s Environmental Leaderships Training Programs will teach you how to plan and run environmental campaigns, communicate effectively about the environment, and build school or campus environmental groups. Guest speakers provide insights into the problems facing our planet and how all of us can get involved to solve them. Many past participants have gone on to lead their student environmental groups and Sierra Club chapters to new levels of organizing and effectiveness.
2006 SSC Training Locations:
- North Carolina, June 19–25: William B. Umstead State Park, near Raleigh
- Minnesota, June 26–July 2: St. Croix State Park, near the Minneapolis/St. Paul
- Washington, July 17–23: Snoqualmie Lodge, near Seattle
- Pennsylvania, August 14–20: Raccoon Creek State Park, near Pittsburgh
- Environmental Justice, July 24–30: near Los Angeles. This program is run in partnership with the Sierra Club’s Building Bridges to the Outdoors.
- Puerto Rico, Dates TBA (Native Spanish speakers only, please.)
To learn more and to register, go to www.ssc.org/t/sprogs.htm or call 1-888-JOIN-SSC.
2006 National Award Nominations: Do you know a Sierra Club member who deserves national recognition for his or her work? Or maybe you know a local politician, reporter or photographer whose work has helped protect the environment? If so, don’t forget to nominate them for one of the Club’s 2006 national awards. The Club has 24 national awards, several of which include cash prizes. June 1 is the deadline to submit nominations for this year’s awards. Nomination forms may be found at sierraclub.org/awards. Descriptions of all the national awards and lists of previous award winners also are available on this Web page. Awards will be presented during the Club’s annual meeting in San Francisco on September 16. For more information on Sierra Club national awards, contact Awards Committee Chair Ellen Davis at ellen.davis@sierraclub.org or at (512) 868-3536.
Youth outing photo by Martin LeBlanc; SSC training photo by Gretchen Gordon
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