Name: Elizabeth W Johnson
Member Since: 1969 (at interrupted intervals)
Leadership Position (if any): Currently legal chair and at-large for Redwood Chapter
Areas of Interest: Water, Forests
Residence: Weaverville, Trinity County, California
Q: How and when did you first become involved with Sierra Club?
A: I have been a member off and on since 1969.
Q: How has your involvement with Sierra Club changed your life?
A: It has given me inspiration and facts to help me press for protecting the natural environment in all aspects of my life, at home, socially, politically and in my choices of consumer goods and leisure activities.
Q: What is one of your fondest memories participating in a Sierra Club event or activity?
A: None in particular. I have never been on a SC trip or that kind of thing, preferring to be more solitary in these activities.
Q: What do you see as Sierra Club’s fundamental role in your community?
A: My community is a low-density, very rural mountain community, full of independent thinkers and people who want to be left alone. The Sierra Club’s best contribution here is made by representing the needs of the environment in which we live and enjoy life, politically and by joint efforts among other organizations.
Q: What is your favorite thing about living in Northern California?
A: I love the freedom from crowding and congestion. I love the intense natural beauty which is immediately surrounding me everywhere. The fresh air and blue, blue skies, the fragrant breezes, and the birds.
Q: Where in the outdoors would we most likely find you?
A: In the forest, or on the coast. I grew up going to the beach almost daily in a relatively untouched (then) area of Coronado, in San Diego. I still think of the happy days spent in the hot sun, picking through the tidepools and searching for “pet” hermit crabs, then dipping into the cool waves. These days, I visit my daughter in Mendocino and enjoy the lovely wild beaches there. At home, I am more likely to be fishing and rock-hopping on one of the tributaries to the Trinity River, which are incredibly beautiful and still fairly unscathed by development. Summer swimming in a little creek’s deep holes, fall fly fishing, and winter flood watching, or tramping with the dogs – all are favorite activities in the north state where I live now.