In this edition- honoring Black History Month, a legislative update, how to take action with ACLU, all our news and events, and much more! Happy reading.
Celebrating Black History Month
February is Black History Month. To celebrate, we're including here some great resources, ways to honor this month, and links to local businesses, community activists, artists, and poets.
From Indiana:
Find Minority Businesses in Indiana - From Indiana Minority Business Magazine, this is "Indiana's source to find the best minority businesses near you providing the goods and services you need".
Black History Month: Black Resistance at Newfields. Join Newfields this February to celebrate Black History Month with a selection of artworks that exemplify the power of Black Resistance in America. From now through February 28, guests will find visual art, film, and performance art that honors the successes and challenges of Black Americans’ ongoing efforts in their fight for equity.
Unearthed — Ebony Chappel. Unearthed is a multiyear thematic initiative from Indiana Humanities that encourages Hoosiers to discover and discuss their relationships with the natural world. In this video Ebony Chappel, executive director of Friends of Belmont Beach, shares how she is creating a new legacy for spaces like Belmont Beach by reclaiming the story of a once-segregated swimming area and working to envision its future.
Spoken Work Artist Januarie York | Powerful Black Poets. Januarie York is a full-time spoken word poet, writer, and community leader. Here, she talks about how poetry helped her address trauma, and about teaching others how to use poetry for healing.
Black, Indigenous, & People of Color Voices in Nature: Winter Edition. On February 2, 2023, at the start of Black History Month, Detroit Outdoors facilitated a virtual panel discussion about what it means for BIPOC folks to engage with the outdoors, the importance of forming communities outdoors, and ways that allies can contribute and support the work.
Indiana Legislative Session Update
The Indiana 2023 legislative session is in full swing and the Hoosier Chapter is engaging on multiple bills that will impact the environment and the lives of Hoosiers in the state.
For the first time in history, the Indiana General Assembly will hear a bill meant to address the climate crisis!SB 335, the result of years of work by Confront the Climate Crisis - a youth-led organization - partnering with bipartisan lawmakers, will establish the first ever climate solutions task force in the state to review issues related to sustainable and clean energy solutions. The bill will be heard in the Senate Environmental Affairs committee on Monday, February 20th.
TAKE ACTION:
Contact Chairman Niemeyer and encourage him to hold a vote (and support!) SB 335 in committee on Monday.
Also contact your Senator and urge them to support the bill if they have the opportunity to vote on it once it reaches the Senate floor.
Confront the Climate Crisis
Support Conservation Funding in the State Budget
On Monday morning, February 20th, the House Ways & Means Committee will vote on HB 1001, the state budget bill. During this meeting amendments are likely and these can change the appropriations recommended in the Governor's proposed budget.
The lead up to this meeting is a critical time to influence the budget bill.
TAKE ACTION:
Please contact your state representative before Monday and urge them to support the Governor's recommended conservation funding, including $25 million for land conservation, $50 million for trails, and increased operating funds for all state agencies, including DNR.
The Indiana General Assembly has launched an unprecedented attack on LGBTQ Hoosiers. A number of the bills introduced represent a coordinated, hate-driven campaign to push trans people, particularly trans youth, out of public life.
Sierra Club staff and volunteer leaders are passionate about getting out there and spreading the word about issues that matter to Hoosiers!
Earlier this month, Chapter Director Amanda Shepherd joined Northwest Indiana Green Drinks and Save the Dunes to provide attendees with information on the Chapter as well as updates on what’s happening in the Indiana legislature and how to take action.
Volunteers Amy Henn and Marilyn Bauchat from the Uplands Network tabled at the Black Market event in Bloomington on Saturday, Feb. 11, to invite attendees to the Lick Creek hike to the first African American settlement in Indiana.
The market featured a coalition of organizations, Black-owned businesses, Black creators, and artists that affirmed persons of color in the community and provided a medium for local talent, business owners, and groups to share information and sell goods.
The Black History Month "Black Market" pays homage to the original Black Market that was firebombed on December 26, 1968. More information here.
Above: screenshot from Chapter Director, Amanda Shepherd's, presentation for Save the Dune's Green Drinks.
Two photos above: tabling at Black Market. Photos courtesy of Marilyn Bauchat.
Your local Sierra Club in the press:
"We need leaders who will address the affordability and climate crises and work for an affordable transition to a reliable, renewable grid. We need leaders who will ensure that the energy transition is an equitable one that benefits everyday Hoosiers, not just monopoly utilities. We, as Hoosiers, need to demand such leadership."
Winding Waters Group is excited to announce that we have begun our annual native plant sale! We are thrilled to once again be sharing in the creation of personal as well as community pollinator habitats.
Please check out our Facebook page for our event in order to browse the 2023 plant brochure. We have decided to alternate the selections each year going forward, so that you can pick your favorites a bit easier. Each plant will have the standard cost of $5. This sale will last until April 1st and all orders will need to be turned in by then so we can finalize the full order in time. Our pick up day will be May 12th, and as always, it will be held at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds from 2- 5:30 pm. We will announce the building number on Facebook as soon as we are given the information.
If you have any questions, please email Julie Lowe at j_lowe66@yahoo.com
Thank you to Mike Gavin for sending in these beautiful photos, taken at the same spot just one hour apart!
Mike: "These two photos were taken in late fall in Brown County Indiana. As you are traveling east towards Nashville, this famous overlook is shortly before the Brown County state park entrance."
Do you have a photograph of Indiana nature that you would like to share?
We'd love to see it and perhaps feature it in a future newsletter!
Use the button below or email
rebecca.dien-johns@sierraclub.org
Saturday February 25, 10:00 AM Lick Creek Settlement Hike - Join the Sierra Club and Indiana Forest Alliance for a "Walk and Talk" into the historic Lick Creek African American Settlement in the Hoosier National Forest in celebration of Black History Month.
Saturday February 25, 9 AM - 12 Noon Tri-State Creation Creation Conference, Aldersgate United Methodist Church. Southwest Indiana Sierra Club Network will be tabling, focusing on Save Wesselman Park.
Saturday February 25, 9 AM - 4 PM
From our partner, Artists for Climate Awareness-
Deserts are often overlooked when it comes to changes in climate, but in fact they are among the most vulnerable places on Earth. Join us (virtually or in person) for this day-long watercolor workshop. You will learn how to paint a sunlit desert landscape using a very limited set of colors along with special wet-in-wet and layering techniques. ACA will donate profits from this workshop to the Sierra Club Uplands Network to be used for education and outings. To register: Painting Deserts in Watercolor: Nancy Davis Metz with Carol Rhodes
Tuesday February 28, 6:30 PM
Southwest Indiana Sierra Club Network meeting at Evansville Central Library, Browning Room B. Speaker Jared Emmack, Assistant Property Manager, Hovey Lake Fish & Wildlife Area. Contact nilesrosenquist@gmail.com
Saturday March 4, 10:00 AM
Repeat of Lick Creek Settlement Hike - Join the Sierra Club and Indiana Forest Alliance for a "Walk and Talk" into the historic Lick Creek African American Settlement in the Hoosier National Forest in celebration of Black History Month.
