Sierra Club Centennial Group Members & Friends! Sierra Club Centennial Group Holiday Party TONIGHT December 7th 7:00-8:30pm

"HOLIDAY PARTY"

Review of our year's events and accomplishments, appreciation awards, and wrap-up and 2024 plans by Sierra Georgia Chapter Leaders. Food and drinks will be provided by Centennial Group. Please bring your own drinking vessels if possible. We request voluntary donations of $5 or so to help with the cost of the dinner. This a social event.  Zoom portion for awards and announcements will begin at 7:45.

Life University Graduate & Undergraduate Studies (Bldg 9 on Campus Map) , Room 119, 1250 Life’s Way, Marietta.  We recommend you use the large parking area M on the Barclay Circle side of the building at 1269 Barclay Circle.

See the green Sierra Club signs on the Barclay Circle entrance to parking area M and follow them to the building and meeting room. We have switched to the nearby Café demo / kitchen room in that building, follow the in-building signs. Meal prepared by Chef Gabe Fooks,  a 23-year-old Culinary Nutrition Major at Life University and aspiring personal chef for professional athletes. We need to know in-person attendance for food planning.  Please Signup/RSVP at Meeting Signup

Come at 6:30 if you can help setup

Other News, Events and Outings

Sierra Club Centennial Executive Committee Elections are coming up!  The five members of the Centennial Group Executive Committee (ExCom) are elected by the membership to 2-year, staggered terms.  This year 3 of the 5 seats are up for election to serve during 2024/25. The ExCom functions as the guiding and administrative leaders for the members in the Centennial area, setting the priorities, policies, and budget (with member input).  If you are interested in being nominated for Ex-Com please notify Linda Bell, Nominating Committee Chair, elbell51@yahoo.com

Master Naturalist Educational training for Cobb, Douglas, and Paulding residents. 9 week hands-on environmental education course that explores habitats and ecosystems across our region of Georgia. Includes in depth lectures, tours, hikes, and hands-on learning experiences with experts on topics including ecology, horticulture, wildlife, agriculture, limnology, pollinators, water resources, and more. Classes held weekly from September 24^th through October 26^th. $$ Info/register at ClassInfo or email Daniel Price at  daniel.price@cobbcounty.org  or call Cobb Extension Office at 770-528-4070.

September Events

September Events for The River Line Historic Area volunteers include Nickajack Creek water sampling and cemetery restoration efforts. 

See:  The River Line September Calendar

Chattahoochee Nature Center Weekend September Canoe Outings Saturdays and Sundays.  Registration with fee require at: Canoe Trips

Chattahoochee RiverKeeper’s September Events include river-cleanups, a Paddle with founding director Sally Bethea and also a Patron Celebration.

September 2: Welcome to South Cobb Festival  See link for info/tickets.  All day Festival at Riverlands Gateway Park Discovery Blvd. & Mableton Pkwy. Local performing artists, food trucks and vendors, merchandise, children's area, food sampling and Trust for Public Land river tours.   

September 9: East Cobber Parade and Festival  Parade starts at 10:00am and includes marching bands.  11:00am the festival is in the parking of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church at Lower Roswell & Johnson Ferry Roads in Marietta.  Sierra Centennial group  plans to march in the parade and have a booth at the festival.

Contact Deidre Meiggs (deidre.meiggs@life.edu) to participate in parade and Lynn Walston (lynnwalston22@yahoo.com) to help with the Sierra Club booth.

September 12:  Sally Bethea in conversation with former mayor Shirley Franklin The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and A Cappella Books welcome Chattahoochee Riverkeeper founding director, Sally Bethea for a discussion of her book, Keeping the Chattahoochee: Reviving and Defending a Great Southern River. The author will appear in conversation with former Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin.

September 16: Dahlonega Trail Fest – exhibition and celebration of outdoor hiking, backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, horseback riding, mountain biking, orienteeering, and more! The festival features authors, speakers, workshops, music, vendors, and non-profit groups.

September 16-17: Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration at the Ocmulgee Mounds park in Macon.  Festival, Performances, Cultural & Crafts

September 16  Wildlife Sanctuary Viewing.   The property near LaGrange has been transformed into a landscape filled with native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, grasses, and vines that attract and provide resources for butterflies, bees, other pollinators, many species of birds, and other wildlife.  Details/Signup via link.

September 17: Chattahoochee Nature Center Farm Fair Free with admission. Farm Fair seeks to cultivate empathy and appreciation for the natural world while embracing self-sufficiency and organic, sustainable food practices.

Partners:  Lorenzo Farms, Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy, Georgia Audubon, Citizens Climate Lobby, Master Gardeners and Bach to Rock Sandy Plains.

Currently scheduled upcoming Sierra Club Outings

Outings fill up quickly. To receive email notice of Sierra Club hikes as they are announced, visit Sierra Club Georgia Outings and click Sign up for our Outings Email List.

Other news:

Plant Bowen (near Cartersville) AP-1 Coal Ash Permit Draft has been Released! Details at:  PlantBowenCoalAshInfo  Also more info at Why It Matters

Georgia Power wants to close the largest coal ash site in Georgia by installing a liner and capping an ash pit that sits on top of unstable karst, which is prone to sinkholes.  In 2002, a four acre wide, 30 foot deep sinkhole opened up underneath Plant Bowen’s coal ash pit.

2.25 million gallons of toxic coal ash leaked into Euharlee Creek which flows into the Etowah River.  The Etowah River passes Cartersville and the Etowah Indian Mounds then flows to Rome where it meets the Oostanaula River  and forms the Coosa River.

After the spill, arsenic levels rose to 1250 parts per billion, exceeding federal drinking water standards by 120 times. Downstream drinking water intakes were forced to suspend operation. Leaving the coal ash in place on unstable ground at Plant Bowen puts our water and health at risk.

Urgent Issue – Okefenokee Twin Pines Mining proposal:  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decided the area where Twin Pines wants to set up its mine is no longer under its jurisdiction. Essentially, new federal rules issued by the Trump administration mean the proposed project area is no longer a federally protected wetland.

This means Twin Pines no longer needs federal approval to get started, so it’s up Georgia officials (and us to voice our concerns). There are still several state permits the company needs from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD). Chemical company Chemours (a Dupont spinoff) is a potential buyer of the Twin Pines mine project and its products. Help us pressure them to publicly oppose the project.  Sierra Club Georgia keeps an update on efforts to prevent the mine at: SierraClubGeorgiaOkefenokee

The Georgia Water Coalition has a way for folks to send a message to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp asking him to take action to protect the Okefenokee. The Georgia EPD director is appointed to the job by the governor, so we’re asking Gov. Kemp to get involved.  Click here to send a message to Gov. Kemp urging him to protect the Okefenokee.

Transit Planning in Cobb County:  Please provide feedback to the Cobb County Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP). The CTP is a series of county transportation projects that will be considered for future implementation, up to 30 years.  Make sure to get involved by having your opinion heard!   Take the on-line Cobb Transit Survey at:   CobbTransitSurvey

Georgia Legislative resources:

Georgia Water Coalition Dirty Dozen publishes the list as a call to action, highlighting the worst offenses to Georgia's water - offenses that are the consequences of an under-funded state environmental agency and a lack of political will to enforce laws that protect our water, land, air, and people. Check out water-protecting action items from Protect Georgia

Drawdown Georgia– Drawdown is that point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline.  Drawdown is working on Climate Change solutions sponsored by Ray Anderson Foundation.  Join them and be an early mover in bringing climate solutions home.  Drawdown Georgia is the first, state-centered effort to crowdsolve for climate change, with 20, high-impact solutions that are tailored to Georgia’s unique natural, economic, and social resources. See: DrawdownGeorgia 

Other Upcoming Events:

For the current information on the Sterigenics Plant air pollution situation, see:  CobbSterigenicsIssues   

Local Events:

See our Centennial Facebook page and Georgia Sierra Club Meetup page.  

Cobb 4 Transit revamped & launched: The Centennial Group Sierra Club is supporting the launch of Cobb 4 Transit, a new citizen-led initiative to bring transit to Cobb County, and continue to highlight the county's plans for future transit initiatives. Learn more here: www.cobb4transit.org. 

Click HERE to join the Sierra Club today!

We meet on the first Thursday of each month to host a variety of programs related to our environmental goals of resource conservation and wilderness preservation. We also conduct free outdoor trips. Members and nonmembers are welcome!  The Sierra Club Centennial Group is part of the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter and serves Northwest Metro Atlanta. For more information about the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter.

The Centennial Group of the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club was organized in 1992, the one hundredth anniversary year of the national Sierra Club. Our members from Cobb, Cherokee, and North Fulton counties volunteer to educate, enable, and encourage our fellow citizens to protect Georgia's environment "for our families and our future".  We meet on the first Thursday of most months at Life University. We host a variety of programs relating to our goals and our appreciation of Georgia's natural beauty and resources. We also host free outings for members and nonmembers.