Monthly Newsletter of the Sierra Club Eastern Missouri Group
August 2015
Eastern Missouri Group Website | Join | Group Leadership
Friday, August 21 to Sunday, August 23 - Squeeze, Scoop, Serve in the Shade
Lemonade volunteers needed for the Festival of the Little Hills in St Charles MO. Enjoy the end of summer by making and serving lemonade with other Sierrans. Help fund our local group. No experience necessary, set your own hours, short or longer shifts. Aug 21-23. Contact us at emg@missouri.sierraclub.org
Saturday, August 22 - Treasure and Trash Hunt: Operation Clean Stream
Join us on Saturday August 22 as we search for treasures and trash along the Meramec River. We will paddle about 7 miles near Eureka. It is a fun day with a friendly competition of who can find the most unusual trash. Appropriate for families. A picnic follows the event. There are a limited number of free rental canoes available for the day. For more information or to sign up, please contact Greg Rigleman or Renee Mettle at 636-940-8985.
Thursday, August 27 - Expanding the Outing Experience – Getting to Know ICO
Sierrans know the importance of getting outdoors. And we are learning more about the multiple benefits of a wild experience, even if that experience is in a local park. But there are many children for whom an outing is a rare opportunity. The Sierra Club’s Inspiring Connections Outdoor (ICO) is changing that.
Attend our monthly program on Thursday Aug 27 to learn more about ICO from our local leader, Ashleigh Packard. We start at 7:00pm with short announcements, the program starts by 7:30. Location is club office at 2818 Sutton Blvd, Maplewood, MO 63143.
Sunday, September 20 - Moral March for Climate Justice
More information to come soon, but please save the date! This will be an interfaith gathering and march in support of climate action. We will hear from faith leaders on the need for climate action and for the faith community to lead on this important issue. For questions or more details you can contact Sara Edgar at sara.edgar@sierraclub.org or our partner Missouri Interfaith Power & Light. Specific details will be available soon on our website and in the next e newsletter. You can also check out the Facebook event here.
Saturday October 17 to Sunday October 25 - October Trail Maintenance Week
The Sierra Club’s annual trail maintenance week is taking place from Saturday October 17 to Sunday October 25. We will be staying at Current River State Park, and once again enjoying the cooking of Luise Stephan. We need a lot of volunteers this year, because we will be working on building a new trail that will connect Current River State Park with Powder Mill – a very exciting project! We’ll also conduct maintenance on the Blair Creek section of the Ozark Trail, as well as on the Laxton Hollow Connector. Come for a day, or come for the week – we need your help! Last year, over sixty volunteers participated. To sign up, contact Michael Berg at the office (michael.berg@sierraclub.org and 314-644-1011) or email EMG Trails Committee Chair Paul Stupperich (lonebuffalo@earthlink.net).
Saturday, October 24 - Fall Trivia Fun and Fundraiser
Our 4th annual Trivia Night and Silent Auction will be held on Saturday October 24, 2015 in Maryland Heights. Doors will open at 6:30. If you're interested in volunteering or have items you would like to donate to the silent auction, please contact Sarah Willey at sarah.nicole838@gmail.com or 660-988-1412.
EMG Outings - July and August
Sierra Club Outings are open to the public. A dollar per person donation is requested. No guns or pets are allowed on trips. Use of audible electronics must be approved by the leader. Participants must sign a liability release. Outings Leaders are volunteers. Outings officially start at the trailhead or river access. Carpooling is encouraged but not the responsibility of the Leader. For more information contact the Leader of a particular Outing or for general information contact Doug Melville, (636) 288-1055 or douglas.k.melville@gmail.com.
Outings sampler below. Check the website- emg@missouri.sierraclub.org – for a complete list of outings!
Aug 21, Fri: Day hike: is it fall yet?? Probably not, but contact jleachross@hotmail.com or margot107g@gmail.com for the scoop.
Aug 26, Wed: Long Branch S.P. This state park is located North of Columbia and just West of Macon off Hwy 36. We will be hiking the Bee Trace Trail that goes along a peninsula into the Long Branch Lake for an easy hike with plenty of water views for a Summer day. Contact Doug Melville, (636) 288-1055 or douglas.k.melville@gmail.com for further information.
Sep 5-7, Sat-Mon: Canoe/kayak trip on he Mississippi River. Enjoy the wide open spaces and sand bars of the big river. George Behrens, (314) 821-0247.
You can learn about more outings here.
A Victory and a Thank You
Thanks to all of our Eureka area members who helped oppose the large gravel mining proposal in that area. The local citizens group did a magnificent job of sustained organizing and in presenting their case to the St Louis County planning commission. At this writing the commission recently recommended a denial of that permit. Good job citizens!
Also thanks to all of those who responded to our request to express opposition to the sale of part of Sylvan Springs Park in St Louis County. Although the outcome is unknown, we do know a lot of you spoke up Also we hope this issue will inspire a fairer process for citizen input regarding the fate of our county parks. We will keep you posted!
Part of Sylvan Springs Park subject to sale
Stop the Sea of Plastic Bags
Earlier this year Columbia MO considered a plastic bag phase out plan for the city. Many other US cities have done the same. Plastic bags are a source of pollution which harms waterways, wildlife, clogs sewage systems, and are hard to recycle.
Yet this simple, common sense step invoked a response from the MO state legislature in the passage of a bill that would deny local communities the authority to pass plastic bag bans. Governor Nixon has wisely vetoed this “plastic bags everywhere” bill. His veto will be challenged in the upcoming Sept special legislative session. We need to ask our legislators to support the Governor’s veto so that local community control on this issue is restored.
The bill we want to defeat is House Bill 722. Via the link below you can easily ask your state senator and representative to support the governor’s veto. Don't let lawmakers in Jefferson City take away the right of your community to control plastic bag pollution!
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=-zCQtGhyS2nX30AkRtBKNg
Sierra Club meetup.com Updates
The local Sierra Club is now on Meetup.com with two Meetup groups! The first Meetup group, “Sierra Club Eastern Missouri Group Outdoor Activities”, is for local hiking and trail maintenance activities and the second group, “Sierra Club- Eastern Missouri Group”, covers everything else. Both groups just started and they both have well over 100 members already!
The Sierra Club Eastern Missouri Group Outdoor Activities Meetup group is open to anyone who is interested in exploring the outdoor parks and wilderness area in and around the St. Louis area.. The group welcomes people of all ages and experience levels. If you would like to join go to http://www.meetup.com/Sierra-Club-Eastern-Missouri-Group-Outdoor-Activities/ Although only a few week old, The Sierra Club Eastern Missouri Group Outdoor Activities has 175 members!
The Sierra Club- Eastern Missouri Group Meetup group Meetups are almost always associated with the Sierra Club, but there will be a few Meetups from other environmental groups you will be invited to attend as well. This Meetup group includes the educational presentations (primarily given during the monthly meetings), lobbying events by the Sierra Club Missouri Chapter, environmental volunteer activities, social events, and all local Sierra Club committees except the Outings Committee and Trail Maintenance Committee who have their own committee (see above). If you would like to join go to http://www.meetup.com/SierraClub-EMG/.
Please join us. We would love to meet you!
Help local Sierra Club via Internet Search Goodsearch
Goodsearch donates money to your favorite cause when you search the Internet, shop online or dine out at local restaurants! Use Goodsearch.com to search the Internet and they donate a penny per search to your cause. Use Goodshop.com when you shop online and they donate a percentage of every purchase and offer over 100,000 coupons to help you save money too! Sign up for their Good Dining program and they'll donate a percentage of your restaurant bill when you eat at any one of thousands of participating restaurants. It's really easy; it's free and turns simple everyday actions into a way to make the world a better place. Please sign up today to support Sierra Club - Eastern Missouri Group.
Go to www.goodsearch.com to get started
Like us on Facebook
“Like” the Eastern Missouri Group Facebook page – a great tool for keeping up with local Club news and activity!
https://www.facebook.com/EMGConnector
Eastern Missouri Group Outings Calendar
Sierra Club members and non-members are welcome to join Club members on our outings.
Visit the Eastern Missouri Group website for more information about outings, activities, and issues.
Please consider making a donation to the Eastern Missouri Group today!