Volunteer Opportunities with the Sierra Club Great Falls Group (GFG)
We need whatever amount of time you can provide to volunteer to support our activities which will promote a better environment for us to live and play in. It is up to us to do our share to protect our environment. Any amount of time is really appreciated by our citizens and future generations. Contact us if you are interested in volunteering!
NOVA Environmental Events
Here are some upcoming environmental events, not necessarily in chronological order, in and around the Northern Virginia area. To suggest an additional event, forward a description to the listserv email address. See the Sierra Club/Great Falls Group website at https://www.sierraclub.org/virginia/ great-falls to subscribe to this weekly email.
March for a Data Center Moratorium
WHEN: Saturday, October 10; 12 PM
Event location is about a 25-minute walk from the Van Dorn metro station (Blue Line). Public transit and carpools are encouraged!
DETAILS: We’ll gather with local residents, community organizations, advocates, and elected leaders to demand that Virginia slow down and figure out how to protect our communities before approving any more data centers. This rally and brief march will take place just outside of Plaza 500, the site of an approved (but not yet built) data center campus that the Bren Mar community has been fighting for four years. The Plaza 500 data center is a poster child for why we need more statewide protections in place. Join the rally and march, hear from local speakers, and help send a message to Richmond loud and clear: it’s time for a moratorium.
SPONSORS: Organized by partners including the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter Great Falls Group, Mothers Out Front, La Colectiva, Third Act Virginia and Nature Forward
Fairfax Tree Rescuer Extravaganza II
WHEN: The four weekends of October
WHERE: Multiple locations throughout Fairfax County
DETAILS: Try your hand at saving a tree! Fairfax/Falls Church residents will be coming together in a community-wide effort to rid our trees of the invasive vines that threaten them. Learn how to personally save trees by clipping the invasive vines (while preserving the native vines) at the base. Why participate? It’s gratifying and fun! And if we are to save the estimate million trees at risk, hundreds and hundreds of us will need to get out there and take back our natural areas from the invasives. Details and registration at FairfaxPRISM.org. (To register, click on the box with the dates October 3-November 1. No experience needed.)
CONTACT: treerescuers@fairfaxprism.org
SPONSOR: Fairfax Tree Rescuers PRISM
Virginia Climate Crisis Forum
WHEN: Thursday, October 22; 6:15-8:45 PM
WHERE: Van Metre Hall, George Mason University’s Mason Square (Arlington) Campus, 3351 Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22201
DESCRIPTION: Extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related mortality in the United States, but the risks are not shared equally. Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions launched the Urban Heat Island Mapping Project, an environmental justice and citizen science initiative in partnership with George Mason University’s Virginia Climate Center. Join us for our 10th annual Climate Crisis Forum as we examine the public health consequences of extreme heat and explore local solutions in Northern Virginia.
SPONSOR: Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions
What’s in the Water?
Freshwater Fish and More
WHEN: Wednesday, October 21; 7 PM
WHERE: Online - Zoom
DETAILS: Mike Pinder, Virginia aquatic biologist, will talk about Virginia’s diverse freshwater fishes, their major family groups, distribution, habitats, and unique behaviors. He also will help us learn how to see and identify this often unnoticed and under appreciated group of Virginia’s wildlife. Pinder is the Aquatic Biologist for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
SPONSOR: Friends of Dyke Marsh
Fall Colors Walk
WHEN: Monday, October 26; 1-3 PM
DETAILS: Enjoy Dyke Marsh’s fall colors on a walk led by Margaret Chatham and Alan Ford, who are with the Potowmack Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society. Dyke Marsh will be ablaze in color. This walk is limited to 25 people, so everyone can hear and learn. Rain date: October 30, 1 PM.
SPONSOR: Friends of Dyke Marsh
More opportunities....
Find or lead an outing in Northern Virginia and DC Metro Area! See Sierra Club Potomac Regional Outings (SCPRO). SCPRO is a special activities section of the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter that organizes hikes and other events for the general public on behalf of the Sierra Club's Washington, DC chapter and the close-in groups of the Maryland and Virginia Chapters.
Volunteering is good for the environment
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