Anne, left, at the March for Science in 2017.
By Samantha Heath, another awesome volunteer!
At the Sierra Club, we’re lucky enough to welcome some truly outstanding people into our organization. People who care. People who fight for what’s right. People with a lifetime of stories and a wealth of knowledge they love to share with others. One of these such people is long-time Sierra Club volunteer, former Chapter Chair, and current Management Chair, Anne Macquarie.
Anne has been working in environmental justice long before the term “sustainability” made its way into the common vernacular. After graduating with a masters in environmental planning from UC Berkeley, Anne started on her life’s work: creating stronger, healthier communities with a focus on conservation and sustainable city planning. She’s held a host of roles, from park ranger to transportation planner for tribal governments, giving her unique perspective into how we can work together to quite literally save the planet.
Six years ago, back when we all thought a certain presidential candidate was a distant threat, not a harsh reality, Anne took to the streets to demonstrate with other protectors of our democracy. It was here Anne met David Von Seggern, the Toiyabe Chapter Chair at the time. After witnessing Anne’s contagious passion for politics, he convinced her to run for a seat on our Executive Committee. And boy are we sure glad she did!
During Anne’s time on the Toiyabe Chapter Executive Committee, she spearheaded efforts to restructure our political and legislative committees to invigorate our engagement in local policy. She also helped create valuable partnerships with like minded organizations that have increased our collective strength.
Anne believes that when people work together, they have the power to make real, lasting change. When asked about the structural challenges facing us as we attempt to create a more sustainable society, Anne had this to say.
“We all often have the notion that anything we do, we have to do as individuals. What we do at the Sierra Club is help people recognize that we’re all in this together. Over the generations, we’ve built up a toxic individualism combined with working way too hard. The concept of working with other people to save the world seems so exhausting. But it’s really joyful work. This toxic individualism isn’t working very well for any of us and this generation realizes that. There is a move back to a joyful collective. I think that’s the only way we can move forward.”
One of our goals at the Sierra Club is to help people create connections to the earth and their communities. Anne understands how essential it is to listen to and learn from people who have intimate knowledge about the land we live on. We asked Anne how we can help Nevadans establish a connection to our state and motivate our neighbors to stand up for environmental justice.
“We get people out into the environment and help them get to know where they live. A lot of people in Nevada, like me, come from somewhere else. We don’t really have ties to the land. We don’t know much about the environmental history of our state. I think the kind of alliances the environmental movement is making with indiginous people and governments, especially in Nevada, is profoundly useful. The people we’re working with have been here for countless generations and have an understanding of the land that us recent immigrants don’t.”
Lastly, we asked Anne what her advice is to people who want to get involved in conservation, environmental justice, or any other cause they’re passionate about.
“Do what you can and let go of the results,” Anne says, “I think the three words “just show up” are really important. Because the other side shows up. If you continue to show up, you’ll make a difference.”
Thank you, Anne, for helping the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter continue to create a powerful constituency for the environment. Your tireless work has made our home a better place to live and we couldn’t be more grateful for your contributions.
Inspired by Anne's contribution? Just show up yourself by volunteering for the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter. Learn more and sign up here.