You can make a difference through these local opportunities
YOU Can Make a Difference; Read How in This eNewsletter
► Become a Bay Advocate: register today for our free eight-week Bay Advocate Program.
► Learn about land transformation into vibrant ecosystems, and reintroduction of wildlife to wild places. Register for The Rights of Nature, Conservation, Restoration, and Rewilding webinar.
► Take a hike! See the comprehensive list of activities available with your chapter.
► Watch the KTVU Fox 2 news clip featuring our Military Outdoors.
► Read "The New Wilderness" with Environmental Book Club.
► Meet Guadalupe Regional Group's new Chair Lisa Barboza.
► Learn about the need for trees in cities to reduce heat; read the article by Sierra Club's Executive Director Ben Jealous.
► Find ways to protect local nature: run to be an Executive Committee member, fight "forever chemicals", help protect local water, join local cleanups, BioBlitz's, and other community events, mark your calendar for 2023 Electric Home Tour, learn about home electrification, find electric appliance rebates, and more!
► Celebrate 2023 Guardians of Nature honoree Florence LaRiviere.
► Gain inspiration from local leader Mayra Catalán-Orozco.
Become a Bay Advocate!
What makes the Bay Area so unique? It’s San Francisco Bay! And it's under urgent threat.
Do you want to protect the San Francisco Bay but don’t know how to begin? Wish you knew more about the challenges that sea level rise presents to the Bay and the resilience of our communities? Wonder how to promote coordinated regional solutions? We’re here to help! Our free 8-week Bay Advocate Training Program (Thursday evenings 7:00 - 8:30 pm) starts on September 21, 2023.
Comment Letter Regarding Draft Objective Design Standards
Read our comment letter to the City of San Mateo Community Development Department's Associate Planner, outlining our concern that the approach to ODS in most Peninsula cities, including San Mateo, seems to be heavy on how "attractive" and "articulated" the buildings are and how much they will contribute to the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) goals, but short on strong requirements for green open spaces.
The Rights of Nature, Conservation, Restoration, and Rewilding Webinar
Can ecosystems have legal rights? Why is conservation alone insufficient? What is nature-based restoration? Is “rewilding” just a delusion? This webinar will introduce you to cutting-edge approaches to transitioning to a world in which degraded lands are being transformed into vibrant ecosystems, and animals are being reintroduced to newly-restored wild places. Register today!
KTVU Fox 2 found Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter's Military Outdoors tabling at the Santa Clara County Stand Down event last month, and featured them in a clip highlighting their educational and hiking events with veterans using poles for walking, hiking, and mobility. Watch the clip and learn more.
Featured: Jayah Faye Paley, Military Outdoors Leader, and Lisa Barboza, Outings Chair, Executive Committee Member, and Guadalupe Regional Group Chair.
Would you like to be more infuential for local environment protection?
Consider joining leadership of the local chapter of the nation's largest, oldest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with 80,000 local supporters. Five ‘at-large’ positions will be elected at the end of this year to serve for two years.
Time is flying fast; only four weeks are left before our 2023 Guardians of Nature discounted ticket offer expires. Join us for an unforgettable evening celebrating the legacy of Florence LaRiviere and our Loma Prieta Chapter community while raising critical funds to ensure our critical mission of safeguarding our local environment for us and generations to come.
Visit here and select "Early Bird" to secure your ticket at discounted rate.
Let’s celebrate, inspire change and make a difference together. We can’t wait to welcome you to our 2023 Guardians of Nature Benefit!
Volunteer Spotlight
Mayra initially joined Sierra Club as an event coordinator to help organize and manage events. Most of her involvement was with the 20s-30s group as Membership Chair. Additionally, Mayra completed all the necessary courses to become a certified Outing Leader. With this new knowledge, she actively contributed to the group by leading hikes and backpacking trips. This role allowed her to combine her love for nature with her leadership skills and create an environment to help fellow outdoor enthusiasts.
The New Wilderness
by Diane Cook
Saturday, September 9th, 10:00 am
"Bea’s five-year-old daughter, Agnes, is slowly wasting away, consumed by the smog and pollution of the overdeveloped metropolis [...] There is only one alternative: the Wilderness State, the last swath of untouched, protected land, where people have always been forbidden. Until now."
The Loma Prieta Forest Protection Committee attended Sierra Club's Stop Clearcutting CA campaign’s monthly Forest Forum on July 31st. Katherine Egland, a member of the NAACP Board of Directors and co-founder of EEECHO (the Education/Economics/ Environmental and Health Organization) gave a powerful presentation on the environmental and health impacts of wood pellet production and biomass incineration with emphasis on the environmental injustice inflicted on the communities of color where these industries are typically located. Because the biofuel industry plans to expand into California, this is an issue we should all care about. If you care about our local coastal forests as well as forests statewide, join us! Contact Karen Maki at karen@karenmaki.com.
Our New Guadalupe Regional Group Chair: Lisa Barboza
Greetings from Lisa Barboza, your new Guadalupe Regional Group Chair. Let me introduce myself. I want to let you know that I have been elected, by the GRG Executive Committee, as the new Chair of the Guadalupe Regional Group. There are three regional groups; the GRG, the Peninsula Regional Group (PRG), and the San Carlos-Belmont group. I am looking forward to serving you and growing our Sierra Club. Read more.
Scientists Agree: We Must Protect the Newark Area 4 Baylands
Over 40 prominent San Francisco Bay scientists have released a joint statement calling for the permanent protection of the Newark Area 4 Baylands, describing the at-risk lands in Newark as “simply one of the most important, unprotected wetland ecosystems remaining, and one of the region’s best opportunities to employ nature-based solutions to combat climate change and ensure a resilient Bay Area.” Take action. More from wetlands scientists.
"All of us suffered last week through day after day of the hottest average temperatures ever recorded on Earth. Now imagine it had been 10% hotter where you live. That wasn’t hard to do for residents in urban neighborhoods where the amount of pavement, concrete and glass far surpasses the number of leafy trees." Read the full article.
Enjoy the art of Aiden Chen, a junior from Saratoga High School and environmental advocate. The exhibit will feature plein air paintings of bird and other subjects at the Saratoga Library.
Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful
Plop Plop, Fizz Fizz, Oh, what a Cleanup it is! - Creek and Trail Cleanup
Sunday, August 13th, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm, Location: TBD Click here to RSVP
Cleanup - Get Your Cleanup Here! - Creek and Trail Cleanup
Saturday, August 19th, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm, Location: TBD Click here to RSVP
Naturalist Training - A Deeper Dive
Wednesday, August 23rd, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm Click here to RSVP
Tree Life Cycles BioBlitz for CA Biodiversity Day
Saturday, September 9th, 9:00 am - 11:00 am Click here to RSVP
13th annual Silicon Valley Bike Summit Thursday, August 24th, 8:30 am - 6:00 pm
Mountain View Community Center Click here to register.
As extreme heat, fires, and floods worsen with climate change we need alternatives to the emissions from driving. Making walking and bicycling, especially electric bicycles safe, is a low cost route to reduce emissions quickly. This Bike Silicon Valley summit comes at a crucial time for meeting the goals from Paris. We hope you can attend.
Loma Prieta Chapter's Sustainable Lands Use group works with cities on alternatives to driving. Contact gd@devarchitects.com for volunteer opportunities.
Hellyer Park BioBlitz Sunday, August 27th, 9:00 am - 11:00 am
A BioBlitz is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time. At a BioBlitz, scientists, families, students, teachers, and other community members work together to get an overall count of the plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms that live in a place. Docents will guide you and teach you to use the iNaturalist app on your smartphone to record all the living things you encounter. Flowers, trees, butterflies, dragonflies, and beetles, birds, and squirrels. Click here to register.
Everyone Belongs at Parks
Do you enjoy and explore local parks? Then this is important to you and the Sierra Club! Santa Clara County Parks' Everyone Belongs at Parks initiative will shape the equitable access vision and incorporate diversity, equity, and belonging into County’s Parks Department work. For this initiative, please respond to this very short survey. For the question about how Santa Clara County Parks can be more welcoming to diverse users and visitors, consider including in your response a request for County Parks to implement a Dark Sky policy to safeguard the enjoyment of the dark sky and promote environmental health.
Electrification
SAVE THE DATE: 2023 Electric Home Tour
Saturday, October 14th
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Please save the date and attend the southbay Electric Home Tour where you will learn about the benefits of electric home appliances from homeowners who have successfully made the switch. Electric homes are cheaper, healthier, and safer in general. For more info contact infoElectricHomeTour@gmail.com. To get involved in home electrification please contact our Climate Action group.
One of the best ways to safeguard a thriving and just future is by ensuring that your Loma Prieta Chapter remains a champion for the environment of Santa Clara, San Mateo, and San Benito Counties. Naming us as a beneficiary in your bequest will provide meaningful and enduring resources that will allow continued local and powerful environmental activism.
Please contact our Chapter Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman for the specific language for your estate planning and/or read more here. For additional information about planning a bequest please contact Julia Curtis, (800) 932-4270.
Photographers, see the great images in our Chapter Annual Summaries and help protect local nature with your images! Share with us your high-resolution photos of local nature, with or without people, to inspire local residents to support Loma Prieta Chapter work. Please contact Chapter Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman.
History fans, your Loma Prieta Chapter has been on the front lines of many progressive movements so our rich inspirational history needs to be documented. If this interests you, please contact your Chapter Director, BA History.
Music fans, the Loma Prieta Chapter was the first in the Sierra Club to establish a Spotify Channel. Ours is for music SINCE 2000 that advocates for the environment. Please send suggestions to your Chapter Director.
How can local cities and residents use nature-basedadaptations to sea level rise? Watch recordings of our webinar series with SF Bay experts and please share with your local elected officials.
2023.08.06: Chapter Director's 18-mile hike on Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail. See Chapter Calendar for hikes.
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.”
Betrand Russell
Thank you to our 2022 Guardians on Nature Benefit Sponsors
The COVID-19 crisis has not passed and continues to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people and other communities of color. The pandemic has revealed how the communities hardest hit are often the same communities that suffer from high levels of pollution and poor access to healthcare. The fight for environmental justice cannot be separated from the fight for racial justice.
