Gateway Group

Serving Hillside, Elizabeth, and all Essex County communities—except Livingston, Millburn and Roseland

The Gateway Group was organized in January 2011. Please contact any of the leaders if you are interested in joining our campaigns to protect the environment. There are several Gateway Group positions open.

The Gateway Group invites YOU to join in the activism and asks your support as we strive to address the many issues facing the urban as well as suburban communities.

Do you ever wonder if the plastic containers you put out at the curb for recycling actually get recycled, or do they end up floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

In January, the Gateway Group of the Sierra Club published a major study of what actually happens to the bottles, cans, and paper collected from Essex County residents. Danielle Rapsas, a sophomore at Barnard College and a graduate of West Caldwell High School, completed the study as a summer intern with the Gateway Group. She is also a member of the Gateway Group Executive Committee and the political chair for the Group.

Her research found conclusive evidence that recycling is considerably cheaper than sending solid waste to be incinerated in Newark, and includes 9 specific recommendations for Essex County towns and municipalities to follow to increase recycling rates.

Copies of the report are available for download here: Essex County Recycling Report

Gateway Group Events

Montclair Earth Fest

Sunday, April 26, 2026, 12 - 4 pm

Join the Gateway Group as we celebrate Earth Day at Montclair’s 4^th annual EcoFest. The fair will be held Sunday, April 26^th on South Park Street in downtown Montclair from 12 noon to 4 PM.

The Club will once again sponsor a Drive Electric Earth Month event at the EcoFest, along with displaying literature promoting Sierra Club programs and policies. Test your environmental knowledge by spinning our gaming wheel – questions will be geared for adults and children.

There will be music and interactive games for kids and adults and displays about composting, natural plants, solar energy and home electrification.

If you have an EV that you would like to show off and tell people about your EV experiences, send an email to Bill Beren at beren1@verizon.net.

Outings – Jersey City Birds & Beer

Sunday, March 29, 2026 at 2 pm

On Sunday, March 29^th, we had the Birds Beer & Brats outing in Jersey City in conjunction with the Montclair Bird Club. The birding started at 2 PM and is a good introduction to birding for beginners, but experienced birders will also find this to be a rewarding experience. We took a leisurely walk along the paved Hudson River Walkway in Liberty State Park, followed by an early dinner at the nearby Zeppelin Beer Hall, featuring a large selection of domestic and imported beers and German sausage and American BBQ entrees. Look for details in the outing listings and on the state and Gateway calendars.

Climate and Environmental Advocacy in These Times

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Location: 1 Pine St, Montclair, NJ

Nationally recognized waterfront and climate activist, Vivien Li, will speak about "Climate and Environmental Action in These Times" on Thursday night, September 11th, 7 p.m., at the Montclair Fire Department Headquarters, 1 Pine St. Montclair., 2nd Floor Training Room. The meeting is free and is open to all Sierra Club members and the public at large.

Free parking is available next door to the Fire Dept headquarters in the Bay Street Station Parking Deck. The facility is also accessible by public transit via NJ Transit Rail Boonton Line Bay St Station and NJ Transit bus lines 11, 28, 29 & 34.

Vivien Li began her environmental activism shortly after the first Earth Day in 1970 while a student at Ridgewood HS. While a student at Barnard College, Li worked part time as an environmental planner in the administration of Newark Mayor Kenneth A. Gibson. She was elected to the Sierra Club Board of Directors from 1986 to 1992, chaired the Club's newly established Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Task Force from 1990 to 1994, and led The Boston Harbor Association from 1991 to 2015 as an advocate for a clean, alive, accessible, and climate resilient waterfront.

After graduating from Barnard with a degree in environmental management, Li became a community fellow in MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning from 1976 to 1977. Li was conference coordinator for City Care, a national conference on the urban environment held in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan, which brought together 700 environmental and civil rights activists associated with conference sponsors the Sierra Club, National Urban League, and the Urban Environmental Conference and Foundation.

Li served as the Sierra Club's New Jersey Chapter Chair and Regional Conservation Committee Chair prior to her election to the Club's Board of Directors. In 1983, she earned a Master's of Public Administration and Urban and Regional Planning from Princeton University. Li went on to work for the Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner and as senior staff to Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.

Li received the Sierra Club's Walter Starr Award in 2015 and has continued her Sierra Club involvement on the Club's Finance and Risk Management Committee and its Investment Advisory Committee.

2025 July 4th Parade

Leading a coalition of local environmental groups, the Sierra Club’s Gateway Chapter participated in the annual Montclair July 4th Parade for the second straight year. Joining the Gateway Group in the parade were Montclair Climate Action, the Electric Vehicle Association and members of the Interfaith Climate Coalition. About 25 individuals marched in the parade, and were accompanied by drivers of electric vehicles, including a BMW, a Smart Car and a Hyundai Ioniq5. The March followed a 1.6 mile route from downtown Montclair to Edgemont Park.

Montclair 4th of July Parade Banners — Sierra Club and representatives from the Montclair based groups Interfaith Climate and Montclair Climate Action gathered together waiting for the march to begin.

Electric Car in Montclair Parade — Line up of Electric Vehicles that participated in the parade. Leading the parade was a Renault Smart Car, followed by a 2025 Hyundai Ioniq5 and a handful of electric bicycles.

Town-wide art project -- Handing out Climate Hope Ribbons. Write your prayers and hopes on the fabric strips. Share the messages by tying to a tree, fence, etc so our town's hopes will blow in the breeze.

Montclair's Earth Fest

April 27, 2025

Montclair's EarthFest 2025 (held on April 27th) was an opportunity for the Gateway Group to sponsor a Drive Electric Earth Day event and interact with pedestrian's in downtown Montclair. EVs displayed at the event included an 2025 Ioniq 5, A Rivian ST1, and a Honda plug in hybrid. Our table was staffed by member Maegan Kuhler, our Group Secretary, Columb Mahoney, and Executive Committee member Steve Yafet. Stopping by to chat with us were Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, State Senator John McKeon, Montclair Mayor Renee Baskerville, and Montclair Sustainability Officer Lisa Johnson.