January 2026 update from Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter
January 28, 2026
Meet our new Executive Committee members!
Welcome to our January newsletter! I hope amidst all the things going on in the world, you've found some peace and joy in the new year.
In this issue:
👋 Introducing our new Executive Committee members 🌞 Read all about Renewable Energy Day at the Statehouse 📣 Tell Gov. Braun and AG Rokita: Challenge Trump's illegal and costly coal orders! 📚 Join our Book Club in 2026 🚣 You're invited to our Words for Water Type-In 🗓️ Sierra Club events and outings near you
Plus all our regular features, and much more!
Rebecca Dien-Johns Chapter Digital Strategist
After a competitive and close-run Executive Committee election in December, we are very excited to introduce the successful candidates who begin their two-year term this month. Thank you, members, for your participation! (Not a member yet? Join here!)
Please join us in welcoming Abby Hastings, Sky Johnson, Chessa Rae, Beverly Riddle, and Nicole Snider. They join Delaney Barber Kwon, Jamie Comerford-Barnett, Kasey Grau Jackson, and Lora Kemp on our Executive Committee.
Interested in getting involved with our work this year? Reply to this email or use the button below, we'd love to hear from you!
Volunteers and staff from the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter, Indiana Beyond Coal Campaign, Winding Waters Group, and Uplands Network at the Sierra Club table for Renewable Energy Day, January 20. Photo: Megan Anderson.
Renewable Energy Day at the Indiana Statehouse on January 20, 2026, was a huge success! The event was covered by multiple news agencies, helping to boost the impact of the event. The 7th year of the annual event held by Earth Charter Indiana and Solar United Neighbors drew a multitude of sponsors, including the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter.
Jennifer Ehara Winding Waters Group Executive Committee and Hoosier Chapter Sierra Club Communications Team
Join us at the following Statehouse days!
Tue, Feb 3, 2026; 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM (Eastern) Conservation Day at the Statehouse Indianapolis, IN
Mon, Feb 9, 2026; 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM (Eastern) Indiana Water Stewardship Day at the Statehouse Indianapolis, IN
Tell Gov. Braun and AG Rokita: Challenge Trump's illegal and costly coal orders!
The Trump administration continues to disregard affordability and the health and wellbeing of Hoosiers with his 202c orders forcing expensive, failing coal plants to stay online, despite planned retirements in 2025.
The Sierra Club is calling on Gov. Braun and Attorney General Rokita to stand up for Hoosiers and challenge these 202c orders that will only burden us with more pollution and higher bills.
It's the 2nd year of our Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter Book Club! This year we have some fantastic reading selections as well as opportunities for members to submit suggestions for future books.
Learn more about each of our selections and register for Book Club at the links below:
Meet with us on February 24 for When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy by Beronda L. Montgomery.
On March 31, check out Intertwined: Women, Nature, and Climate Justice by Rebecca Kormos with us.
Join our Words for Water Type-In at Indy Type Shop!
Thank you to everyone who joined our first Type-In at Indy Type Shop last month! It was wonderful talking to everyone and seeing all the creativity flowing. We're excited to announce we have another Type-In planned — read on for details!
Indy Type Shop is a cozy, community-oriented shop which houses a variety of beautiful vintage typewriters, just waiting for your fingers!
If you've never been to a Type-In before, they're fun, inspiring, and can be a meditative experience too once you get clacking away on the keys. For this event, we'll be focusing on typing letters to Indiana Legislators about the importance of protecting Indiana waters.
More information is coming soon. Register in advance to be the first to hear more:
Participants at our Solstice Type-In on December 21 at Indy Type Shop. Photo: Colleen Curtin.
Spotted!
Sierra Club staff and volunteer leaders are passionate about getting out there and spreading the word about issues that matter to Hoosiers!
Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter Outreach Coordinator Colleen Curtin was interviewed by Indianapolis WTHR, WISH-TV, and FOX59 during the protest outside of Citizens Headquarters on the morning of January 12.
Members and supporters of Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter's Heartlands Group — along with concerned Central Indiana community members, impacted neighbors, and partner organizations — gathered prior to the Citizens Board meeting. We were there to raise public awareness about the proposed plan to siphon millions of gallons of water a day from our watershed up to the LEAP district in Lebanon and for wastewater to be deposited into Eagle Creek.
Sierra Club volunteers and staff were among the attendees at the Indiana Interchurch Center for a breakfast with Gina McCarthy in 2018. Photo courtesy of Monica Cannaley.
This month we're going back to January, 2018, when the Sierra Club cohosted a breakfast with former U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, at the Indiana Interchurch Center in Indianapolis.
In attendance were representatives of several environmental organizations, including the Hoosier Environmental Council, Earth Charter Indiana, and Environmental Resilience Institute at Indiana University.
Thank you volunteer leader Monica Cannaley for sending this in!
Readers' Photos
Our photo this month comes from reader Ann Umbaugh. This was taken near North Liberty, St. Joseph County in November, just after the first big snow of the season. Thank you so much, Ann, for sharing this atmospheric photo with us!
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.
Sat, Jan 31, 2026; 10:00 AM - 4 PM (Eastern) Solar United Neighbors deep canvass training and event. Join SUN to help educate, empower, and inform Tippecanoe Co. residents on the benefits of utility-scale solar and how they can make their voices heard. Lafayette, IN
