2009 Fall Chapter Retreat - Join the Fun!
Join us this fall for the annual chapter gathering. This year we will meet at Laura Walker Park, near the Okefenokee Swamp, Friday, October 30th through Sunday, November 1st. Since it will be Halloween weekend, and a full moon, we plan to offer some extra fun, family-friendly activities.
We’ll be staying at the Group Camp facility at Laura Walker Park, 10 minutes from Waycross. We’ll have dorm housing for over 120 people, plus a large dining hall, picnic pavilion, and a Premier Pioneer Campground with hot showers. Housing this year will bring you closer to nature! You’ll need to bring your own sleeping bags, towels, pillows, and other items. Each dorm has 4 bunk beds, sleeping 8, with a nearby bath house. If you'd like the luxury of a motel room, we are making arrangements with a nice motel in Waycross, 10 minutes away, so that we can get a reduced rate.
Our outings, workshops and other activities on Saturday will be at nearby Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge, using our friends at Okefenokee Adventures. We’ll have kayak and canoe trips in the swamp, float trips on the St. Mary’s river, hikes with naturalists in the forest, and more. And of course we’ll have workshops on topics like modern forestry management practices, community supported agriculture, eating locally, and Georgia politics. Sunday’s activities will be either at Laura Walker Park or in the Waycross area, with more workshops, and outings.
Our annual awards dinner will be “costume optional”, followed by apple-bobbing, story-telling and songs around a bonfire. We will be trying to have a “waste free” event this year. To accomplish this, we ask for you to bring your own canteen or water bottle and consider bringing cloth napkins.
Please click here for more information on our chapter website, and join us in the swamp for an unforgettable Halloween! Registration forms are available.
**Breaking News** By the narrowest of margins, 219-212, the House of Representatives had just passed the Waxman-Markey Climate bill, a critical next step in the success of America's struggle to become part of the solution, not the problem, in solving the climate crisis. Congress has taken the first step toward unleashing a true clean energy revolution with yesterday's historic passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act. While imperfect, this legislation sets forth a set of goals America must achieve -- and exceed. Most importantly, it puts the United States on a path to reduce carbon emissions some 80 percent by 2050. Together, we worked hard to get this bill passed as a critical first step in our clean energy future. An unprecedented coalition of environmental, faith, community, labor, veterans, business, and other groups mounted one of the most vigorous grassroots campaigns in decades to move this critical legislation through the House. |
Smart Energy Team Meeting, Sunday, July 12th, 5p.m., Seandra Rawls - Chapter Staff, 404-607-1262 x 222 RAIL Committee Meeting, Monday, July 27th, 6:45p.m., Jim Dexter 678-313-2407, jimdex@aol.com Fundraising Committee Meeting, Tuesday, July 28th, 6:30p.m., Sandy Stewart & Erin Wetty - Co-Chairs, call 404-607-1262 x 225 |
Wednesday, July 8th
2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Atlanta, GA 30334
Join the Sierra Club for a rally at the Environmental Protection Division Headquarters. We need your help to call for limits on pollution and to demand clean air for Georgia. Please call Seandra Rawls at the Georgia Chapter at 404-607-1262 ext. 222 or seandra.rawls@sierraclub.org.
Saturday, July 25th, 8:00a.m. to 12 noon
This is the first step to becoming a certified outings leader. You will learn the requirements for leading outings and also receive practical leadership training. There is no cost for the OLT 101 course. The training course is held only twice a year in the Atlanta area and attendance is limited to 10 people. For more information or to sign up, please contact Edward Scholl at edscholl@bellsouth.net or click here.
Friday - Sunday, August 28th - 30th
Camp Wahsega near Dahlonega
Come to the cool Georgia mountains to hear the latest on the conservation campaigns of the Sierra Club. This year's conservation retreat is for volunteers both new and veteran, chapter conservation issue leaders, group conservation chairs and anyone else interested in helping save the planet. Clean energy, transit, water protection, wildlands, coastal and other issues will all be covered. Registration fee of $85 includes all meals from dinner Friday through lunch on Sunday. Don't forget to bring an instrument for songs around the campfire. For more information please contact Mark Woodall at markwoodall@windstream.net or click here.
Thursday, July 9th, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Parish Restaurant, 240 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta, GA
This free event aims to show the connections between the environment, population, and reproductive rights. Hosted by the Sierra Club, this is the first program in our new education series called “Hot Planet, Cold Drinks.” Join us as we help to protect both women and the environment. We will have posters, pictures, displays, guest speakers, and info around the room. Responsible family planning in the United States and around the world can slow global warming, deforestation and other environmental disasters. For more information click here. For questions and RSVP please email greensexparty@yahoo.com or call Todd Daniel at (678) 567-2052.
July 17th-18th
Red Top Mountain *Limited 10 attendees so RSVP soon*
Join fellow Sierrans and members of Ebenezer Baptist Church for a weekend camping retreat and nature walk. Please contact Seandra Rawls 404-607-1262 ext. 222 for more information or plan to attend an orientation meeting Tuesday, July 7th, 7p.m. at Ebenezer Baptist Church 407 Auburn Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30312.
Sunday, July 26th, 6:00 p.m
Come for dinner at L’Thai in Tucker. L’Thai is the first organic Thai restaurant in Georgia. It is located at 488 0 Lawrenceville Hwy, Tucker. Membership is obviously a huge part of the Sierra Club - it’s our members who make the club who we are and our membership ensures that we can continue on with our mission. I hope that you will join us in celebrating our new SuperFRIP campaign, a membership drive with the intent of getting our members together at social events, while attracting new folks to the Club. For more information please contact the Georgia Chapter at georgia.chapter@sierraclub.org.
Sierra Club 101
Saturday, August 1st, 10a.m. - 12p.m.
Attention, Members! You joined the Sierra Club to help protect the environment -- now what? Sierra Club 101! Come learn about the Sierra Club and how to get involved in our local efforts. Open to members and non-members alike--bring a friend! Refreshments provided. For more information or to sign up please click here.
BeltLine Tours
Friday and Saturday mornings at 9:30 a.m.
Interested in the transit plans for Atlanta? The BeltLine Partnership provides a free, narrated bus tour of the BeltLine. The BeltLine tour bus will take you on a tour to learn about the BeltLine concept and history; to hear details and updates regarding project planning, implementation and development; and to witness first hand the transformative effect the project will have on BeltLine neighborhoods and the City of Atlanta. There is simply no better way to learn about the BeltLine than to take a tour! Reserve a spot or learn more by clicking here.
Hemlockfest
Friday - Sunday, November 6th - 8th
HemlockFest is an annual benefit music festival to increase public awareness and generate funds to help save the Eastern and Carolina Hemlock trees. Funds raised each year are used for support of the Georgia laboratories rearing adelgid-devouring beetles, education and research on the HWA problem, and assisting businesses and homeowners to protect Hemlocks on their private property. Learn more by clicking here.
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