Loma Prieta Chapter eNewsletter: February, Volume 1

February 12, 2020

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Love Found On the Trail

Some of our Sierra Club members have found the love of their life while exploring nature with our Outings Groups, like Drew and Despina pictured above.
Read their story here and another story here.

The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter has long been a strong proponent of high density and affordable housing, so many have been asking why we oppose the project in Moss Beach at 1 Sierra Street?

Because "there could hardly be a much worse location for affordable housing in the urbanized Mid-Coast."

For a fuller explanation, please read our 2016 letter to MidPen Housing regarding this proposal

Photo above: Loma Prieta Chapter's 20s - 30s Outing Section on a recent hike.

Watch the new video about our 20s - 30s leaders.

What's Happening with the Lehigh Cement Plant: violations and expansion?

Read our latest conservation letter to the Santa Clara County Planning Office.

Image by fabric artist Linda Gass © 2019

March 12: Green Streets for Sustainable Communities Symposium

Join the Green Streets for Sustainable Communities Symposium, hosted by the Loma Prieta Chapter, the City of Mountain View and more than 20 partners.

Join elected leaders, agency staff, ecology and infrastructure experts, and environmental advocates to discuss how to manage our public streets in ways that benefit our communities and ecosystem.
More Information Here, and Register Here

"Our greatest local resource for environmental protection is
our endorsed and elected officials."

Last October at the Loma Prieta Chapter's Guardians of Nature Gala, your Chapter Director said the quote above to our beloved local Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (both in photo above), who immediately responded that local elected officials are able to support and even propose environmental legislation because their constituents promote it because organizations like the Sierra Club educate the public.

Now Available: Election Insights For the March 2020 Primary

In Election Insight 2019, read your Loma Prieta Chapter's recommendations for local candidates in the March 2020 primary. Political endorsements here
Helpful hint: bookmark this page to find more easily in March.

Backpacking Courses

The Loma Prieta Chapter's Backpack Section is offering two classes this spring.

The Lightweight class information is on the Section’s web page.

The Basic Backpacking Course information will appear soon here.
For 2020, the class format will be different. Instead of 8 weeknights, the class will be taught on two Saturdays, April 11 and May 30. Trips will be May 2-3, 16-17, and a weekend in June TBD.

Photo: Ellen Gartside

Mar 22 - 28, Sierra Club Outings: Volunteer on Essential Restoration and Explore the Natural Wildlands of Fort Ord National Monument

For four days, learn from expert botanists and participate in restorations efforts. Possibilities include oak and habitat restoration, native plant landscaping, invasive plant removal, native seed collection, and other restoration activities.

On your day off, enjoy access to a variety of recreation activities, including hiking, scuba diving, whale-watching, horseback riding, kayaking, and visiting historic buildings.

Learn More and RSVP Here

See what your support has helped your Loma Prieta Chapter to achieve!

Read the 2018 Chapter Conservation Review to take a dive into the work and successes of your chapter's conservation activists and advocates.

The 2018 Chapter Annual Summary gives a brief look at our work.

Save the Planet with oral history reporting and/or video production skills!

Your Loma Prieta Chapter volunteers are doing effective incredible local environmental work; their inspiring stories need to be told!
We need volunteers to document oral histories and volunteers to make several short videos of chapter activist.

Please contact Chapter Director, James Eggers at james.eggers@sierraclub.org

When the trade-in value’s too low, let it go, let it go, let it go! And donate it to support your Loma Prieta Chapter. Call 844-6-SIERRA (844-674-3772) or donate online. We accept cars, classic cars, trucks, boats, RVs, and more. Plus, your gift is tax-deductible.

Important: tell CARS that you want to support the Sierra Club Foundation Loma Prieta Chapter.

2020 Sierra Club Wall Calendars Now Available

A new shipment of Sierra Club wall calendars has just arrived! Our desktop calendars are currently sold out.

If you drop by the Chapter office you can purchase a calendar for $15.
3921 E Bayshore Road, Palo Alto

We can also mail a calendar to you for $20. For details, please contact Barbara.Kelsey@SierraClub.org

Top Posts recently on Loma Prieta facebook page

Follow us on facebook and you'll see these stories before the eNewsletter,
and other stories and action alerts that don't make it into the eNewsletter.

#3. Fast Fashion Is Ruining the World (And Your Style)

#2. Terry Tempest Williams on "Erosion"

#1. Save the Redwoods Reaches Deal for 564-Acre Cascade Creek Forest Near Ano Nuevo.

Social Media Channels for the Loma Prieta Chapter

MeetUp: Chapter conservation and education meetings (2667 members),
Hiking events (5031 members), Singleaires outing section (1775 members),
Day Hiking section (1646 members), Guadalupe Regional Group (553 members), Peak Climbing (467 members), Gay & Lesbian Sierrans (403 members),
Black Mountain Hiking section (392 members), 20s - 30s (150 members),
Family Explorers (95 members)

facebook: chapter, 20s – 30s, Sierra Singles

Spotify, YouTube, twitter, instagram

Social media volunteers needed. Contact James.Eggers@sierraclub.org

2020 Jan 5th. My first hike of the year, and happy that it was in (my dear and near) Alum Rock City Park (San Jose): 6.8 miles, 1280 ft elev gain, 129 mins.

Got Mail? Too much Sierra Club mail? You can take control!

Your Loma Prieta Chapter only sends two eNewsletters each month, but Sierra Club National is unrestricted, so if you feel overwhelmed you can easily manage what you receive. See the simple tutorial

Photos Above: Chris Fielding/Santa Clara County Parks, Carlos Henrique Luz Nunes de Almeida

Help Local Badgers and Burrowing Owls Thrive

Midpen is currently conducting a three-year badger and burrowing owl habitat study, which seeks to identify how large their populations are, where they are located, and where they travel. The results of this study will impact local grasslands policies. Volunteers are needed:

If you are interested in being a badger volunteer, contact Tanya Diamond, wildlife ecologist at Pathways for Wildlife at tanya@pfwildlife.com.

If you are interested in being a burrowing owl volunteer, please contact Dan Wenny, landbird biologist with San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory at dwenny@sfbbo.org.