A note from our Chapter Director

I love the season of the sun here in Indiana. For me, it’s a chance to adventure outdoors and soak up all the vibrance of summer life. Whether cooling off at Lake Monroe, hiking along the trails of the Deam Wilderness or a picnic in the park, it’s a season to spend time outside having fun with friends and loved ones.

Summer can also mean increased energy burdens, more record breaking heat and smog. This means summer is a crucial time for our work to hold polluters accountable, facilitate the transition to affordable clean energy and expand protections for our forests. It’s a time to rally our members around expanding the Deam wilderness, get new people into wild places and turn up public pressure on state legislators to expand access to community solar.

Summer Initiatives

Our summer plans are designed to engage, educate and empower everyday Hoosiers across our state to make meaningful connections with the world and people around us. Here are just a few goals we are looking to achieve this season:

• Building momentum to expand the Deam Wilderness by securing support for the Benjamin Harrison National Recreation Area and Wilderness Establishment Act from a majority of Indiana’s congressional delegation. Expanding protections for the forest around Lake Monroe will protect the drinking water for over 130,000 Hoosiers including students at Indiana University.
• Connecting the communities we love with the wild places we love by leading more than 20 outings with partner groups, members and new supporters. We’ll spend time in the forests, wetlands and city parks we call home throughout these events. We know that learning about and connecting with nature is a strong pathway to building public engagement on protecting our environment.
• Advocating to state legislators for an ambitious legislative agenda by training Sierrans across key state legislative districts to engage with their legislators. Building relationships with the civic leaders in our state will help develop a state water management plan, expand access to community solar and expand conservation funding for public lands. 

• Building our training programs and policy analysis for legislative teams to learn the knowledge and skills they need to educate and advocate to civic leaders on the importance of protecting clean air, clean water and facilitating a quick transition to clean energy. 
• Launching our Outdoors Teams to get more volunteers out into the wilderness and work to expand access to state parks and wilderness areas for our members, supporters and partners who lack easy access to Indiana’s beautiful conservation areas. 
• Mobilizing public testimony on coal ash closure plans submitted by utility companies to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management following the EPA’s recent update to coal ash protections which include more stringent standards. 

• $57 can provide pizza delivery for volunteers at a phone bank where we can reach out to over 570 supporters to connect them with their U.S. Representative on expanding the Deam Wilderness. 
• $112 can cover the cost of a local in district training with 12 volunteer leaders on how to build an effective citizen lobbying team in their district. 
• $265 can cover the cost of a 15-passenger van rental for a sunny day trip to the Hoosier National Forest.