I’m writing this just a few hours after the No Kings Rally, which was a hopeful and inspiring event in a time where bad news has prevailed over good. One of every 50 U.S. residents joined a No Kings rally!
Showing up, raising our voices, and being in community with others is a powerful first step. But we know that in order for real change to take place, this needs to be a launching point for more organizing. What we do after No Kings is what saves us, our democracy, and our planet.
At Sierra Club, we believe that positive change begins at the local level, and volunteers like us play a crucial role in making that change happen. We have active campaigns advocating for clean water, energy justice, renewable energy, land conservation, protecting ecosystems, and many others. With our outings, we connect people with the beauty of the natural world.
But first, let’s get together and share a cold beverage at the Sierra Sips and Social, Thursday April 2nd @ 7pm at First Magnitude Brewery in Gainesville. Join us, and bring some friends! We are giving free Sierra Club memberships to any new member!
Join us in turning this ship around. Together, we can make a difference. - David Hastings, Chair SSJ ExCom
Protecting Florida Springs
Wed. April 1 at 5:00 PM SSJ Conserves! Team meeting via Zoom to protect our water
Residents have been making passionate appeals at Bradford County Commission meetings lately in response to a proposal to turn an old warehouse into a 3,000 bed ICE detention center. Read details about this critical issue here.
Info session on Bradford County proposed ICE facility
Information on environmental impacts - hear from local organizations working on the ICE detention facility
How can we advance clean energy, cut energy burdens, and strengthen climate resilience in Alachua County?
Join neighbors, advocates, and community members for a lively, community-powered morning as we dig into the future of energy and climate action in Alachua County.
GRU Update: They Ignored Gainesville Voters, Now We Push Back
At the close of the recent legislative session, the Florida House passed a bill that was amended in its final stages to override Gainesville’s voter-approved referendum restoring local control of GRU.
The referendum, which passed with more than 70% support, twice, represented a clear local mandate. The late-stage amendment effectively nullifies that outcome. The Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority (GRUA) helped drive this outcome, spending heavily on lobbyists while residents flooded lawmakers with calls and emails demanding to be heard. Our voices were loud, but they were overridden.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t over. Gainesville has already shown what’s possible when a community stands together. Now it’s time to keep going. Call your state legislators. Demand that our votes, and our values, are respected.
Local control matters. Clean energy matters. Energy democracy matters.
As Commissioner Bryan Eastman wrote in his Substack : “This has always been a marathon, not a sprint. And the next leg of that marathon starts now.” - David Hastings
Our Energy and Climate Book Group is reading significant books that focus not just on the problem, but on the many different solutions and approaches that address the climate crisis.
The Beginning Comes After the End:
Notes on a World of Change
by Rebecca Solnit
Rebecca Solnit offers a thrilling account of the sheer breadth and scale of social, political, scientific, and cultural change over the past three quarters of a century.
Our Conservation Committee is following a proposed development in the Mill Creek Sink basin. Resident Soorya Lindberg advocates for environmental protections within the fragile network of karst in the Mill Creek Sink area. Read her complete update on the Tomoka Hills golf course which raises concerns about water protection that the Sierra Club is actively monitoring.
Water First North Florida is a proposal that connects two different water districts in an effort to “solve” different problems: aquifer depletion in the Suwannee region and wastewater disposal in the St. Johns district. The plan pumps treated wastewater from Jacksonville into wetlands to recharge the aquifer, exploiting regulatory loopholes rather than addressing root issues.
While framed as a solution, this approach raises serious concerns. Wetlands do not fully remove contaminants like PFAS, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and microplastics. Introducing these into already stressed springs and rivers will worsen pollution, harm ecosystems, and pose risks to human health. No attempt to conserve water is included in this $1.1B proposal. Check out the overview on our blog.
The work of passing general bills is finished! Thank you for every call, email, and minute that you put into helping us this legislative session.
We had five major wins, including passing Nature-Based Coastal Resiliency and defeating Blue Ribbon Projects, and Cattle Grazing on State Lands. If you want details, check out our Legislative Action Center.
The April Soil Health Roundtable featuring Herb Young & Squeeze Citrus, The Amazing Journey from Conventional Ag to Growing 🍋🍊🍋🟩Regeneratively & Organically!
Are you a college or university student looking for a fulfilling internship this summer?
We are looking for an intern with these skills and experience:
Good verbal and written communication
Good graphic design skills
Experience, or a strong interest in, environmental protection, environmental law, community outreach, and grassroots organizing
Good time-management skills
Committed to evolution: continuously deepening and evolving your own understanding of systems of oppression through study, openness, and humility. And you easily recognize your own relationship to privilege and power, examining and shifting your behaviors as appropriate.
Join us for a slow, contemplative walk through the Bell Preserve, one of North Florida's finest sandhill ecosystems. We'll move with intention through this fire-shaped landscape, reading the soil, terrain, and plant communities as a living story. Along the way, we'll meet native species, explore their ecological roles, and consider the cultural threads woven into this land.
Your guide: Tim Martin
Tim is a Florida Master Naturalist and Contemplative Naturalist guide who leads walks at the intersection of ecological literacy and mindful attention.
