south-sound-calendar

Jan 8, 2020 at 5:30 PM at Mekong Restaurant (125 Columbia St NW, Olympia, WA 98501). Order food by 5:30 PM for meeting at 6 PM. It will be another action packed meeting with speakers. Don't miss it!

Feb 12, 2020 at 5:30 PM at Mekong Restaurant (125 Columbia St NW, Olympia, WA 98501). Order food by 5:30 PM for meeting at 6 PM. It will be another action packed meeting with speakers. Don't miss it!

Next meeting: Mar 11, 2020 at 5:30 PM at Mekong Restaurant (125 Columbia St NW, Olympia, WA 98501). Order food by 5:30 PM for meeting at 6 PM. It will be another action packed meeting with speakers. Don't miss it! Important last minute notice: This meeting is cancelled by order of state chapter.

Next meeting: Sep 9, 2020 6:30 PM (2nd Wednesday) online Zoom meeting, details will be sent by Email. All meetings will be online until in-person meetings are safe. Please bookmark this page. We are happy to announce that monthly South Sound Sierra Club community meetings will resume on September 9th at 6:30 PM as a virtual meeting on Zoom. Come join the South Sound Group of local environmental activists exchanging information and ideas about local, State and National environmental issues. Our monthly community meeting features program speakers, committee reports and an opportunity for attendees to share information from other like-minded groups. We’ll hear from Yonit Yogev, Social Justice activist, Exploring equitable access to outdoor spaces. Prior to the meeting, please listen to the NPR Podcast "Made for you and me" here. We will discuss the podcast and how it connects to our work in the Sierra Club. Helen Wheatley, Trees and Carbon Sequestration in Washington. Lynn Fitz-Hugh, Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan needs community support for city/county budget. Larry Dziesa, grassroots activist, Stop road through the LBA Woods in Olympia (read more below). We hope to see you there! Local Sierra Club members and allies are encouraged to comment on the proposed Thurston Solid Waste Management Plan:  https://www.co.thurston.wa.us/solidwaste/swac/SWMP.htm.   We suggest the report should have a greater priority of sustainability (raise from 10% to 15%), utilize efficient clean transportation, support union jobs and reflect community values in recycling.  The RFP (request for proposals)  process should be delayed until after the election due to possible Board changes. People may make public comments using the link  until Sept. 30th or at the following public meeting:  Thursday 6-7 p.m., September 17, 2020.  

Jan 13, 2021 6:30 PM (2nd Wednesday) online Zoom meeting, details will be sent by Email. All meetings will be online until in-person meetings are safe. Please bookmark this page. We’ll hear about the following topics: Development Plans at the Port of Olympia and Thurston County Plans for Buildable Land and Agriculture Conservation --  Helen Wheatley and Loretta Seppanen,

• Helen Wheatley ran for Commissioner of the Port of Olympia with the endorsement of Sierra Club in 2019.  She currently serves on the Thurston Conservation District Board of Supervisors, and is a member of the Thurston Climate Action Team’s Tree Action Group. She monitors the Port for the Sierra Club.
• Loretta Seppanen is active with the League of Women Voters on land conservation issues and with the Community Farm Land Trust.For those who missed the Jan 13, 2021 Zoom meeting because of the PSE power outage, etc, following are details and Zoom recording:
     About 25 people attended the Zoom meeting.
     Online Zoom Meeting Recorded at: http://bit.ly/SouthSoundZoom2021Jan13
  •    Jan 11, 2021 Port of Olympia meeting recording at https://media.avcaptureall.com/session.html?sessionid=6d31dda3-4ce2-4b21-ab6f-b27d03f97c63&prefilter=817,5837

• The mission of Thurston Conservation District (TCD) is to educate and assist the citizens of Thurston County in the management of natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations, inspiring voluntary, incentive-based conservation practices. TCD is a non-regulatory agency and partners with many individuals, organizations, and local government entities to do this work on a local basis. It is led by a volunteer five-member Board of Supervisors, three of whom are elected by the public. Learn how to vote in the 2021 Board Election and how to get involved at TCD.

• Get an update on the issues that impact the diverse ecosystems of Olympia, Washington including the freshwater, shoreline, tidal waters, and upland forests that are home to the Pacific Great Blue Heron, cutthroat trout, salmon, and companion species.

Mar 10, 2021 6:30 PM (2nd Wednesday) another exciting online Zoom meeting with speakers, details will be sent by Email. All meetings will be online until in-person meetings are safe. Signs of spring are emerging everywhere just as vaccinations roll out for the COVID-19 virus.  Both occurrences may bring some hope to all who have suffered these past 12 months from the pandemic's impact on our families, our livelihood, our schools and our healthcare systems.  The pandemic has revealed how the communities hardest hit are often the same communities that suffer from high levels of pollution and poor access to healthcare. With renewed hope let's reach out to support each other through the coming months. We invite you to join the South Sound Group of local environmental activists exchanging information and ideas about local, state and national environmental issues. Our monthly community meeting features program speakers, committee reports and an opportunity for attendees to share information from other like-minded groups.We’ll hear about the following topic. Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team (DERT) --  Sue Patnude, Executive Director DERT is working to restore the urban estuary in downtown Olympia by reconnecting the river to the Salish Sea. We are an advocacy group representing the interests of the local environment, natural systems with the services that they provide, and a community that values wildlife, water quality, economic opportunities and natural beauty. We serve as a center for a creative community-driven effort for the health of the Deschutes watershed by focusing on the most beneficial restoration project for the river: freeing its estuary.  Sue will update us on current proposals for the Deschutes Estuary and how to get more involved.

Apr 14, 2021 We heard about the following topic.
Seattle School District is first in Washington State to transition to 100% clean energy by 2040 -- Robin Briggs & Megan Slade, Seattle School Campaign Volunteers
In February 2021 the Board of Directors for Seattle Public Schools voted unanimously to pass a resolution committing the School District to transition to 100% clean and renewable energy by 2040.  This will require eliminating all use of fossil fuels in district electricity, heating, cooling, cooking, and transportation. Sierra Club and a coalition of students, educators, parents, and community groups worked together to make this happen.
We are now building a similar coalition locally to bring clean energy resolutions to the Board of Directors of one or more South Sound school districts.  If you would like to learn more about these efforts, please sign up here or email george.watland@gmail.com.

May 12, 2021 6:30 PM (2nd Wednesday) another exciting online Zoom meeting with speakers. Topic:  How Electric Vehicles Help Meet the Carbon Emissions Reduction Goals of the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan. Speaker: Cleve Pinnix, Thurston Climate Action Team Transportation team. We will be on the usual vacation in June and July but have scheduled our annual picinic at the Priest Point Park Rose Garden Aug 4, 2021 4 PM.

Sep 8, 2021 6:30 PM Zoom meeting. The September meeting topic will be about the Thurston Climate MItigation Plan, https://www.trpc.org/909/Thurston-Climate-Mitigation-Plan Why Do We Need to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions? The Science Behind the Urgency to Transition to Renewable Energy and EVs - Wayne Olsen, Thurston Climate Action Team (TCAT). Meeting Registration & Zoom Link: https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7010Z000001wFnoQAE