November 22, 2021

Hi Supporter,

Welcome to our November newsletter! This month, we’re all about celebrating the outdoors. Whether it’s to connect to nature, like our reader Ffion in the photo below, or to take part in citizen science, like the intrepid high schoolers monitoring the water quality of local streams featured here, we believe the outdoors is for all.

In previous newsletters, we’ve talked about how access to nature is a human right. We’ve looked at how getting outside can help with mental health, how everyone should have the right to feel comfortable to show up as their true selves , and how getting outdoors can be part of our self-care. We hope you find it interesting to revisit these topics as we choose to Opt Outside on Black Friday!

Also in this newsletter you'll find news of our upcoming executive committee elections, how you can support local foodbanks this holiday season, some truly stunning readers’ photos, and our regular recommendations section.

This Black Friday, choose to #OptOutside!

TAKE ACTION! Tell your member of Congress to support/co-sponsor the Outdoors for All Act and support our communities.

On November 26, will you be getting outdoors instead of going to the stores?

Ffion, pictured here with her dog Spanner, says "I like going outdoors to see nature and the birds. I saw two ravens today!"

I don't know about you, but I really identify with that feeling of something seemingly small- spotting a couple of your favorite birds- bringing a huge amount of happiness to my day. Noticing those small details, I am reminded that whatever else life throws at us, nature is there to provide joy and comfort. That's one of the reasons why I'll be choosing to Opt Outside on Black Friday, November 26.

Rebecca Dien-Johns
Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter

Why do you choose to #OptOutside?

Let us know by emailing rebecca.dien-johns@sierraclub.org or via the button below!

We would love to share your responses in the next newsletter.

Our Winding Waters Group on a pre-covid Opt Outside hike to Browning Mountain in the Hoosier National Forest. Photo thanks to Michelle Carr.

I choose to Opt Outside on Black Friday because...

Stream monitoring at Anderson Falls

Our Winding Waters Group volunteer leaders had a great time stream monitoring at Anderson Falls with local high school students recently. Their teacher set up three stations by the stream: measuring the characteristics of the habitat, chemical monitoring of the water, and macro invertebrate sampling to identify the health of the stream.

If you'd like more information about water monitoring or our work with schools, get in touch by replying to this email!

A group of seven young people are standing near a water body. You can see some trees around and in the background. Some are smiling and giving peace signs to the camera and have water monitoring equipment.

Photo courtesy of Julie Lowe.
See more photos on our Instagram!

Support your local foodbanks this holiday season

This time last year, we felt a growing need in the midst of the pandemic to show support for those working in the areas of food equity and justice in Indiana. We dedicated a newsletter to this work, and launched a dedicated page on our website as a resource.

This year, we are encouraging our readers to support your local foodbanks and pantries if you are able to. And, if you know of one we've not listed, email rebecca.dien-johns@sierraclub.org so we can reach out to them to be added to our website.

A young woman with long dark brownish-black hair is turned side to the camera and smiling at a young Black child who is smiling back. They are both sitting in what appears to be a school cafeteria. There is food in metal trays in front of them including fresh vegetables.

A Patachou volunteer with a student. Photo courtesy of The Patachou Foundation.

Executive Committee elections are coming up!

Love your chapter? Vote!

In the coming weeks, all current members of the Hoosier Chapter will receive either an email or a postcard with instructions on how to vote in the upcoming executive committee elections.

We would like to take this opportunity to extend our thanks to everyone who expressed an interest in applying. We are very excited to have a great slate of candidates this year- and we hope you will be excited to use your voice to have a say in the future of your chapter!

A photograph of a fungus in the shape of a heart. There is text in the upper left that says Thank you for voting!

Readers' photos

A bobcat slinks across a clearing in a woods. The bobcat is to the left of the trailcam photo and you can see the light coming through the trees and dappling on the ground.

Lifelong Sierra Club members Dennis Tibbetts and Rebecca Lorenz (of our Winding Waters Group) had three trail cams installed on their 58 acres south of Columbus, IN in an effort to track gray foxes as part of the Wildlife Ecology Institute Gray Fox Project. No foxes yet, but a great shot of this healthy looking bobcat with a cute short tail! Read more about the Gray Fox Project from this WFYI article. Thank you so much Dennis and Rebecca for sending this in!

A close up photo of a bee with orange markings on a yellow flower with pointed petals. You can see the orange powdery pollen on the petals and a little on the bee too.

Thank you also to Roger Reese for this beautiful bee photo! He says, "The article on Columbus becoming a bee city made me think of this picture and how some bees need early spring flowers, too. I don't think this is a threatened rusty patched bumble bee, at least it is not within the range map for those, but it is a similar bee. This one was in a trout lily last spring."

Do you have a photograph of Indiana nature that you would like to share?

We'd love to see it and perhaps feature it in a future newsletter!

Use the button below or email
rebecca.dien-johns@sierraclub.org

I have a photograph to share