Welcome to the June update from your Heartlands Group.
In this newsletter:
🙌 Thank you for showing up this past month! 🗓️ Upcoming events and volunteer opportunities with the Heartlands Group ☀️ Central Indiana 2026 Solar Co-op launch 📣 Protect Heartlands Area Water 🌿 Become an Outings Leader with Sierra Club 📚 Come to our virtual Book Club 🫶 How to get involved with our activities
If you have any questions about our work in and around the Indy area, please don't hesitate to reach out. We love to hear from you!
Rebecca Dien-Johns Chapter Digital Strategist Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter
🙌Thank you for showing up this past month 🙌
Volunteer leader Jesse shares about the Heartlands Group at Earth Day Indiana at Garfield Park on May 30th. Photo: Colleen Curtin
We had a wonderful Heartlands Group Monthly Meeting to kick off June with new and veteran members alike showing up with enthusiasm and great contributions for Heartlands Group summer programs and activities. Keep an eye out for those upcoming events on our Outings and Events page!
Special thanks to the incredible volunteers who joined us behind the table for Earth Day Indiana at Garfield Park! You all helped us connect with hundreds of our neighbors and community members and share with them about the work Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter and Heartlands Group are doing in Central Indiana and across the state. If you are interested in joining our incredible Outreach Team sign up for July’s Outreach Tabling Training.
Colleen Curtin Chapter Outreach Coordinator
🗓️ Upcoming Events and Volunteer Opportunities with the Heartlands Group 🗓️
Upcoming events with Heartlands Group:
Tuesday 6/30, 6:00pm Book Club: Forest Euphoria by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian - Online
Wednesday 7/1, 6:30pm Monthly Heartlands Group Meeting - Hybrid Online or in Indy at the ICC
Tuesday 7/14, 7:00pm: Book Club: The Devil’s Element by Dan Egan - Online
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities with Heartlands Group:
Tuesday 7/7, 12:30pm Monthly Outreach Team Volunteer Tabling Training - Online
Thursday 7/9, 12:30pm OR 7:00pm Monthly New Volunteer Onboarding Training - Online
Friday 7/17, all day Volunteer Outreach Booth at Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration in Indy
Saturday 7/18, all day Volunteer Outreach Booth at Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration in Indy
Saturday 7/18, 1:00-7:00pm Volunteer Outreach Booth at Zionsville Pride at Mulberry Park in Zionsville
Sunday 7/19, all day Volunteer Outreach Booth at Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration in Indy
*Please email colleen.curtin@sierraclub.org if you are interested in any of these opportunities. To volunteer with our Outreach team you must have attended both our New Volunteer Training and our Tabling Training in advance. Thank you!
☀️ Central Indiana 2026 Solar Co-op launch ☀️
Looking for ways to lower your electric bill?
Rooftop solar can be a great way to save money on energy costs and power your local economy with clean energy. That’s why we’re partnering with Solar United Neighbors (SUN) to launch the Central Indiana 2026 Solar Co-op!
The solar co-op helps homeowners in central Indiana learn about solar and purchase panels at a group rate from a single installer. A group of volunteers from the co-op will select a solar company to complete the co-op's installations.
Homeowners can sign up for the solar co-op and get:
Efforts to protect central Indiana waters are ongoing!
We encourage folks to attend the next Indianapolis Board of Public Works Meeting where the board will vote on a one year contract renewal of the agreement governing Citizens Energy Group's use of Eagle Creek. There may be opportunities for public comment.
The meeting is June 24 at 1:00 PM at the City County Building in the Public Assembly Room (200 E Washington St, Indianapolis, IN 46204)
Spending time outdoors is good for the heart. We are thrilled to soon be welcoming our second and third certified Outings Leaders to the Heartlands Group. Would you like to be the fourth?
Join us for 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.
Join us this month for our Pride Month read, Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian.
Gentle reminder that it is totally okay to show up to Book Club having read all of the book, some of the book, thought about reading the book, or looking for a pitch to sell you on reading the book. ALL are welcome! Also a reminder that the goal of this space is to facilitate conversation and there is not a quiz at the end or an objective beyond learning more about issues we care about and cultivating community with one another.
We look forward to the opportunity to connect, share about, and reflect on the issues, themes, and excerpts that resonated with you in the book.
About the Heartlands Group
The Heartlands Group serves the greater Indianapolis area. It's part of the Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club, hosting Sierra Club outings, hikes, conservation education and sustainability events in Central Indiana. Our mission is to leave a better environment for future generations.
To get involved with our activities this year, email Chapter Outreach Coordinator, Colleen Curtin: colleen.curtin@sierraclub.org
Join us on the trail! You can find all Sierra Club hikes and outings in Indiana at sc.org/hcevents
