► Join a local Bay Alive team to shape your city's sea level rise solution.
► Learn about the pollution produced by the fast fashion industry.
► Learn where your Valley Water comes from.
► Register to learn Wilderness First Aid.
Meet Chapter Leaders and Learn About our Conservation Activities
Meet our Chapter leaders and learn about our conservation activities to see which ones you would like to participate in. Would you like to help save San Francisco Bay? Join our Environmental Stewardship Program and earn a Sierra Club certificate? Help lobby state legislators to help pass strong environmental legislation? Or, would you like to join a new program to plant milkweed to help save Monarch butterflies? We will show Small is Beautiful, an award-winning documentary (25 minutes). Learn more about this brunch social and RSVP.
Small Is Beautiful tells the story of Sonoma residents’ conservation battle to save the 200-acre, wildlife-rich Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) campus near Glen Ellen, from large-scale residential and commercial expansion. The film has received the Award of Merit at the 2024 Accolade Global Film Competition in La Jolla, California; competed for top honors in Environmental Awareness at the 2025 Future World Film Festival in Portugal in June; and has been nominated for Best Short Documentary at the 2025 Septimius Awards in Amsterdam in September.
What the Film RiverBlue Made Me Realize About Clothes
by Aimee Chen, Environmental Stewardship Program member, Saratoga High School Junior
Recently, I went to watch the RiverBlue documentary during one of the Environmental Stewardship Program sessions. My mom was interested as well, so she joined me.
RiverBlue is a documentary that uncovers the severe pollution of the world’s waterways caused by the fast fashion industry, particularly denim manufacturing. It highlights how toxic waste runoff from factories
destroys rivers, which then negatively impacts human health due to the only safe water available becoming contaminated. It argues for a shift toward sustainable and ethical production. Filmed across several continents in places such as China, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom, the documentary shows the impact the fashion industry has on the planet, especially due to the demand for fast fashion. Read Aimee's full article.
Your Voice is Needed to Improve Air Quality on May 6th, 2026
The Bay Area Air District is considering zero-emission appliance rules that will reduce air pollution and improve public health by phasing out the sale and installation of new gas-powered appliances according to the following timeline.
2027 – only zero NOx water heaters can be sold or installed in the Bay Area. 2029 – only zero NOx furnaces can be sold or installed in the Bay Area. 2031 – only zero NOx large commercial water heaters can be sold or installed in the Bay Area.
Bay Area residents are encouraged to attend or zoom into the May 6th Bay Area Air District Board of Directors meeting and give a public comment in support of these appliance rules.
Thanks to everyone who took time to stop at our tables at Earth Month events to learn about our conservation work and the Bay Alive Campaign! It doesn't end this month, we're working every day of the year.
Learn about the ways you can volunteer and join our conservation efforts.
Learn about our conservation committees. You can attend a meeting and learn how to get involved.
Wednesday, May 13th 7:00 - 8:00 pm Featuring Shiloh Ballard, Valley Water Board of Directors, District 2
Director Ballard will describe the complex combination of water supply sources and systems that provide water to Santa Clara County residences, businesses, agriculture, parks, and other uses. The presentation will also explain how climate change could impact water supply, and what Valley Water is doing to ensure there is enough water for the County in the future. Followed by Q&A. Learn more and register for the presentation.
Sea Level Rise Planning Has Begun!
Sea level rise planning is getting started in several Loma Prieta Chapter communities and the Bay needs your help ensuring its natural ecosystems and community members are uplifted and protected. The Bay Alive Campaign is launching local advocacy teams to monitor and influence local sea level rise plans, and we will need all hands on deck! Strong community oversight and advocacy is essential to ensure natural and nature-based solutions, equity, and climate resilience are fully realized.
Bay Alive teams are forming now in the following areas:
San Mateo County (Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto),
Santa Clara County (all shoreline cities),
San Mateo,
Brisbane, and
Millbrae and Burlingame.
Get involved today! If you are interested in anything from educating community members, to scanning local plans and policies, to meeting with elected officials, there is a role for you. Join a local Bay Alive Campaign team today, and help us rise to the challenge of adapting to a rising tide.
Healthy Bay, Resilient Future:
Why Nature Matters More Than Ever
Sea level rise is no longer a distant threat. It is an active planning challenge confronting every Bay shoreline community. This is the first of a series of articles highlighting the Bay Alive Campaign’s commitment to preserving and restoring our natural Bay ecosystems, promoting the implementation of nature-based solutions, evening the playing field by advancing environmental justice, and addressing shoreline contamination by cleaning up toxic sites on the Bay.
Why Do We Need Healthy Bay Ecosystems?
The Bay is a nationally recognized hotspot for biodiversity, providing critical habitat for countless birds, microorganisms, and endangered species, such as the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse and Ridgway’s rail.
In addition to its benefits to wildlife, healthy and connected Bay ecosystems also provide essential ecosystem services that keep our communities safe and healthy while protecting us from the impacts of sea level rise, and climate change more broadly.
Bayland ecosystems safeguard our resilience by
Regulating temperatures by acting as a buffer,
Absorbing floodwaters in its porous soil,
Sequestering carbon, tidal wetlands can sequester up to ten times as much carbon as tropical forests, and
Filtering out pollutants, ensuring we have clean air and water.
Learn how nature can help fight sea level rise with cost-effective and sustainable solutions. Watch recordings of our webinar series with SF Bay experts and please share with your local elected officials.
Sustainability Ideas Bank: Alternatives to Plastic in Public Spaces
SSMC’s Sustainability Ideas Bank gives government and community leaders access to successfully implemented solutions to quickly advance their sustainability goals. Find policies and programs relevant to the needs of cities in San Mateo County, all carefully researched and vetted.
Basic/Wilderness First Aid Course
Saturday, May 16th Sunday, May 17th 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Peninsula Conservation Center
Certification provided by the National Association for Search and Rescue, is valid for two years, and is included in the course fee. Textbook NOT included. There are two training options. 1) Basic Wilderness First Aid: Saturday only; $50 for Sierra Club members; $60 for non-members. 2) Wilderness First Aid: both days; $80 for Sierra Club members; $100 for non-members. Register today.
COMMENT LETTERS
Pause Processing All Data Center Proposals for Community Outreach
"In this letter, we ask the City to pause processing all data center proposals and related planning efforts until robust, equitable, and inclusive community outreach has been completed. San José residents have a right to full transparency about all data centers currently in San José’s development pipeline. Communities deserve both cumulative and site-specific analysis of the health, financial and environmental impacts and risks of these 34 data centers. Furthermore, data centers and all associated support infrastructures that are to be located on public land are of concern, such as the centers planned north of Hwy 237."
Draft Environmental Review Handbook and Draft Environmental Standard Permit Conditions
"We offer the following comments and clarifications to better protect biological resources and to improve effectiveness and consistency. As a threshold matter, these documents should make it clear that the guidance provided is not intended to set a cap or limit on the scope of environmental analysis or on the potential mitigation measures that could be required. This might be considered obvious, since thresholds of significance or other standards do not exist for every possible environmental impact, but it should be explicitly stated in order to avoid confusion."
"The proposed standards are reasonable, feasible, and consistent with both regional practice and emerging national building standards. They provide clear, objective design criteria that can be readily implemented. Bird-friendly design standards similar to those proposed by staff are already widely adopted across the Bay Area. San Francisco, Mountain View, Berkeley, Alameda, San José, Palo Alto, and Cupertino have all adopted or incorporated bird-safe design requirements in their codes or policies. Together, these jurisdictions demonstrate a clear regional trend toward practical, implementable standards that reduce bird collisions without impeding development."
Support for GreenSpacesMV’s Recommendations on the Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan
"The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter, Mothers Out Front Silicon Valley, and the Community for Natural Play Surfaces are writing to express our strong support for the recommendations submitted by GreenSpacesMV regarding the Mountain View Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan. Our organizations share the goal of ensuring that Mountain View’s parks prioritize ecological health, biodiversity, and the well-being of all residents."
Include Board Policy Manual Language Prohibiting Future Investment in Fossil Fuels
"We hope this Committee considers the following language when making its recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. "The County shall update its investment policy to reflect this guidance by amending 4.8 Treasury Investment Policy, section 4.8.7 Eligible, Authorized and Suitable Investments, subsection on "Socially and Environmentally Responsible Investments" to include the following language.” “No new investments shall be made in fossil fuel companies defined as any publicly-traded company that owns reserves of coal, oil, or gas, or that owns coal-fired power plants.""
Earth's Plastic Seen From Space
It can be difficult to comprehend the extent of a global pollutant, making viewing the following three (3) minute CBS news video worthwhile. It describes how, from the International Space Station, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab was able to observe plastic spread across the land, and then to create a “global map” of Earth’s discarded plastic. Join the SCLP Plastic Pollution Prevention Committee as we educate ourselves and others on how to identify and address the growing list of harms inflicted on the environment and public health by prolific and unnecessary plastic production.
A massive threat looms over one of our most cherished natural treasures. San Bruno Mountain is not just any mountain, it is a sanctuary for endangered butterflies, a haven for rare plants, and a refuge of unparalleled ecological significance. The proposed project threatens to unravel the delicate balance of this natural treasure, and we urge you to take action to protect it.
The City of Brisbane is considering a plan to build a massive 1.3 million-square-foot warehouse, 100 feet tall, right in the heart of San Bruno Mountain, at the historic Guadalupe Quarry.
This industrial facility would bring hundreds of workers (1,500!) and an incredible amount of traffic through our city and into the heart of sensitive habitat. Sign the petition today.
In the Community
BioBlitz (April 26th, May 2nd), Cleanup (May 16th), and Restoration (May 17th) from our friends at Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful.
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.
Microplastics are Falling from the Sky and Polluting Forests
New research shows forests are not solely affected by local pollution. Microplastics arriving from the air build up in forest soils. Research author Dr. Weber explains “Forests are already threatened by climate change, and our findings suggest that microplastics could now pose an additional threat to forest ecosystems.”
Yes! Microplastics are a huge problem. We need to stop producing unnecessary plastic products. (Unnecessary plastic products are those which either no one needs, such as plastic rocks, or that can be readily replaced by sustainable natural materials, for example by using paper or metal foodware rather than plastic foodware, or using wood or crushed rock tiles instead of vinyl flooring.) Our primary focus should be on reducing plastics manufacturing, not on filtering it after it is made and shed into our water or bodies.
Your connection:Join our Plastic Pollution Prevention Committee as we educate ourselves and others on how to identify and address the growing list of harms inflicted on the environment and public health by prolific and unnecessary products.
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.
Historic April
April 21, 1838, birth of John Muir April 3, 1934, birth of Dr. Jane Goodall
Your Loma Prieta Chapter was founded in 1933; what else happened that year in April? The Civilian Conservation Corps established April 15, birth of Elizabeth Montgomery, "Bewitched" television actress April 15, birth of Roy Clark, country musician April 19, birth of Jayne Mansfield, film actress and mother of actress Mariska Hargitay April 25, birth of Jerry Leiber, popular music composer April 26, birth of Carol Burnett, actress, singer and comedian April 30, birth of Willie Nelson, country singer-songwriter
“The water and air on Earth are being adversely affected by our bad habits. We are fu*king up our home … damn, are we dumb.” – Willie Nelson
2026.04.04, Chapter Director joined Day Hikers in Ed Levin County Park
