Logan Cross Receives Awards
Our Chair, Logan Cross has recently received two awards for his work in the environmental area.

The Sierra Club Volunteer Achievement Award
This award honors Sierra Club volunteers for a single act of importance to the environment or to the Sierra Club. Cross led efforts to make Jacksonville’s municipal utility use more renewable energy.

Jacksonville City Mayor's Commendation
Cross received a commendation from Mayor Donna Deegan for his good work on behalf of the environment.

BRIAN PARADISE - WILLIAM E. COLBY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE
Brian has been a valuable administrative and conservation leader in the Northeast Florida Group since the late 1970s.
Every aspect of the group, from the executive committee, to the outings program, to the legislative committee, to the political team, to the conservation effort, has benefited from his dedicated attention to the Sierra Club mission and its goals and his willingness to do the hard work of keeping a group thriving.
The award reflects the effectiveness of his quiet demeanor, his extensive knowledge of our area and its issues, his unfailing politeness, and his leadership in a wide range of conservation and environmental protection initiatives—from successfully opposing an attempt to put a fuel terminal near historic Fort Flinch in Fernandina Beach in 1978 to working on sustainability and political issues in recent years.

BILL SNOW AND BILL ARMSTRONG - OLIVER KEHRLEIN OUTINGS LEADERSHIP AWARD
When COVID-19 hit in 2020 and the Sierra Club outings program was shut down, Bill Snow (top) and Bill Armstrong (bottom) hit upon a great idea for keeping Sierra Club members, and indeed many non-members, engaged in the outdoors and in the club.
The two Bills began an almost-weekly virtual outings program on Zoom complete with video clips, trail maps and directions, and a well-researched narration. The programs, which covered several different areas of Northeast Florida, were well-attended and well-received.

Many of the programs drew audiences of around 50 people and they served to maintain interest in the Sierra Club outings program and likely fostered interest in protecting Florida's natural areas.

LORI BOYER- TRANSPORTATION SUSTAINABILITY

Sierra Club advocates for policy and projects that promote walkability and bike-ability in our residential areas and that provide an alternative to fossil fuel based transportation.  Council Member Lori Boyer truly “gets it” in the transportation sustainability arena.  We want to acknowledge and recognize Lori Boyer's work toward these goals during her City Council tenure.

During her two terms as a City Council member and our most recent former Council president, Lori has been an advocate in the realm of transportation, sustainability, environmental planning and sound public policy. She has:
 - Supported Complete Streets,  an approach to roadway planning, design and street operation, to meet regional transportation goals while enhancing  neighborhoods and considering the adjacent uses of land;
 - Supported the Mobility Plan, which provides funding for development related road infrastructure;  opposed the moratorium on collection of Mobility Fees;
 - Supported Context Sensitive Streets, making it a priority to bring "safe streets" --which not only reduces our death rates but also enhances quality of life and stimulates positive economic growth.
 - Launched the Crosswalk Coalition that considers the needs and safety of pedestrians, especially seniors, in the design of crosswalks to enhance safety. 

She looks at the big picture to incorporate bike-pedestrian friendly attributes to transportation projects in Jacksonville, and in the process has enhanced bike-pedestrian safety.

Sierra Club thanks Lori Boyer for helping make Jacksonville a safer place to walk and cycle.

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TREE MITIGATION TRUST FUND SETTLEMENT

Sierra Club actively supported the tree protection initiatives passed in 1986 and 2000 which provide protections for certain species of trees; and where they could not be saved, fees would be paid into a tree mitigation fund for planting trees in other areas of Jacksonville. 
Later it became apparentthat the tree mitigation funds were not being accounted for and spent in alignment with the requirements of the amendment. 

A lawsuit filed by Public Trust Environmental Legal Institute and community stakeholder organizations, including Sierra Club Northeast Florida, lead to a settlement agreement between COJ and community stakeholders to:
 - appropriately spend these tree fund dollars to replace trees equitably in all areas of the city;
 - provide for citizen participation through the creation of a Tree Commission;
 - hire an arborist and an urban forester with tree mitigation funds;
 - enhance the consistency of administrative practices and procedures for the mitigation fund monies.
This unique settlement agreement will enable our tree canopy to flourish for years to come.

Sierra wishes to recognize and thank the following people and organizations who collaborated to bring this agreement to fruition:
Public Trust Environmental Legal Institute:  Warren Anderson (Public Trust Founder & Chair), John November (Public Trust Executive Director & General Counsel), Board Members:  Andrew Miller, Leslie Jean-Bart, Jim Terrell, Patricia Dodson, Jason Ellis, Ken Wright
Community Stakeholders & Groups:  Lad Hawkins (Scenic Jacksonville), Tracey Arpen (City Beautiful Jax & Greenscape), Tom Larson (Sierra Club), John Cresimbeni (COJ Council member) and several dedicated COJ staff members who helped forge a settlement that creates enduring protections for our tree canopy.
Plaintiffs: Lee Hunter, Tom Larson, Thera James
COJ Mediation Work Group Members:  Sam Mousa, John Pappas, Tom Goldsbury, Richard Leon, John Crescimbeni
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BILL  ARMSTRONG - OUTINGS LEADER & MORE

Sierra Club’s mission is to preserve, protect and enjoy the natural environment.  One of our signature activities is our nature outings program, which takes people on hikes and kayak trips in our parks, waterways, and other natural areas throughout Northeast Florida.

Our outings are free and open to the public. We feel the more people are exposed to natural areas, the more they will appreciate the jewel that is our park system in Jacksonville; and the more they will be willing to protect our natural areas for future generations.

Bill Armstrong has led over 130 hikes and kayak trips, and is our outings coordinator for NE Florida. Our outings program has won statewide recognition for the number of outings and participants. He not only leads our outings program, he also trains prospective leaders and communicates our outings to the public via social media.

Our Sierra Club informs its 5000 or so members and supporters about environmental actions via many media, two of which are our website and our Meetup site. Bill has served as our website administrator for four years and as our Meetup administrator for eight years.

Both tools are vital to ensuring folks are in the know about what’s going on in Jacksonville. In addition, Bill has shared his travel experiences to National Parks and hiking on the Appalachian Trail at numerous program meetings.

A grateful Sierra Club salutes and thanks Bill Armstrong.