In this issue: celebrating Black History Month, Sierra Club at the Statehouse, the annual Winding Waters plant sale, a special guest blog from northern Indiana photographer Andrew West, stop coal bailouts, an invite to our Spring Briefing, plus all our regular features — like photos from you, our readers — and much more!
Rebecca Dien-Johns
Chapter Coordinator.
P.S. Scroll down to our upcoming events listings, as there is so much happening across our state over the next month!
On Saturday, Feb. 15, Black-owned businesses, creators, artists and organizations shared their ideas, products, and events at Bloomington City Hall as part of the city's Black History Month Celebration.
The Uplands Network tabled and had some great conversations.
Attendees at Indiana’s first Water Stewardship Day heard one message loud and clear: Water transcends politics.
The Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter was among several local organizations represented at the Jan. 28 event, organized by the Indiana Conservation Voters (ICV) at the Indiana Statehouse. Club leaders and members talked to attendees about the organization and the state of our waterways. But they also spoke with state leaders and listened in on discussions involving water legislation.
“There’s been an encouraging response and increasingly universal understanding that we have to be good stewards of our water resources in Indiana,” said Robyn Skuya-Boss, Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter director. “We know water is a crucial resource that all life depends upon. We need to ensure we have enough water resources and that we are putting in the work to improve the quality of the water in Indiana.”
Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter Executive Committee Chair, Joab Schultheis, and Conservation Committee Chair, Julie Lowe - photo by Kasey Grau Jackson.
Attendees were invited to bring tap water from their communities across the state for water testing - photo by Kasey Grau Jackson.
You Can Go Home Again — a tribute to Luhr Park
"Luhr Park sits just outside La Porte, Indiana, 94 acres of wetlands, woodlands, and prairie. I’m here before sunrise, the blue hour, as they say. Fog lingers over the fields and between the trees. The air is damp, the cold sinking in slow, but it feels good in the lungs.
Growing up, I only saw this place once a year. My idea of nature then was an undeveloped lot, weeds taller than the kids playing in it. But every spring, my class took a 20-minute bus ride to this little patch of wilderness. We walked the trails, searched the water for signs of life, and listened to the trees groan in the stiff Midwest wind."
One of our favorite things about Indiana is our four distinct seasons of the year. As winter warms into spring and we look to the season of new life and renewal, we invite you to join our Sierra Club Community for an evening in conversation at our Spring Briefing on March 18 at 7:00 PM Eastern Time.
On the call you will hear from our Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter leaders, volunteers, and staff about our successes and challenges in advocating for the environment and Hoosier families at the State Legislature. You’ll hear about the incredible work of our Sierra Club community in Indiana, including our favorite outings, how our Beyond Coal campaign is challenging Duke Energy to transition to clean energy, and our efforts to expand protections for our forests.
We will also take the opportunity to highlight the spring schedule and ways you can get more involved in our work in Indiana to explore, enjoy, and protect our planet and our communities.
The Winding Waters Group native plant sale is back!
It may be cold, but it's not too early to start developing landscape plans for the spring! From February 1 to April 1, the Winding Waters Group is taking native plant orders that are sourced through Spence Restoration Nursery in Muncie, IN. Through this 5+ year relationship with Spence, the Winding Waters Group has distributed thousands of native plants in Bartholomew County and beyond!
This year, there are 35 options ranging from popular native grasses like Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) to new options like Foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia).
Plants will be delivered on Friday, May 2, from 2-5 p.m. at the Bartholomew County Fairgrounds. Please reach out to Julie Lowe (j_lowe66@yahoo.com) with questions.
Eric Riddle
Volunteer Leader
Winding Waters Group
Way Back Wednesday
Welcome to this regular feature, where we look back and share photos from our past.
This month, we travel back to January 2017 with Jessica Green, Jesse Kirkham, and Linze Southwick representing Heartlands Group of the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter at the Washington, D.C. Women's March.
To find out more about our Heartlands Group which serves the Greater Indianapolis area, email Jesse: jlkirkham@earthlink.net.
Photo thanks to Jesse Kirkham
Spotted!
Sierra Club staff and volunteer leaders are passionate about getting out there and spreading the word about issues that matter to Hoosiers!
Some of the Sierra Club team at Water Stewardship Day: L-R, Hoosier Chapter Director Robyn Skuya-Boss, Executive Committee Chair Joab Schultheis, Uplands Network volunteer leader Marilyn Bauchat, Conservation Committee and Winding Waters Group Chair Julie Lowe, Winding Waters and Energy Committee volunteer leader David Wildemann, Outreach Coordinator Colleen Curtin, and volunteer Greg Grant. Photo courtesy of Indiana Conservation Voters.
We've been busy at the Indiana Statehouse this session, including attending Renewable Energy Day, Water Stewardship Day, and Conservation Day.
Robyn also led an in-person Seeds of Democracy workshop on Sunday, February 16, at an Artists for Climate Awareness event in Bloomington.
Jennifer is a member of the Conservation Committee and the Healthy Soils subteam. We are currently looking for more volunteers around CAFO issues and healthy soils legislation opportunities. If you'd like to know more, please contact Conservation Committee Chair Julie Lowe at j_lowe66@yahoo.com
Thank you, Kasey Grau Jackson, for this photo, which was taken from the hot air balloon over Conner Prairie in June 2013.
Do you have a photograph of Indiana nature — past or present, micro or macro — that you would like to share?
We'd love to see it and perhaps feature it in a future newsletter!
Outreach Coordinator Collen Curtin recommends the podcast Drag Queen Pattie Gonia: Bringing Joy to Climate Action. She says: "We keep repeating this mantra, “joy is resistance,” but the activists featured in this podcast episode have already embraced and implemented this philosophy in their activism. Learn more about what joy-filled tangible resistance can look and sound like on this episode of Climate One."
