Our thoughts and sympathies go to all who experienced the wrath of Hurricane Helene.
At this time, over 150 are confirmed dead, coastal towns have been pulverized, mountain towns washed away, roads and bridges destroyed, and the list goes on.
Please act with kindness and love, take climate change seriously, build back sustainably, and help those less fortunate. Lets look for rays of hope as each new day dawns.
Emilie is the point person for the Academy Prep of St. Pete ICO and is heading up tabling efforts for the Tampa Bay Group.
Emilie describes herself as follows:
I’m the proud mom of two sons and now a grandmother.
My husband and I have lived in six states and then Tampa became home for 19 years.
I’ve been an educator in and out of the classroom for most of my life. Museum educator. Cave Tour Guide. Middle School Science Teacher. Nature’s Classroom Teacher. Busch Gardens Tour Guide.
Being able to share the outdoors with 10-year-olds as a ICO gives me great joy and satisfaction.
Now I just have to convince my grandson that spiders are cool!
Picnic in the Park
Get Outdoors & Meet Local Sierra Club Endorsed Candidates and Friends
Join us for an afternoon of food, friends and fun plus a chance to meet some of our endorsed candidates from the Suncoast & Tampa Bay area (Pinellas, Hillsborough and southern part of Pasco Counties). Folly Farm Preserve Park, Safety Harbor, FL 34695.
Signup Instructions: Please register for picnic so we know how many to anticipate! More detailed location information is on the registration form.
Bring: Potluck Picnic - please bring an appetizer, desert or snack (main course and drinks provided). ZERO WASTE EVENT: Please bring your own place setting (cup, plate, utensils and reusable napkin)
Noon - Candidate Meet & Greet
1 PM - Picnic
10:30 AM - Optional Guided Walk through Folly Farm Preserve Park (RSVP Required)
Program:
Fascinating facts about Florida’s native plants and their importance to saving birds, butterflies and other pollinators from extinction. Learn about how traditional landscapes pollute the environment and why traditional lawns need to be eliminated or reduced if we are to save a cross section of our native biodiversity.
Speaker Bio:
Karina Veaudry is a past Executive director of the Florida Native Plant Society and has been a native plant landscape architect for 32 years. Amongst her contributions was spearheading the development of a native plant friendly model ordinance to guide municipalities toward more sustainable landscape development for their communities.
She has guided cities and counties throughout Florida to add language to their landscape ordinances to promote a minimum percentage of native plants and water conservation initiatives. She has been involved in conservation efforts in Central Florida for many years and was the recipient of a Sierra Club Award in 2010.
Liability waiver to participate physically. Minor require parent or guardian sign waiver.
Bring mosquito repellent just in-case, water, lunch if you want to explorer the park.
Water fountain and restrooms are available.
No pets
Level: Easy
Cost: Free
Signup Instructions: limit 10 -- Register here to reserve your spot
Bring: :Light-weight chair, mosquito repellent just in-case, .5 liters of water,if you want to explorer the park, lunch.
Signup Restrictions: Liability waiver to participate. Minor must have parent or guardian sign waiver.
Cancellation Policy: Any rain cancels
Beginner Backpacking Essentials
Backpacking Safely Pre-hike
Learn from the ground up what's important to a successful backpack hike. This event is for beginners who aspire to backpack overnight or multi-day. To do so safely and successfully.
Head to toe coverage of Equipment, Hazards, Environment.
I am looking to eventually have several backpacking trips if there's enough interest for Florida hiking.
Attendance will give you a favorable chance to participate especially as a Sierra Club Member.
Cost: Free but $2 entrance fee
Bring: Water,snacks,optional mosquito repellent.
Signup Restrictions: Adults
Location: Lake Park Fitness Trail, 17316 Dale Mabry Hwy, Lutz, FL 33548.Turn right after enter and go to the end of the road to park.
Join us on an easy guided walk with former Safety Harbor City Council member Andy Zodrow, Rocky Milburn our Tampa Bay birding and outings leader, Dan Stebbins from the Safety Harbor owl team, and Folly Farm garden volunteer Nancy McClelland will guide us through the native& butterfly gardent and community orchard. A short walk full of beauty and “folly”!
Location: Folly Farm Preserve Park. When you register you will get more information on the location.
Bring: Water
Cost: Free
Rowlett Park Walk and Exploration
October 20
Arrive at 7:45 to start walking at 8:00. We want to beat the heat.
Learn about this Tampa park and its significance toTampa's water supply and the river. We are meeting at 8am please arrive 15 minutes early . We want to start a 8 to avoid the heat. This park has a large variety of activities and plants and animals.
"Nestled along a bend in the Hillsborough River, the Rowlett Park Trail provides two miles of asphalt trail meandering through oak and pine hammocks. Park amenities include ball fields, play courts, picnic tables & shelters, grills, a two playground, tennis and racquetball courts, restrooms, fishing, and fitness stations. A canoe launch is also available for access to the Hillsborough River State Canoe Trail which extends north to the Hillsborough River State Park."
Registration is required for all outings. Unless otherwise noted, outings are free though there may be site entry fees. Liability waivers are required, and anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a legal guardian. No pets.
Registration is required for all outings. Unless otherwise noted, outings are free though there may be site entry fees. Liability waivers are required, and anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a legal guardian. No pets.
Election Season!
It's election season! Start now to think about your vote.
In conducting our endorsement activities, Sierra Club follows a detailed, thorough process which initially focuses on the local level beginning with our Political Committee which is made up of Sierra Club members who volunteer their time to conduct research about the candidates, submit detailed questionnaires on the candidates' views on environmental issues, and we also conduct interviews with the candidates to ask follow-up questions on their views on the issues that are important to Sierra Club and its members. Our Political Committee this year is comprised of 10 volunteers who have been working hard to vet candidates in a variety of races, for several months.
Once the local Political Committee recommends endorsing a candidate, it next goes to our local Executive Committee for a vote. If the Executive Committee approves the endorsement, then the Political Chairs of the Sierra Club in the surrounding counties must also concur in the approval of the endorsement before it becomes final. For State and Federal offices, the approvals also require the Florida Chapter of the Sierra Club and the national Sierra Club to vote for approval.
So, when you see that Sierra Club has endorsed a candidate, you may rest assured that they have been vetted and questioned extensively on a wide variety of environmental issues.
For a list of candidates endorsed by the Tampa Bay Sierra Club, please click on the link to the political page and then on the link to locally endorsed candidates near the bottom of the political page.
Why do we have to click on a second link in order to see the list of candidates whom the Tampa Bay Sierra Club has endorsed? The answer is required by federal tax laws.
Because Sierra Club has a charitable foundation "arm" and a separate advocacy "arm", we have special rules that have to be followed to keep our political opinions in the advocacy side of the Sierra Club organization, and keep it entirely separate from the charitable side of Sierra Club. Therefore, when we direct you to our endorsements, if we are sending them out to a group that includes Sierra Club members as well as non-members, we have to send you to a different link to view our list of endorsed candidates. Many people ask why they have to click on a different link, rather than just have those names of endorsed candidates listed in an article like this without having to make that "second click." Now you know why we have to do that--we keep our charitable fundraising separate from our political advocacy work.
We hope that you will take your civic responsibility seriously and take the time to study the candidates and the issues, and VOTE! We stand behind our endorsed candidates and hope you will share information about them to your friends and family, as we endeavor to improve the quality of the air that we breathe and the water that we need in order to survive.
Voting matters! Let your voice be heard!
Vote "NO" to Amendment 2
Protect Wildlife and Fish Populations
Florida law already recognizes that hunting and fishing are part of Florida’s cultural heritage and traditions; albeit, in concert with the conservation and protection of those species and their habitats through science-based, hunting and fishing regulations promulgated and updated as needed on an annual basis by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
The Amendment would:
Designate hunting as a preferred method of managing wildlife. So, when managers of city parks, county parks, State Parks, and wildlife sanctuaries, need to manage wildlife in the park, they are to go out and hunt them? That is not something we want to see in Florida.
Would put the right to hunt ahead of science and could make it harder to regulate hunting even if science to call for it.
Allowing “all traditional methods” of hunting, would allow the state to bring back the tradition of hunting bears with a pack of dogs. This is not a tradition we want to see return to Florida.
Allow “all traditional methods” of fishing, would allow the commercial fishermen to go to court to overrule the existing net ban, and allow the traditional use of seine nets, and the devastating impacts on the fishing resources.
Providing a constitutional right to traditional hunting will provoke litigation over the definition of "traditional." The amendment is unclear and has too much room for interpretation.
Sierra Club believes that defeating the Amendment is vital to the future of wildlife management in Florida to ensure decisions on wildlife management would be based on science.
Florida Sierra Club asks you to Vote No on Amendment 2
How to Get Involved - For more information go to Noto2.org
Conservation Committee Meetings
For more information or to volunteer, please contact Nancy Stevens.
Meetings are held on the second Monday of the month at 6:30 pm via Google Meet. Contact Nancy to get the link.
This year we are working with the 5th grade students at Academy Prep of Tampa, St. Pete, and Lakeland, and the Environmental Club at Riverview High School.
If you are interested in becoming a leader or volunteering, please contact one of the leaders.
To get our newsletter, you need to get emails from the Florida Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Tampa Bay Group. For multiple reasons, many people do not get our official emails.
Sierra Club members can fix this online, but legally, we cannot do it for you.
To set up your My Account access, go to myaccount.sierraclub.org and click on “Create your account.” Fill in the form on the next page with your information. It is important that you use the email address that the Sierra Club has on file for you, because this is how the system will confirm that you are a valid member. When you submit the form, you’ll receive an email at that address with instructions for setting up a password to log into your account. If you have multiple email addresses and don’t remember which one you used for Sierra Club, call Member Care at (415) 977 5653 to verify which address the Club has on file for you.
Needless to say, don't use "Unsubscribe" - either use your account or call Member Support.
Member Support: 415-977-5653
Volunteers Needed!
Graphic designer - will help create handouts for tabling events and posters. Contact Shirley Denton.
Social media - will assist our Social Media coordinator and may do things such as posting to Instagram, LinkedIn, MeetUp, Facebook. Contact Shirley Denton.
Outings leaders - will be trained to lead outings. This includes a 2-year certification (free) in basic first aid. Contact Ed Shindle.
ICO leaders will be trained to lead ICO trips. This includes a 2-year certification (free) in basic first aid. Contact Rocky Milburn.
Tabling volunteers. No experience required. Contact Emilie Joyce.
