The Legislative Session has reached a fever pitch. Crossover Day, a key deadline to get a bill passed, is coming up on Friday! We still have multiple priority bills we're trying to pass, from regulating data centers to protecting our rivers to helping veterans get outside.
Thanks to everyone who attended Georgia Water Coalition's Capitol Conservation Day last week! Despite the rain, the event drew a big crowd, with many Sierrans in attendance (see photo below). We got a briefing on important environmental issues, got instructions on how citizen lobbying works, and walked the halls of the Capitol to find our lawmakers and tell them how we want them to vote!
Want to get involved in our Legislative work? Sign up for our email updates at this link. The Legislative Session is scheduled to end on April 2, and we plan on working to pass our priorities until the last minute!
We'd love to see you at one of our upcoming events. Our calendar is full of educational meetings, outings and hikes, and opportunities for fellowship. Check our online calendar at any time to see what's coming up!
Clean Energy
GEFA has added a program for providing rebates for those in multifamily buildings. Building owners can explore a variety of home efficiency measures across two pathways:
- Home Efficiency Rebates (HER): comprehensive, whole building energy efficiency upgrades.
- Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR): select energy efficient appliance purchases and independent envelop upgrades.
We encourage you to take a look at how the Georgia Home Energy Rebates may help you substantially lower your energy bills over time. This program comes from federal funding awarded to Georgia from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Meanwhile, Southern Natural Gas Company and Elba Express Company are proposing to add nearly 300 miles of new pipeline across several Southern states. The South System Expansion 4 is a proposed methane gas pipeline expansion running across the middle of Georgia. Georgians deserve cleaner, cheaper alternatives like solar and battery storage that do not harm human health. Learn more about the pipeline project at this link . The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), under Docket CP25-517-000, is accepting comments on this proposed project until March 23. Use this link to send FERC a message and tell them to stop this dangerous project!
We need your voice and your actions to continue to make progress on our clean energy transition! While continuing to seek changes on the federal level, we will work at the state and local levels to advance the energy transition. Time to step up for maintaining the livability of our world. Join us Contact Scott Presson at spress51@gmail.com to volunteer or to learn more about our Chapter’s clean energy work!
Legislative
On Monday, SB 190 was approved by the Senate Veterans, Military, and Homeland Security Committee, which moves it one step closer to passing! We want to thank everyone who attended the committee hearing and spoke in favor of the bill (see photo above of Sen. Kenya Wicks, the bill's sponsor, and some of the folks who gave public comment at the hearing).
This week is a critical deadline for legislation in Georgia: Crossover Day is this Friday, March 6. This is the last day for a bill to pass out of its original chamber, in this case the State Senate, in order to have enough time to pass in the other chamber, in this case the Georgia House of Representatives.
Long story short: We need to make sure SB 190 gets a vote on the floor of the Senate this week! Use this link to send a message to your state senator and tell them to vote YES on this important bill.
Outdoors For All
This is a way for you to make your voice heard as we fight to protect our environment and communities protected from the threats of military operations, militarized policing, and militarized immigration enforcement. Take action at this link.
Locally, this has resulted in an astonishing plan to place 10,000 detainees in a warehouse in Social Circle as well as efforts to triple the size of the Folkston ICE Detention facility just outside the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, where light pollution from the facility already reaches into the swamp. Learn more about the proposed Folkston ICE Detention Facility expansion in this NPR article and this column from Tom Baxter in the Saporta Report.
Thanks to Dani Purvis, Sierra Club Georgia Chapter Wildlands & Wildlife Chair, who has been leading the charge to ensure our fight for environmental justice stays connected with impacted communities. Over the next month lookout for more educational material and opportunities to get involved. Contact Sherman Neal, Deputy Director of Sierra Club’s Military Outdoors Program, with any questions.
Outings
Join us for one of our March Outings!
Saturday, March 7, 9-11 AM: Sweetwater Creek State Park
- Join us for a 3-mile hike at Sweetwater Creek State Park (see photo above)! We'll discuss the history of Sweetwater and ways to plug into the conservation and advocacy work of the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter.
- Learn more and sign up at this link.
Saturday, March 21, 9 AM-Noon: Vickery Creek Trail at Roswell Mill
- Join us for a 3.5-mile hike at Vickery Creek Trail at Roswell Mill! This gorgeous hike near the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area boasts scenic views, a covered bridge, and rich history.
- Learn more and sign up at this link.
Wildlands & Wildlife
Do you love wild places and wild creatures? We want to hear from YOU! Fill out this 2-question survey to tell me your priorities and interests for the 2026 Wildlands Committee.
You can also email Wildlands & Wildlife Chair Dani Purvis with questions or suggestions. To stay in the loop, join the Wildlands Committee Google Group and learn about wildlands and wildlife issues around Georgia, outings and volunteer opportunities, advocacy, and educational programming (virtual and in person).
Here are a few of the Wildlands & Wildlife campaigns currently in the works:
- Resisting the expansion of the Folkston ICE Processing Center next to the Okefenokee
- Promoting wildlife crossings
- Visiting an inventoried roadless area in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest and a webinar about the Roadless Rule rescission
- A rewilding campaign for individuals around Georgia
- Habitat restoration for threatened and endangered species at Stone Mountain
Complete the survey or email Dani to get informed and get involved!
Centennial Group
The Centennial Group, representing the Northwest Atlanta suburbs, meets the first Thursday of each month. Meetings can be attended in person at Life University in Marietta or virtually via Zoom.
Our March 5 meeting, Conscious Mycology, will be presented remotely by Brian Carsner, founder of Conscious Mycology. Bryan's personal exploration of functional mushrooms experienced the cognitive clarity, energy, and vitality that mushrooms can offer, He will share this knowledge with our group! His work bridges the gap between science and nature, offering a grounded, evidence-informed perspective on how fungi can support physical and mental well-being. Learn more and RSVP at this link.
For our February meeting, we welcomed Sierra Club Georgia Chapter Legislative Chair Mark Woodall and Chapter Lobbyist Neill Herring to their yearly "Under the Gold Dome Update" of environmental issues at the Georgia Legislature (see photo above).
We are looking for a Treasurer to volunteer to handle our financials. Only a few minutes of time needed per month for the job. Please contact Lynn Walston if you are interested.
Our upcoming proposed March hikes include hikes at Allatoona Pass Battlefield, Toccoa Falls & Currahee Mountain, and Amicalola Falls to the Hike Inn. Check our Outings Calendar to RSVP and join us on the trail!
To receive the Centennial Group newsletter, email Lee Graham.
Greater Gwinnett Group
The Greater Gwinnett Group meets on the 2nd Thursday of the month at 6:30 for social times and 7:00 for the meeting. Our new meeting location is the Wynne Russell House, located at 4684 Wynne Russell Dr NW, Lilburn. We conduct hybrid meetings with both in-person and virtual attendance options.
In March we will meet on Thursday, March 19, with an update on Outings. RSVP at this link.
Gwinnett members continue to attend meetings of environmental interest groups or organizations, such as the Gwinnett County Sustainability Commission, and participate in projects. Michael Hallen and others continue to conduct monthly stream monitoring at the Martin’s Farm landing on Martin Farm Road on the Suwanee Greenway (3rd Sunday of every month). We look forward to more progress in 2026!
Metro Atlanta Group
The Metro Atlanta Group has several events coming up. We hope you can join us for an outing, presentation, or discussion!
March 24: Sustainability ideas from Colombia for Atlanta. Come join us for a presentation from Justin Brightharp, one of our group's executive committee members, about what we can learn about sustainability from cities and towns in Colombia, and how we might put good ideas into practice in metro Atlanta. This meeting will have in-person and online options. Sign up at this link.
March 28: Metro Atlanta Group visits the Okefenokee NWR for a three hour tour! This guided boat tour of the special ecosystems of the Okefenokee Swamp is a popular one! It is at capacity, but please contact our chair Max Brown if you want to join the waitlist. Find out more at this link.
April 19: Metro Atlanta Group joins Community Documentary Night. We will be discussing “Common Enemy,” a film about corporate factory farms in Oklahoma. Watch the documentary for free ahead of this event, then gather for this online discussion about the film and corporate animal agriculture. Learn more and RSVP at this link.
Middle Chattahoochee Group
Our Group has a bluebird box volunteer monitoring program with over 50 boxes on 12 “trails” in Troup, Muscogee and Harris Counties (see photo above of one of our volunteers checking a bluebird box). It’s easy and very rewarding to watch the nesting cycle of bluebirds up close! Nesting season takes place mid-March through early August. We need more volunteer monitors if you're interested!
Monitors would ideally check a small group of boxes 1-2 times per week along a short section of a safe off-road trail. Training is provided for all new monitors. We also have Sierra Club boxes available to private donors. Please contact Laura Breyfogle if you are interested.
To get involved with the Middle Chattahoochee Group, contact them at midchattsierraclub@gmail.com.
Savannah River Group
Our group has been focusing on fighting data centers scheduled to be developed in our area. We attended a County Commission meeting and spoke out against three planned data centers. Unfortunately, two data centers were approved by commissioners, one of them the largest in the country.
Most of our February outings were canceled because of snow and illness. But we have an exciting lineup of outings and events for March, including hiking, dog walks and paddling. Find all our outings and meetings at the Georgia Chapter calendar. Come join us!
The 2026 legislative session is moving fast, and Sierra Club Georgia is working hard to protect our water, regulate data centers, and get Georgians outdoors. Please make a donation today to support our efforts and protect Georgia’s environment now and for generations to come!