Meetings, Outings, Programs, & Events

Outings

We post outings here on our website, as well as on our Social Media sites (BlueSky and Instagram).

The Sierra Club runs outings both in the United States as well as around the world. These trips are run be volunteers who are trained to provide a safe and enjoyable trip experience. Trips are usually kept to around 8-12 participants. To find a trip that is right for you visit: https://content.sierraclub.org/outings/search

Here in the northeast there are many trips that are within a days drive from the Mid-Hudson region. Have a great outdoor experience without flying. CLICK HERE to view a complete list of these local trips.

Leaders Wanted

We are seeking Sierra Club members who want to share their love of the outdoors. New Outing Leaders are needed. An outing can be a day of photography, bird watching, hiking up a mountain, kayaking a creek, or walking an estate - whatever you want to share. Contact us through our general email address: midhudsonsierra@twc.com.

Events

Monthly public meetings

The Lower Hudson Group of Sierra Club holds a monthly public meeting online, hosted by their Rockland County branch. These meetings are also open to all Mid-Hudson members of the Sierra Club.

At these meetings, we try to address the most important local and larger environmental issues and actions to address those and other issues.

Past Events:

Spillover: The Connection between Pandemics, Biodiversity & Climate Change

Monday, September 15th, 2025 at 7 pm

Online. See Zoom link below.

SARS, Marburg, Zika, HIV, MPox: Epidemics and even pandemics caused by contact with wildlife are becoming increasingly common. In fact, nearly two thirds of infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic - caused by pathogens that can jump between animals and humans. The deadly Covid-19 pandemic, which caused over 7 million deaths worldwide, may be among those. As habitat is lost and global warming intensifies, this spillover - and the resulting pandemics - become more likely.

Dr. Neil Vora will discuss the connection between the loss of biodiversity and pandemics. He’ll explain One Health, the concept that human health is inextricably linked to the health of other animals and nature. He’ll talk about the work to prevent pandemics with solutions such as habitat preservation that make the spillover of viruses from animals to human beings less likely.

Neil Vora, MD, is an epidemiologist and Senior Advisor for One Health at Conservation International. He served for nearly a decade with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and he currently works as a physician for New York City’s tuberculosis program. Dr. Vora has spent much of his career chasing and treating infectious disease outbreaks, from the Ebola epidemic in West Africa to COVID-19 in New York City.

Register HERE in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Graphic credit: By Thddbfk

Ecological Overshoot: Population & Over-Consumption & the Planet

Monday, July 14^th, 7:00 - 8;15pm
Online. Zoom registration link below.

As much as one third of wildlife and plant species could go extinct by 2050, as much as 70% by 2100. This is a very serious crisis.

Many of us understand the connection with climate change. But there’s are two other critical factors: the impact of human population and of “overconsumption”. Human population is expected to increase to 10 billion by 2050. What does that mean for the biodiversity on which human flourishing depends? Can we find ways to help protect the environment, so that wildlife can thrive?

Stephanie Feldstein is the author of the Animal Lover's Guide to Changing the World. She is the Population and Sustainability Director at the Center for Biological Diversity. She will also discuss common sense solutions – and steps we can all take on our own.

We’ll also leave time for discussion of local issues.

To attend this event, you need to have a Zoom account, which is free. Get the Zoom account HERE. Remember the Zoom account password.
Register HERE for the Zoom meeting itself. Remember the the Zoom meeting passcode.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the link to join the meeting. Please note the Zoom meeting passcode, which is distinct from the Zoom account password.

See below for the link to the next meeting on June 23rd, on The Connection between Pandemics, Biodiversity and Climate Change.

Restoring the Art & Culture of Repair: A Local Movement + 6/22 Sierra Club hike

RESTORING THE ART & CULTURE OF REPAIR: A Local Movement

Monday, June 23, 7 pm

Sarah Wilson, Chair, Sierra Club Lower Hudson Group

& Organizer, Yorktown Repair Café

Suzie Fromer, Repair Cafe Hudson Valley Coordinator

Online. See link below to register for Zoom.

In such a troubled time, here’s a very simple idea: restoring the art of repair. Increasingly, we live in a throwaway culture, where everything from shoes and socks to chairs, appliances and lamps are tossed when broken. The art of repair is being lost and many of us no longer know the satisfaction and fun of doing simple repairs, such as mending a torn garment or darning a sock.

Sarah Wilson and Suzie Fromer will also discuss the importance of the circular economy, in which raw materials are reused and waste is reduced. They’ll touch on the concept of wabi-sabi, the Japanese idea of imperfection, the beauty of broken things, and celebrating repairs through techniques such as kintsugi and visible mending. They’ll talk about the growing local Repair Café movement, in which people in the community come together to share their skills and teach each other these dying skills. And they'll discuss legislation around protecting the "right to repair".

We’ll also leave time for discussion of the gutting of climate and climate energy programs in the federal budget and local issues.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

You will also need to have a Zoom password for a Zoom account ready when you sign in. You can register for a free Zoom account HERE.

Sunday, June 22, 10 am - CRANBERRY LAKE PRESERVE HIKE

Lower Hudson CRANBERRY LAKE PRESERVE HIKE

We will enjoy a loop through Cranberry Lake Preserve, offering scenic lakeside views, quiet forest trails, and historical remnants from the past. This easy-to-moderate hike explores wetlands, stone walls, a view from the bottom of a historic quarry site, and tranquil ponds.

DIFFICULTY: Moderately easy due to possibly muddy flat terrain

Optional: Visit to local Farmers Market nearby - location TBD. Link for more information and register HERE.

Spillover: The Connection Between Pandemics, Biodiversity and Climate Change

Monday, June 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Online: See Zoom information below, with an important note.

SARS, Marburg, Zika, HIV, MPox: epidemics and even pandemics caused by contact with wildlife are becoming increasingly common. In fact, nearly two thirds of infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic - meaning that they are caused by pathogens that can jump between animals and humans. The deadly Covid-19 pandemic, which caused over 7 million deaths worldwide, may be among those. As habitat is lost and global warming intensifies, this spillover - and the resulting pandemics - become more likely.

Neil Vora, MD is an epidemiologist and Senior Advisor for One Health at Conservation International. He served for nearly a decade with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and he currently works as a physician for New York City’s tuberculosis program. Dr. Vora has spent much of his career chasing and treating infectious disease outbreaks, from the Ebola epidemic in West Africa to COVID-19 in New York City.

Register HERE for the Zoom meeting.

If you don't have one yet, you will also need to have a Zoom account. Have your Zoom password ready when you join the meeting.

Click HERE for the link to create a free Zoom account.

We regret the need to require Zoom authentication, but we have been Zoom bombed several times.

Toxic Chemicals: The Crisis in our Drinking Water, our Air, and our Communities

Monday, May 19, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Online: See Zoom information below, with an important note.

Caitlin Ferrante, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter Conservation Program Manager

Bobbi Wilding, Executive Director, Clean and Healthy New York

The EPA recently found that two of the PFAS chemicals in the drinking water of many communities present health risks at even the lowest detectable levels. These same “forever chemicals” are found in (tens of?) thousands of commonly used consumer products.

Amid rising cancer rates, studies have shown that 99% of Americans have PFAS in their blood. Research has shown that PFAS can cause or contribute to impacts on human fertility, cancer, and other serious health problems impacts. In fact, PFAS are hardly the only widely used chemicals in the U.S. that has been shown to have serious health and environmental impacts.

Caitlin Ferrante and Bobbi Wilding will discuss the status of the battle to ban PFAS and other harmful chemicals in consumer products in New York State. They will also discuss the proliferation of thousands of other chemicals in the U.S., including harmful chemicals in plastic, in pesticides and lawn chemicals. Finally, they’ll discuss the policies we should be adopting in the U.S., shifting toward a safer, more holistic, precautionary approach, along the lines of the European Union.

Come with your questions. We’ll also leave time for discussion of other state and local issues.

Register HERE for the Zoom meeting.

If you don't have one yet, you will also need to have a Zoom account. Have your Zoom password ready when you join the meeting.

Click HERE for the link to create a free Zoom account.

We regret the need to require Zoom authentication, but we have been Zoom bombed several times.

Co-sponsored by Grassroots Environmental Education, ROAR (Religious Orders Along the River), Safe Energy Rights, and United for Clean Energy.